Department of Metal and Timber Structures - FCE

		VUT v Brně (Brno University of Technology) FAST (Faculty of Civil Engineering) ÚKDK (Department of Metal and Timber Structures) 662 37 Brno, Veveří 95 Czech Republic	česky
			English

Introduction

Content

     History of the origin and the development of the department
     Current personnel at our department
     Pedagogic activity of the department
     History of orientation of scientific activity of the department
     Current share of workers on scientific, professional and pedagogic profile of department

History of the origin and the development of the department

Educational, scientific and professional activities in the area of steel and timber structures were already developed at first decade of the existence of the Czech Technical University in Brno, especially in the section of transport structures and structures in the period after 1920, even though the department of appropriate of professional tendency did not exist till 1950.

In the post-war period after 1945 the area of steel and timber structures included two workplaces:

·

Department of Static and Structural Mechanics - leader Prof. Ing. Karel Šimek (assistant lecturers e. g. Ing. M. Lebloch, Ing. P. Vaculík, Ing. J. Bedáň and Ing. O. Holáň),

·

Department of Bridge Structures - leader Prof. Ing. Dr. Josef Sekla (instructors e. g. Ing. J. Chlup, Ing. F. Poledna, Ing. J. Alexandr and Ing. M. Šifalda).

In 1950 the Department of Steel Structures and Bridges was established within the frame of the Faculty of Civil Engineering. Prof. Ing. Dr. Josef Sekla was entrusted with the external leading of this department (instructors Ing. Dr. O. Holáň, Ing. F. Cehula and Ing. V. Novák).

In 1953 Prof. Ing. Dr. Ferdinand Lederer, DrSc. (1906 - 1990) was appointed the leader of the Department of Steel Structures and Bridges. He came from the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava to the School of Civil Engineering formed in Brno in 1951. In the following years, under his leadership, the tradition of systematic development and outstanding position of university workplace in the sphere of steel and timber structures was established both in this country and abroad. Since 1954 following workplaces have been incorporated in the organisational structure of Department of Steel Structures and Bridges:

·

Department of Steel and Timber Structures - leader Prof. Ing. Dr. Ferdinand Lederer, DrSc. (instructors e. g. Ing. R. Rus, Ing. J. Kohane, Ing. J. Lefner, Ing. M. Svoboda, Ing. V. Veselý and Ing. Z. Sedlo),

·

Department of Steel Bridges - external leader Prof. Ing. Dr. Josef Sekla till 1958, when Doc. Ing. František Procházka was appointed the leader of the department (instructors Ing. F. Cehula, Ing. V. Novák, Ing. J. Kohane and Ing. J. Bureš),

·

Department of Civil Engineering - leader Doc. Ing. Arch. Libuše Kostelková (instructors Ing. V. Hradilík and Ing. arch. M. Kebrle).

The structure mentioned above was kept even after forming Technical University of Brno in 1956. In the Faculty of Civil Engineering workplaces for structural mechanics and steel structures and bridges were fused in one organisational unit since 1957. The department was led by Prof. Ing. Dr. Ferdinand Lederer, DrSc. under the title Department of Mechanics and Steel Structures.

In 1960 a forming of independent organisational structure of Department of Steel Structures and Bridges was completed, within the framework of Faculty of Civil Engineering in Brno created by fusing of Faculty of Civil Engineering and Faculty of Architecture and Buildings. Prof. Ing. Dr. Ferdinand Lederer, DrSc. led the department (members of the department were Doc. Ing. F. Procházka, Ing. J. Bureš, Ing. M. Svoboda, Ing. V. Novák, Ing. Z. Sedlo and part-time duty Ing. J. Melcher who together with Ing. B. Straka completed the staff of full-time duty instructors in 1962. Prof. Ing. Josef Bužga (1910 - 1988) who entered Technical University of Brno in 1963, was appointed the leader of the department. Prof. Ing. Dr. Ferdinand Lederer, DrSc. led the Department of Steel Structures and Bridges from 1968 to 1971. The new leader of the department was appointed Doc. Ing. Jiří Bureš, CSc. (born 13. 5. 1926 in Rosice). Members of the department were Prof. Ing. Dr. Ferdinand Lederer, DrSc., Prof. Ing. Josef Bužga, Doc. Ing. F. Procházka, Doc. Ing. M. Svoboda, CSc., Ing. V. Novák, Ing. J. Melcher, CSc. and Ing. B. Straka. In the course of following years Ing. P. Kristián, Ing. E. Knesl, Ing. K. Sehoř, Ing. E. Špaček, Ing. M. Tenk, Ing. N. Machová, Ing. J. Uhlík, Ing. K. Sýkora, Ing. J. Pechalová, Ing. M. Karmazínová, Ing. I. Tutko, Ing. M. Bajer, CSc., Ing. J. Puchner, CSc. and Ing. M. Šmak were in the function of instructors. In 1988 the leader of the department was appointed Doc. Ing. J. Melcher, CSc. (born 14. 6. 1939 in Brno). In 1991 the title of the department was changed to Department of Metal and Timber Structures, keeping professional direction and staff corresponding with present personal staff of the department.

Current personnel at our department

Department Chair:

Prof. Ing. Jindřich Melcher, DrSc.

Department Secretary:

Alena Pálková

Faculty:	Technical personnel and lecturers of laboratories and test rooms:

Doc. Ing. Bohumil Straka, CSc., Ing. M. Bajer, CSc., Ing. S. Buchta, Ing. M. Karmazínová, CSc., Ing. M. Pilgr, Ing. J. Puchner, CSc., Ing. K. Sýkora, Ing. M. Šmak, Ph.D., Ing. I. Tutko, Ing. M. Veselka.	Eva Vejtasová Erich Mokroš Jan Vaverka Vladimír Zeman

The following members of the department belongs to our long period external associates:

Prof. Ing. Miroslav Škaloud, DrSc., Dr. h. c., Prof. Ing. Vlastimil Křupka, DrSc.,
Prof. Ing. Zdeněk Malina, CSc. a Ing. Antonín Pechal, CSc.

Additionally the department employees 6 students in the postgraduate study.

Pedagogic activity of the department

Personnel of our department provide the following courses at all other Civil Engineering departments of University of Technology in Brno excluding Dept. of Geodesy: Elements of Metal Structures, Metal Structures, Design of Thin-walled Steel Structures, Metal Bridges, Wooden Structures, specialised seminars, Studio Tutorials and optional specialised courses (e. g. Steel Structures of Multi-floor Buildings, Automatization Calculations of Metal Structures, Utilise Computer Equipment on Designing Steel Structures, Speciality Metal Structures, Selected Sections from Steel Structures and Bridges, Selected Sections from Wooden Structures, Design Automation Steel Structures et al.).

Our teachers lead students to an independent creative activity and to a systematic approach to engineering education, namely to integrating new pieces of knowledge and information into internal and external publications. The department also educate students for the ability to impart acquired experiences at national and international activities into their own scientific work (e. g. scientific experimental, project and expertise activity, participation on congresses and sessions, work in external private organisations, creating and reviewing of local and international technical documents etc.). Particularly important character of our current effort for a high level engineering education is an emphasise on (frankness and) communication skills in relation to external workplaces and institutions and also on necessity of incorporation of unfinished European harmonisation concept and philosophy of structures design according to unified technical documents in to our lecture system. In following term ESDEP (European Steel Design Education Programme) is highly beneficial. The programme was created with a support of west-European steel industry for need of universities. This complex educational system has been used at the department since 1995 when it was secured. The involvement of a few prominent persons of our science and professional field in the form of a long-term external pedagogical co-operation is also a worthwhile contribution for the quality and level of pedagogical activity of the department.

History of orientation of scientific activity of the department

The starting-point and conception of a nowadays activity of the Department of Metal and Timber Structures was established, determined and formulated by the work of Prof. F. Lederer at 50ś and following years. His research work was especially concentrated on problems of the stability of spherical grate domes, mechanic of lattice slabs and the field of space bar constructions in general. He was an initiator and a founder of the Czechoslovak school of lattice slabs and steel grid systems for large span roofing. Prof. Lederer is a designer of realised grate dome structures of pavilions Z, Y and C at the fairground of Brno trade fairs, roofing with system of steel lattice slabs over the winter stadium in Brno and Olomouc and swimming pools in Vimperk, Kuřim, Brno, Povážská Bystrica, Písek, etc. He also led a team of associates who worked out the project of festival cinemas in Karlovy Vary. One of the last realisation of his work is an unique design of lamella roof of a multi-purpose hall in Prostějov.

The orientation of the scientific work of the other co-workers is characterised particularly with relevant publications and topics of disputed state and department research assignments (the summary of these assignments till 1989 is in detail listed for example in Technický Zpravodaj (Technical Bulletin) "Ocelové Konstrukce" ("Steel Structures"), VÍTKOVICE, roč. 25, č. 2, 1989). In this period following research workers were concerned in the solution of disputed research assignments: Doc. M. Svoboda (Únosnost kulových styčníků (Load-bearing Capacity of Sperical Nodes) - 1965, Porušování štíhlých stěn (Thin Walls Failure) - 1973), Prof. J. Bužga (Optimalizace tvaru plnostěnných nosníků (Shape Optimisation of Plain Girders) - 1970), Prof. J. Bureš (Zatížení železničních mostů (Loading of Train Bridges) - 1965, Optimalizace příhradových mostních nosníků (Optimisation of Bridge Truss Girder) - 1969) and Prof. J. Melcher (Napjatost tenkostěnných prutů při kroucení (State of Stress of Thin-wall Bars under Torsion) - 1968, Stabilita ohybu tenkostěnných nosníků (Bending Stability of Thin-wall girders) - 1973, Vzpěr členěných centricky tlačených prutů (Buckling of Centric Loaded Jointed Members in Compression) - 1975, Pevnost a vzpěr svařovaných a bezešvých trubek (Strength and Buckling of Welded and Seamless Tubes) - 1979, Stabilita a mezní stavy tenkostěnných prutů (Stability and Limit States of Thin-wall Bars) - 1985) whose work is continuos till present.

During last decades, part of the research work of the department is subsequent development of the experimental research, which results from secular tradition evolved at the department research lab whose emphatic contributor was Doc. M. Svoboda at 60ś. Since 1980 Prof. Melcher has developed and applied an unique method of vacuum loading of construction parts that allows verifying of load-bearing capacity and failure mechanism of area-covering and bar elements from metals, timber, glass, composites and combined materials. Within the framework of the research projects that were solved by Prof. Melcher after 1990 (for example project GA ČR ref. no. 103/93/0181 with the title "Teorie, skutečné působení a metody navrhování kovových nosných konstrukcí jako báze harmonizace evropských a mezinárodních normativních dokumentů" ("Theory, Real Acting and Design Methods of Steel Load-bearing Constructions as the Base of the European and International Normative Documnets"), project GA ČR ref. no. 103/96/1673 with the title "Mezní stavy ocelových tlačených prutů při opakovaném namáhání" ("Limit States of Steel Members in Compression under Cyclic Load") and the last complex department research intention MŠMT ref. no. CEZ:/J22/98:261100007 with the title "Teorie, spolehlivost a mechanismus porušování staticky a dynamicky namáhaných stavebních konstrukcí" ("Theory, Reliability and Failure Mechanism of Statically and Dynamically Loaded Constructions")). He has further focused on problems of real actions of bars with imperfections, influences of the linkage resulting from the bar incorporation to the load-bearing construction system, deformations criteria of ultimate states and latest also on static analysis of the initial imperfections impact to stanchion strength of steel bars.

Current share of workers on scientific, professional and pedagogic profile of department

The orientation of the pedagogical and the scientific profile of all academic workers of the department is aimed at a wide range of steel and timber structure problems. However the pedagogical work and participation within the framework of project and expertise activity is oriented to the thematic ranges at a particular department workers. These thematic ranges are for example problems of metal structures (Prof. J. Melcher, Doc. B. Straka, instructors M. Bajer, S. Buchta, M. Karmazínová, K. Sýkora, M. Šmak, I. Tutko, M. Veselka), metal bridges (instructors M. Karmazínová, J. Puchner), timber structures (Doc. B. Straka, Prof. J. Melcher, instructors S. Buchta, K. Sýkora), steel-concrete composite structures (instructor M. Karmazínová), cold drawing thin-wall structures (Prof. J. Melcher, Doc. B. Straka, instructor I. Tutko, J. Puchner), information technology and automation (instructors M. Bajer, M. Šmak, M. Veselka), etc.

The scientific and research activity of the Department of Steel and Timber Structures of Civil Engineering Faculty of VUT in Brno, attested with disputed state and department assignments and grant projects that were solved by Prof. J. Melcher during last 25 years, is in long-term horizon oriented especially to the problems of the theory, real acting and methods of sections and segments design of load-bearing bar systems in a consequence to the matter of reliability and effectiveness of steel structures. His solutions of the case of stresses of thin-wall open cross-section bars under the torsion and problematic of bending stability (tilting) of the beams were used for formulation of appropriate provisions of the Czech and Slovak technical regulations for design of steel structures (ČSN 73 1401-1998 a STN 73 1401-1998). At the Department of Metal and Timber Structures he also maintained regional co-ordination of works of the authors from the Central and Eastern European countries when world survey of results in the field of stability of metal structures was published (A World View - Stability of Metal Structures, Second Edition, SSRC - Structural Stability Research Council, U.S.A., Lehigh University, 1991). The results of a principal theory development of designed ultimate limit states of load-bearing structures from deformations criteria point of view were presented at the prominent foreigner conferences (for example: Conference on Advances in Steel Structures - Hong Kong, 1996; Int. Colloquium on Stability and Ductility of Steel Structures - Nagoya, 1997; Annual Meeting and conference of SSRC - Atlanta, 1998 and Memphis, 2000; Engineering Mechanics Conference EM2002 - New York, 2002, etc.).

An important part of the scientific and research activity of the Department of Metal and Timber Structures is development and exploitation of experimental testing methods of load-bearing structures (the obtained results were collectively presented and published for example during international seminary "The Role of Large and Full-Scale Testing", City University, London, 1996). A creation of a Combined laboratory for load-bearing structure testing at the Department of Metal and Timber Structures of Civil Engineering Faculty VUT in Brno is a significant act of the latest period. The partner workstations of the laboratory are further the Department of Mechanic and Machine Parts of Army-technical Faculty of Army Academy in Brno and VÍTKOVICE - the Department of Applied Mechanic Brno, Ltd. Creation of the combined laboratory was initiated by Prof. J. Melcher who is also a chairman of its co-ordinative board.

The scientific and survey work of the Department of Metal and Timber Structures is traditionally supplied with expertise and critical activity, the concern on creation and revision of normative statements and co-operation on proposal and realisation of load-bearing constructions of momentous buildings. From this field of activity, where all members of the department are successfully involved, can be mentioned for example the realisation of BOBY Centrum in Brno, 1992; Planetarium in Brno 1994; Sport complex Panorama in Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, 1997; Administrative and control centre Jihomoravská plynárenská, JSC, Brno Radlas, 1998, etc.