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The hot spots conjecture is only known to be true for special geometries. This paper shows numerically that the hot spots conjecture can fail to be true for easy to construct bounded domains with one hole. The underlying eigenvalue problem for the Laplace equation with Neumann boundary condition is solved with boundary integral equations yielding a non-linear eigenvalue problem. Its discretization via the boundary element collocation method in combination with the algorithm by Beyn yields highly accurate results both for the first non-zero eigenvalue and its corresponding eigenfunction which is due to superconvergence. Additionally, it can be shown numerically that the ratio between the maximal/minimal value inside the domain and its maximal/minimal value on the boundary can be larger than 1 + 10− 3. Finally, numerical examples for easy to construct domains with up to five holes are provided which fail the hot spots conjecture as well.
The aim of the current study was to investigate the performance of integrated RF
transmit arrays with high channel count consisting of meander microstrip antennas
for body imaging at 7 T and to optimize the position and number of transmit ele-
ments. RF simulations using multiring antenna arrays placed behind the bore liner
were performed for realistic exposure conditions for body imaging. Simulations were
performed for arrays with as few as eight elements and for arrays with high channel
counts of up to 48 elements. The B1+ field was evaluated regarding the degrees of
freedom for RF shimming in the abdomen. Worst-case specific absorption rate
(SARwc ), SAR overestimation in the matrix compression, the number of virtual obser-
vation points (VOPs) and SAR efficiency were evaluated. Constrained RF shimming
was performed in differently oriented regions of interest in the body, and the devia-
tion from a target B1+ field was evaluated. Results show that integrated multiring
arrays are able to generate homogeneous B1+ field distributions for large FOVs, espe-
cially for coronal/sagittal slices, and thus enable body imaging at 7 T with a clinical
workflow; however, a low duty cycle or a high SAR is required to achieve homoge-
neous B1+ distributions and to exploit the full potential. In conclusion, integrated
arrays allow for high element counts that have high degrees of freedom for the pulse
optimization but also produce high SARwc , which reduces the SAR accuracy in the
VOP compression for low-SAR protocols, leading to a potential reduction in array
performance. Smaller SAR overestimations can increase SAR accuracy, but lead to a
high number of VOPs, which increases the computational cost for VOP evaluation
and makes online SAR monitoring or pulse optimization challenging. Arrays with
interleaved rings showed the best results in the study.
The following article deals with the basic principles of intercultural management and possible improvements in terms of cultural, ethnic and gender diversification. The results are exemplarily applied to a bank located in Germany. The aim of this paper is to find out to what extent intercultural management could improve the productivity of Relatos-Bank in dealing with foreign employees or employees with a different cultural background. To achieve this goal, the authors con-duct a literature research. The main sources of information are books, journal articles and internet sources. It becomes clear that especially the different perceptions of different generations have a potential for conflict, which can be counteracted by applying presented scientific models. Equalizing the salaries of female and male employees and equalizing the rights and distribution of power could also be the key to becoming an open-minded, dynamic and fair organization that is pre-pared for the rapidly changing environment in which it operates.
The presented paper gives an overview of the most important and most common theories and concepts from the economic field of organisational change and is also enriched with quantitative publication data, which underlines the relevance of the topic. In particular, the topic presented is interwoven in an interdisciplinary way with economic psychological models, which are underpinned within the models with content from leading scholars in the field. The pace of change in companies is accelerating, as is technological change in our society. Adaptations of the corporate structure, but also of management techniques and tasks, are therefore indispensable. This includes not only the right approaches to employee motivation, but also the correct use of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. Based on the hypothesis put forward by the scientist and researcher Rollinson in his book “Organisational behaviour and analysis” that managers believe motivational resources are available at all times, socio-economic and economic psychological theories are contrasted here in order to critically examine this statement. In addition, a fictitious company was created as a model for this work in order to illustrate the effects of motivational deficits in practice. In this context, the theories presented are applied to concrete problems within the model and conclusions are drawn about their influence and applicability. This led to the conclusion that motivation is a very individual challenge for each employee, which requires adapted and personalised approaches. On the other hand, the recommendations for action for supervisors in the case of motivation deficits also cannot be answered in a blanket manner, but can only be solved with the help of professional, expert-supported processing due to the economic-psychological realities of motivation. Identifying, analysing and remedying individual employee motivation deficits is, according to the authors, a problem and a challenge of great importance, especially in the context of rapidly changing ecosystems in modern companies, as motivation also influences other factors such as individual productivity. The authors therefore conclude that good motivation through the individual and customised promotion and further training of employees is an important point for achieving important corporate goals in order to remain competitive on the one hand and to create a productive and pleasant working environment on the other.
The minimum dissipation requirement of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes is applied to characterize the existence of laminar and non-laminar, and the co-existence of laminar and turbulent flow zones. Local limitations of the different zones and three different forms of transition are defined. For the Couette flow a non-local “corpuscular” flow mechanism explains the logarithmic law-of-the-wall, maximum turbulent dimensions and a value x=0,415 for the v. Kármán constant. Limitations of the logarithmic law near the wall and in the centre of the experiment are interpreted.
Development of open educational resources for renewable energy and the energy transition process
(2021)
The dissemination of knowledge about renewable energies is understood as a social task with the highest topicality. The transfer of teaching content on renewable energies into digital open educational resources offers the opportunity to significantly accelerate the implementation of the energy transition. Thus, in the here presented project six German universities create open educational resources for the energy transition. These materials are available to the public on the internet under a free license. So far there has been no publicly accessible, editable media that cover entire learning units about renewable energies extensively and in high technical quality. Thus, in this project, the content that remains up-to-date for a longer period is appropriately prepared in terms of media didactics. The materials enable lecturers to provide students with in-depth training about technologies for the energy transition. In a particular way, the created material is also suitable for making the general public knowledgeable about the energy transition with scientifically based material.
Motile cilia are hair-like cell extensions present in multiple organs of the body. How cilia coordinate their regular beat in multiciliated epithelia to move fluids remains insufficiently understood, particularly due to lack of rigorous quantification. We combine here experiments, novel analysis tools, and theory to address this knowledge gap. We investigate collective dynamics of cilia in the zebrafish nose, due to its conserved properties with other ciliated tissues and its superior accessibility for non-invasive imaging. We revealed that cilia are synchronized only locally and that the size of local synchronization domains increases with the viscosity of the surrounding medium. Despite the fact that synchronization is local only, we observed global patterns of traveling metachronal waves across the multiciliated epithelium. Intriguingly, these global wave direction patterns are conserved across individual fish, but different for left and right nose, unveiling a chiral asymmetry of metachronal coordination. To understand the implications of synchronization for fluid pumping, we used a computational model of a regular array of cilia. We found that local metachronal synchronization prevents steric collisions and improves fluid pumping in dense cilia carpets, but hardly affects the direction of fluid flow. In conclusion, we show that local synchronization together with tissue-scale cilia alignment are sufficient to generate metachronal wave patterns in multiciliated epithelia, which enhance their physiological function of fluid pumping.
Achilles tendon rupture (ATR) patients have persistent functional deficits in the triceps surae muscle–tendon unit (MTU). The complex remodeling of the MTU accompanying these deficits remains poorly understood. The purpose of the present study was to associate in vivo and in silico data to investigate the relations between changes inMTU properties and strength deficits inATR patients. Methods: Elevenmale subjects who had undergone surgical repair of complete unilateral ATR were examined 4.6 ± 2.0 (mean ± SD) yr after rupture. Gastrocnemius medialis (GM) tendon stiffness, morphology, and muscle architecture were determined using ultrasonography. The force–length relation of the plantar flexor muscles was assessed at five ankle joint angles. In addition, simulations (OpenSim) of the GM MTU force–length properties were performed with various iterations of MTU properties found between the unaffected and the affected side. Results: The affected side of the patients displayed a longer, larger, and stiffer GM tendon (13% ± 10%, 105% ± 28%, and 54% ± 24%, respectively) compared with the unaffected side. The GM muscle fascicles of the affected side were shorter (32% ± 12%) and with greater pennation angles (31% ± 26%). A mean deficit in plantarflexion moment of 31% ± 10% was measured. Simulations indicate that pairing an intact muscle with a longer tendon shifts the optimal angular range of peak force outside physiological angular ranges, whereas the shorter muscle fascicles and tendon stiffening seen in the affected side decrease this shift, albeit incompletely. Conclusions: These results suggest that the substantial changes in MTU properties found in ATR patients may partly result from compensatory remodeling, although this process appears insufficient to fully restore muscle function.
Performing tasks, such as running and jumping, requires activation of the agonist and antagonist muscles before (motor unit pre-activation) and during movement performance (Santello and Mcdonagh, 1998). A well-timed and regulated muscle activation elicits a stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) response, naturally occurring in bouncing movements (Ishikawa and Komi, 2004; Taube et al., 2012). By definition, the SSC describes the stretching of a pre-activated muscle-tendon complex immediately followed by a muscle shortening in the concentric push-off phase (Komi, 1984).
Given the importance of SSC actions for human movement, it is not surprising that many studies investigated the biomechanics of this phenomenon; in particular, drop jumps (DJs) represent a good paradigm to study muscle fascicle and tendon behavior in ballistic movements involving the SSC.
Within a DJ, three main phases [pre-activation, braking, and push-off (PO; Komi, 2000)] have been recognized and extensively studied in common and challenging conditions, such as changes in load, falling height, or simulated hypo-gravity (Avela et al., 1994; Arampatzis et al., 2001; Fukashiro et al., 2005; Ishikawa et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007; Ritzmann et al., 2016; Helm et al., 2020).
These studies show that the timing and amount of triceps-surae muscle-tendon unit pre-activation in DJs are differentially regulated based on the load applied to the muscle, being optimal in normal “Earth” gravity conditions (Avela et al., 1994), but decreased in simulated hypo-gravity, hyper-gravity (Avela et al., 1994; Ritzmann et al., 2016), or unknown conditions (i.e., unknown falling heights; Helm et al., 2020). Some authors indicated that, when falling from heights different from the optimal one [defined as the drop height giving a maximum DJ performance indicated as peak ground reaction force (GRF) or jump high], electromyographic (EMG) activity of the plantar flexors increases from lower than optimal to higher than optimal heights (Ishikawa and Komi, 2004; Sousa et al., 2007).
These findings highlight the ability of the central nervous system to regulate the timing and amount of pre-activation according to different jumping conditions, thus regulating muscle fascicle length, tendon and joint stiffness as well as position, in order to safely land on the ground and quickly re-bounce.
Similarly, to pre-activation, also in the braking phase, the plantar flexors are differentially regulated. In optimal height (i.e., load) jumping conditions, gastrocnemius medialis (GM) fascicles shorten at early ground contact (possibly due to the intervention of the stretch reflex; Gollhofer et al., 1992) and behave quasi-isometrically in the late braking phase, enabling tendon elongation, and storage of elastic energy (Gollhofer et al., 1992; Fukashiro et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007). When increasing the falling height (augmenting the impact GRF), the quasi-isometric behavior of fascicles disappears, and fast fascicle lengthening occurs (Ishikawa et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007).
In the third and last PO phase, fascicles shorten and the tendon releases the elastic energy previously stored. Bobbert et al. (1987) reported no influence of jumping height on the work done and on the net vertical impulse assessed during PO; this observation suggests that, despite an optimal DJ performance might be achieved only in specific conditions (falling heights, loads), the central nervous system seems to be able to regulate muscle behavior in order to effectively perform the required task also in challenging situations.
Although the regulation of triceps-surae muscle-tendon unit in DJs has been extensively investigated, very few studies focused on sarcomeres behavior during the performance of this SSC movement (Kurokawa et al., 2003; Fukashiro et al., 2005, 2006). Sarcomeres represent muscle contractile units and are known to express different amounts of force depending on their length (Gordon et al., 1966; Walker and Schrodt, 1974); thus, understanding the time course of their responses during DJs is fundamental to gain further insights into muscle force-generating capacity. In vivo measurement of sarcomere length in humans has been so far been performed only in static positions and under highly controlled experimental conditions (Llewellyn et al., 2008; Sanchez et al., 2015). Instead, human sarcomere length estimation (achieved by dividing GM measured fascicle length for a fixed sarcomere number) in dynamic contractions provided an indirect measure of sarcomere operating range during squat jump, countermovement jump, and DJ (Fukashiro et al., 2005, 2006; Kurokawa et al., 2003). The results of these studies showed that sarcomeres operate in the ascending limb of their length-tension (L-T) relationship in all types of jumps, and particularly so in DJ.
However, most of the available observations on sarcomere and muscle fascicle behavior were made in condition of constant gravity. Thus, in order to understand how sarcomere and muscle fascicle length are regulated in variable gravity conditions, we performed experiments in a parabolic flight, involving variable gravity levels, ranging from about zero-g to about double the Earth’s gravity (1 g; Waldvogel et al., 2021).
Specifically, the aims of the present study were as follows:
1. To investigate the ability of the neuromuscular system in regulating fascicle length in response to conditions of variable gravity.
2. To estimate sarcomere operative length in the different DJ phases, in order to calculate its theoretical force production and its possible modulation in conditions of variable gravity.
We hypothesized that muscle fascicles would be differentially regulated in different gravity conditions compared to 1 g, particularly in anticipation of landing and re-bouncing in unknown gravity levels. In addition, we hypothesized that sarcomeres would operate in the upper part of the ascending limb of their L-T relationship, possibly lengthening during the braking phase (especially in hyper-gravity) while operating quasi-isometrically in 1 g.
The compliant nature of distal limb muscle-tendon units is traditionally considered suboptimal in explosive movements when positive joint work is required. However, during accelerative running, ankle joint net mechanical work is positive. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how plantar flexor muscle-tendon behavior is modulated during fast accelerations. Eleven female sprinters performed maximum sprint accelerations from starting blocks, while gastrocnemius muscle fascicle lengths were estimated using ultrasonography. We combined motion analysis and ground reaction force measurements to assess lower limb joint kinematics and kinetics, and to estimate gastrocnemius muscle-tendon unit length during the first two acceleration steps. Outcome variables were resampled to the stance phase and averaged across three to five trials. Relevant scalars were extracted and analyzed using one-sample and two-sample t-tests, and vector trajectories were compared using statistical parametric mapping. We found that an uncoupling of muscle fascicle behavior from muscle-tendon unit behavior is effectively used to produce net positive mechanical work at the joint during maximum sprint acceleration. Muscle fascicles shortened throughout the first and second steps, while shortening occurred earlier during the first step, where negative joint work was lower compared with the second step. Elastic strain energy may be stored during dorsiflexion after touchdown since fascicles did not lengthen at the same time to dissipate energy. Thus, net positive work generation is accommodated by the reuse of elastic strain energy along with positive gastrocnemius fascicle work. Our results show a mechanism of how muscles with high in-series compliance can contribute to net positive joint work.
The international partnership of space agencies has agreed to proceed forward to the Moon sustainably. Activities on the Lunar surface (0.16 g) will allow crewmembers to advance the exploration skills needed when expanding human presence to Mars (0.38 g). Whilst data from actual hypogravity activities are limited to the Apollo missions, simulation studies have indicated that ground reaction forces, mechanical work, muscle activation, and joint angles decrease with declining gravity level. However, these alterations in locomotion biomechanics do not necessarily scale to the gravity level, the reduction in gastrocnemius medialis activation even appears to level off around 0.2 g, while muscle activation pattern remains similar. Thus, it is difficult to predict whether gastrocnemius medialis contractile behavior during running on Moon will basically be the same as on Mars. Therefore, this study investigated lower limb joint kinematics and gastrocnemius medialis behavior during running at 1 g, simulated Martian gravity, and simulated Lunar gravity on the vertical treadmill facility. The results indicate that hypogravity-induced alterations in joint kinematics and contractile behavior still persist between simulated running on the Moon and Mars. This contrasts with the concept of a ceiling effect and should be carefully considered when evaluating exercise prescriptions and the transferability of locomotion practiced in Lunar gravity to Martian gravity.
Rehabilitative body weight supported gait training aims at restoring walking function as a key element in activities of daily living. Studies demonstrated reductions in muscle and joint forces, while kinematic gait patterns appear to be preserved with up to 30% weight support. However, the influence of body weight support on muscle architecture, with respect to fascicle and series elastic element behavior is unknown, despite this having potential clinical implications for gait retraining. Eight males (31.9 ± 4.7 years) walked at 75% of the speed at which they typically transition to running, with 0% and 30% body weight support on a lower-body positive pressure treadmill. Gastrocnemius medialis fascicle lengths and pennation angles were measured via ultrasonography. Additionally, joint kinematics were analyzed to determine gastrocnemius medialis muscle–tendon unit lengths, consisting of the muscle's contractile and series elastic elements. Series elastic element length was assessed using a muscle–tendon unit model. Depending on whether data were normally distributed, a paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed to determine if body weight supported walking had any effects on joint kinematics and fascicle–series elastic element behavior. Walking with 30% body weight support had no statistically significant effect on joint kinematics and peak series elastic element length. Furthermore, at the time when peak series elastic element length was achieved, and on average across the entire stance phase, muscle–tendon unit length, fascicle length, pennation angle, and fascicle velocity were unchanged with respect to body weight support. In accordance with unchanged gait kinematics, preservation of fascicle–series elastic element behavior was observed during walking with 30% body weight support, which suggests transferability of gait patterns to subsequent unsupported walking.
The worldwide Corona pandemic has severely restricted student projects in the higher semesters of engineering courses. In order not to delay the graduation, a new concept had to be developed for projects under lockdown conditions. Therefore, unused rooms at the university should be digitally recorded in order to develop a new usage concept as laboratory rooms. An inventory of the actual state of the rooms was done first by taking photos and listing up all flaws and peculiarities. After that, a digital site measuring was done with a 360° laser scanner and these recorded scans were linked to a coherent point cloud and transferred to a software for planning technical building services and supporting Building Information Modelling (BIM). In order to better illustrate the difference between the actual and target state, two virtual reality models were created for realistic demonstration. During the project, the students had to go through the entire digital planning phases. Technical specifications had to be complied with, as well as documentation, time planning and cost estimate. This project turned out to be an excellent alternative to on-site practical training under lockdown conditions and increased the students’ motivation to deal with complex technical questions.
In the context of the Corona pandemic and its impact on teaching like digital lectures and exercises a new concept especially for freshmen in demanding courses of Smart Building Engineering became necessary. As there were hardly any face-to-face events at the university, the new teaching concept should enable a good start into engineering studies under pandemic conditions anyway and should also replace the written exam at the end. The students should become active themselves in small teams instead of listening passively to a lecture broadcast online with almost no personal contact. For this purpose, a role play was developed in which the freshmen had to work out a complete solution to the realistic problem of designing, construction planning and implementing a small guesthouse. Each student of the team had to take a certain role like architect, site manager, BIM-manager, electrician and the technitian for HVAC installations. Technical specifications must be complied with, as well as documentation, time planning and cost estimate. The final project folder had to contain technical documents like circuit diagrams for electrical components, circuit diagrams for water and heating, design calculations and components lists. On the other hand construction schedule, construction implementation plan, documentation of the construction progress and minutes of meetings between the various trades had to be submitted as well. In addition to the project folder, a model of the construction project must also be created either as a handmade model or as a digital 3D-model using Computer-aided design (CAD) software. The first steps in the field of Building information modelling (BIM) had also been taken by creating a digital model of the building showing the current planning status in real time as a digital twin. This project turned out to be an excellent training of important student competencies like teamwork, communication skills, and self -organisation and also increased motivation to work on complex technical questions. The aim of giving the student a first impression on the challenges and solutions in building projects with many different technical trades and their points of view was very well achieved and should be continued in the future.
Even though BIM (Building Information Modelling) is successfully implemented in most of the world, it is still in the early stages in Germany, since the stakeholders are sceptical of its reliability and efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the opportunities and obstacles to implementing BIM for prefabrication. Among all other advantages of BIM, prefabrication is chosen for this paper because it plays a vital role in creating an impact on the time and cost factors of a construction project. The project stakeholders and participants can explicitly observe the positive impact of prefabrication, which enables the breakthrough of the scepticism factor among the small-scale construction companies. The analysis consists of the development of a process workflow for implementing prefabrication in building construction followed by a practical approach, which was executed with two case studies. It was planned in such a way that, the first case study gives a first-hand experience for the workers at the site on the BIM model so that they can make much use of the created BIM model, which is a better representation compared to the traditional 2D plan. The main aim of the first case study is to create a belief in the implementation of BIM Models, which was succeeded by the execution of offshore prefabrication in the second case study. Based on the case studies, the time analysis was made and it is inferred that the implementation of BIM for prefabrication can reduce construction time, ensures minimal wastes, better accuracy, less problem-solving at the construction site. It was observed that this process requires more planning time, better communication between different disciplines, which was the major obstacle for successful implementation. This paper was carried out from the perspective of small and medium-sized mechanical contracting companies for the private building sector in Germany.
Urban farming is an innovative and sustainable way of food production and is becoming more and more important in smart city and quarter concepts. It also enables the production of certain foods in places where they usually dare not produced, such as production of fish or shrimps in large cities far away from the coast. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to show students such concepts and systems in real life as part of courses: visits of such industry plants are sometimes not possible because of distance or are permitted by the operator for hygienic reasons. In order to give the students the opportunity of getting into contact with such an urban farming system and its complex operation, an industrial urban farming plant was set up on a significantly smaller scale. Therefore, all needed technical components like water aeriation, biological and mechanical filtration or water circulation have been replaced either by aquarium components or by self-designed parts also using a 3D-printer. Students from different courses like mechanical engineering, smart building engineering, biology, electrical engineering, automation technology and civil engineering were involved in this project. This “miniature industrial plant” was also able to start operation and has now been running for two years successfully. Due to Corona pandemic, home office and remote online lectures, the automation of this miniature plant should be brought to a higher level in future for providing a good control over the system and water quality remotely. The aim of giving the student a chance to get to know the operation of an urban farming plant was very well achieved and the students had lots of fun in “playing” and learning with it in a realistic way.
In addition to electromobility and alternative drive systems, a focus is set on electrically driven compressors (EDC), with a high potential for increasing the efficiency of internal combustion engines (ICE) and fuel cells [01]. The primary objective is to increase the ICE torque, provided independently of the ICE speed by compressing the intake air and consequently the ICE filling level supported by the compressor. For operation independent from the ICE speed, the EDC compressor is decoupled from the turbine by using an electric compressor motor (CM) instead of the turbine. ICE performances can be increased by the use of EDC where individual compressor parameters are adapted to the respective application area [02] [03]. This task contains great challenges, increased by demands with regard to pollutant reduction while maintaining constant performance and reduced fuel consumption. The FH-Aachen is equipped with an EDC test bench which enables EDC-investigations in various configurations and operating modes. Characteristic properties of different compressors can be determined, which build the basis for a comparison methodology. Subject of this project is the development of a comparison methodology for EDC with an associated evaluation method and a defined overall evaluation method. For the application of this comparison methodology, corresponding series of measurements are carried out on the EDC test bench using an appropriate test device.
In this paper we report on CO2 Meter, a do-it-yourself carbon dioxide measuring device for the classroom. Part of the current measures for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is proper ventilation in indoor settings. This is especially important in schools with students coming back to the classroom even with high incidents rates. Static ventilation patterns do not consider the individual situation for a particular class. Influencing factors like the type of activity, the physical structure or the room occupancy are not incorporated. Also, existing devices are rather expensive and often provide only limited information and only locally without any networking. This leaves the potential of analysing the situation across different settings untapped. Carbon dioxide level can be used as an indicator of air quality, in general, and of aerosol load in particular. Since, according to the latest findings, SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted primarily in the form of aerosols, carbon dioxide may be used as a proxy for the risk of a virus infection. Hence, schools could improve the indoor air quality and potentially reduce the infection risk if they actually had measuring devices available in the classroom. Our device supports schools in ventilation and it allows for collecting data over the Internet to enable a detailed data analysis and model generation. First deployments in schools at different levels were received very positively. A pilot installation with a larger data collection and analysis is underway.
Past earthquakes demonstrated the high vulnerability of industrial facilities equipped with complex process technologies leading to serious damage of the process equipment and multiple and simultaneous release of hazardous substances in industrial facilities. Nevertheless, the design of industrial plants is inadequately described in recent codes and guidelines, as they do not consider the dynamic interaction between the structure and the installations and thus the effect of seismic response of the installations on the response of the structure and vice versa. The current code-based approach for the seismic design of industrial facilities is considered not enough for ensure proper safety conditions against exceptional event entailing loss of content and related consequences. Accordingly, SPIF project (Seismic Performance of Multi- Component Systems in Special Risk Industrial Facilities) was proposed within the framework of the European H2020 - SERA funding scheme (Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe). The objective of the SPIF project is the investigation of the seismic behavior of a representative industrial structure equipped with complex process technology by means of shaking table tests. The test structure is a three-story moment resisting steel frame with vertical and horizontal vessels and cabinets, arranged on the three levels and connected by pipes. The dynamic behavior of the test structure and installations is investigated with and without base isolation. Furthermore, both firmly anchored and isolated components are taken into account to compare their dynamic behavior and interactions with each other. Artificial and synthetic ground motions are applied to study the seismic response at different PGA levels. After each test, dynamic identification measurements are carried out to characterize the system condition. The contribution presents the numerical simulations to calibrate the tests on the prototype, the experimental setup of the investigated structure and installations, selected measurement data and finally describes preliminary experimental results.