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Impact of Metro construction on the long term sustainability of a Metropolitan city: The case of Thessaloniki [International Seminar]

A special course is organised at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (March 15-22, 2014), in the framework of the ATHENS Programme aiming to provide the theoretical and practical background required for engineering students in order to gain an improved understanding of the financial, managerial and technical difficulties related to the construction of a new Metro system and its overall consequences to the city sustainability.APPLY: http://www.athensprogramme.com/main


Minimum year of study
4th year
Minimum level of English Good
Minimum level of French None
Key words Metro systems, sustainability, construction, building environment
Language English
Professor responsible Aris Avdelas
Telephone + 30 2310 995784
Fax + 30 2310 995642
Email avdelas@civil.auth.gr
Participating professors C. Anagnostopoulos, A. Avdelas, T. Chatzigogos,  N. Moussiopoulos, P. Papaioanou, K. Pitilakis,C. Pyrgidis, A. Sextos, K. Stylianidis, S. Tsotsos, A. Giannakou plus other non-academic experts
Number of places Minimum: 10, Maximum: 30, Reserved for local students: 10
Objectives To provide the theoretical and practical background required for engineering students in order to gain an improved understanding of the financial, managerial and technical difficulties related to the construction of a new Metro system and its overall consequences to the city sustainability.
Programme to be followed
4 morning lectures of 4 hours each and 4 evening lectures of 2 hours each plus 6 hours of site visit.

Topics of the lectures:

  • Overview of the Thessaloniki Metro Project
  • Social Impact of Thessaloniki Metro
  • Archaeological aspects
  • Urban railway systems – Basic characteristics of Metro systems – Metro systems in Greece
  • Thessaloniki Metro: contribution to the sustainability of the city agglomeration
  • Installation of mechanical equipment for operational purposes (to be confirmed)
  • Principles for the seismic design and vulnerability assessment of metro tunnels: The case of Thessaloniki metro line
  • Geotechnical problems related to tunneling and underground works
  • Innovative construction techniques of the Thessaloniki Metro
  • Environmental implications of the Metro construction (to be confirmed)
  • Soil-structure interaction aspects and Metro construction
  • Effects of Metro tunneling on the structural integrity of Thessaloniki monuments
  • ‘Hand-on’ training on Finite Element modelling of the superstructure-soil-tunneling system using the computer code ANSYS (application at the Computer Lab. of the Department of Civil Engineering).