Offer for business cooperation

The Chair’s offer of cooperation with business organizations:

            The offer of cooperation between the Chair of Reinforced Concrete and Prestressed  Concrete Structures L-1 and the industry comprises research and engineering works (including cooperation at the design stage) as well as scientific and technical opinions and expert reviews related to reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete and masonry structures.

Our offer of cooperation with business includes in particular:

• comprehensive diagnostics of reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete and masonry structures;
• verification works and consultations of construction designs;
• evaluation of durability of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, i.e. corrosion of concrete and steel, prediction of service life of the structure;
• safety assessment of the load-bearing system of building and engineering structures, including historic buildings, with respect to environmental and chemo-mechanical effects;
• assessment of the load-bearing capacity and durability of industrial shell structures, including cooling towers and storage tanks for liquids;
• works related to precast concrete structures and their technological and material solutions;
• design of atypical structural solutions;
• numerical simulations of advanced design solutions, including analyses of multi-field issues;
• works related to crack analysis of semi-massive and massive reinforced concrete structures;
• evaluation of mechanical properties of concrete, reinforcing steel and prestressed steel;
• evaluation of rheological phenomena (concrete shrinkage, concrete creep, relaxation of prestressing steel) in concrete structures – effects, theoretical analysis;
• opinion/design/testing of the anchorage zone of prestressing tendons (shaping, damage, reinforcement);
• verification of performance of reinforcing bars in terms of adhesion of steel to concrete by means of a pull-out test;
• experimental tests of members and structures under static, dynamic and cyclic loading;
• verification and consulting in the area of construction and technical design as well as preparation of technical opinions and expert reports related to installation of structural health monitoring system in building structures,
• assessment of technical condition of building structures;
• expertise and technical opinions regarding assessment of the state of preservation (causes of damage) in residential and public buildings;
• assessment of the causes of crack occurrence in reinforced concrete structures at the execution stage;
• expert reports and technical opinions related to the causes of damage (state of preservation) of industrial floors, floor screeds, concrete surfaces e.g. parking lots, airfield pavements;
• expert reviews/technical opinions on plaster damage;
• expert reviews and assessments of emergency states;
• identification of mechanical properties of masonry in existing buildings, including historic buildings;
• design of repair and strengthening of reinforced concrete structures and masonry structures.

The Chair’s cooperation offer for the industry:

The offer of cooperation between the Chair of Building Materials Engineering (L-2) and the industry includes research and engineering works, scientific and technical opinions and expertise in the field of:

• laboratory tests and evaluation of conventional (standard) and unconventional properties of materials and construction products; this applies, inter alia, to small-sized concrete, ceramic, bituminous products as well as mineral binders;
• diagnostic tests (laboratory and in-situ) of materials in existing facilities, including destructive, partially destructive and non-destructive tests (UPV, Pull-off, Schmidt’s hammer, Impact-echo);
• assessment of environmental aggressiveness and the causes and degree of material destruction in existing facilities, including post-fire assessment of concrete and fire tests of concrete elements.

The Chair specializes in R&D works, especially in the field of specialized research on:

• assessment of the concrete’s transport capacity for liquids, gases and chloride ions using laboratory methods (water permeability according to PN-EN 12390-8, nitrogen permeability by Cembureau method, chloride ion permeability by NT BUILD 443 method) and in situ (water permeability by GWT – Germann Water permeation Test, air permeability by the Torrent method);
• determination of porosity and pore distribution in mineral materials using MIP and BET methods;
• assessment of freeze-thaw resistance by the direct method according to PN-B-06250:1988 and freeze-thaw resistance under the influence of de-icing salts according to PKN-CEN / TS 12390-9: 2007;
• determination of air void characteristics in hardened concrete. PN-EN 480-11:2000;
• the behavior of concrete under fire conditions, including determination of concrete susceptibility to fire spalling, also under load conditions;
• assessment of the resistance of organic coatings and paints under accelerated ageing conditions;
• evaluation of mineral materials resistance to biological corrosion.

The team’s experience in the implementation of R&D works allows for extensive cooperation in the development of new building materials as well as technological and material solutions for construction, including material solutions used in geotechnics. The team also specializes in designing the composition of the ordinary and lightweight aggregate high-strength concretes, self-compacting and special purpose concretes, including ultra-high-strength cement composites. The Chair develops the technology of binders with a reduced carbon footprint (geopolymers and mineral binders with a low proportion of Portland clinker).

Innovative ideas and solutions in the field of construction materials engineering developed by Chair’s employees are the subject of patent applications and obtained patents, of which six have been created in the last 5 years. Three solutions in the field of fiber reinforced soil-cement walls technology are currently implemented by the industry.

For many years, the Chair has been conducting dynamic cooperation with the industrial environment. This cooperation mainly concerns the implementation of R&D projects and technical assessment of construction materials and products.

The area of a professional activity of the chair employees in relation to all types of the metal and timber structures is the preparation of advanced designs, expert opinions and scientific and technical analyses, including in particular:

• verification of existing designs,
• diagnoses of structures in their pre-failure states as well as in the emergency conditions,
• evaluation of structural reliability as well as of the predicted durability after many years of service,
• fire safety assessment with different simulated fire exposure scenarios.

As part of expert activities related to the transportation structures, such as:

• bridge structures – including bridges, culverts, viaducts, flyovers, footbridges,
• underground facilities – including road and rail tunnels, garages and parking lots, pedestrian crossings,
• engineering and industrial facilities – including retaining walls, bridges and technological flyovers,

the professional activities are undertaken in the field of:

• structual diagnostics,
• static and dynamic analyses,
• development and verification of both conceptual and of building designs (regarding repairs, reinforcements, renovations, modernizations, etc.),
• laboratory tests of materials as well as of structural members,
• acceptance tests of these objects (including the trial loads),
• performing the scientific as well as the author’s supervision over the execution of the investments,
• periodic and special inspections,
• assessment of the technical condition of the facility (regarding its current condition and expected lifetime as well as the specification of the conditions for further use),
• analysis and assessment of the considered facilities in emergency states.

The Chair of Roads, Railways and Traffic Engineering may cooperate with:

• central institutions in the development of guidelines, calculation methods, instructions and design and operational recommendations in the field of road and rail infrastructure;
• universities in research and implementation of new designs,
• local administration in carrying out analyzes and developing programs to improve the efficiency of the road and rail networks;
• local managers and project offices in carrying out empirical research, experts’ opinions and designing new or modernized elements of road and rail infrastructure, as well as in the field of traffic management.

The offer also includes training of administration employees and engineering staff in the form of courses or postgraduate studies.

The profile of the offered works and services covers the research and development activities of the Chair of Roads, Railways and Traffic Engineering, in particular:

• general and detailed road safety analyzes,
• empirical studies of road traffic characteristics,
• development of traffic models with their application to assess the traffic efficiency, costs and safety,
• scientific expertise on the functioning of road designs along with concepts for their improvement,
• conceptual design of roads, intersections and interchanges along including traffic organization,
• assessment of road and traffic impact on the environment, focusing on nuisance of road noise,
• design of road pavement structures as well as design and optimization of asphalt mixes,
• application of geosynthetics in road and rail track constructions,
• feasibility studies for projects related to the construction and modernization of railways, including mountain and industrial railways,
• track condition tests and diagnostics of all types of rail track structures,
• development of technology for the construction and operation of railways,
• consultations in designing the construction and modernization of railways, also taking into account economic problems,
• training of engineering staff including: road and rail engineering, road and intersection design, implementation of new technologies in road pavement construction, traffic safety audit, road inspections.

Additionally, the Chair may offer tests and courses in its laboratories:

• Traffic engineering laboratory equipped with apparatus for: traffic data collection with the use of automatic detection and using video technology; vehicle speed collection; computer analysis of traffic conflicts; noise data collection;
• Research laboratory of road materials and pavements, equipped with apparatus for: testing stone materials, aggregates and binders; designing the composition of asphalt mixtures; design of soil stabilization, lean cement and ash concretes; testing the roughness of road surfaces and parameters of light reflection from the surface and road marking; thermo-mechanical tests of building materials and structures;
• Railway traffic engineering laboratory equipped with the ISDR simulator enabling training in the field of train traffic management and maneuvering and the operation of selected types of station and line rail traffic control devices;
• Computer laboratory enabling computer courses using software for:
• data processing and statistical and graphic analyzes,
• traffic engineering,
• geometric design of roads,
• design of pavement structures.

The offer of cooperation between the Department of Transport Systems and the economic units, profile of the works and services performed:

The Department of Transport Systems has a very wide offer of cooperation as part of research and implementation activities. We have completed several dozen research, planning and design works in the field of broadly understood planning of communication systems.

Our team consists of extraordinary people who, in their own scientific research, take up current research topics. Afterwards, this topics form the basis for implementation activities. This approach ensures that our studies are always “up to date”. Our team is a perfect combination of experience and youth.

Our offer includes the preparation of studies such as:

• transport policies for cities and regions, and sustainable urban mobility plans, including urban logistics systems,
• studies of the conditions and directions of spatial development in the field of transport issues,
• local spatial development plans (MPZP) in the field of transport issues,
• independent studies in communication for planning purposes for cities and regions,
• comprehensive measurements and assessment of public transport functioning quality,
• comprehensive traffic research (KBR) in the scale of individual cities and regions,
• road traffic forecasting in the scale of cities and regions,
• analysis of the economic and functional effectiveness of transport solutions,
• opinions and expertises concerning the performed works in the field of transport and logistics systems,
• mobility plans for institutions or office centres and industrial zones,
• optimization of existing and development of new algorithms for the needs of internal logistics chains at enterprises,
• design, analysis and behaviour of logistics systems in changing external conditions,
• goods distribution systems at enterprises and in urban areas,
• integration of links in the supply chains of goods in scale of the enterprise.

In our research work, we use the latest versions of VISUM, VISSIM, AIMSUN, Statgraphics, Mathematica, AutoCAD and others.

Our department can cooperate with:

• with universities in the study and implementation of new solutions in the field of transport and logistics,
• with local government units of various levels in carrying out analysis and developing programs to improve transport service in a selected area,
• with local managers and design offices in carrying out empirical research, expert opinions and designing new or modernizing existing transport and logistics systems and solutions,
• with companies in the field of optimization of transport and logistics systems.

The proposition of cooperation between the Institute and the economy:

• plans for the organization of construction projects,
• marketing research of the construction services market and the building materials market,
• preparing a development strategy of a construction company,
• assessment of the cost effectiveness of renovation works,
• consultancy concerning the search and selection of construction contracts,
• programs supporting the preparation of bids for the execution of construction works,
• pricing of fixed assets,
• technical and judicial expertise,
• training of the managerial staff for construction companies,
• training in the use of computer programs concerning organization, management and cost estimation,
• training in property management,
• using of computer systems for the organization of the investment process.

The Chair researches in the field of paraseismic engineering:

• measurements of ground vibrations and building structures, including the development and implementation of vibration monitoring systems,
• forecasts of dynamic influences (in particular paraseismic) on building structures,
• assessment of the impact of vibrations on the environment. It refers to the harmfulness of vibrations on buildings and devices in buildings and the effect of vibrations on people in buildings,
• protection against vibrations of buildings and people in buildings – incl. designing vibro-isolation in buildings and at the source of vibrations (e.g. in railway and tram tracks) as well as vibro-isolation partitions in the ground.

These works concern all types of mechanical vibrations, in particular:

• communication vibrations caused by the passage of motor vehicles, trains, trams, underground, etc.
• vibrations caused by the driving of foundation piles and sheet piling in the vicinity of buildings and other construction work (demolition works, operation of vibrating road rollers, etc.),
• vibrations from all kinds of explosions, mining operations in quarries, mines (including mining tremors), Etc
• vibrations caused by the operation of mechanical devices inside buildings (e.g. fans, vibrating screens, etc.) or in their vicinity (compressors, vibratory hammers).

The Chair also offers:

• static and dynamic tests of bridges,
• analyzes, calculations and dynamic tests of machine foundations (including turbine sets),
• calculations and dynamic tests of tower structures, masts with guy lines, mine hoisting towers, etc.,
• diagnostics of industrial chimneys,
• consultation on various dynamic problems.

The Chair cooperates with an accredited Laboratory for Testing Deformation and Vibration of Structures, equipped with specialized apparatus for recording and analyzing mechanical vibrations and deformation measurements.

The Chair employs a highly qualified team of specialists – 6 professors and scientists with full building qualifications. The Department has developed, among other things, Polish standards:

• PN-85 / B-02170 “Assessment of the harmfulness of vibrations transmitted through the ground on buildings” and its amendment to PN-B-02170: 2016-12 and
• PN-88 / B-02171 “Assessment of the impact of vibrations on people in buildings” and its amendment to PN-B-02171: 2017-06

The Department performs works in the field of geology and engineering geotechnics, including:

• assessment of the quality of the subsoil for construction purposes, in particular for work in special conditions covering the third geotechnical category, vibration of foundations, as well as construction in mining areas,
• measurements of the behavior of the subsoil and building structures, including the possibility of developing and implementing dedicated monitoring systems, including the observation of static and dynamic parameters, water relations, and ground and structure displacements.

These works concern the unstable behavior of the subsoil, in particular:

• soil and structure stability analysis,
• the use of geosynthetics in the stabilization of the subsoil and the construction of communication routes,
• assessment of the work of foundation columns and piles as well as sheet piling and diaphragm walls, especially in areas endangered by water and in mining areas.

The department also offers:

• laboratory and field tests of static and dynamic subsoil parameters, including a triaxial compression apparatus with the use of bender elements, also with the use of static probes (CPT, CPTU) and dynamic tests (SCPT, SCPTU), stress-strain relationships, compressibility modules primary and secondary, Atterberg limits, granulometric analysis of soil material,
• testing of soil swelling, determination of organic content, testing of optimum soil moisture and maximum volumetric density of the soil skeleton, as well as testing of water aggressiveness,
• analyzes, calculations and static and dynamic tests of structure foundations, including machine foundations, diagnostics of building foundations, including industrial structures,
• verification of design assumptions in relation to the prevailing ground and water conditions and consultations on various problems related to the ground, carried out in accordance with applicable Polish and European standards.

The Institute offers knowledge on the development of models (mathematical description of phenomena and processes occurring in real world) and computational methods (especially Finite Element and Finite Difference) for numerical analysis. Our personnel has extensive experience in development of new and the integration of existing computer codes which may be used to perform practical simulation of complex processes.

We specialize in the domain of structural mechanics and mechanics of materials, but the scope of our interests reaches beyond the domain of mechanics and typical applications. In particular, the following activities may be undertaken by our staff:

• efficient analysis of linear and nonlinear boundary value problems and initial boundary value problems with the application of modern computational methods (including the error estimation of numerical results)
• elaboration and scientific analysis of experimental results including theoretical assumptions (laws of physics) related to the measured quantities, including theoretical-numerical estimation of residual stresses in metallic structures subject to cyclic loadings
• numerical determination of displacement and stress distributions in materials exhibiting an internal microstructure.

Both discrete methods, a universal tool of model analysis as well as nonstandard ones, such as neural networks or genetic algorithms are used to accomplish the assigned projects. The Institute staff is skilled in a number of fields and is ready to share their knowledge and experience with others as part of training in several widely used fields, such as:

• selected problems of mechanics, theoretical basis and discretization methods applied (especially Finite Element Method)
• computer aided drafting and design (CAD)
• application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology in construction industry
• computer programming, computer networks, work in the Linux operating system environment.

The extensive international contacts of our staff allow, if necessary, the involvement of specialists from all over the world.

The MLEEB offer for the economy. Cooperation offer of the Małopolska Laboratory of Energy Efficient Building L-6 with the economy:

The research offer is addressed to producers of building materials, designers, developers and private investors.

Research will be carried out on equipment and infrastructure produced under the MRPO (Małopolska Regional Operational Programme) project no. MRPO.05.01.00-12-089 / 12

STUDIES ON BUILDING MATERIALS

• Measurements of thermal characteristics of building partitions.
• Measurement of thermal conductivity of materials.
• Tests of thermal conduction coefficient.
• Measurements of heat flow parameters.
• Precise tests of thermal characteristics of walls, windows and doors.
• Tests on selected parameters of photovoltaic panels , among others on energy-efficiency of photovoltaic modules, the degree of energy conversion of solar radiation into electricity in the cells made in different types of technology.

STUDIES ON BUILDINGS

• Air tightness tests of buildings using the Blower Door method.
• Thermo-vision measurements to diagnose thermal insulation of partitions in a building.
• Taking three-dimensional thermo-visual scans.
• Tests on thermal comfort feelings in different conditions of use.
• Tests on the microclimate of the rooms.
• Making a 3D inventory.
• Making measurements of volumetric air flow through diffusers and ventilation grills.
• Detection of dustiness from the air such as: dust, smoke, oil mist, soot.
• Measurements of sound levels.

SIMULATION ANALYSES OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT BUILDINGS

• Tests and modelling of heat gains from solar radiation through transparent partitions to the rooms.
• Testing the influence of adjustment and intelligent control systems on the quality of the indoor climate.
• Estimating operational costs of individual systems in the context of anticipated investment costs for individual technologies.
• Calculations of energy costs for a building built in the considered technologies and taking into account the use of the object’s own energy sources.
• Studies on the influence of individual energy saving measures in a building on its energy qualification.

TECHNICAL CONSULTANCY IN THE FIELD OF ENERGY-EFFICIENCY, INSTALLATION SOLUTIONS OF HEAT SOURCES, INCLUDING RENEWABLE ONES

• Studies on the characteristics of supply and exhaust elements as well as other elements in the ventilation and air conditioning installation.
• Studies on the influence of various room functions and various air conditioning and heating
• systems on comfort parameters and indicators.

DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE PROJECTS FOR IMPLEMENTING ENERGY- EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES IN LOW ENERGY CONSTRUCTIONS

• Consultations on architectural and construction projects.
• Designing energy-efficient buildings.
• Energy simulations of objects.
• Expertise on energy-efficiency of buildings.
• Trainings in the field of energy-efficient construction and energy- efficiency of buildings.