Research Overview
Structural Engineering / Mechanics
The structural engineering / structural mechanics program covers a wide range of fundamental and applied research topics that are critical for understanding, designing, and improving structures from the microscopic materials level to the macroscopic systems level. High-performance computing resources, advanced analytical tools, and state-of-the-art experimental facilities are used to model and test the behavior of structural components and systems. Research thrusts include stochastic finite element methods, multi-physics models, thin-walled structures, computational mechanics, topology optimization, earthquake engineering, smart structures, and bridge engineering.
Probabilistic Methods and Hazard Assessment
Performance and reliability of civil structures inherently have uncertainties associated with variation in material properties, imperfection in construction process, and effect of aging. Furthermore, natural hazards such as earthquakes, wind storms, floods, and tsunamis are stochastic process that cannot be expressed in deterministic models. Probabilistic methods can be used for the assessment of structural performance exposed to natural hazards; performance can be measured in terms of life safety, injury, potential economic losses, societal impact, and environmental impact. Hazard assessment and loss estimates are critical elements for evaluating mitigation efforts and for effective decision making. The Department is conducting a number of studies in the hazard assessment and mitigation areas.
Coastal Engineering / Fluid Dynamics
Coastal engineering / fluid dynamics program focuses on mechanism of water waves using computational and experimental approaches. Research interests of the group include hydrodynamics, coastal processes, computational fluid dynamics, multiphase turbulence, atmosphere-ocean-wave interactions; interfacial transport processes, wave-mud interactions, flow-structure interactions; multi-scale simulation and modeling. Faculty members in Coastal Engineering / Fluid Dynamics program are active members of Center for Environmental and Applied Fluid Mechanics at Johns Hopkins University, and collaborating with engineers and scientists in various fields on interdisciplinary research projects where they bring their expertise to tackle challenging problems.
Geotechnical Engineering / Geomechanics
The geotechnical engineering research program focuses on fundamental principles of mechanics, supported by computational methods and laboratory testing. Several specific aspects are being addressed: fundamental understanding of behavior of clays and sands at both microscopic and macroscopic levels; accurate constitutive models for predicting the stress-strain behavior of soils and composite geomaterials; improved numerical procedures for the nonlinear analysis of complex, plane and three-dimensional, static and dynamic problems of soil-structure interaction and earth structure stability; and advanced experimental testing and digital imaging to evaluate strain localization in granular soils. Current research efforts are driven by the need to address important geotechnical issues such as design for earthquake loads and introduction of new materials.