Research and Development

MI-TRAP addresses urban air quality issues caused by transport emissions. It aims to improve the representation of emitted pollutants from transport sources by using innovative monitoring devices, data analysis, and management schemes.  MI-TRAP also focuses on assessing applied legislation and control measures through a toolbox of mitigating solutions.

Led by the National Centre for Scientific Research (Demokritos) in Greece, a consortium of academic and industry partners will quantify the impact of transport pollution on environmental and epidemiological outcomes. Case studies will be conducted in European cities including Copenhagen, Milan, and Zurich.

FINCON è Partner del Consorzio del Progetto HORIZON MI-TRAP

GREENVESTS aims to address the growing trend of sustainability and Natural Based Solutions in cities by focusing on the use of green walls technology. Steel is an ideal material for the structural components of green walls, offering architectural advantages. However, competition from materials like aluminium and FRPs, which are less prone to corrosion, poses an economic threat to the Steel Industry's market penetration.

To address this, GREENVESTS aims to provide the Steel Industry with the necessary information and design standards for structural parts of green walls. Research will be conducted to gather experimental evidence and formulate guidelines for seismic design, wind design, and corrosion design. The goal is to establish steel as the optimal material for green wall applications, gaining a dominant position in the market and ensuring economic benefits for the Steel Industry. This objective requires collaboration among various stakeholders, including the Steel Industry, green wall producers, architects, landscape architects, botanists, structural engineers, research laboratories, and institutions. By working together, the project aims to drive the adoption of steel in green walls, establishing its superiority through research-backed evidence and design guidelines.

FINCON coordina il progetto EU-RFCS GREENVESTS

Cold-formed steel is increasingly being used in logistics warehouses, where heavy goods are handled automatically on a 24/7 basis. However, fatigue-related problems are causing significant economic damage in these structures due to their “dynamic” and “consistent” loading conditions. It is noteworthy that European standards lack fatigue design concepts for cold-formed steel.

To address this industrial need, FASTCOLD aims to develop fatigue design rules for cold-formed steel structural details and classify them according to their fatigue strength, similar to hot-rolled steel in EN1993-1-9. Some of the studied details have general applications and are intended for Eurocode implementation.

FINCON ha coordinato il progetto EU-RFCS

The primary objective of LASTEICON is to reduce the excessive use of stiffener plates and welding in steel joints by implementing laser cutting technology (LCT). This project aims to significantly improve the efficiency and sustainability of fabrication processes, while enhancing the visual appeal of various steel joints. Special attention is given to I-beam-to-CHS-column connections, with the aim of promoting the use of hollow sections.

By leveraging their exceptional structural properties and aesthetic appeal, this approach aims to encourage decision makers such as architects and building owners to incorporate more steel products in the construction industry. Furthermore, the potential applicability of this solution to other construction scenarios, particularly steel truss girders, will also be investigated.

FINCON ha coordinato il progetto EU-RFCS

Automated Rack Supported Warehouses (ARSW) are the future of storage technology, providing substantial savings in terms of cost, space, and energy compared to traditional warehouses. However, designers currently refer to building codes without any control over their correct applicability to these peculiar steel structures. This creates important safety and efficiency problems because ARSWs’ structural characteristics are considerably different from those of normal steel structures for buildings.

The project will evaluate the safety level of the design concepts currently adopted in practice (in the total absence of specific design codes) and define dedicated design rules and recommendations for erection and design of ARSWs based on such analysis. In particular, attention will be focused on loading conditions that characterize the ARSWs during its installation and service life and on ductile design under seismic loading.

FINCON è stata Partner del Consorzio del progetto EU-RFCS STEELWAR; coordinato dall’Università di Pisa