Scientist awarded for research on the strength of materials | Gdańsk University of Technology

PhD, Eng. Krzysztof Żerdzicki was among the five awarded scientists from Pomerania. He was awarded in the field of technical sciences for a series of articles on the identification of strength parameters of composite materials.

Winner of the GTN award and the President of the City of Gdańsk in 2015, he received a doctoral degree in two scientific disciplines: construction at Gdańsk University of Technology and mechanics at the University of Orleans in France. Currently he is working as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Department of Structural Mechanics. He is a member of the Polish Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (PTMTiS) and the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB). His main research interests are focused on experimental research in mechanics of materials and biomechanics.

The scientist conducts laboratory tests on the aging of technical polyester fabrics coated with PVC. The Department of Structural Mechanics obtained the material from the Forest Opera in Sopot, which was reconstructed in 2009-2011, which allowed to carry out research on the material used for about 20 years in the actual roof structure and for identical, but unused material, to determine the influence of time, climatic conditions and operational load on the strength parameters of technical fabric. Based on these studies, the scientist defended his doctoral dissertation with honors in 2015 entitled ‘Durability evaluation of textile hanging roof materials’ for which he received the award of the Rector of Gdańsk University of Technology in 2016.

Currently, his research focuses mainly on the experimental mechanics of thigh bone fractures.

- Thigh bone fractures are a very common disease, especially in elderly people with osteoporosis - explains PhD Żerdzicki - proper fracture fixation allows for more effective bone regeneration and faster recovery. The work of orthopedists requires extraordinary precision, but also appropriate materials that are used in various types of fracture fixation.

The scientist conducts, among others cyclical research on the trochanteric fractures of the thigh bone made with the use of various types of implants: DHS, short nails in a static and dynamic variant, and long nails. Artificial bone models made of composite with mechanical properties that correspond to human bones damaged by osteoporosis are used for the research. Research determines, among others failure pattern and stiffness of various types of joints.

The second research interest includes experimental studies of the walls of human orbital bones in order to identify their strength parameters, which are then used in numerical simulations of blow-out fractures in the orbital area. All research works are carried out in close cooperation with doctors - specialists in the field of orthopedics and laryngology, from the Medical University of Gdańsk.