STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH AT STEVENS

Hazard Mitigation and Infrastructure Rehabilitation

Extreme Natural Loads: Understanding, monitoring and prediction of  extreme natural loads on the built environment and ways to mitigate the impact of such  loadings

Damage Identification: Developing algorithms for the inverse identification of stiffness reductions in structures due to damage.  Using sensors and defining optimal sensor location for damage identification. 

Fiber Reinforced Plastics: Use of FRPs in rehabilitation of railroad bridges to improve load ratings

Risk Assessment: Probabilistic assessment of specific loadings and resulting structural response for improved cost-benefit analysis in structural design 

Computational Mechanics

Multiscale Stochastic Models: Multiscale Stochastic Finite Element Method (MsSFEM) for multiscale stochastic problems. Numerical Stochastic Homogenization Method (NSHM) for highly heterogeneous random media problems: Use of techniques like upscaling and scale decoupling techniques, stochastic Galerkin method, orthogonal decomposition of random fields, finite element methods, the Fourier spectral method, etc.

Soil-Structure Interaction: Use of Finite elements to model soil-structure interaction in bridge foundations subjected to cyclic loading.

Optimization: Developing unique optimality criteria in quadratic optimization problems to solve inverse identification problems. Optimal updating of FE models to reproduce measured natural frequencies and mode-shapes.

Fracture Mechanics: Using Boundary element programs in the analysis of 3-D crack propagation.  Fatigue studies to find hours-to-failure. Stochastic finite element methods to model damage and size effects of materials.

Solid and Structural Mechanics

Composite and high-performance materials: Characterization, modeling and optimization of nano- and micro-heterogeneous materials (e.g. composite, concrete, soil) and composite materials based structures (e.g. sandwich panels); Fracture and damage of materials;

Cyclic Loading on Integral Bridge using Large-Scale Testing and FE Analysis. Instrumentation of  foundations and superstructure to  collect and analyze real-time data on strains, pressures, displacements and temperatures of the bridge.

Structural Dynamics

Structural dynamic design for Marine Structures: Fixed and floating offshore platforms, risers, moorings, surface and sub-surface vessels. Experimental studies of test scaled models in towing tank and wave maker.

Structural Control: Developing methods for the semi-active control of structures using variable stiffness.

Modal Analysis: Modal analysis and optimization for damage identification in structures.

Wind Effects on Structures: Nonlinear dynamic modeling of wind-induced vibration of buildings and bridges in uniform and stochastic flow conditions

Probabilistic Modeling

Random materials: Characterization and modeling of morphologies for random materials and porous media

Stochastic Simulation: Higher-order simulation of stochastic processes for applications in wind, ocean, and earthquake engineering.