Research database

Structural robustness is a key point in the design of resilient structures. Focusing on civil engineering, design codes require new structures to be sufficiently robust, but there are no particular requirements for quantifying such robustness. The literature review indicates that, although there are several approaches for quantifying the robustness of a structure, there is not a preferred metrics. Meanwhile, a threshold value for determining whether or not a structure is robust is missing. Essentially, this is the result of the fact that there are no tools for classifying the structural robustness, e.g., comparing different structures with respect to their robustness. Furthermore, structural robustness approaches are focused on civil structures rather than general structures like mechanical, marine, naval, or biomedical, in which, for example, there are no fixed supports and the system is in equilibrium with external loads only, or gravity loads are not the dominant actions on the structural system. The goal of the proposed research project is to create, test, and apply trustworthy tools for evaluating the robustness of structures. To outdo the current approaches, the project will be concerned with generic structures, both civil and non-civil.