Department of Civil Engineering

Team

Dr. Serhan Guner

Dr. Serhan Guner, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Contact: serhan.guner@utoledo.edu
Biography: download

Dr. Guner’s research is focused on creating more resilient and sustainable structures to mitigate the impacts of natural hazards such as hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes. More specific research interests include: 

  • Creation of computational models to simulate the response of next-generation structures for natural hazard resilience,
  • Formulation of mathematical models to characterize the constitutive behaviour of materials,
  • Hybrid finite element and artificial-intelligence computing methods,
  • Behavior of steel-to-concrete and steel-to-wood connections,
  • Shear behaviour of concrete, strut-and-tie models, analysis of deep elements, disturbed regions and anchorage zones.
  • Behavior of deep foundation elements and pile-to-foundation connections
  • Computer programming and creation of numerical simulation software and tools to transfer the research findings to practice.
  • Holistic response simulation of retrofitted structures; safety and performance assessment of existing structures.

CURRENT STUDENTS

Rafael de Amorim Salgado Rafael de Amorim Salgado
Ph.D. Candidate (2015/8 –  Present)
Contact: 
rafael.desalgado@gmail.com
Rafael de Amorim Salgado is a Ph.D. student at the University of Toledo. He is a former undergraduate student of the Federal University of Espirito Santo, Brazil. His current research at Toledo is focused on understanding and modeling the response of concrete frame buildings subjected to earthquake and tsunami multi-hazards using a probabilistic approach.
Salim Salim Khoso, M.Sc.

Ph.D. Candidate (2016/8 – present)
Contact:
 salim.khoso@rockets.utoledo.edu
Salim Khoso is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toledo. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from QUEST, Pakistan. Salim completed his Master’s degree in Design of Steel Structures from the University of Naples Federico II, Italy. Salim’s research interests include seismic design, tall buildings, cement-based materials, and rehabilitation of structures.  His current research is focused on understanding and modeling the behavior of cracked concrete subjected to extreme loads. His studies are funded by the Institute of International Education, Washington, DC.

Conrado Praxedes Silva Neto Conrado Praxedes Silva Neto, M.Sc.
Ph.D. Candidate (2015/5 – present)
Contact: neto_conrado@hotmail.com      
Conrado is a Ph.D. candidate at Ryerson University, advised by Dr. Yuan and Dr. Guner. He completed his undergraduate studies at the State University of São Paulo in Brazil where he studied structural modeling with ANSYS. His MSc thesis, at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, was on the discrete modeling based on the fracture mechanics as applied to structural concrete. At Ryerson, his research is focused on probabilistic progressive collapse analysis and structural robustness. He is currently completing his studies and composing journal and conference papers to disseminate the research results. He is holding a Brazilian Science without Borders Scholarship to support his studies.
Renaud Franssen

Renaud Franssen
Ph.D. Candidate (2017/5 - present)
Contact:
 r.franssen@ulg.ac.be
Renaud Franssen is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Liège, Belgium, working with Prof. Boyan Mihaylov. His Ph.D. work is focused on the rehabilitation of bridge piers with ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) with the help of finite element model, lab tests, and kinematic model. He joined Dr. Guner's research team to create analysis models for UHPFRC members through a finite element procedure, VecTor2. His objective is to advance the diverse-embedment theory to better capture the complex tensile behavior of UHPFRC. He is currently conducting the experimental tests in Liege, the results of which will be used to verify the numerical models created. His studies are funded by the Belgium Fund for Scientific Research.

Anish Anish Sharma
MS Candidate (2018/1 – Present)
Contact: 
sharma.anish453@gmail.com
Anish Sharma is a graduate student at the University of Toledo. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering in the Paschimanchal Campus of the Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He has worked on the analysis and design of multistory concrete buildings in his undergraduate studies, and as Civil Engineer for two years in design and construction of concrete bridges and one year in the field of earthquake resistant design and retrofitting for the Government of Nepal. His current research is focused on developing a finite element analysis technique for the load rating of deep concrete beams and foundations. His studies are funded by ODOT.
Sundar Sundar Chiluwal
MS Candidate (2018/1 - 2019/12)
Contact:
sundar.chiluwal@rockets.utoledo.edu
Sundar is a graduate student at the University of Toledo. He received his Bachelor's degree from the Pulchowk Campus of the Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He has completed a capstone project on the seismic design of a multistory concrete building. He is interested in understanding and modeling the response of concrete structures subjected to lateral cyclic loads including earthquake and wind loads. His current research is focused on advancing the understanding of the response and failure modes of helical pile-to-footing connections, and creating an analysis methodology to advance the current design methods. His studies are funded by Deep Foundation Institute.

FORMER STUDENTS

Pappu Baniya Pappu Baniya
MS Candidate (2017/1 - 2019/12)
Contact:
 Pappu.Baniya@rockets.utoledo.edu
Pappu Baniya completed his Undergraduate from Pulchowk Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal and is now pursuing his MS Degree at the University of Toledo. He has worked on Seismic Design and Analysis of High Rise Building during his undergraduate studies. He worked as a Civil Engineer for one year in the field of Earthquake Resistant Design and Construction for Ministry of Nepal. His research interest includes non-linear analysis of structures, earthquake engineering, deep beams and bridge engineering. His current research is focused on understanding the behavior and capacity of deep bridge piers using strut-and-tie models. His studies are funded by ODOT.
Jian Liu Jian Liu
Ph.D. Candidate (2016/5 - 2019/8)
Contact: 
j.liu@ulg.ac.be
Jian Liu is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Liège, Belgium, working with Prof. Boyan Mihaylov. Her Ph.D. work is focused on establishing a macro element for the prediction of the shear behavior of reinforced concrete deep beams. This macro element seeks to combine computational efficiency and accuracy. She joined Dr. Guner’s research group during summer 2016 to conduct a feasibility study for creating a mixed-type finite element platform for modeling slender and deep beams with a single model. She is currently completing her studies and composing journal and conference papers to disseminate the research findings. Her studies are funded by an external research agency.
Salvio Salvio Aragão Almeida Júnior
MS Candidate (2017/8 – 2019/8)
Contact: salvio_almeida@hotmail.com
Sálvio is a graduate student at the University of Toledo. He graduated in civil engineering from the Federal University of Sergipe. He conducted research on optimization algorithms for inversion of stiffness matrices and formulated a Timoshenko stiffness matrix for beams, as an exchange student at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Dr. Guner. His current research is focused on creating hurricane-resilient connections for non-structural elements. 
Abdulah Abdullah Haroon
MS Candidate (2017/8 – 2019/5)
Contact:
 
abdullah.haroon@rockets.utoledo.com
Abdullah is a graduate student at the University of Toledo. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Aligarh Muslim University, India, in 2017. As a part of his undergrad dissertation, he analyzed the dynamic response of an Intze tank subjected to an earthquake loading. His research interests include finite element analysis, structural dynamics, fatigue analysis and metal corrosion. His current research is focused on understanding and modeling the fatigue fracture behavior in aluminum trusses subjected to combined wind and thermal loads. His studies are funded by ODOT.
Abraham Abraham Bahre
MS (2016/9 – 2018/5)
Contact: 
abraham.bahre@rockets.utoledo.edu
Abraham Bahre completed his undergraduate studies at the Eritrea Institute of Technology, Asmara, Eritrea. He worked on the structural Design of a hotel during his undergraduate studies. Abraham's MS studies focused on nonlinear numerical modeling to predict the failure modes of moderate aspect-ratio RC walls. He studied how shear effects reduce the flexural capacity, stiffness and ductility of the moderate aspect-ratio RC walls.
Ryan Pan Zhangcheng (Ryan) Pan
MASc (2014/9 – 2016/11)
Contact: ryan.pan@mail.utoronto.ca
Ryan was a MASc candidate at the University of Toronto. He received his Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto. The objective of his studies was to formulate a micro model to capture the nonlinear behavior and failure modes of beam-column joints. This model was integrated into the VecTor5 analysis procedure to allow for more accurate analysis of reinforced concrete frames. He held an Ontario Graduate Scholarship to support his studies.

COLLABORATORS

Yildir Akkaya

Yildir Akkaya, Ph.D.
Research Assistant
Contact: 
akkayayil@itu.edu.tr
Dr. Akkaya is a Research Assistant in the Department of Civil Engineering at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey. He completed his post-doctoral studies at the University of Toronto, in which he created a numerical model (called RDM) to simulate the inelastic buckling behavior of reinforcing bars in compression. The RDM model provides improvements over existing models by providing more accurate results over a larger applicability range. The open-access computer code of the RDM model and the VecTor5 software (including the RDM formulations) are provided online for the use of researchers and practitioners. This study was funded by Tubitak Bursary 2219. 

CURRENT STUDENTS

Andrew

Andrew Coffman
Summer Research Intern (2019/5 - present)
Contact: 
andrewcoffman679@gmail.com
Andrew Coffman is an undergraduate student at the University of Toledo, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. His research involves the creation of a calculation procedure and associated computer code for the performance prediction of structural connections using neural networks for hurricane resilience.
Shivani

Shivani Gandage
Summer Research Intern (2019/5 - present)
Contact: shivanig99off@gmail.com
Shivani Gandage is a Civil Engineering student at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, India. Her research studies include numerical modeling of sustainable structures including cross-laminated timber and green concrete structures. Her studies are funded by the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program.

FORMER STUDENTS

Hatim Hatim Alattas
Summer Intern (2018/6 – 2018/9)
Contact: alattas96@outlook.com

Hatim Alattas is an undergraduate student at the University of Jeddah, where he studies Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research focuses on modeling axially-loaded circular columns subjected to lateral impact loads due to accidental ship collisions. He verified the developed computer models using experimental results available in the literature. Dr. Wei FAN from the Hunan University provided guidance during this study. Hatim's studies are funded by the Mitacs Globalink program.

Vitor Cruz Vitor Moraes da Cruz
Summer Research Assistant (2016/5 – 2016/8)
Contact: 
vitordacruz_600@hotmail.com

Vitor Cruz is an undergraduate exchange student from Brazil, majoring in Civil Engineering at the Universidade Federal de Sao Joao Del-Rei, in Brazil. He attended two semesters at the University of Nevada, Reno under the Brazilian Scientific Mobility Program. His research at the University of Toledo is related to modeling and analyzing concrete structures using in-house nonlinear analysis platform VecTor5. The main research finding sought is a more effective way of modeling concrete building structures subjected to earthquakes. His studies are funded by the Institute of International Education.

Roger Decarli Roger Lemos Decarli
Summer Research Assistant (2016/5 – 2016/8)
Contact: 
roger.l.decarli@hotmail.com

Roger Decarli is an undergraduate student at Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, major in Mechanical Engineering. He attended two semesters at the University of Arizona as part of the Brazillian Scientific Mobility Program. His research at the University of Toledo focuses on the creation of a new, faster solution and inversion subroutine using the Fortran language to increase the efficiency of the nonlinear analysis platform VecTor5. His studies are funded by the Institute of International Education.

Daniela Lourenço Daniela dos Santos Lourenço
Summer Research Assistant (2016/5 – 2016/8)
Contact: 
lourencodaniela.s@gmail.com

Daniela is an undergraduate student majoring in Computer Engineering at the CEFET-MG, a Brazilian institution specialized in Engineering and Technology. She attended two semesters at the Pacific Lutheran University as an exchange student funded by the Science Without Borders Program. Her summer research at The University of Toledo focuses on improving Janus, a graphical damage visualization software, using C++ language and the OpenGL graphics system. Her studies are funded by the Institute of International Education.

Lucas Assis Rodrigues Lucas Assis Rodrigues
Summer Research Assistant (2016/5 – 2016/8)
Contact: 
lucas.assis.ro@gmail.com

Lucas is a student seeking the major of Computer Engineering at the Universidade Federal de Itajubá, a federal university in Brazil. He attended two semesters at the University of Texas at El Paso as an exchange student under the Brazilian Scientific Mobility Program. His research at the University of Toledo is about establishing new functionalities on a graphical damage visualization program, Janus, using C++ language with the MFC framework and OpenGL libraries. His studies are funded by the Institute of International Education.

Chu Chu Peng
Summer Research Assistant (2016/6 – present)
Contact: 
peng.chu@mail.scut.edu.cn
Chu majors in Civil Engineering at the South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. His research focuses on finding a more efficient way of modeling building structures using the platform VecTor5. He modeled 12 beams and 10 frame structures subjected to static, cyclic, reversed-cyclic and dynamic loads. He edited User Bulletins 1 and 2, and created the User Bulletin 5: Determination of Material Properties. He also composed a journal paper for the non-linear finite element analysis of frames. His studies are funded by the Mitacs Globalink program.
Ethan

Ethaniel Peng
Summer Research Assistant (2016/8 – 2016/10)
Contact: ethaniel.unihannover@gmail.com
Ethaniel Peng is an undergraduate student majoring in civil engineering at the University of Hannover, Germany. His summer research at the University of Toledo focuses on strut-and-tie modeling of beams and frames. His studies are funded by RISE DAAD program from Germany.

Kyle

Kyle A. Blosser
Undergraduate Student (2016/1 – 2016/5)
Contact: kyle.blosser@rockets.utoledo.edu
Kyle obtained his Bachelor in Civil Engineering at The University of Toledo. In his last undergraduate term, he completed an independent study, where he modeled, analyzed, and assessed various beam and frame structures using nonlinear analysis procedures. In addition, he worked on writing and publishing User's Manuals and Bulletins and developed tutorial videos for modeling frame structures using the nonlinear analysis methods, available at https://www.youtube.com/user/gunerser.

Markus Jesswein Markus Jesswein
Summer Research Assistant (2015/5 – 2015/8)
Contact: 
markus.jesswein@ryerson.ca  

Markus is attending Ryerson University for his Bachelor’s of Civil Engineering. His summer research focuses on the nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete beams and frames. Markus enjoys combining math and science to solve problems, and he appreciates the capability and accuracy of computers to analyze the behavior of structures. In the future, Markus plans to pursue graduate studies and aid the development and innovation of structures that will benefit society. His summer research has been supported by the Ryerson University Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science Dean’s Research Fund. He published a poster in the ACI Spring 2016 convention in Milwaukee, WI.

Salvio Aragão Almeida Júnior Salvio Aragão Almeida Júnior
Summer Research Assistant (2015/5 – 2015/8)
Contact: 
salvio.aragaoalmeidajunior@mail.utoronto.ca

Salvio is an undergraduate civil engineering exchange student at the University of Toronto. He has a great interest in structural engineering, including numerical modeling, nonlinear structural analysis, and seismic effects. His research focuses on the creation of solution algorithms for the nonlinear analysis of frames. His studies in Toronto are funded by the Science without Borders program.

Agneya Sunil Loya Agneya Sunil Loya
Summer Research Assistant (2015/5 – 2015/8)
Contact: 
agneya1994@gmail.com

Agneya studies Civil Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. He is an exchange research intern at Ryerson University. His research focuses on the advancement of the graphical pre-processor software Janus using the object-oriented C++ language. His studies at Ryerson are funded by the Mitacs Globalink program.

Rafael Salgado Rafael de Amorim Salgado
Summer Research Assistant (2014/5 - 2014/8)
Contact: 
rafael.desalgado@gmail.com
Rafael de Amorim Salgado is a former undergraduate student of the Federal University of Espirito Santo, Brazil. In 2014, he attended Queen’s University and Ryerson University as an exchange student for the Science Without Borders program. During this time, he created Excel spreadsheets for the modeling of circular and rectangular sections. He also composed documents to illustrate the coding process and the calculation of the unsupported length ratio for modeling reinforcing bar buckling. His studies are funded by the Science without Borders program.
Harley Francisco Viana Harley Francisco Viana
Summer Research Assistant (2014/5 – 2014/8)
Contact:
 harley-viana@hotmail.com

Harley Francisco Viana is an undergraduate student at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. He attended Ryerson University in 2014 as an exchange student of the Science Without Borders Program. His research placement was focused on nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete structures subjected to static loads using VecTor5. In addition, he prepared two technical bulletins to describe the steps for performing a beam and a frame modeling with VecTor5. This study was funded by the Science without Border program. His studies are funded by the Science without Borders program.

Last Updated: 6/27/22