Structural Engineering Research Centre

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INTRODUCTION:

Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC), Chennai, India is one of the national laboratories under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), India. SERC has built-up excellent facilities and expertise for the analysis, design and testing of structures and structural components. Services of SERC are being extensively used by the Central and State Governments and public and private sector undertakings. Scientists of SERC serve on many national and international committees and the Centre is recognised at the national and international levels as a leading research institution in the field of structural engineering. SERC has recently been certified as ISO:9001 quality institution.

R & D EFFORTS AND AREAS AT SERC:

Research and Development efforts at SERC deal with development of improved analysis, design and construction techniques for different types of complex structures such as shell roofs, transmission line and microwave towers and other tower-like structures, ships, offshore structures and machine foundations. A number of time and cost saving precast construction techniques and products have been developed by the Centre. High strength deformed bars, funicular shells, fibre reinforced concrete manhole covers, ferrocement water tanks, service core units, etc., developed by the Centre have been extensively used in many organizations in the country. Over the years, several general purpose computer software packages have been developed for computer-aided analysis, design and drafting of various structures and structural components.

The following are the major areas where research is carried out:

Advanced Seismic Testing & Research Laboratory
CAAD of Structures
Wind Engineering
Tower Testing & Research Station
Steel Structures
Fatigue Testing
Experimental Mechanics
Construction Engineering
Construction Engineering
Concrete Composites

The major projects carried out and ongoing projects,both networked and base funded are as follows:

Development of design aids for multi- storeyed buildings
Vibration control of buildings & structures under multi-axis excitation
Wind load effects on structures and long span bridges
Studies on fatigue and fracture of structural components
Analysis and design of bridges
Health assessment of bridges and other structures.
Damage tolerant evaluation of critical component / structures of SARAS
Development of 500 kW low cost horizontal axis wind turbine
Development of methods for fatigue and seismic resistant design and management of concrete structures
Finite element analysis of structures: Development of error estimator, adaptive mesh refinement, iterative solver techniques, and parallelization on coupled SMP systems
Instrumentation and monitoring of different types of bridges
Error estimation and adoptive refinement for fracture analysis
Development of distributed memetic algorithms for optimization of laminated composite panels
Fatigue and fracture behaviour of piping components
Passive seismic response control devices
Studies on pipe fracture under compliant bending load
Ratcheting behaviour of pressurised pipes
Steering Committees (hydrometeorological and geophysical hazards) of NDMA � Policy Framework and Guidelines
Seismic evaluation and retrofit of multi-storey buildings
Development of rubber bearings for seismic base isolation
National programme for capacity building for engineers in earthquake engineering and risk management
Post-tsunami activities
PFBR: Sea water intrusion in base concrete
Damage survey and rehabilitation of residential colony
Utilization of fly ash in structural concrete
Repair and rehabilitation of a wide range of structures

The activities of the centre have been grouped under the following major areas:

Wind Engineering & Field experimentation, Structural Dynamics & Earthquake Engineering:Wind tunnel investigations on structural models under normal and extreme wind conditions
Wind flow and load evaluation on buildings and structures
Assessment of methodologies for seismic performance evaluation of structures
Seismic Performance Evaluation of Buildings
Vulnerability analysis of buildings and structures against earthquakes
Fatigue and fracture, experimental mechanics and shock & vibration:Studies on Fatigue and Fracture Behaviour of Structural Components and Materials
Studies on performance monitoring of FRP strengthened concrete structures using fiber optic sensors
Investigations on behaviour of composite panels subjected to shock loading
Steel Structures, transmission line towers and other steel skeletal structures:Risk assessment of power transmission line towers under severe climatic conditions and aging
Investigations on hot-rolled and cold-formed steel building components
Computer-aided analysis and design of structures and software development:Analysis of RC structural components based on damage mechanics concepts
Development of advanced finite element analysis techniques for higher order regimes
Structural health assessment and management of bridges
Development of procedures for seismic performance evaluation of existing steel structures
Development of damage diagnostic methods for constructed facilities
Mathematical modelling for repaired concrete structures
Concrete composites and materials, and reinforced concrete structures:Studies on retrofitting techniques for various types of damages
Development of advanced composite construction materials and methodologies for assessment of durability related parameters
Construction engineering and pre-stressed concrete structures:Quantification of damage and deterioration of concrete structures affected by corrosion of reinforcement
Advanced non-destructive testing and evaluation methods for health assessment of concrete structures
Investigations on the behaviour on precast segmental box girders with external prestressing
CSIR - NEW MILLENNIUM INDIAN TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE PROJECT (NMITLI):Development of 500 kW low cost horizontal axis wind turbine
CSIR � COLLABORATIVE PROJECT:Development of methods for fatigue and seismic resistant design and management of concrete structures
SUPRA INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAMME:Management Tools for Maintenance � Scheduling and Life Enhancement of Special Structures. (SIP028)