The course strengthened the user’s capabilities and competencies with running and using a similar experimental facility at the Trinity College focusing on complex experimental research (sub-structured hybrid tests) on steel structures in the field of seismic performance and the wider structural dynamics field.

The ELSA Reaction Wall is a facility of unique dimensions and capabilities in Europe and worldwide, capable of conducting experimental tests on full-scale specimens for the safety assessment of structures against earthquakes and other natural and man-made hazards. By means of computer controlled hydraulic actuators it is possible to expose full-scale structures to loads of dynamic strong forces and control the resulting movements with high precision.

The JRC is opening its physical Research Infrastructures to users from EU Member States and countries associated to the Horizon Europe programme for the purposes of training and capacity building. Among JRC’s world-class experimental facilities with open access is the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) with its ELSA Reaction Wall and the Hopkinson Bar facility (ELSA-HopLab). Both structures are based at the JRC site in Ispra.