Research Group: Structures
Leader(s)
Dr. Roger West
Dr. Dermot O’Dwyer
Dr. Brian Broderick
Prof. Biswajit Basu
Dr. Alan O’Connor
Research Projects
Structural Dynamics and Vibrations
- Modeling of the response of wind turbine towers
- Dynamics of bridges
- Railway bridge response, including vehicle modeling
- Highway bridges in various degrees of disrepair
- Control of vibrations due to vehicle-bridge interaction
- Track Dynamics and Rolling stock
- Non-stationary response of vehicles and vibration control using active suspensions
- Earthquake engineering, especially the seismic behaviour and design of
- Steel and composite bracing members
- Steelwork connections
- Structural impact, especially impact effects on concrete
- Dynamic response of RC, steel and concrete structures
Structural Identification and Control
- Vibration control strategies and dampers
- Semi-active variable stiffness dampers for active vibration control
- Liquid and magnetorheological dampers
- Wavelet based active vibration control
- On-line identification of vehicle systems for maintenance and overloading
- On-line damage detection and structural health monitoring using wavelet based time-frequency analysis
Computational Mechanics
- Time-history analysis of the seismic response of inelastic structures
- Wavelet-Galerkin techniques for solution of PDEs
- Fast computation techniques for second generation wavelets and applications in pattern recognition
- DEM for the analysis of base-isolated systems with rolling rods
- Development of numerical methodology for safety assessment of eea and cea structures
- Modeling the dynamic interaction between railway vehicles and track, including random and discrete irregularities.
- Analysis of historic masonry structures
- Structural optimisation
Structural Reliability
- Seismic reliability of bridges employing to different retrofit techniques
- Reliability of structures in marine environments
- Safety assessment of offshore structures
- Development of maintenance management methodologies for optimisation of budgets on bridge networks
- Safety implications of using high performance materials in repair
- Plasticity based response models in safety assessment of RC deck slabs
- Influence of statistical uncertainty on system reliability
- Reliability of railway structures
Experimental Development
Work in this area can complement or provide an alternative to analytical and computational methods. It is usually laboratory based, but can involve field testing. It is especially useful for non-standard conditions, such as cyclic and dynamic loading or inelastic response, and when fatigue or plasticity play a role. Work in this area is often designed to provide essential data for the development, calibration and validation of computational models. It can also provide primary research results which are of more immediate relevance to industry and the engineering profession, and can lead to opportunities for research funding.
Projects in this area include:
- The dynamic response and control of model structures
- In-situ monitoring of bridge structures and towers
- Inelastic, cyclic and fatigue testing of structural components
- Impact testing of concrete
- Load testing a full-scale model of the landing of a masonry building