Invited Seminar by Prof. Theodore Karavasilis

Abstract: Rapid deterioration of bridges has become a serious concern worldwide. This problem is mainly caused by increased traffic volumes, higher vehicle weight limits compared to those considered in the original bridge design, harsh environmental conditions, the use of deicing salts in cold regions, and insufficient maintenance. Among bridge components, bridge decks deteriorate more rapidly than other parts. However, repairing or replacing decks in steel–concrete composite bridges is expensive, time-consuming, and often leads to both direct and indirect socio-economic impacts due to traffic disruptions. One potential solution is the development of innovative bridge structural systems that allow for easy disassembly without reducing structural performance. Rapid bridge disassembly would enable quick replacement of damaged structural components, thereby extending the bridge’s service life while minimizing costs and traffic interruptions. For steel–concrete composite bridges, disassembly requires a demountable shear connector that allows the concrete deck to be separated from the steel beam without losing composite action. The process can be further simplified through the use of precast concrete panels connected with dry joints. This seminar presents an integrated experimental and numerical research program that developed a new type of shear connector. The connector is designed to promote yielding of high-strength steel bolts rather than concrete crushing, enabling easy disassembly while providing significantly greater strength, stiffness and slip capacity compared to conventional welded shear studs.

Short Bio: Full Professor of Steel Structures in the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Patras and Owner of a Structural Engineering firm with privately owned offices in central Athens. Prior to joining the University of Patras, he held academic appointments at Lehigh University (Post-Doc), University of Oxford (Lecturer), University of Warwick (Associate Professor), and University of Southampton (Chaired Professor). Fully active in academic administration (Director of the Structural Division at the University of Patras for more than 4 years), research publishing (published 70 journal papers and two books on design of steel structures), management of research grants (funding exceeding 3 million euros), teaching (undergraduate and MSc courses on steel structures), and research supervision (9 PhD students, 10 post-docs). Recent research on seismic-resistant steel frames has been implemented in the forthcoming version of Eurocode 8. He has carried out under his full responsibility (signature for permission for construction) the structural design/retrofit of a large number of new/existing buildings (in steel, concrete, timber, and masonry) and served as specialist consultant for few very large infrastructure investmens in Greece including logistic centers and steel wind turbine installations.