| DEM Based Approaches for Resilient Structures |
| Organisers: Nina Čeh, PhD, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Civil Engineering, nina.ceh@uniri.hr Maja Baniček, PhD, Croatian Centre for Earthquake Engineering, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Civil Engineering, maja.banicek@grad.unizg.hr |
| This special session explores emerging and advanced applications of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) in civil and structural engineering, with a focus on addressing the challenges of resilient, sustainable, and next-generation infrastructure systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, masonry structures, concrete and composite materials, fracture and damage processes, contact and interface mechanics, seismic and dynamic response, soil–structure interaction, as well as coupled DEM-based computational approaches. Contributions combining numerical simulations with experimental validation, data-driven methods, or digital engineering workflows are particularly encouraged. The session seeks to highlight how DEM and related computational methods can contribute to the future of performance-based engineering, hazard mitigation, and the development of safer and more adaptive civil infrastructure. |
| Heritage Values of Historic Masonry Buildings |
| Organiser: Marija Demšić, PhD, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Civil Engineering, marija.demsic@grad.unizg.hr |
| The assessment of historic masonry buildings calls for the combined knowledge of several disciplines. Classifying heritage values and interpreting specific damage patterns draws on the expertise of structural engineers, architects, conservators, restorers and other heritage professionals, whose perspectives together shape our understanding of a building's structural integrity, historical authenticity, artistic value and spatial functionality. This special session brings together prominent experts and heritage-management stakeholders from Croatia and across Europe to discuss how these values can be defined, recognised and protected. By uniting the relevant professions in a single interdisciplinary dialogue, the session aims to bridge conservation practice and engineering research, fostering a shared understanding among all members of multidisciplinary teams working on built heritage. A central goal of the session is to examine the various types of damage affecting both historic structural elements and artistic elements of outstanding value, while also creating an opportunity for networking and exchange between researchers and the wider heritage community. |
