Reaction Wall, ELSA

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.

Make a proposal

The ELSA Reaction Wall facility offers a program that covers together the following Training and Capacity Building topics:

1. Control systems for cyclic and pseudodynamic testing on large-scale structures.
2. Tests examples on 2-storey steel specimen setup (cyclic, pseudodynamic, substructured and distributed tests).
3. Support in the development of in-house control system for cyclic and pseudodynamic testing on large-scale structures.

The duration of the training program is 4 days (2 days may be provided online, focussing on the users’ research infrastructure). The training will be performed using specimens chosen by the JRC. JRC staff will operate the JRC research infrastructures.

Definition and conditions of access

Access to the research infrastructure is granted on the basis of User Stay Days.

A User Stay Day is a day of physical presence of a User at the concerned Research Infrastructure for Access related to the User Access Project. A User Stay Day counts as a registered entry to the JRC site where the Research Infrastructure is located

• Estimated total number of User Stay Days allocated to the call: 48, i.e. 12 users for 4 days
• Average number of User Stay Days per project: 12, i.e. 3 users staying at the JRC Research Infrastructure during 4 days, maximum 2 users per user institution.

Access to JRC Research Infrastructures under the present Framework is free of charge.

The training will be held in September 2023.

Travel and subsistence

The JRC may provide a financial or in-kind contribution to support Users to cover their costs of travel and subsistence (T&S) related to the User Stay Days, subject to the availability of funds, personnel and other resources to Users from User Institutions located in a country eligible for the Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence actions under the Horizon Europe programme.

Namely the countries are:
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and all Associated Countries with equivalent characteristics in terms of R&I performance (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Tunisia, Ukraine, Faroe Islands) and the Outermost Regions (defined in Art. 349 TFEU).

A User Stay Day is a day of physical presence of a User at the concerned Research Infrastructure for Access related to the User Access Project. A User Stay Day counts as a registered entry to the JRC site where the Research Infrastructure is located.

• Estimated total number of short-term User Stay Days eligible for T&S allocated to the call: 30
• Estimated total number of long-term User Stay Days eligible for T&S allocated to the call: 0

A short-term stay corresponds to a stay of up to 20 User Stay Days.

A long-term stays corresponds to a stay exceeding 20 User Stay Days, up to a maximum of 200 User Stay Days.

For more information on the support offered to users please consult the Rules on the contribution to travel and subsistence expenses of external users.

The Lead User is invited to fill in the User travel and subsistence form and send it to JRC-OPEN-HOPLABec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-OPEN-ELSA[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) by the closing date of the call. For more information the Lead User may contact the JRC Research Infrastructure at JRC-OPEN-HOPLABec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-OPEN-ELSA[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).

Intellectual Property Rights

In no case the Access shall be treated as granting a licence, assignment or any other form of permission for the Users to use JRC's pre-existing intellectual property without a strict written consent of the JRC. For more information, see the Framework for open access.

Eligibility criteria

• For non-nuclear RIs, the Lead User Institutions and User Institutions must be from an EU Member State, or country associated to the Horizon Europe programme. For nuclear RIs, the Lead User Institution and the User Institutions must be from an EU Member State, or country associated to the Euratom research programme.
• The scope of the training and capacity building for nuclear RIs must be in line with the activities defined in Annex I of Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/765.
• The User Institution must be from a university, research or public institution, or from a Small-Medium-Enterprise (SME).
• Ethical considerations in accordance with EU Law, in particular Art. 19 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, and applicable laws and regulations in the EU Member States.
• The proposal submission form is complete and complies with the instructions.

Selection criteria

The selection of projects will be made by the JRC with regard to selection criteria grouped in the following two categories:

• Quality of the consortium (30 points)
• Rationale (40 points)

How to apply

The proposal must be prepared by using the Proposal Submission Form.

During preparation of the proposal, applicants are encouraged to:

• Read the Framework of Access to the Joint Research Centre Physical Research Infrastructures for the purposes of Training and Capacity Building for Enlargement and Integration Countries.
• Read the Procedure for the submission and evaluation of proposals for Training and Capacity Building.

Contact the research infrastructure at JRC-OPEN-HOPLABec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-OPEN-ELSA[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) to assess feasibility aspects in case you request a topic different from the list of Training and Capacity Building topics for the ELSA Reaction Wall.

The proposal should be submitted to JRC-RI-TRAINING-CBec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-RI-TRAINING-CB[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) by the closing date of the call (CET time).