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Laboratory of Experimental Strength of Materials and Structures

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About

The Laboratory for Strength of Materials and Structures is a sub-unit of the Division of Structures, Department of Civil Engineering, Polytechnic School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The Laboratory was founded by Royal Decree on 18-9-1957 in Volume A, Issue 185, of the Bulletin of the Government of the Kingdom of Greece. Professor George Nitsiotas served as its first Director from 1957–1976, followed by Professor George Lianis from 1976–1983. During the period 1984-2004, the Laboratory was overseen by the Director of the Division of Structures. Following that, Professor George Manos was the director from 2004 – 2014, while the current director is Professor George Manolis.

The Laboratory is the largest one in the Department of Civil Engineering with a floor area of about 2000 m2 and office space of 150 m2. During the last 15 years, more than 40 research projects have been carried out for a budget exceeding 1,000,000 €. The main focus is on evaluating the mechanical properties to both static and dynamic loads of materials, structural components and structural units. In addition, the Laboratory can issue certificates to interested parties as a service since it is accredited according to ISO 9001.

In terms of equipment, the laboratory has 15 testing machines of various sizes, 2 reaction frames, 6 actuators with their controllers capable of applying a dynamic force ranging from 100 to 2000 kN, a small shaking table and an overhead crane.

Certification

ELOT EN ISO 9001, TUV Hellas, 4-11-2019

Patents

Manos GC, Katakalos K, Kourtides V, “Construction structure with strengthening device and method”, European Patent Office, Patent Number WO 2011073696 (A1), 2011-06-23.

Personnel

  • Professor Emeritus George C Manos (gcmanos@civil.auth.gr)
  • Professor George D Manolis, Director (gdm@civil.auth.gr)
  • Assistant Professor Konstantinos Katakalos (kkatakal@civil.auth.gr)
  • Thomas Koukouftopoulos, Senior Technician
  • Dimitris Terpanis, Laboratory Technician
  • Dr. S. Pardalopoulos, Post-doctoral Associate
  • Dipl. Ing. Vladimiros Kourtides, Research Associate
  • Dipl. Ing. Lambros Kotoulas, PhD student
  • Dipl. Ing. Lazaros Melidis, PhD student
  • Dipl. Ing. Georgios Dadoulis, PhD student
  • Dipl. Ing. Kosmas Dragos, Visiting Research Associate
  • Dipl. Ing. Sofia Gkaraklova, Research Assistant

PhD Student’s

  • Dimitris Mpoufidis, 1990
  • Milton Demosthenous, 1994
  • Bilal Yasin, 1999
  • Jafar Thaoumpta, 2009
  • Vasilios Soulis, 2009
  • Konstantinos Katakalos, 2014

Retired

  • Dimitris Ritos, Electrician
  • Nafsika Selimoglou, Administrative Assistant
  • Loukia Kapetanaki, Secreteriat

Past Faculty Members

  • Thomas Valiasis, retired in 2009
  • Anastasios Sextos, resigned in 2019, currently Professor of Earthquake Engineering, University of Bristol, UK

Collaborations

The Laboratory has established over time research collaborations with the following Universities and Research Institutes:

  • University of California, Berkeley, USA.
  • University of Tokyo, Japan
  • Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Japan
  • EU Joint Research Center, ELSA Laboratories, Ispra, Italy
  • University of Aalborg, Denmark
  • Technical University of Athens, Greece
  • University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy  
  • University of Padova, Italy
  • Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
  • University of Grenoble, France
  • University of Liege, Belgium
  • University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

The Laboratory has undertaken contracted scientific projects for the following organizations:

  • Public Power Corporation of Greece, Athens
  • Greek Railways, Athens
  • Thessaloniki Harbor Authority
  • Hellenic Air Force
  • Greek Petroleum Corporation, Thessaloniki
  • Kleeman Hellas, Thessaloniki
  • The New Acropolis Museum, Athens
  • ENEA, Rome, Italy

Address

Laboratory for Strength of Materials and Structures
Department of Civil Engineering
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Panepistimioupolis Thessaloniki,
GR-54124, Greece

Tel: +30 2310 99 5809, -5665, -5653
Fax: +30 2310 99 5769