Main objective The main objective of the Action is to increase the knowledge of the behaviour of constructions in urban habitat under catastrophic events, when exposed to extreme events arising from earthquakes, fire, wind, impact, explosions etc., in order to predict their response when both the applied loading and the inherent structural resistance are combined in such a way as to reduce the safety level below acceptable values, leading in some cases to a premature collapse. Secondary objectives – Advancing the state-of-the-art in the field of structural design of constructions by adding new information about the behaviour of structures under extreme load conditions. – Raising awareness of industry, research centres, engineers and competent authorities of European countries on the problem of safeguard of constructions from risk arising from exceptional events. – Improving the awareness of the operators listed above of the importance of using advanced technologies in the design of constructions against exceptional events. – Improving the average knowledge of practicing engineers about innovative systems of structural protection of new and existing buildings, so as to contribute to the development of specialised skills at the European level. – Allowing engineers to use simple and reliable tools for analysing and predicting the behaviour of constructions under extreme load conditions. – Setting out provisions for achieving adequate levels of safety at both the design and refurbishment stage taking into account the economic consequences of the design decisions. – Promoting the development and the dissemination of advanced, performance-based guidelines for the practical application of innovative technologies in the field of structural protection of construction under exceptional loading conditions.
