Below are some projects that I am particularly proud of. For each project, I have provided a brief description of the work, as well as links to relevant documents and photos.
The impact of ancient history, conflict and globalization on bridge aesthetics in Iran (2017)
I wrote and presented this research paper at the 2017 NYC Bridge Engineering Association Conference in NYC, NY.
ABSTRACT: The development of civil society in Iran and the surrounding region contributed to the creation of the first bridge structures. The first bridges built in this region, around three to four millennia ago, were strongly influenced by the Mesopotamian, and later Persian culture. With the shifting political climate in Iran, the forms and construction techniques used for bridge structures have developed, shifting the focus from Persian architecture and technology before the 20th, century to Western architecture and technology in the 21st century. However, after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, there has been a resurgence of Persian style forms and architecture in bridge structures. This paper looks at how politics, conflict and globalization has influenced the aesthetical forms of bridges built in Iran throughout its history and to the present day.
Verbindet Brucke: A Bridge Through the Heart of Europacity (2017)
I developed this footbridge design for the 2017 Footbridge conference in Berlin. Although the design and paper were accepted for publication and presentation at the conference, I was unable to attend. This paper remains unpublished, and is provided here to showcase the work I put into this.
An Analytical Model For Predicting The Behaviour of Laterally Restrained Reinforced Concrete Beams (2016)
This dissertation was written as part of my Master of Applied Science (MASc.) degree at the University of Toronto. This research was conducted under the supervision of Professor Paul Gauvreau.
ABSTRACT: In this thesis, an analytical model for predicting the response of laterally restrained, reinforced concrete beams and slab strips is proposed. This model is formulated using a sectional analysis approach that assumes plane sections remain plane, and accounts for both material nonlinearities and second-order effects. A refined version of the model is developed to account for varying support stiffness, diagonal compression field action, slip relative to the support, and bond deterioration. The refined model is shown to correlate well with test data from two existing experimental investigations on laterally restrained beams. Finally, a series of parametric studies are presented to illustrate the influence of concrete strength, mechanical reinforcement ratio, second-order effects, and slip at a support on the capacity of laterally restrained beams or slab strips. The proposed analytical model presented in this thesis provides the basis for the development of a simplified method that can be incorporated into design standards.
Trends and Variability in Extreme Rainfall Events in British Columbia (2011)
ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes hourly rainfall data from a collection of tipping bucket rain gauges in British Columbia. The hourly rainfall data are used to define peaks over threshold (POT) rainfall events for durations of 1, 2, 6, 12 and 24 hours. This database is then used to define, on an annual basis, the number of over threshold events, the average magnitude of the over threshold events, and the largest over threshold event. Trend analysis is conducted for these three variables for each duration and for several common analysis periods drawn from the period 1966 to 2005. The identification and estimation of trends is conducted using the Mann-Kendall nonparametric test for trend. The global, or field, significance of the trend results is established using a bootstrap resampling approach. The research reveals generally increasing trends in extreme rainfall, especially for the summer season and for the short duration rainfall events.