News

SDA participated in the SMiRT27 in Yokohama

SDA took part in SMiRT27 in Yokohama (Japan) and presented the iSHM, which can also be used for critical infrastructures. In addition to the technical topics, it was once again a wonderful opportunity to meet old and new friends and customers.

    New guideline "Earthquake resistant construction with clay brick masonry" from the Federal Association of the German Clay Brick Industry e.V.

    The guideline to the implementation of DIN EN 1998-1, developed by SDA in recent years on behalf of the Federal Association of the German Clay Brick Industry, is now available on the association's website. The guide presents the basics of the new standard using practical building examples and the MINEA software (www.minea.com).

      SDA contributes to the special issue of the Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering: Natech Risk Assessment of Hazardous Facilities

      As part of the European working group WG 13 „Seismic assessment, design and resilience of industrial facilities“ SDA has contributed to the special issue of the Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering. The issue provides a good overview of current European research and standardization activities in the field of seismic design of industrial plants.

        Launch of the new ZIM project LeNa

        Together with the Chair and Institute of Construction Management, Digital Construction and Robotics in Civil Engineering (RWTH Aachen University) as a project partner, SDA-engineering GmbH is launching the three-year project "Development of a software tool for the automated and cross-life cycle sustainability assessment of masonry structures" (LeNa) (FKZ: 16KN116121).

        The innovative research project within the sustainable masonry network aims to develop a software tool with AI support that enables automated sustainability assessments for masonry structures over their entire life cycle. The tool uses Building Information Modeling (BIM), digital material passports and new distributed databases to link sustainability-relevant data directly with geometric building data. It automates key processes such as statics, energy efficiency and sound insulation, taking into account interactions between different building properties. The tool is initially designed for the sustainability optimization of single and multi-family homes with up to six storeys. The tool reduces the time required for a sustainable planning process and allows planning variants to be evaluated quickly and efficiently.

          Podcast: Construction-Site

          In the podcast Philip & Michael Kalkbrenner discuss with Christoph Butenweg the topics of standardization in earthquake engineering. Furthermore, they discuss whether the earthquake standards also allow sustainable construction. The podcast can be accessed on Construction-Site.

            SDA-engineering organizes a special session on NaTech-risk management at 18WCSI und 7ICEES

            Sponsored by EAEE Working Group 13, the theme session at 18WCSI und 7ICEES aims to bring together the latest methods and techniques for reliable NaTech risk assessment of high-risk facilities. The session will cover the following topics:

            • Performance-based design of hazardous industrial facilities
            • Design of silos, tanks ands piping systems
            • Seismic hazard issues in NaTech risk assessment
            • SHM and digital plant models for vulnerability and damage assessment
            • Smart sensor technologies for risk reduction
            • Resilience of industrial facilities
            • Advanced protection systems of industrial plant components
            • Rapid seismic damage and loss assessment with machine learning

              SDA-engineering at the 18th D-A-CH conference in Kiel, Germany

              SDA is represented at the 18th D-A-CH conference as a supporting member of the German Society for Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (DGEB). The conference is organized by the DGEB in cooperation with the Austrian Society for Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (OGE) and the Swiss Society for Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (SGEB). The biennial event provides an opportunity for civil engineers and scientists in the field of earthquake engineering and structural dynamics to exchange knowledge, experiences, best practices, innovations and research results.

                SDA-engineering presents at the 18th WTG conference in Aachen, Germany

                The Windtechnologische Gesellschaft (WTG) e.V. is holding an event in Aachen on the theoretical and practical modelling of wind effects (https://windfx.net). Wind engineering, like many other technical fields, is entering a new era. Algorithms based on artificial intelligence that can handle particularly large amounts of data and are thus able to identify patterns and features that were previously hidden may play a role in the future. For the first time, a workshop in the field of earthquake engineering was also held at this year's conference. SDA contributed two presentations to the workshop. These dealt with earthquake damage in Turkey and the seismic design of masonry structures.

                  SDA leads webinar organized by the "European Association of Earthquake Engineering" for Part 4 of the new generation of Eurocode 8

                  SDA will lead a webinar for Part 4 of the new generation of Eurocode 8 on June 30, 2023, hosted by the European Association of Earthquake Engineering. Part 4 covers the seismic design of silos, tanks, pipelines, technical installations in facilities as well as towers, masts and chimneys. Eurocode 8 applies to the design and construction of buildings and other civil engineering works in seismic regions. Its purpose is to ensure that in the event of earthquakes human lives are protected, damage is limited and structures important for civil protection remain operational. Prof. Butenweg is the coordiantor and Ass. Prof. Marko Marinkovic the chairman of the webinar​​​. Detailed information are provided on the EAEE website

                  Earthquake mission to the crisis area in the south of Turkey

                  SDA joined an earthquake mission of an international team consisting of ETH Zürich (Prof. Michalis Vassiliou, Dr. Nikola Blagojevic, Safak Arslantürkoglu), Serbian Association of Earthquake Engineering (Prof. Marko Marinković and Nemanja Krtinić). The mission have focused on earthquake damage to reinforced concrete and masonry buildings, infrastructural buildings and industrial facilities. The mission was followed by SRF - Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen. The mission was joined by the Turkish colleagues, Dr. Şerife Özata and Dr. Zeynep ÜNSAL ASLAN, who supported the mission with their knowledge of the regional building stock and communicating with the local population. The damage evaluation will be shared soon in publications and presentations.

                  Engineering Research Infrastructure For European Synergies - SERIES: Evaluation of flexible and sliding joints for seismic-resilient design of masonry-infilled RC frames (FLEJOI)

                  The proposed project FLOJOI (Horizon Europe Framework Programme Ref: 101058684-HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-07) aims to evaluate the effectiveness of two different systems based on flexible joints for protecting masonry infills and improving the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings equipped with them in shaking table tests. The shaking table tests will be carried out at out at IZIIS in Skopje for the illustrated test structure. The first one is a compliant system based on horizontal joints developed by TARRC placed within the panel, and vertical rubber joints placed between the panel and the frame columns. The second one (INODIS) is a decoupling system with sliding/flexible joints placed at the frame-infill interfaces. The effectiveness of the two systems for the infill protection was proved within past tests, but only under quasi-static conditions. The FLEJOI project will unlock the potential of flexible joints for the resilient based design of infilled RC frames. It will provide key data for validating modelling strategies and informing the development of design methods and recommendations for the new generation of anti-seismic codes. This will ultimately have a transformative impact on how RC buildings are designed and constructed. The User Group (UG) is constituted by 17 researchers and industry consultants from different organisations across 5 countries. The German partners are SDA engineering GmbH, the Bundesverband der Deutschen Ziegelindustrie e.V., Fachgruppe Hintermauerziegel and the Center for Wind and Earthquake Engineering at RWTH Aachen University.

                  DAfM-Online After-Work Seminars

                  On June 28, 2023, 4:30 p.m., SDA will present “Earthquake resistant design of masonry structures according to Eurocode 8” as part of the DAfM-Online After-Work Seminars. The presentation will be given by Prof. Butenweg. The DAfM-Online After-Work Seminars are an attractive option for engineers in practice.

                  Webinars for MINEA

                  For the new program version MINEA Linear, one-hour webinars will be provided in 2023. The contents and dates can be found on the website of MINEA. The webinars are freely accessible and serve to demonstrate the handling of the software with practical examples.

                  EU-Project CIRC-BOOST

                  SDA is an industrial partner in the CIRC-Boost project funded by the European Union. The overall objective of the Circ-Boost project is to enable and demonstrate an increase in the large-scale uptake of integrated circular solutions (ICS) in European construction value chains demonstrated through five large scale pilots. These projects are: Development and deployment of novel BIM-based selective demolition and decontamination techniques in Barcelona, structuring the reuse and recycling sector around a physical and digital hub centralizing the flow of materials and waste in the Ile-de-France region, demonstration of the integration of multiple innovative processes and techniques to build a pilot house with recycled and re-usable construction materials in the Balkans region, demonstration of an entire circular process “from demolition to construction” in the Arctic region of Norway and the expansion of the adoption of concrete made with recycled aggregates, to wide industrial implementation across large-scale residential projects. Detailed information about the funding framework are provided on the following website of the EU.

                  SDA leads seminar on the topic "Design and calculation in the earthquake situation"

                  On March 28th and September 26nd 2023 SDA leads seminars on “Seismic Design of Buildings according to DIN EN 1998” organized by the Academy of Engineers West e. V. The seminar under the supervision of Prof. Butenweg will take place in Duisburg. Further information can be found on the website of the Academy of Engineers West e.V.

                  SDA is a member of the Sustainable Masonry Innovation Network

                  The vision of the sustainable masonry innovation network is to significantly increase sustainability in masonry by developing new processes and products. All three pillars of sustainability are to be taken into account: Ecology, economy and social aspects. Only by taking all aspects into account can today's challenges be solved in the long term. The "Sustainable Masonry" network pools existing expertise in planning, construction and dismantling using different types of masonry blocks. By bringing together small and medium-sized companies in the innovation network, synergy effects are optimally used to drive forward innovative developments.

                  DEMAS (ZIM project)

                  The aim of the DEMAS project (project duration 01.08.2022 to 31.07.2024) is the development of dissipative elements for decoupling and securing non-load-bearing walls in multi-storey buildings. The project is financially supported by the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM) of the BMWK - Innovation Networks.

                  Worldwide, more than two billion people live in earthquake-prone areas. However, many of them do not live in appropriately earthquake-proof houses. Since it is not possible to predict earthquakes precisely, the only way to increase resistance and thus protect numerous lives is the protection of buildings through adequate measures. The main cause of damage to reinforced concrete frame structures is full contact between the reinforced concrete frame and the infill masonry, so that an earthquake usually results in activation of the infill and uncontrolled load transfer to it.

                  By developing universal as well as scalable dissipative elements, it should for the first time be possible to decouple the deformations of infill masonry and reinforced concrete frames. In addition, the novel decoupling elements are to enable a safer connection of non-load-bearing partition walls to floor slabs. The novel connection elements prevents the load transfer from the structural system to the infill masonry and improves the resistance of multi-storey buildings. The decoupling elements are intended to provide a decoupling of the infill masonry, especially in the case of combined loads (in and perpendicular to the wall plane). Due to their scalability, the elements are to be used for any wall geometry and masonry unit type and can be easily installed on site.

                   

                  SDA contributes a lecture at the 8th International Conference of EACEF

                  SDA-engineering takes part in the 8th International Conferenz of the Euro Asia Civil Engineering Forum (EACEF). The conference will take place from October 4-5, 2022 in Rapperswil, Switzerland (virtual) and from October 12-13, 2022 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (hybrid). SDA-engineering contributes the lecture "Seismic monitoring of industrial facilities with digital building models and sensor technologies" by Prof. C. Butenweg.  

                  SDA is a sponsor of the SMiRT26 conference in Berlin/Potsdam

                  SDA-engineering is one of the sponsors of this year's SMiRT conference, which celebrates its 50th anniversary. The conference will take place from July 10-15 in Potsdam, Germany. The international conference on structural mechanics in reactor technology is being held for the 26th time and covers a total of 11 topics. Dr. Philippe Renault is vice-chairman of the International Scientific Committee and will contribute four lectures.

                  SDA contributes a theme lecture at 3ECEES in Bucharest

                  SDA will take part in the Third European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (3ECEES) that will be organized in Bucharest in the period September 4 – September 9, 2022. The conference is aiming at providing a creative and stimulating environment for sharing and tackling the most challenging topics of global importance and interest in Earthquake Engineering and Seismology. SDA-engineering will contribute with two presentations and the theme lecture “Seismic design and evaluation of industrial facilities”, presented by Prof. C. Butenweg.

                  SDA contributes a lecture to the Town & Country building day

                  SDA will take part in the Town & Country building day. The event will take place on June 27 and 28 in Willingen. SDA contributes the lecture "Erdbebennachweis - Was ist zu beachten?" presentend by Prof. C. Butenweg. 

                  SDA-engineering holds a lecture during the building seminars of the Ziegelwerke Süd e.V.

                  SDA-engineering GmbH, represented by Prof. C. Butenweg and Dr.-Ing. Gellert, will lead the lecture "Earthquake verification of buildings made of brick masonry according to DIN EN 1998-1/NA-2021" at the building seminars of Ziegelwerke Süd e.V. in January 2022. The events will take place at the following dates:

                  Ulm 25.01.2022

                  Memmingen 26.01.2022

                  Dachau 27.01.2022

                  Construction seminars 2022 for KS Süd e.V. ans KS West e.V.

                  The SDA-engineering GmbH, represented by Prof. Butenweg, leads the lecture "Earthquake design of masonry structures made of sand-lime bricks according to DIN EN 1998-1" of the construction seminars of KS Süd e.V. and KS West e.V. in January and February 2022. The events will take place on the following dates:

                  22.02.2022. Online seminar KS West e.V.

                  25.01.2022 Filderstadt

                  26.01.2022 Frankenthal

                  27.01.2022 Freiburg-Munzingen

                  02.02.2022 Karlsruhe

                  SDA starts ZIM project Dynamic BIM

                  Together with the Chair of Structural Analysis and Dynamics (RWTH Aachen University) as project partner, SDA-engineering GmbH starts the two-year project "Development of a BIM-integrated damage analysis for dynamic building data" (FKZ: 16KN093523).

                  The aim is to develop a digital method for continuous dynamic monitoring of structures. Dynamic effects on structures can limit their serviceability and cause massive damage, resulting in considerable costs. Continuous and automated monitoring of the dynamic conditions of structures using sensors and coupling the recorded data with BIM (Building Information Modeling) allows to simulate and interpret structural vibrations in near-real time. In this way, critical movements and changes in the structure of the building can be detected directly and structural dynamic upgrades or rehabilitation measures can be made possible at an early stage.

                  SDA-engineering holds a lecture at the 29th structural engineering seminar North Rhine-Westphalia.

                  On November 30th, 2021 SDA contributes the lecture "New developments in Eurocode 8" at the 29th structural engineering seminar North Rhine-Westphalia organized by the Ministry for Regional Identity, Communities and Local Government, Building and Gender Equality of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, the state association of test engineers for structural engineering North Rhine-Westphalia e.V., the state association of consulting engineers in North Rhine-Westphalia and the chamber of construction engineers North Rhine-Westphalia. The seminar takes place as a hybrid event in Ratingen.

                  SDA-engineering contributes a lecture to the structural engineering seminars 2021 of the VWA

                  SDA contributes the lecture "Seismic design of buildings with the new national annexes to DIN EN 1998, Part 1 and Part 5" to the structural engineering seminars 2021. The seminars are organised by the Administration and Business Academy (VWA) and take place in Stuttgart (14.09.21), Freiburg (15.09.21) and Karlsruhe (16.09.21). The target group of the seminars are employees of building authorities, structural engineers, and test engineers for structural engineering.

                  2nd SeDIF-Conference 2021

                  SDA hosts the second International Conference on Seismic Design of Industrial Facilities together with the Chair of Structural Analysis and Dynamics (RWTH Aachen University), the Center for Wind and Earthquake Engineering (RWTH Aachen University), TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH and TÜV SÜD Academy GmbH. This conference takes place online on March 1.-2., 2021 and aims at bringing together researchers, design engineers and plant operators to discuss the particularities of seismic design in plant engineering. Detailed information on the SeDIF-Conference 2021 can be found on www.tuvsud.com/akademie/sedif.

                  SDA participates the Pipeline Symposium 2020 „Pipelines – safe – efficient – flexible“ of the TÜV Nord Academie

                  In cooperation with OPEN GRID Europe GmbH in Essen, SDA will present various aspects of the seismic design of pipeline systems in the lecture "Seismic actions on buried pipeline systems". The conference will take place on 16th and 17th June 2020 in Hamburg. Further details can be found on the conference website.

                  SDA participates the regional seminar on induced seismicity due to Human Activities in Groningen (Netherlands)

                  Groningen is the largest on-land gas field in the world with continuous gas extraction operations since 1963. Earthquakes up to magnitude 3.6 in 3km depth, with the largest recorded horizontal acceleration of 0.11g, have been triggered since 2012 inflicting structural damage on houses and other buildings on the gas field and arousing public unrest. The regional seminar will discuss the problems related to gas extraction and covers the topics Geological & Geophysical Aspects, Hazard & Risk, Geotechnical Issues, Seismic Monitoring, Structural Assessment & Strengthening and Structural Experiments and Modelling. SDA contributes to the seminar with an invited lecture about induced seismicity and industrial facilities. The seminar takes place between 11th and 14th May 2020 in Groningen and is organized by the European Association of Earthquake Engineering (EAEE) and the Dutch Earthquake Engineering Association (DEEA).

                  SDA joins the Working Group “Seismic assessment, design and resilience of industrial facilities” installed by the “European Association of Earthquake Engineering” (EAEE)

                  The working group (WG) is constituted by experts in the fields of seismology, earthquake engineering, resilience and Na-tech risks. The outcome of the WG provides a contribution to the development of seismic codes and guidelines, including seismic design and innovative protection systems of major-hazard industrial plant components, and supports the implementation of the Seveso III Directive 2012/18/EU which regulates the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances under seismic events. SDA contributes to the WG with a long-standing experience in the design of industrial facilities and plant components.

                  SDA participates in the WCEE in Sendai (Japan)

                  This year, the 17h World Conference on Earthquake Engineering takes place in Sendai (Japan) from 13.-18. of June 2020. The conference covers a wide variety of subjects on earthquake engineering, which are detailed described on the conference website. SDA-engineering is represented with two articles on the seismic design of masonry structures and industrial facilities. In addition, Prof. Butenweg participates as German representative in the board meeting of the European Association of Earthquake Engineering (EAEE).

                  SDA leads seminar on seismic design at the Chamber of Engineers BAU NRW

                  As part of the monthly seminars of the BDB Aachen, the SDA-engineering GmbH leads the event on the subject "Design and calculation in the earthquake situation". The event is concerned with aspects of the design suitable for the earthquake as well as the verification concepts of the Eurocode 8 (DIN EN 1998-1, DIN EN 1998-1/NA). Here, the focus is particularly directed to the introduction of the national Annex of the EC8 and the introduction of new earthquake maps for Germany.

                  The event will take place on September 9, 2019 in Aachen. The venue will be announced.

                  SDA at the German Environmental Congress 2018

                  At the German Environmental Congress on 19. and 20. of September 2018 the SDA engineering GmbH was represented with the lecture "Earthquake Design of Industrial Plants" by Prof. Butenweg. The lecture provided the basics of seismic design of industrial facilities according to the Eurocode concept in conjunction with the VCI guideline "The load case earthquake in plant engineering".

                  SDA supports the training of international engineers in the graduate program MME-Construct

                  The master program will improve the structural engineering knowledge in subjects such as the design of industrial facilities under exceptional loading, seismic design and vulnerability assessment of structures to hazardous events. The knowledge in structural analysis will be enhanced by the application of innovative numerical solution methods and professional software packages. SDA is supporting the courses “Design and Detailing of Nonstructural Industrial Components and Equipment” and “Selected Chapters of Plant Engineering and Construction” at the RWTH Aachen University.

                  More Information

                  SDA becomes operational in DAfM Research Advisory Board

                  The German Committee for Masonry Construction e. V. (DAfM) concentrates the existing expertise of science, construction supervision, consulting engineers and test engineers as well as builders, construction industry and building materials industry in the field of masonry construction. The aim of the DAfM's work is to promote science and application research in the field of masonry construction in order to generate user-friendly guidelines and practice-oriented execution rules. SDA supports the work of the Research Advisory Board with many years of experience in practice and research.

                  www.dafm.online

                  SDA participates in the 16. ECEE in Thessaloniki

                  This year, the 16th European Conference on Earthquake Engineering takes place in Thessaloniki from 18.-21. of June 2018. Earthquake engineers, geotechnicians as well as geologists and seismologists from all over the world will meet to discuss current findings. SDA-engineering is represented with a total of five specialist articles from various topics on the seismic design of structures and pipelines. In addition, Prof. Butenweg participates as German representative in the board meeting of the European Association of Earthquake Engineering (EAEE).

                   

                  SDA at the TIASD 2018 in Porto

                  The third edition of the International Workshop on Traditional and Innovative Approaches will be held in Guimarães, near Porto, from 26.-28. of April. It will be an exchange of experiences in the field of seismic design. Researching experts will meet to discuss established approaches as well as new, innovative approaches for designing structures to withstand earthquake loading. SDA-engineering participates with a lecture on the topic "Innovative decoupling element for infill masonry walls".

                  SDA attends the 10th Conference on Flat Bottom Storage Tanks in Munich

                  The main focus of this international conference on the 18th and 10th October 2016 is to update on new regulations for the operation and design of above ground storage tanks in Europe and worldwide. SDA-engineering GmbH contributes with two presentations dealing with the seismic design of tank structures.

                  Establishment of the Center of Wind and Earthquake Engineering

                  On 05.02.2016 the Center for Wind and Earthquake Engineering (CWE) was established at Aachen University. The center forms the basis for a fruitfull interdisciplinary collaboration of the adressed research fields at Aachen University. Prof.-Dr.-Ing. Christoph Butenweg is board member of the established center on behalf of FH Aachen - University of Applied Sceinces.