Welcome to the Institute of Structural Analysis and Dynamics
University of Kaiserslautern, Department of Civil Engineering
Paul-Ehrlich-St. | Bldg. 14, Room 553 | 67663 Kaiserslautern
The institute is focused on research and teaching in the field of Structural Analysis, Earthquake Engineering, Structural Dynamics (including Experimental Structural Dynamics), Probabilistic Analysis and Innovative and Smart Materials and Structures.
Our Vision
Excellent scientific education and research in the field of structural analysis and dynamics.
News/Events
Master's degree in Civil Engineering at RPTU in top position in Germany
Top according to the CHE Ranking: RPTU's Master's degree programme in Civil Engineering is among the top German universities. In the categories "General study situation", "Support during studies" and "Research funding", RPTU's degree programme is in second place overall. In the area of "Research funding per researcher", it even ranks first in Germany with €186,900 raised per researcher. A clear sign of the quality of our research and teaching. We are delighted with our excellent position in Germany's largest university ranking!
18th European Conference in Earthquake Engineering: Save the Date
We are pleased to announce the "18th European Conference on Earthquake Engineering" from September 14th to 18th, 2026. The German Society for Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (DGEB) has successfully brought this large conference to Germany.
Against the background of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, this conference offers an excellent opportunity for experts, researchers, and practitioners to exchange their latest findings and developments in the field of earthquake engineering and seismic-resistant construction.
Further information will follow soon.
More information
SMiRT28 Conference Announcement & Call for Abstracts
SMiRT 28 - 28th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology - from 10 to 15 August 2025 in Toronto
The SMiRT28 conference will deliberate ways of “harnessing nuclear technologies and innovation as a path to net zero by 2050” in Toronto, “The Nuclear Energy Capital” of Canada, home to two large multi-unit stations in North America, Pickering and Darlington and another multi-unit station in Bruce within 200 km of Toronto. In 2015, the province of Ontario has invested CAD 26 Billion in a 15-year program, one of North America’s most significant clean energy projects. Canada and the US have recently become the focal point of SMR activities. Given all of the above developments, the 28th SMiRT conference in Toronto, Canada, will bring the international community together to learn from each other how to enhance safety and security in the emerging SMR technologies, among other initiatives Canada has embarked upon, such as isotope production in power reactors, decommissioning projects, and the use of innovative technologies in the nuclear industry. We welcome you to SMiRT28 in Toronto and share your research and experiences in harnessing nuclear technologies and innovation as a path to net zero by 2050.
More information / submission deadline
8th VDI Conference on Structural Dynamics 2025: Save the Date
Earthquake-resistant construction - on 12 September 2024
The Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau will host the seminar " Earthquake-resistant construction" on 12 September 2024 in cooperation with the German Society for Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (DGEB). The seminar will provide a comprehensive insight into the basics of earthquake-compatible design and earthquake-resistant construction, from seismology to code-compliant practical implementation.
Contact person:
Ing. Nouman Elias
Mail: nouman.elias(at)bauing.rptu.de
Tel.: +49 631 205-4320
18th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (WCEE 2024)
The 18th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (WCEE2024) will be organised in Milan, Italy, from June 30 to July 5, 2024. International participation and contributions of both scientific community and practitioners will be appreciated, with a view to share knowledge and ideas in the field of earthquake engineering.
This event is expected to attract almost 4000 participants, from academic/research institutions, industry and the public sector.
World conferences take place once every four years in very different regions.
Date
Milan
June 30 – July 5, 2024
More information:
https://www.wcee2024.it/
SMiRT 27 - 27th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology
The SMiRT 27 in Yokohama Japan will discuss what is "Next Generation Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology" on the bases of lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant accident. It will be co-hosted by JASMiRT and Atomic Energy Society of Japan. Plenary lectures, special sessions, tutorials, and workshops will be organized to discuss this topic in addition to the regular sessions. The SMiRT 27 aims to bring together leaders, managers, engineers, plant operators, regulators and academia working in the field of nuclear technology to make greater contribution for achievement of higher reactor performance.
Dates and Registration Period
March 3-8, 2024
Registration Period: October 2, 2023 - March 2, 2024.
More information
https://www.smirt27.com/
SHIBATA EARLY CAREER AWARD
At SMiRT 27 in Yokohama, the Shibata Early Career Award was continued in honour of Prof. Heki Shibata. The aim of the award is to identify and recognise outstanding achievements by young scientists.
The ISC has selected six finalists for the Shibata Early Career Award.
Mohamed Zouatine, research assistant at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, received a certificate.
Training school Seismic hazard, fragility, and risk in June 2023
The Institute Static and Dynamics of Structures from the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität (RPTU) organizes a training school on seismic probabilistic risk assessment (SPRA). The school, tailored to Master, Ph.D., and postdoctoral students, takes place at the RPTU premises in Kaiserslautern from June 22nd and 23rd, 2023. The school focused on introducing the participants to the main components of the probabilistic seismic risk assessment, covering different topics from the whole SPRA chain, currently investigated within the METIS project.
Registration via mail to sdt.sekretariat(at)bauing.uni-kl.de
SMiRT 26 (10.-15. Juli 2022, Berlin/Potsdam)
The “Smirt 26” conference took a place from the 10th to 15th of July 2022 in Potsdam/Berlin at Kongress Hotel, which carried the topic of Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology. The conference was open to the public and roughly 500 people were present. Throughout the event, participants shared different thoughts and opinions about their ongoing research as well as the future of nuclear reactor technology.
Dr. Jörg Aign, Managing Director of TÜV Nord, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hamid Sadegh Azar, Dean of the civil engineering department at the University of Kaiserslautern, were the key components behind the success of the conference under the current circumstances of the pandemic situation.
Furthermore, Mr. Lars Heibges, a research assistant at the University of Kaiserslautern, won the early career prize called “Heki Shibata” for the best paper at the conference under the name “Methods for Simulation of Hard Projectile Impact on Reinforced Concrete Structures”. In addition, Mr. Lukas Helm, a research assistant at the University of Kaiserslautern, handled two presentations under the titles, “Analytical and Numerical Investigation of Ring Spring Dampers in Seismic Design” and “Design of masonry walls for the out-of-plane behavior under earthquake load”.
More information
https://www.smirt26.com/
Heki Shibata Early Career Award 2022
At SMiRT 26 in Berlin/Potsdam, the Shibata Early Career Award was continued in honour of Prof. Heki Shibata. The aim of the award is to identify and recognise outstanding achievements by young scientists. The ISC has awarded 3 prizes for the Shibata Early Career Award 2022.
1st Prize: Lars Heibges, research assistant at the University of Kaiserslautern
SDT AT THE 3RD METIS PLENARY MEETING IN ATHENS
The Department of Statics and Dynamics of Structures participated in the third international project meeting of the European research project METIS in Athens, Greece in June 2022. Besides the presentation of the latest research in the fields of seismic hazard, fragility and risk analysis, the current status of the case study was discussed. A hybrid case study is being conducted in which structures of the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant are being considered at a hybrid site in Tuscany, Italy. The event was followed by a two-day summer school with lectures and practical exercises on seismic fragility analysis.
More information (Link: Newsroom – METIS (metis-h2020.eu))
If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Contact: konstantin.goldschmidt(at)bauing.uni-kl.de
EARTHQUAKE RISK REPORT FOR THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG
In 2019, the Institute of Structural Analysis and Dynamics at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern participated in the earthquake risk analysis of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance. In cooperation with local and regional administrations, aid organizations, companies, authorities, and experts, a possible earthquake in the greater Cologne area was investigated.
Since earthquakes are local phenomena, the city of Cologne with the nearby Erftsprung was taken as the starting point. At a distance of 25 km from the city center, an earthquake of moment magnitude 6.5 is assumed and the short-term, as well as long-term effects on the region, are investigated.
The Institute of Structural Analysis and Dynamics participated in the analysis as an expert on the effects on the building fabric and critical infrastructure.
The full document is publicly available and can be accessed online at Drucksache 19/23825 (bundestag.de).
Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMiRT), 10 – 15 JULY 2022 in BERLIN/POTSDAM, Germany
BUILDING THE FUTURE ON 50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of International Conferences on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology
The future of mankind depends on a progressive energy supply. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of our conference series, SMiRT 26 is set to mark the beginning of a new era and will bring leaders, managers and engineers from around the world together to drive innovation for safe, reliable and efficient nuclear energy in the face of the global energy transition and climate change. The conference will make a significant contribution to the safety and reliability of nuclear facilities all over the world. It will also help to build, advance and retain scientific-technical expertise and to support young engineers and researchers in the area of nuclear safety. The Institute of Structural Analysis and Dynamics of the Technical University of Kaiserslautern is significantly involved in the organization of this conference.
Submit your abstract until 26 September 2021.
Further information can be found here.
Earthquake-proof construction
On September 17, 2019, the first seminar "Earthquake-proof Construction for Architects and Engineers" will take place at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern in cooperation with the DGEB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Erdbebeningenieurwesen und Baudynamik - German Society for Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics). The seminar provides a comprehensive insight into the basics of an earthquake-compliant design and an earthquake-proof design, from seismology to standard-compliant practical implementation.
Contact person:
Konstantin Goldschmidt
Technical University of Kaiserslautern
Mail: konstantin.goldschmidt(at)bauing.uni-kl.de
Tel.: +49 631 205-2932
Research project: Innovative methods for determining and reducing seismic risk in Rwanda (InnoRisk)
Innovative methods to identify and reduce seismic risk in Rwanda
The goal of InnoRisk is to reduce vulnerability to earthquakes in Rwanda by effective disaster prevention in order to sustainably increase the security of the civilian population.
This goal is supported by three main measures: The determination of the seismic risk in Rwanda using innovative methods (supported by the use of artificial neural networks/deep learning to evaluate satellite images), the development of innovative earthquake-proof construction measures and the development and introduction of seismic design guidelines.
By transferring relevant knowledge and experience from German earthquake safety research, know-how will be transferred to Rwanda and competencies will be developed at local authorities, scientific institutions and companies. As a result, Rwanda and Germany are assuming a pioneering role in the region with regard to innovative, earthquake-proof construction. The know-how created can also be applied in other regions that are confronted with similar challenges in terms of earthquake risks, associated with poor construction practices and materials.
The project is currently carrying out initial vulnerability analyses on buildings in Rwanda. This will include measurements, construction methods, materials used, and other parameters, as well as a quick assessment of earthquake hazards. The data will also be used for detailed vulnerability studies in the further course of the project.
48th Annual Meeting on Nuclear Technology (AMNT 2017)
16-17 May 2017 | Estrel convention Center Berlin, Germany
The AMNT is one of Europe's most recognized and best established nuclear technology conferences and a must-attend event for international experts and decision-makers working in industry, utilities, research and development, politics and administration. At the AMNT, a high-level forum for expertise and dialogue awaits you.
5th annual meeting of the German committee for steel concrete
We are happy to host the 5th annual meeting of the German committe for steel concrete (DAfStb) at our University. We aspire to make you participation in de meeting and your stay in Kaiserslautern as instructive and pleasant as possible.
You can find information about the meeting at www.dafstb2017-kl.de as well as in the flyers below.
(all information is in German)
Attendance: www.dafstb2017-kl.de/anmeldung
Flyer:
Participation in the Quake-Catcher Network
The Institute of Structural Analysis and Dynamics is now a member of the Quake-Catcher Network initiated by the Stanford University (USA). The network is a joint effort for developing the biggest interconnected system that measures earthquakes and vibrations. The Quake-Catcher Network strives to contribute to a better understanding of earthquakes. It is used for research, as a rapid warning system, support of existing emergency systems and disaster control and much more.
