Graduate Studies In Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics


Structural engineering is the science and art of designing, analyzing and constructing buildings, bridges and other structures to safely resist various forces and conditions. Through analysis and testing of structures and their components, structural engineers advance the understanding of structural response to seismic, wind, gravity and other loads, to design more functional and economical structures. Structural engineering overlaps strongly with structural mechanics, which focuses on the application of fundamental concepts in solid mechanics to problems in structural engineering, and especially on the mathematical modeling of the behavior of both traditional and advanced structural materials. Often, the computational tools used by structural engineers draw heavily from structural mechanics.

At UC Davis, the Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics (SESM) Group is heavily engaged in both computational and experimental approaches to address issues in structural and solid mechanics. Ongoing research in the SESM group addresses structural and non-structural materials and systems, and encompasses virtually all relevant size-scales including micro-structural, structural component, and structural system levels.

The SESM group at UC Davis is widely recognized worldwide as an international leader in the area of structural and computational mechanics, and has had significant academic and professional impact far beyond the country's borders. Moreover, students and researchers in the group come from all corners of the world.

In the computational area, recent research has included the development and application of advanced finite element and constitutive modeling techniques, cumulative damage assessment of structures, characterization of structural behavior under earthquake loading; centrifuge modeling studies for soils and soil/structure interaction. Other areas of research include computer-aided design; development of ductile structural systems and retrofit of non-ductile systems for enhanced seismic performance; non-destructive evaluation of material properties and computational modeling techniques for fracture and fatigue in steel and concrete structures.

The computational and experimental efforts of the group often complement each other, and recent large scale experimental projects and analytical studies have focused on a variety of problems, including

The group also enjoys a strong collaborative relationship with the Geotechnical Engineering Group. Research projects of common interest to both groups include geotechnical-centrifuge studies of soils and dynamic soil-structure interaction; constitutive modeling of soils and reinforced earth, and response of sites to seismic phenomena.

The SESM group is well supported through numerous research grants from federal and state agencies (including the National Science Foundation, California Department of Transportation, American Institute of Steel Construction, the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research center, among others) and is constantly in the process of recruiting high-caliber graduate students at the masters and doctoral levels. In addition to research assistantship positions, various other forms of funding are typically available (based on the candidate's qualifications) to support graduate students through their research and education in the SESM group. Outlined below are the specifics of various research areas and faculty interests.

Faculty

Bolander, John E.
 		   Seismic analysis and design; Cement-based composites; Nondestructive testing; Material and structural design optimization
Chai, Rob Y.H.
 		   Earthquake engineering; Large-scale experimental testing; Characterization of structural damage; Analysis of design of concrete and masonry structures

Cheng Lijuan (Dawn)
 

   Hybrid experiment and analytical simulations of large-scale structures; bridge design and analysis; application of fiber reinforced polymer composites to infrastructures; fiber reinforced concrete
Dafalias, Yannis F.
 		   Continuum mechanics with emphasis on constitutive relationships for plasticity and viscoplasticity of engineering materials, metals, oils, polymers, etc.; Large deformations, texture development and anisotropy
DeJong, Jason
  Microbial treatment of soils; advanced in situ characterization; offshore foundation systems; digital imaging and measurement techniques; soil-structure interface behavior; micro-scale granular behavior.
Kanvinde, Amit
 		   Fracture and fatigue of steel structures. Nonlinear structural analysis and design. Collapse of structures. Performance-based earthquake engineering
Kunnath, Sashi
 		   Structural dynamics, performance-based seismic engineering, inelastic modeling of structural systems, analytical and experimental simulation of seismic response, low-cycle fatigue and cumulative damage in structures, software development for nonlinear structural analysis
Maroney, Brian H.
Adjunct Faculty		   Dynamic soil-foundation-structure interaction of bridge systems ; Transportation system reliability and cost efficiency before, during, and following earthquakes ; Reliable bridge system design

Ramey, Melvin R.
Emeritus Professor

   Structural engineering; Structural design; Concrete materials; Biomechanics; Computer-aided design
Rashid, Mark M.
 		   Computational solid mechanics ; Large-deformation finite element methodology; Computation inelasticity ; Constitutive modeling of engineering materials
Sukumar, N.
 		   Computational solid mechanics, fracture and microstructural modeling, motion of moving interfaces, finite element and meshfree methods, scientific computing, and object-oriented programming in C++.

  Research Groups/Projects

    Courses (Click here for catalog description)

Structural engineering and structural mechanics courses are supported by courses in the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Department, the Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Department, and the Department of Mathematics. Courses include:

ECI 201 - Introduction to Theory of Elasticity
ECI 203 - Inelastic Behavior of Solids
ECI 205 - Continuum Mechanics
ECI 206 - Fracture Mechanics
ECI 211 - Advanced Matrix Structural Analysis
ECI 212A - Finite Element Procedures in Applied Mechanics
ECI 212B - Finite Elements: Application to Linear and Nonlinear Structural Mechanics Problems
ECI 213 - Analysis of Structures Subjected to Dynamic Loads
ECI 221 - Theory of Plates and Introduction to Shells
ECI 232 - Advanced Topics in Concrete Structures
ECI 233 - Advanced Design of Steel Structures
ECI 234 - Prestressed Concrete
ECI 235 - Cement Composites

ECI 238 - Performance-Based Seismic Engineering

ECI 289 - Bridge Engineering

Graduate seminars and lectures by visiting scholars supplement formal courses.