Data Papers of the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA)

The purpose of this collection is to gather data papers, publications that describe datasets, from experimental campaigns carried out at the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) of the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra. This includes experimental campaigns from both the Hopkinson bar laboratory (HopLab) and the Reaction Wall facility. The described datasets are published in open access on Zenodo.

By centralising the papers, the collection enhances the findability of ELSA’s experimental research data, facilitates re‑use of high‑quality experimental data, and supports the EU’s policy of open science.

The ELSA Reaction Wall is used for tests on full-scale specimens for the safety assessment of structures against earthquakes and other natural and human-made hazards. It has been supporting research related to the structural/seismic safety of structures, including:

• reference tests on reinforced concrete buildings with and without infill wall panels;
• reference and pioneering tests on full-scale bridges, including irregular configurations, isolation and asynchronous input motion using the pseudo-dynamic method with non-linear substructuring;
• tests on models of parts of monuments for the development of assessment methods and protection techniques;
• reference tests on concrete-steel composite structures;
• experimental tests on fibre-reinforced concrete composite structures;
• reference tests on models representative of existing vulnerable structures for the development of conventional or novel techniques and the calibration of European codes for assessment, strengthening and repair;
• development of the continuous pseudo-dynamic method, allowing more efficient seismic testing of large-scale specimens;
• experiments on active and semi-active control of wind- or traffic-induced vibrations.

The ELSA HopLab facility is used for the study of materials and structural components to very fast dynamic loads. The HopLab facility includes the world’s largest Hopkinson Bar, extending for a length of more than 200 meters. Experiments at HopLab provide essential data for the design of structures under extreme loading.

Key research topics addressed:

• Dual-use (defence/security) applications;
• material/structural component testing at high loading-rate conditions (blast, impact) and high/low temperatures;
• security of buildings and protection of public spaces against explosion loads.

These papers collectively illustrate the breadth of experimental investigations performed at ELSA and provide a valuable, searchable resource for engineers, researchers and policymakers working on the safety and resilience of structures.

Collection advisors: Daniel A. Pohoryles (European Commission, Joint Research Centre), Simone Peloso (European Commission, Joint Research Centre), Marco Peroni (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)