Year-2018

Feburary 2018: AVEC BNT Project meeting in Hong Kong  

Qingjie Zhang went to Thei - Hong Kong in the context of the European Erasmus+ Project “AVEC BNT” meeting. The meeting is mainly related to the work plan of project scripts. several agreements have achieved with the project partners. A workshop with students was conducted afterwards. 

Year-2017

November 2017: Prix d’excellence ENOVOS for Master Thesis of Dany Pereira supervised by Prof. Schäfer

Master graduate Dany Pereira was awarded the “Prixd’ excellence” of the Fundation Enovos in Forum da VINCI Luxemburg for his outstanding thesis “Analysis and comparison of different structural solutions with regard to construction site organisation based on BIM 4D”. He received the honourable distinction “Trèsbien”. Congratulations to him! 

Dany Pereira studied engineering sciences at the University of Luxemburg and was graduated as “Best bachelor student” in 2014. Then, he attended the “Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto” for completing his Master degree but worked as a guest student on his Master thesis at the University of Luxemburg in 2017. Prof. Markus Schäfer advised him an interesting topic and supervised his thesis until summer 2017.
The “Prixd’ excellence” of the Foundation Enovos was awarded to six engineering graduates, among 23 applications, in order to highlight their final thesis. This prize mainly aims to enhance engineering sciences’ studies and professional careers in Luxembourg.

For more information (FR)

November 2017: Luxemburgish students participated in transnational teaching activity at University of applied science in Trier. 

Students from Luxembourg, Germany, Latvia and Hong Kong met in the context of the European Erasmus+ Project “AVEC BNT” for a transnational teaching activity week at University of Applied Sciences in Trier. Master and bachelor students from Civil engineering at uni.lu participated. The target of the project is the comparison of European and Chinese design codes for buildings. The students presented the results of their semester projects and thesis work. In parallel, a cultural program was organized.

November 2017: Construction site excursion in Kirchberg 

Together with guests from Hong Kong, Riga and Trier, the students of the master program in civil engineering at the uni.lu visited a construction site in Kirchberg, Luxembourg. 

We want to extend our extraordinary thanks to Philippe Zimmer and Julien Riedinger from CLE S.A. for their commitment and guidance!

July 2017: Schäfer selected as Vice Chairman of National German Mirror Committee for Eurocode 4, DIN-NA 005-08-99 AA "Verbundbau (SpA zu CEN/TC 250/SC 4)“, Deutsches Institut für Normung, Berlin / Germany

Prof. Wolfgang Kurz from TU Kaiserslautern (Chairman) and Prof. Markus Schäfer from University of Luxembourg (Vice Chairman) take over the DIN National German Mirror Committee for Eurocode 4. The previous chairman Prof. Gerhard Hanswille had previously abdicated due to his retirement. The future office will be shaped by the development of the second generation of Eurocode 4 and promises interesting tasks and discussions.

March 2017: Construction site excursion to “Hochmoselübergang” 

Students in civil engineering from uni.lu visited with guests from Hong Kong, Riga and Trier the construction site Hochmoselübergang in Zeltingen/Germany. What made this excursion particularly interesting is that, as of now, it is the largest construction site in Europe.

http://www.hochmoseluebergang.rlp.de/index.php?id=2

March 2017: Luxemburgish students participated in transnational teaching activity at uni.lu and BNT Trier

Students from Luxembourg, Germany, Latvia and Hong Kong met in the context of the European Erasmus+ Project “AVEC BNT” for a transnational teaching activity week at uni.lu and BNT Trier. From uni.lu master students and bachelor students from Civil engineering participated. The target of the project is the comparison of European and Chinese design codes for buildings. The students presented the results of their semester projects and thesis work. In parallel, a cultural program was organized.

January 2017: Luxemburgish building project receives Engineering Award from the German steel construction industry / Ingenieurpreis des Deutschen Stahlbaus

Prof. Schäfer participated in the conception of a constructive solution for a building that was to be erected right at one of the most buzzing points in the city of Luxembourg. His expertise in composite structures ensured an efficient solution for this site. 

https://www.bauforumstahl.de/immobilienprojekt-kons

Award ceremony (from the left): Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Hauke (Bauforumstahl), Philippe Zimmer (CLE gen.contractor), Reinhold Hettinger (Stahlbau Ziemann), Dr.Lars Pfeiffer (ArcelorMittal Construction), Dr.-Ing. Markus Schäfer (Uni Luxembourg), Antoine Pesch (Schroeder et Associés), Faiza Benyahia (Schroeder et Associés), Christoph Radermacher (ArcelorMittal Construction), Jürgen Simon (M3), Mathias Braun (ArcelorMittal Europe – Long products), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Feldmann (RWTH Aachen)

Year-2016

December 2016: Luxemburgish students participated in transnational teaching activity in Hong Kong 

– founded by European Union, Erasmus + Strategic Partnerships

Students from Luxembourg, Germany, Latvia and Hong Kong met in context of the European Erasmus+ Project “AVEC BNT” for a transnational teaching activity week in Hong Kong at Thei (Technical higher education Institute). Prof. Simon Wong (Thei, Hong Kong) and Dr.Markus Schäfer (UL) led the transnational activity week. In workshops, the students worked out differences between Chinese and European standards and presented the results of their work. In parallel, there was a very varied cultural program. www.avec-bnt.de

May 2016 : Visite du chantier Muse à Metz

Markus Schäfer, directeur des études pour le Bachelor en Ingénierie, filière génie civil construction à la FSTC, a organisé une visite de chantier du projet « Muse » à Metz en mai 2016. Ce chantier est l’un des plus grands projets privés en France, hors Île-de-France. Il s’agit de la construction d’un centre commercial de 37 000 m² de commerces (+- 100 boutiques), d’un ensemble de bureaux de 10 000 m², de 400 logements et de 1 235 places de parking souterraines dont 750 dédiées aux commerces. Situé dans le nouveau quartier de l’amphithéâtre, à proximité du centre Pompidou-Metz et proche de la gare de Metz, ce projet vise à devenir la référence dans l’Est de la France. L’entreprise en charge du gros œuvre est GTM Hallé, filiale du groupe Vinci Construction France.
We want to extend our special thanks to M. Christoph Mallé (GTM Hallé) and Mme Faiza Benyahia (bureau Schroeder & Associés) for their commitment and guidance!

website

April 2016: Erasmus+ project: students trip to Riga – transnational teaching activity week

Three bachelor students in engineering went to Riga Building College with Dr. Markus Schäfer for the Erasmus+ project meeting “AVEC BNT” which consists in comparing European and Chinese building codes. 

www.avec-bnt.de

Year-2015

December 2015: Excursion to the construction site “Galerie de Kons, Luxemburg” 

Focus on slim-floor construction and construction site management, organised by Dr. Markus Schäfer

Thank you very much to the team of CLE S.A. for the commitment and guidance!

January 2015: Official Start of new European Project

European project to compare European and Chinese building codes – AVEC-BNT
– founded by European Union (total 396.000€, for UL 186.500€)

Dr. Markus Schäfer initiated with BNT Trier and THEI Hong Kong a European founded project where he participates in an innovative teaching and research project to carry out a comparative analysis of European and Chinese building codes. Funded under the EU Erasmus+ programme, the project involves the University of Luxembourg as well as technical institutes in Trier, Riga and Hong Kong.

The official start of the project was organized with a press conference at BNT Trier. www.avec-bnt.de

Year-2014, 2013

April 2014: First commercial utilisation of new formwork system for the realization of encased composite beams 

Company CLE used first the new formwork systemdevelopedbyDr.Markus Schäfer (University of Luxemburg) and Doka

December 2013: proto-type of new formwork is tested

Dr.Markus Schäfer worked out the principle idea and developed together with the luxemburgish construction company CLE S.A.  and the world-wide biggest formwork producer Doka a proto-type. It was put to use for the very first time on a construction site in Luxembourg.

December 2013: Excursion to Arcelormittal factory Belval 

Inspection of Luxemburgish steel production and rolling, organised by Dr. Markus Schäfer
Thank you very much to Arcelormittal and Yves Conan for their commitment and guidance!

December 2013: Excursion to construction site “CFL-CRM” 

Inspection of construction site of a maintenance hall for trains, focus on steel structures, facade works and construction site management, organised by Dr. Markus Schäfer

Thank you very much to Julien Riedinger from CLE S.A. for his commitment and guidance!

Research & Technology-Transfer

The development of integral solutions for buildings regarding the structural design and execution will become more important in the future. The construction industry has to be prepared for upcoming changes concerning sustainable buildings. The focus of this research and development is on holistic solutions for constructions in steel and concrete, structural engineering and fire design.

In the research network with the INCEEN (Institute of Civil Engineering & Environment at the University of Luxemburg) and international industrial partners and research groups, the stability behavior, the ductility and the non-linear behavior of structures are the focus of our research activities.

Research in Composite Structure

The research intends to further evaluate the basics for load bearing and deformation behavior of composite structures in steel and concrete. In particular, the research findings will contribute to the development of new methods for redundant, robust and "smart" load-bearing structures and promote innovative structures to increase safety, sustainability and resource efficiency in construction.

The investigation contains among others the development of efficient structural elements such as hybrid and composite systems as well as dismountable and re-usable structural elements. The advantages of slim-constructions with large spans are in the economy of this structures, reduction in the demand for building materials, to gain floor space and reduction of the building volume as well as the impact of maintenance costs.

The demand of fire resistance is always directly linked to steel and composite structures. The fire engineering is often essential for structural design. Especially for steel and composite structures, this investigation becomes more important because of newer global fire concepts for buildings. These engineering methods give new possibilities and avoid expensive fire protection measures. The research is based on the determination of design procedures for structural components in case of fire. 

Research in Construction Methods

The decision to realize a project through a certain type of construction (steel, concrete, composite, prefabrication etc.) is not only defined by architectural and structural requirements but also depends on the construction methods. Often the execution method becomes a key-role in the decision-making process. The execution on building site is closely connected to the economy of the construction. Also, a reliable construction schedule is essential for the successful operation of a building site. Therefore, optimization of planning procedures and building site organization is a focus of the research:

• Analysis of production processes and improving construction methods
• Analyze the need for human and material resources
• Economization of building site installation and logistics
• Visualization of construction progress

Research Projects & Funded Projects

ECON4SD - Eco-Construction for Sustainable Development

Resource-efficient construction is environmentally and economically relevant. The reduction of the total consumption levels through eco-innovation in the construction sector is becoming more and more a priority. There is a great potential to improve recycling and to reach next higher level, the entire re-use of construction components. The demand for high flexibility, re-usability and resource-efficient construction orient the research into the development of modular and dismountable structural elements. Thereby new types of prefabricated hybrid elements in the steel-concrete composite will be explored to realize slim and resource-efficient components for slabs in multi-storey buildings, allowing large spans.
Feder-Project

European Mandate M/515, Member of Project Team CEN/TC250/SC4.T1 – Development of the second generation of Eurocode 4 for Composite Structures in Steel and Concrete

The Eurocodes (EC) represent European Standards (EN) for the structural design of construction works in the European Union, developed on behalf of the European Commission by the European Committee for Standardisation CEN. The Eurocodes (EN 1990 – EN 1999) enables the design of the building and civil engineering works and comprise ten standards in 58 parts. When they were published, prior to 2007, the first generation of EN Eurocodes was the most comprehensive and technically advanced standards for structural and geotechnical design in the world. Their development was a tremendous achievement and represented the culmination of over 30 years of collaborative effort. Their impact has been considerable. It has been estimated that they affect the work of around 500 000 professional engineers across Europe. The application of Eurocode has been expanding all over the world so that its significance as a worldwide standard work become more and more important.

Actually, the CEN defined project teams for the development of the second generation of the European standards.Targetofthiswork is:

-        Harmonization of structural design and technical specifications in Europe

-        Adaption to state of the art and consideration of new research results

-        Respondonsystematic review

-        Reduction in number of National Choices (NDPs),

-        Enhanced ease of use

Avec BNT – Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships

The Erasmus+ project AVEC BNT analyses and compares the European and Chinese building codes for reinforced concrete and composite structures. The acronym AVEC BNT not only stands for “with the Balthasar-Neumann-Technikum”, but also for: Analysis and Comparison of European and Chinese building codes of Structural design. This project lasts three years and is realized under special consideration of the Eurocode 2 (reinforced concrete) and Eurocode 4 (composite structures) by professors and students of the cooperating institutions. The start of the project was in autumn 2015.

The cooperating institutions (partners) are the Balthasar-Neumann-Technikum in Trier (BNT), the University of Luxemburg (UL) the Riga Builders College (RCK) in Latvia and the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) with their respective civil engineering departments. Since the end of 2016 the department of civil engineering of the University of Applied Sciences Trier (HS Trier) is also actively participating in the project.

SIMCO (Research Project Arcelormittal)

The intelligent construction alternative

An Objective Methodology for Assessing the Sustainability Impacts of Building Construction Solutions. Prof. Schäfers responsibility: Analysis and Comparison of different construction methods, schedule, logistics, resources etc., 4D-Simulation in BIM

Case Study for an office building with different structural solutions. 

Development of self-supporting formwork system to realize full or partial encased composite beams

Dr. Markus Schäfer worked out the principle idea and developed together with Luxemburgish construction company CLE S.A. and the world-wide biggest formwork producer Doka a proto-type with first utilisation on a building site in Luxemburg