Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics
Research
Current research in the area of Sructural Engineering places a heavy emphasis on the design and behavior of structures subject to loading from natural hazards such as high winds, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Laboratory testing makes use of the new spatio-temporal hurricane wind load test facility which can be linked to wind tunnels, as well as a shake table. Research efforts also include translating the results of testing into reliability and performance-based design provisions for new design. Other topics under study include bridges (timber, steel, concrete, long-span), new materials (shape-memory alloys, composites, fly-ash as insulation), analysis techniques, and safety.
Current research in the area of structural mechanics includes two and three-dimensional finite element analysis of metal forming processes, mechanics of large deformation during consolidation of soils, fracture mechanics in concrete, metals and composites, flow analysis of large elastic-plastic deformations, the application of mixture theory to the analysis of composites, mechanics of composite plates and shells, nondestructive evaluation, fracture mechanics, and behavior of smart materials. The research program in mechanics includes joint efforts with the mechanics group within the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Ongoing research projects within the Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics division are listed below by their principal investigator. Please use the more info links to view additional details about these projects.
Suren Chen
Rollover Risk Assessment and Prevention of Large Trucks in Windy High-plain Areas
The rollover accident is the most dangerous type of accident for high-sided trucks. This project studies the rollover and injury risk of large trucks in high-plains areas where wind is strong. Based on the understanding of risks, some prevention strategies are studied to prevent the occurrence of accidents and protect drivers from serious injury.
Framework of Performance-based Lifetime Analysis on Vital Long-span Bridges
This project studies reliability-based analysis and design approaches for those long-span bridges that are not covered in the current specifications.
GIS-based Multiple Hazard Assessment of Coastal Structures
Several different natural hazards may threaten coastal structures. Spatial techniques are used to study the assessment of risks for these multiple hazards. Some prevention strategies are also studied.
Paul Heyliger
Mechanics of Granular Media
Computational methods are being used to predict the global constitutive behavior and the mechanism of force transfer in materials formed by the contacting regions between particles of different sizes and shapes. Both two and three dimensional packings of elastic and coupled-field materials are currently being investigated.
Low-Density Fibrous Composites
Composite materials formed by combining fiber, binder, and air have extremely low density but very useful bulk properties. Collective arrangements of fibers are being studied to determine optimal microstructures for both mechanical and thermal behavior of these materials.
Smart Materials and Structures
Smart or adaptive structures are composed of materials with the ability to actuate or detect mechanical strain via application of electromagnetic field. In these studies, composite solids are being proposed and studied for novel and wide-ranging fields of application.
Mechanics of Nanostructures
Structures or components with fundamental dimensions of the order 10-9 are being studied both for inherent properties and for use as reinforcing elements in composite solids. Simulating the changes in behavior relative to scale is a unique and fascinating challenge in this work.
Highly-Flexible Structures
Most structures are designed to be relative stiff so that they meet serviceability requirements. In this research, we focus on structures constructed of biomass undergoing large deformations and apply them to problems such as crash barriers and shock absorbers.
Vibration of Continuous Media
The vibrations of solid media with varying scale can be used for a variety of applications ranging from materials characterization to flaw detection. We combine theory with experiment to determine the role of periodic motion to a wide class of solid media.