Consulting

Dynamic soil-structure interaction became a field of intense research, especially in relation to aseismic design of structures. The interaction with the underlying soil can change significantly the dynamic behaviour of the structure and has to be considered during design in many cases. Other important applications are vibrations in the built environment due to traffic, industrial and building activities, and the study of wind-loads on high-rise buildings.

The effects of vibrations in the built environment can be distinguished: the characterization of the source, the propagation of the vibrations through the soil and the interaction with the structure. The research concentrates on the numerical modelling of these subproblems, as well as the coupled problem; in situ vibration measurements are frequently performed in order to validate these numerical models.

Examples of projects are:

• Damage diagnosis of a steel silo
• Triangular steel tile for a computer floor
• Modal analysis of the ribbed slab of the cultural centre in Meeuwen-Gruitrode
• In situ measurements of traffic induced vibrations
• Train induced vibrations of the new extension building E of the Court Justice in Liege