On September 22 and 23, teams of experts in earthquake research from several Asian universities competed in the 2023 IDEERS Asia-Pacific contest. Earthquakes are rare and inconsequential in Vietnam, and DTU students surprised the other universities by winning first and third prizes in the competition.
Team DTU won the Champions Cup (above) and the SET-DTU team came third
IDEERS is an annual competition, to introduce and demonstrate Earthquake Engineering research in universities. It was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic for several years but was restarted in 2023 with universities from nine countries and territories. Among the 102 teams were some well-known institutions with years of experience in earthquake research, including:
- Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
- Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (China)
- Pusan National University (South Korea)
- National Taiwan University (China)
- Keimyung University (South Korea)
- Pukyong National University (South Korea)
- National Taiwan University of Science & Technology (China)
- INTI International University (Malaysia)
From Vietnam there were three teams from two universities:
- Two teams from DTU
- One team from the Hanoi University of Civil Engineering
The top five teams in the 2023 Asia-Pacific IDEERS competition
To qualify, teams submitted their earthquake-resistant designs in advance in writing with images for approval. During the competition, contestants were given 5.5 hours to build their models using wood and glue, which had to comply with the regulations regarding size, height, weight and structure. Violations of the rules resulted in disqualification or point deductions.
DTU Students Win the 2023 IDEERS Asia-Pacific Contest
Before the competition, the DTU teams had visited construction sites in Taipei, in Taiwan, including the Taipei 101 Tower, designed with a 660-ton steel pendulum acting as a tuned mass damper that can withstand wind speeds up to 216 km/h and the strongest earthquakes that might occur over the next 2,500 years. This helped the DTU students to win:
- First prize and the Champions Cup went to the DTU team, including Le Quoc Toan, Nguyen Thanh Quyen, and Nguyen Hoang Long. Their model was 60 cm high, not to exceed 75 cm, weighing 423 g, and able to withstand earthquakes with ground acceleration of 8 on the Richter scale.
- Third prize went to the SET-DTU team including Phan Trong Tien, Cao Tien Giang, Nguyen Duc Manh, and Le Huu Bang, with a model 60 cm high, weighing 440 g, and also able to withstand 8 on the Richter scale.
DTU contestants design earthquake-resistant models for the competition
This is the second time that DTU teams have won the Champions’ Cup since 2014, which is testament to their intelligence and enthusiasm, and thanks to the ongoing development of DTU’s Computational Mechanics laboratories in earthquake research. This latest achievement is furthermore an important step forward in the field of earthquake-resistant engineering in Vietnamese higher education. Prizes were awarded to:
- First and the Asia-Pacific Champions Cup to team DTU
- Second to the KMU team from Keimyung University from South Korea
- Third to the SET-DTU team from DTU
Consolation prizes went to:
- CUT, from the National Taiwan University of Science & Technology (China)
- NTU-SG, from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore
- CYCU, from Chung-Yuan Christian University (Taiwan, China)
- UTHM, from Tun Hussein Onn University (Malaysia)
- NTUAD, from the National Taiwan University of Science & Technology (China)
- NITI, from INTI International University (Malaysia)
- NTNU, from the National Taiwan Normal University (China)
The third Vietnamese team, from the Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, ranked 16th.
(Media Center)