Research
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History
The Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials is a joint venture of four former research groups. The old department structure can be found below:
- Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory
The Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory is the largest Belgian research centre in the field of concrete technology and concrete structures and has a vast and widely-spread international recognition.
It disposes of extensive experimental testing facilities and infrastructures, among which the large strong floor for executing load tests on large-scale elements is a unique instrument.
Its former research areas focused on different aspects of concrete structures, going from fundamental material research on microscopic and sub-microscopic scale to structural behaviour and structural reliability of concrete structures on large scale.
- Laboratory for Research on Structural Models
The Laboratory for Research on Structural Models had an international recognition for its experimental and numeric study of instability phenomena in shell structures.
Its activity comprised structural analyses in general and glass structures and constructional steelwork in particular. The structural glass research group was strongly embedded in international networks and was well-reputed on the international scene.
Glass research subjects ranged from fundamental issues, e.g. related to glass strength and interlayer material laws, to applied topics, such as the development of structural glass connection systems or project-based R&D.
- Research Group Schoonmeersen
The research activities of research group Schoonmeersen were mainly related to structural analysis of constructions and structural components, considering different materials (steel, concrete, composites) and the interaction between such materials.
Research subjects were also related to bridge engineering, structural topology optimization, concrete technology, performance of screed materials, …
- Research Group Combustion, Fire and Fire Safety
The research group ‘Combustion, Fire and Fire Safety’ focused on fire dynamics related research. The core activity consisted of model development in numerical simulations, but experiments were also performed, ranging from small scale to full scale. The research covers fundamental scientific and applied engineering research, focusing on fluid mechanics aspects (e.g., smoke and heat control), turbulent combustion (including extinction), heat transfer (convection and radiation) and multi-phase aspects (e.g., the effect of water droplets on smoke and fire, but also spray combustion).