CCEE’s Shafei’s paper on top downloaded list in structural engineering

A paper by Behrouz Shafei, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, co-authored by two of his Ph.D. students, Kofi Oppong and Dikshant Saini, is among the top downloaded articles published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in structural engineering.

“Ultrahigh-performance concrete for improving impact resistance of bridge superstructures to overheight collision,” appeared in the Special Collection of ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering on the application of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC).

This paper explored, for the first time, how transitioning from conventional concrete to ultrahigh-performance concrete can contribute to improving the structural performance of bridges, especially when subjected to overheight collision. The team used high-fidelity simulations to evaluate the response of AASHTO girders prior to and after repair with UHPC and made recommendations on how an equivalent UHPC girder can be designed with the expected impact resistance characteristics.

“This study explored how innovative cementitious materials can be employed to address the long-standing issues associated with the vulnerability of structures to extreme loading events. Successful implementation of such solutions will certainly transform the safety and functionality of our civil infrastructures,” said Shafei.