REPORT

Excursion of Students from Wrocław University of Technology, faculty of Civil Engineering to Germany

At the beginning, we would like to thank the DAAD Scholarship Committee for believing in us and our excursion program. Due to your generous grant we had an opportunity to participate in one of the most educating and interesting trips of our lives. Our days were filled with different kinds of scientific and cultural activities. In this Report, we would like to show you that our excursion was worth investing in. We have already had an opportunity to host group of students from Technical University of Dresden. They came to Wrocław on 13th of November. We are also arranging visits of students from other universities. As we would like to share with you with as much information as we can, we decided to summarize each day separately.

Day 1

Our first stop was construction site of Keller. Mr Reitzig, the construction site manager, showed the complicated method of bentonite injections in order to prevent settlements of a building, located above metro line U5. We were informed about the complexity of sensor system inside the building and difficulties regarding the sequence of drilling.

In the afternoon we visited Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM). It was an additional attraction to our excursion’s program, because we have received the invitation after the positive decision of the scholarship committee. Here we were presented with the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy. Method, which allows civil engineers to perform on-site experiments regarding the composition of the material.Young fellows at the institute explained to us the basic principles of this method.

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After that we, had a tour around the facilities of the Institute. We were informed about different kinds of projects ranging from the construction of a windmill, as a part of wind power station, to resistance of metal structures supporting off-shore platforms to sudden impact.

Day 2

On the second day of our trip we visited Maccaferri’s project near Postdam, renovation of the Sacrow – Paretzer Kanal. At the begining, one of the engineers responsible for the project, Mr Michael Arndt gave us a very instructive lecture about the idea of strengthening river banks and how vital it is nowadays. We could hear about solutions to subsidence of river embankments due to beaver’s activity.

Then, Mr Arndt focused on the project in Potsdam. He showed us a presentation regarding the technology that was invented by Maccafferi. After the deepening of the canal, civil engineers strengthen the bottom and river embankments with sand sheets. Later they cover it with stones. Sand sheets are produced and imported from polish city Świdnica.

In the afternoon we decided to visit Cecilienhof. We had a tour around this important, historical palace, where the Postdam Conference took place. Equipped with Audio guides we were broadening our knowledge about the Second World War and about the life of the emperor Wilhelm II and his beloved wife Cecilie.

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Day 3

In the morning we drove from Berlin to the Niderfinow Boat Lift. It is the oldest working boat lift in Germany. It lies on the Oder-Havel Canal near Niederfinow in Brandenburg. The lift overcomes a difference in elevation of 36 meters. Near the old boat lift, there is a construction site of the new boat lift, however the old one will remain in use until at least 2025.

At the beginning of our sightseeing trip, we visited the museum and our guide explained to us the history and construction of the old boat lift and new one. Then we visited the old boat lift and we saw engine and rectifier. The role of every element in the lifting process was explained to us. Next we went to the rooftop and we saw amazing panorama of Brandenburg and construction site of new boat lift. In our opinion the Niderfinow Boat Lift is a craftsmanship construction made from steel.

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After that we came back to Berlin to visit construction site of the Berlin U-Bahn - line U5 by Implenia. At the beginning we had a lecture about project and technology of excavating and constructing tunnels. We learned a lot about problems with excavating tunnels in big city, such as: problem of existing dense grid of pipelines and other underground infrastructure. Next we went to visit construction site, unfortunately we could not go to the U5 Charlotte tunnel, because workers leveled off pressure in tunnel. We saw the place where a tunnel boring machine have been start excavated, also we saw some precast concrete elements designed for tunnel structure.

In the evening we did a small city tour. We strolled around the city center of Berlin. During our trip we had a chance to see a lot of important buildings and tourists attractions, e.g. the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin TV Tower, The Royal Library, Berlin main station and Sony Center. We are civil engineers so we also were looking for interesting structures and buildings.After that, we visited the Reichstag building. Our guide narrated about history of the Reichstag building and Bundestag. We saw how Germans rebuilt it and connected ruins with the new structure. Finally we could see panorama of Berlin by night.

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Day 4

On the fourth day, we left Berlin early in the morning to arrive in Cottbus by 11 am. Our goal was the Brandenburgische Technische Universität. Our main host was Dr.-Ing. Volker Wetzk - specialist in the field of Construction History and Structural Preservation. At first,he took us to the main Laboratory of the Faculty of Civil Engineering to show us his recent research. He is responsible for testing the old (over 100 years old) bridges' bearings - the metal support of the whole construction. The main problem in the research was how to correctly estimate the material's strength. Dr Wetzk himself came up with brilliant, yet very simple idea to measure the temperature of metal, while putting it to the strength test. With that method, the results are very credible.

Later on, we went to the lecture room. We started with a discussion about the differences in federal regulations considering old structures. Nowadays many old structures are being replaced instead of renovated. It is a common procedure. We agreed that changes should be implemented to federal law in order to prevent the unnecessary upgrades. After the first part of our meeting we had a chance to tell the BTU Students about our city Wrocław, our University and our study program. Also Dr Wetzk gave a presentation about the study program at BTU. It was a great chance to see how the studies are different in our countries. During the breaks we had a moment to talk with the German students and exchange our opinions.

Then we went to University Mensa. The size of it, as well as the quality and vast majority of meals served there, shocked us. While eating, we had even more time to talk to the German students, exchange opinions and plan their return visit in Wrocław.

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With our stomaches full, we went for a walk in the old town of Cottbus, passing by the modern University Library. Dr Wetzk who lived in Cottbus for many years, and is of course very interested in history, was the perfect tour guide. The city itself is very picturesque and charming. We liked it very much.

Our next stop in Cottbus was the Klosterkirche. Inside we could admire the historic equipment of the church like the biggest crucifix in Europe. The best part of this visit however, for us - the civil engineers, was when we climbed up to the church roof. There we could see the few centuries old timber roof truss. Dr Wetzk told us that he often takes there his students to teach them to understand how the construction really works. We thought that was the excellent way to do so.

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When we climbed down, there were German students waiting for us with coffee and donuts. Again we had a chance to talk even more about their visit to Wrocław. When we were finished, we said goodbye to Dr Wetzk, walked to our cars and drove forth to Dresden.

Our visit in Cottbus was very pleasant. We were positively surprised by the high standard of the University and the hospitality of our hosts. We learned very much despite of the short time we've been there. We are now waiting for the Cottbus team to visit us in Wrocław.

Day 5

Our first day in Dresden started at 9 with a short walk through the Dresden’s main station to building site of Prager Carree. We had amazing chance to see how this complex of Residential buildings is growing up.

The site manager from Porr company who is responsible for all general contractor works, including structural design and building services, showed us the whole structure and carried an interesting presentation about project of the building and stages of construction.

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During the presentation we heard that the existing excavation pit was dug up as part of land-clearing works near Dresden’s main station and the tunnels which connect this area to the southern sector of Prager Strasse. The building site is surrounded by the outer walls of tunnel systems which also form the slopes of the pit, with the exception of the western side. We had there a great chance to see using of technology named in Poland “white bathtub”. Then together with student from Dresden we had time for discussion about technology mainly used in project like that one.

Later on, we met students from Dresden University again. They took us for a trip around the University Campus. Later on, we gave a short presentation about our city Wrocław, our University and interesting construction sites. We would also talk about diversity of structures and buildings in Dresden. City which was demolished during Second World War. In the evening we started our sightseeing tour. We have seen Zwinger, illuminated by the city lights. It is a very impressive building.

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Day 6

We started the sixth day of our trip with the tour areound Dresden, our guides were of course students from the Technical University in Dresden.

Sightseeing started from Stadtverwaltung Landeshauptstadt, the students showed us old photographs of the area of Dresden after II World War.

Next stop was Kreuzkirche which we had the pleasure to admire on the way to market square to the Frauenkirche. This church has made a big impression on us, especially considering that the founder of this church was August II the Strong, the king of Poland.

After visiting the market we went to admire Brühl's Terrace, through which we could admire the beautiful Elbe and the architecture of the buildings located on the same terraces. Our trip on the river ended with Fürstenzug.The last stop on this side of the river was covered with a roof part of the royal castle now converted into a museum. The glass roof mounted on the ridge was an interesting accessory that lets this place could boast a combination of modernity and historical form.

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After passing Augustusbrücke the other side of the Elbe, went to Dreikonigskirche to admire the panorama of Dresden from the church tower. The last stop on our tour was the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.

Day 7

The seventh day of our excursion started quite early for us due to 500 km journey from Dresden to Munich which took almost half of that day. In the evening, just after our arrival, we were welcomed by students of Civil Engineering faculty from Technical University of München. After establishing our schedule for the following day, we went for a city tour guided by our German colleagues.

They presented history of the city by showing us must-see places like at our first stop – the Frauenkirche, which is said to be a landmark of the whole city. The most interesting piece of

information that we learned was the fact that the height of Frauenkirche tower is determinant for all buildings in the city centre and cannot be exceeded by any structure in this area. Next, there was, of course, Marienplatz – the main city square with its magnificent Neues Rathaus and the Peterskirche located nearby. After strolling through the narrow streets of the old town we headed towards TU München passing Odeonsplatz and Bavarian State Chancellery.

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After a few hours of walking we were very pleased to find that there were traditional Bavarian sausages and drinks waiting for us at Fachschaft Bau, Umwelt und Vermessung office. We spent a lot of time playing table football tournament and trying to learn how to play traditional Bavarian cards (we didn’t succeed but it was a great fun).

Day 8

Our second and unfortunately the last day in München started with a visit on university campus. We were welcomed by Dean of Civil Engineering faculty, PhD Roland Pail. Mrs Nadine Klomke introduced us to various exchange opportunities on the Technical University of München.

Afterwards we attended a presentation of Prof. Kai-Uwe Bletzinger about statics courses taught on TUM. Mr Bletzinger also briefly covered topics of advanced statics and dynamics research he conducted.

Professor showed us also story of revolutionary Olympiastadium and specifics of this first transparent membrane on such a large scale. Later that day we saw this marvelous building on our own.

Engineers from Zilch+Müller Ingenieure were also present and showed us construction details of purification plant tanks in München. One of them was Polish and displayed us his

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analysis of safe loads of a bridge in order to determine usability of concrete bridge built in 1960s.

After that, we would present some of our presentation regarding modern structures in Poland. Students from University of München were especially impressed with our cableway, which leads from one side of the campus to another. They promised to visit us, to see this modern solution.

Later on, we visited hydroelectric power plant in the middle of the city and entered control center placed 17 metres below the ground. We were able to understand, how whole plant works thanks to thorough technical description of details in German and English.

Day 9

Our penultimate day in Germany was just as nice as all the others. We got up early in the morning to reach our next destination - the Peri headquartes in Weissenhorn.

The tour started with a short lecture about the company. We got to know the rules on the organization of the company. Peri is engaged in the design of formwork and scaffolding and the lease of these devices. We were surprised and pleased that Poland is in the first positions rankings.

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On the company premises is the main factory unit. We were very happy to have had the opportunity to see the production department. Some of us, who visited PERI in Poland, unanimously concluded that impressions are not comparable.

Our instructor showed us PERI systems solutions. We were able to do some self-assembling and testing. During the break, we ate dinner together with director of marketing, during which we debated about the company in Poland and our job opportunities after graduation. At the end we got gifts and information catalogs of products.

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Day 10

On the tenth day we could see innovative solutions in passive construction on the example of school which we visited. The school is the first certified Passive Building School in Germany, which was built up as new construction. The compact outer shell is highly thermally insulated using coated triple glazing and passive windows. The inner walls are made from concrete and provide the necessary solid core, which serves as an energy storage and cooling in the summer. Electronically controlled ventilation with heat recovery system provides the school building with fresh air and provides a pleasant temperature. The sophisticated system of advanced building technology combined with energy-efficient building materials causes the school building with its 18,425 m³ capacity to have the energy needs of an average two-family house. The construction of the school building of the Montessori Association was awarded by the Bavarian State Government the Environmental Prize of 2007.

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