Eng. Paolo Rugarli - Biography and curriculum vitae - structural engineering - structures design and verify

Structural engineer. Born in Milan, on may 17th 1963. He lived in Rome until the end of High School, then moved to Milan.

Graduated at Politecnico di Milano on July 17th 1987, 5 years degree in Structural Engineering, cum laude, with a thesis on "Mechanical and computational aspects of plastic fracture mechanics", developed at the Euratom Common Research Center of Ispra, supervisors Prof. Eng. Giulio Maier, Prof. Eng. Jean Donea.

Since 9/1/1987 to 12/31/1987 worked at research activities at Structural Engineering Department of Politecnico di Milano, as external (with Prof. Giulio Maier).

In 1988 attended compulsory military service.
From 1/1/1989 to 9/19/1991 was at Finzi Nova and Castellani consultant in Milan, working, among many others, at the finite element modelling of the Messina Strait Crossing cable Bridge (dinamic analysis and static analysis).

In January 1991 he set up, with Eng. Giorgio Borré - who left in 1995 -, the company Castalia S.r.l. which, from 9/19/1991, became the main place of his activity. He developed several softwares for finite elements analyses (including static analysis, modal analysis, response spectrum analysis, linear and noninear analyses, for very large-scale systems), using C language, first, and then C++ and Visual C++ programming techniques.

He focussed his activity in particular in design and development of CAD-CAE graphic interfaces, in research and development of 'objects' models, able to formalise and systemize heterogeneous and complex problems (such as, for example, steel joints, steel connections checking problem in steel structures). He studied and implemented steel structures automatic checking algorithms, according to many different codes (among others AISC, Eurocode, Indian Standard). Since 1991 all this work merged mainly into the finite element programs Sargon and CSE, diffused in all Italy, of which he is the Author.

Sargon (solvers and checkers) has been used, among several others, for example for the design and check of structures in Power Plants in Porto Tolle (Italy), Vado Ligure (Italy), Turbigo (Italy), Brindisi South and North (Italy), Takoradi (Ghana) by Enel, italian power-supply Company. Sargon copies have been bought in India (KEC International LTD) and Philippines (National Power Corporation). In Italy companies such as Enel, Ponteggi Dalmine- Gruppo Marcegaglia, TECHINT are Sargon users, among others. Sargon has been used by many experts in Italy to design and check many hundreds steel structures, in a time span ranging since 1991, to nowadays.

He personally set up finite element analyses of civil, mechanical and naval structures, among which, last in time order, static analysis of the Seabourn Cruise Ship Odyssey (design checks under hogging and sagging waves, departure and arrival conditions), which is 650 feet long, with a tonnage of 32,000 grt, vibration analysis of the Cruise Ship Silver Whisper (170 m length overall, 11 decks, 15,000 tons); design-wave analysis of the Cruise Ship Silver Shadow (200 m length overall, 13 decks, 18,000 tons); propeller-shell joint area finite element model of the same ship Silver Shadow, and more.

In year 2000 Mr Rugarli ended the development of software CESCO (Computer Education to Structural COnstructions), coproduced by Castalia srl and the Politecnico di Milano. CESCO, in several versions, has been sold to thousands Engineers in Italy. It has been used, and still is, as training tool for students in statics and design of structures at the Politecnico di Milano.

From a.y. 1999-2000 to a.y. 2004-2005 he was lecturer in statics and structural design at the II and III Faculty of Architecture of the Politecnico di Milano.

In 2001 set up, under commission of PROMOZIONE ACCIAIO, the software PAS2001, distributed in Italy (several thousands copies distributed). The same software was attached to Manuale dell’Ingegnere – Nuovo Colombo, 84^ edizione, Hoepli, Milano, 2003, a widely diffused Italian engineer guide, - together with a paper titled "Structural Software". This paper presented some hints that were later useful for Italian standards writers.

In Autumn 2003 published with EPC LIBRI, Rome, the volume "Calcolo Strutturale con gli Elementi Finiti - Una spiegazione di base del Metodo degli Elementi Finiti applicato alla ingegneria strutturale" (Structural Analysis with Finite Elements: a basic explanation). This book has been translated in English and published in May 2010 by Thomas Telford, London.

In 2005 published with EPC LIBRI, Rome, the volume "Analisi Modale Ragionata" (Reasoned Modal Analysis).

In September 2006 published with EPC LIBRI, Rome, the CD BOOK "Calcolo di Strutture in Legno (introduzione all'Eurocodice 5)" (Wood Structure Checking - introduction to Eurocode 5).

In march 2007 published with EPC LIBRI, Rome, the CD BOOK "Strutture in acciaio. La classificazione dei profili. Commento all'Eurocodice 3" (Steel Structures. Cross-section classification. Comment to Eurocode 3), development of a work published originally in 1993. This work has recently been published in English by Journal of Constructional Steel Research .

As already mentioned from March 2007 to August 2007 he set up the finite element model for the checks of the new Seabourn Cruise Ship , Odyssey (using Sargon and Nastran). The model had more than one million degees of freedom, and was controlled and accepted by Seabourn experts.

In March 2008 edited for EPC LIBRI, Rome, the volume "Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni" (Technical Standards for Constructions).

In April 2008 published with EPC LIBRI, Rome, the CD BOOK "Calcolo di Strutture in Acciaio" (Steel Structures Checking), with important proposals of re-writing of Eurocode 3 beam-column buckling test formulae, useful for by hand computation; a useful introduction to Eurocode 3; 100 test schedules and benchmarks of the same Code; examples to Eurocode 3, and more.

He is Author of several papers aimed at pointing out probelms in the application of technical codes, and meaningful proposals of re-writing of the standards, mainly in steel structures and seismic analyses fields. Among others he pointed out errors in load combination rules of Italian standards (g_q out of summation instead of g_q,i inside), and in sesimic input evaluation of recent NTC 2008 (discontinuity in the grid and related problems, the so called room effect).

He helped, as external expert, to write the Chapter 10 of Italian Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni 2008, mainly in the part prescribing cross-checks in strucutral models as was originally hinted in his original work Structural software published in Manuale dell'Ingegnere - Colombo - 84^ edizione, Hoepli, 2003.

In August 2010 translated into Italian the book "Designers' guide to Eurocode: Basis of Design", by H. Gulvanessian, J. A. Calgaro and M. Holicky, Thomas Telford, also editing for the Italian publisher EPC LIBRI the publication in Italian of the whole series (here is the link to the UK publisher related catalogue).

His current intersts deal with the steel connections, steel joints checking problem, and with the structural model validation, while keeping upgraded the software Sargon, mainly aimed at the design and checks of steel structures (linear and non linear analyses).

Last update: January, 4, 2012