Steel-framed buildings that survive an earthquake often cannot be safely reoccupied for weeks or months, and their damaged structural components are rarely repairable. The R4STEEL project aims to change that by developing steel structures designed from the outset to be repaired and returned to their original performance after a quake. Current seismic design focuses on preventing collapse, but it does not ensure that a building can be quickly reoccupied or that its steel elements can be reversed to an undamaged state. This gap means that even moderate earthquakes can render buildings unusable for long periods, forcing occupants out and requiring complete demolition. The project will develop and test new methodologies—combining analytical studies, numerical simulations, and experimental tests—for widely used steel structural typologies. It will also assess life-cycle costs and sustainability, aligning with the European Green Deal. If successful, the work could transform post-earthquake recovery for steel buildings, reducing downtime, waste, and reconstruction costs. The involvement of ArcelorMittal, a world-leading steel producer, increases the likelihood that these methods will move from the lab into real construction practice.
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Earthquakes are among the deadliest and costliest catastrophic events worldwide, devastatingly impacting people and their supporting structures. Consequently, to mitigate the seismic risk, recent research studies have demonstrated the benefits of innovative resilience-enhancing strategies to avoid the structural damage associated with extreme events. However, the development of structures able to quickly restore their initial performance remains an ongoing challenge, and the reversibility of the structural elements, even if only low or moderately damaged, is questionable. Hence, there is still a significant need for optimal solutions to improve the built environment regarding post-earthquake re-occupancy and functional recovery time. The R4STEEL project proposes a novel building-level framework to develop, analyse and compare innovative methodologies and structural technologies for the post-earthquake functional Recovery, Resilience, Reparability and Reversibility of STEEL Structures. The project's main objective is to develop several effective repairing and reversible methodologies for widely used steel structural typologies capable of always being returned to the initial level of safety and performance. The objectives will be consistent with the European Green Deal, having broader applications beyond the project's scope. The methodologies will comprise concept developments, analytical studies, finite element analyses, numerical simulations, experimental tests and Life-Cycle Cost and Sustainability assessments. The experience of the Supervisor, the excellent research facilities of the host institution (UCL), and the involvement of academic partners and a world-leading industry partner (ArcelorMittal) are key factors to ensure the completion of high-quality scientific research, excellent outcomes, completion of the project and the application of the results in practice.
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