This Centre brings together three interlocking groups, all focusing on the analysis of different complex and/or special engineering structures: long-span bridges, tall buildings and nuclear structures.
'Complex' or 'special' structures are primarily all those that fall outside the scope of current structural design codes of practice.
Particularly challenging problems arise when these structures are situated in adverse environments, resulting occasionally in extreme loads to structures (strong wind fronts/ hurricanes, floods, (rogue) sea waves, earthquakes, fire/blast, corrosion, climate change, extreme temperature and humidity).
A major challenge for designers is to analyse such complex structures, especially when high performance objectives are set for multiple levels of design actions.
Designers have to exercise their best judgement in selecting those methods that can be applied to real-life (as opposed to academic) structures and can produce a reasonable design solution that would lead to high-performance structures without being over-conservative.
The structures forming the focus of the centre present similar challenges that can be addressed in a fairly unified way, existing expertise and infrastructure at City are utilised to give a well-rounded response to problems such as performance-based structural design, use of high-performance materials and structural monitoring.
Key research areas
Types of structures studied:
- Buildings
- Bridges
- Nuclear structures
- Offshore structures.
Types of 'special' loadings studied:
- Earthquake
- Blast/explosion
- Fire
- Wind.
Types of approaches used:
- Analytical (finite element modelling)
- Experimental (laboratory and in situ testing)
- Empirical (statistical).
People
- Professor Andreas J. Kappos, Founding Director
- Dr Agathoklis Giaralis, Director
- Professor Ashraf Ayoub, Core member
- Professor Cedric D'Mello, Internal member
- Mr Edmund Booth, External member (Industry).