Project description DEENESFRITPL Virtual reality and vibration testing for lightweight walkways From wood, stone, brick and mortar, and iron and steel, construction materials have significantly evolved over the centuries. Today’s constructions use lightweight materials like aluminium, titanium and composites with polymer, metal and ceramic matrices. These materials are resulting in the development of aesthetically pleasing public structures like footbridges and walkways and corridors between buildings at airports and shopping malls. The EU-funded vPERFORM project will develop predictive models of vibration performance for lightweight pedestrian structures. It will use a multidisciplinary approach, combining analysis techniques from human motion science and mathematical modelling with structural engineering applications. Experimental data will be collected on a full-scale footbridge and in a purpose-built VSimulators motion platform facility that incorporates virtual reality headsets for simulating realistic structure environments. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Newly embraced use of lightweight (and high-strength) materials in construction has led to development of exceptionally beautiful and slender structural forms, especially in case of landmark public structures such as footbridges as well as walkways and corridors between buildings, at airports and shopping malls. These pedestrian structures are more sensitive to human-generated dynamic loading than ever before and their design is governed by vibration serviceability limit state. Pedestrians start interacting with these structures under certain conditions resulting in vibration-dependent dynamic force and unacceptably large errors in predictions of the actual vibration response. This project, vPERFORM, will transform the current design practice by developing reliable predictive models of vibration performance of lightweight pedestrian structures. For the first time, vertical vibration conditions under which the interaction occurs will be identified and the interaction modelled to reflect experimental observations. In addition, influence of visual cue (of the environment in which structure resides) on the interaction will also be studied for the first time. I will employ a multidisciplinary approach by combining analysis techniques from human motion science and mathematical modelling with structural engineering application. I will collect unique experimental data in a purpose built VSimulators (VSim) motion platform facility that incorporates virtual reality (VR) headset for simulating realistic structure environments. I will develop and validate a model for the interaction paving the way for achieving more efficient and sustainable design solutions. Fields of science engineering and technologycivil engineeringstructural engineeringnatural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationsvirtual realitynatural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsmathematical model Keywords footbridge pedestrian vibration serviceability interaction kinematics kinetics locomotion machine learning design Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2019 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2019 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER Net EU contribution € 224 933,76 Address The queen's drive northcote house EX4 4QJ Exeter United Kingdom See on map Region South West (England) Devon Devon CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
