Sino-Italian Governmental Scientific Cooperation Project “Research on BIPV Photovoltaic Façades for Fire Spread Mechanisms, Structural Failures and Resilience Improvement Methodologies” (3FiRES) Successfully Launched in Hefei, China
The initiating meeting and implementation plan discussion for the Sino-Italian governmental scientific cooperation project “Research on BIPV Photovoltaic Façades for Fire Spread Mechanisms, Structural Failures and Resilience Improvement Methodologies” (3FiRES) was successfully held in Hefei, China, on February 25th.
The event was conducted in a hybrid format, combining online and in-person participation. Prof. Liang Yuan, Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the President of Anhui University of Science and Technology (AUST), led the expert panel as the group leader. Prof. Yao Fu, the Vice-President of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), attended and delivered an opening speech. The opening ceremony was hosted by Prof. Qing Li, the Deputy Head of the Science and Research Department at USTC. The project members of the Italian side participated online.
This project gathers outstanding young scholars from USTC and the University of Trieste (UniTS). Prof. Yu Wang from the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (SKLFS) at USTC and Assoc. Prof. Chiara Bedon, from UniTS, serve as the project leaders for the Chinese and Italian sides, respectively. The research team includes Prof. Jinhua Sun (China), Assoc. Prof. Min Li (China), Assoc. Prof. Alessandro Massi Pavan (Italy), Assoc. Prof. Vanni Lughi (Italy), Asst. Prof. Luca Cozzarini (Italy), Dr. Marco Fasan (Italy), and doctoral and master’s students from two Universities.
The project will undertake intensive multiscale experiments and high-precision numerical simulations, leveraging the platform advantages of USTC and UniTS. It focuses on the fundamental research and cutting-edge technological exploration of the fire spread mechanism in photovoltaic façades and the failure mechanism of structural glass to develop resilience optimization methods for fire safety of photovoltaic façade buildings.
At the meeting, Prof. Yao Fu extended a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the leaders and experts on behalf of USTC, assuring full support for the project's implementation, service, and safeguarding. He expressed best wishes for thorough communication and cooperation between the two teams, combining the strengths of fire dynamics and building structures to create new highlights in Sino-Italian cooperation and enhance substantial collaboration in the fire safety of photovoltaic façades.
Prof. Yu Wang, the Chinese project leader from USTC, delivered a detailed presentation on the project implementation plan, covering team members, project background, research objectives and content, research conditions and schedule, and expected outcomes and risk analysis. The expert group fully affirmed the overall implementation plan, offering guidance on task collaboration, integration of research resources, control of project milestones, and reference standards related to photovoltaic façades. Prof. Yu Wang appreciated the expert group for their precious suggestions, committing to implement the suggestions, deepen scientific cooperation, and advance project implementation.
Prof. Chiara Bedon, the project leader from the UniTS, presented online introducing the Italian research team and previous work on structural fire resistance experiments, numerical model development, and photovoltaic system safety. She looked forward to fruitful scientific achievements from the upcoming innovative cooperation in fire dynamics and structural fire resistance of photovoltaic glass façades.
The project advisory expert group was led by Prof Liang Yuan from Anhui University of Science and Technology. The members of the expert group include Prof. Hua Cheng, the former president of the Anhui University, Prof. Ping Lu, president of the Anhui Polytechnic University, Dr Qiang Lu from Ministry of Emergency Management of China (online), Prof. Wenguo Weng from Tsinghua University (online), Prof. Renming Pan from Nanjing University of Science and Technology, along with USTC's Vice-President Prof. Yao Fu, Deputy Head of the Science and Research Department Prof. Qing Li, Prof. Jinhua Sun from SKLFS; a total of more than 50 people participated the initiating meeting online and offline.
