Sherif El-Tawil

Dr. Sherif El-Tawil, PE

Professor

Dept. of Civil and Env. Engineering

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125

Ph (734) 764-5617 Fax (734) 764-4292

eltawil@umich.edu

Biography

I graduated with honors from Cairo University in 1989 with a BS in Civil Engineering. I subsequently joined the Civil Engineering Department at the University as a teaching assistant in the Reinforced Concrete Division. After receiving a MS in Structural Engineering in 1991, also from Cairo University, I attended Cornell University to pursue a PhD in Civil/Structural Engineering. There I conducted research with Greg Deierlein, Richard White and Peter Gergely on a variety of topics. In late 1995, I visited the Nippon Steel Corporation as a research scientist in their Steel Structure Development Center, where I developed new computational models for reinforced concrete-steel (RCS) composite connections. After receiving my PhD degree from Cornell in May 1996, I joined the faculty of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Central Florida. At UCF, I pursued computational simulation research on steel and composite steel-concrete structures, focusing in particular on seismic hazard mitigation. I also explored a number of other research areas, including the use of fiber reinforced polymers for strengthening steel and concrete structures as well applications of shape memory alloys for prestressing concrete. In fall 2002, I joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, where I have since been.

Professional Activities

I am active in several professional organizations including the American Concrete Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Institute of Steel Construction. Within ASCE, I am incoming Editor of the Journal of Structural Engineering after having served for many years as Managing Editor. I serve as chair of the Technical Administrative Committee on Metals and former chair of the Committee on Composite Steel-Concrete Construction. I was also lead author and chair of a special ASCE committee that recently released the ASCE design guide titled Recommendations for Seismic Design of Hybrid Coupled Wall Systems.

Industrial Experience and Patents

My work has not only been academic, but I have also served as consultant to major companies and to national agencies such as the Florida Department of Transportation, Louisiana Department of Transportation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In addition, I worked in consulting firms early on in my career. I have two pending patents and have made several invention disclosures. The pending patents are:

Dong Joo Kim, Sherif El-Tawil, and Antoine E. Naaman, Impact pulse generating apparatus and method using elastic strain energy, Full patent filed in South Korea in September 2009, Application number: 10-2009-0015379. Patent pending.

G. Voyiadjis and S. El-Tawil, Plastic Energy Absorbing Bridge Fenders for Vessel Applications; US provisional patent filed 09/2008. Full US utility patent filed in March 2010. Application serial number 61,210,971. Patent pending.

Current Research Interests

I am currently interested in how buildings and bridges behave under the extreme loading conditions generated by manmade and natural hazards such as seismic excitation, collision by heavy objects, and blast. I am actively investigating how to utilize new materials and technologies to create innovative structural systems that mitigate the potentially catastrophic effects of extreme loading. Much of my research is focused on the computational and theoretical aspects of structural engineering, with particular emphasis on computational simulation, grid computing technology, finite element analysis, constitutive modeling, macro-plasticity formulations, nonlinear solution strategies and visualization techniques.

Research Awards

	Moisseiff Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2008.
	Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, American Soc. of Civil Engineers, 2007.
	Arthur M. Wellington Prize, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2006.
	Faculty Recognition Award, University of Michigan, 2006.
	Best Paper Award, 2005 Construction Research Congress, San Diego, CA, American Society of Civil Engineers.
	Outstanding Achievement Award, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, April 2005.
	Norman Medal, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2002.

Research Highlights

Enter an imploding steel building (6 MB) or examine from the outside how the collapse process progresses (19 MB). Visit CSSL for more information about visualizing finite element results in virtual reality.

Note: these animations require a TSCC codec

When a critical column is damaged as a result of an extreme loading event (picture), catenary action allows gravity load that was previously supported by the damaged element to span adjacent structural members. The 2 animations below the results of a simulation conducted to investigate the role of catenary action as a steel subassemblage responds to column loss. The simulations shows ductile fracture occurring in a RBS beam-column moment connection as it undergoes very large deformations in catenary mode.

Top View (Large file: 13 MB), 3-D View (Large file; 16 MB)

Some interesting animations showing higher mode effects (i.e. whiplash effects) in tall structures subjected to earthquakes. The buildings are reduced-beam-section steel moment frames and are designed according to the latest design specifications. The blue colors indicate initiation of yielding in the members, while the blue triangles indicate plastification of the reduced beam section.

4-story frame (198 KB), 8-story frame (266 KB), 16-story frame (437 KB)

Picture showing overview of crash simulation conducted to investigate bridge vulnerability to extreme events. The pier, piles, pile cap, surrounding soil, elastomeric bearings, and superstructure are all modeled in this simulation.

Animation showing 18,000-lb truck colliding with bridge Pier (609 KB).

Closeup of animation (Large file, 2 MB).