Research Projects and Activities
Critical infrastructure systems, or lifelines, provide services, such as energy, transportation, water, sanitation, and communications, that are essential for social and economic activities. These systems serve large populations and comprise networks that are geographically distributed. The systems are also interdependent, meaning that failure of one system paralyzes the functionality of other dependent infrastructure systems, resulting in societal consequences and financial losses not accounted for in conventional, single-infrastructure design and assessment strategies.
Dr. Alipour’s research group’s investigates a wide range of structures, such as buildings, bridges, utility poles, and transmission towers, at the component level, and their associated infrastructure systems, such as transportation and electric power networks at the system level. The investigations cover a variety of hazards, including earthquakes, windstorms, and flooding events.
The research generally takes place in the following categories:
- High-fidelity computational simulations of structural systems under multi-hazard conditions
- Data-driven, performance-based engineering of structures to achieve long-term sustainability and safety
- Network-level investigation of interactions among infrastructure systems to enhance their resilience
- Optimization of design and strengthening of civil infrastructures based on life-cycle performance objectives
Insights from our research can help various stakeholders, including decision makers, design engineers, asset managers, and planners, make more informed decisions to minimize the impact of natural disasters on the civil infrastructures that serve the communities, especially where/when there is a high exposure risk. Further information about our ongoing research activities can be found in:
Dr. Alipour’s research group has secured more than 20 sponsored research projects (total exceeding $4.0M) from various agencies.
Some of the main research projects are:
Project Title: Structural Design Software Development for Wind Response Research
Sponsor: National Institute of Standards and Technology (Role: PI)
Duration: 2021-2022
Project Title: Wind-Loaded Structures
Sponsor: Wisconsin Highway Research Program (Role: PI)
Duration: 2021-2023
Project Title: Next Generation Life Cycle Cost Analysis Tool for Bridges in Iowa – Phase II
Sponsor: Iowa Highway Research Board (Role: PI)
Duration: 2021-2023
Project Title: GIS Tool to Plan Mitigation and Recovery of Gridlines under Natural Hazards to Improve Resiliency
Sponsor: Iowa Energy Center (Role: PI)
Duration: 2021-2023
Project Title: Rethinking the Role of Building Envelopes with Smart Morphing Facades
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)
Duration: 2019-2022
Project Title: Design and Detailing Requirements for Columns under Collision
Sponsor: Iowa Highway Research Board (Role: PI)
Duration: 2019-2020
Project Title: Performance-Based Risk Assessment and Mitigation Tool for Buildings under Extreme Wind Events
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)
Duration: 2018-2021
Project Title: CAREER: Transforming Resiliency of Electric Power Network with Multi-Threat, Risk-Informed Design and Assessment Strategies
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)
Duration: 2018-2023
Project Title: Extreme Weather Events, Proxy Indicators, and Asset Management
Sponsor: Iowa Department of Transportation (Role: PI)
Duration: 2018-2020
Project Title: Next Generation Life Cycle Cost Analysis Tool for Bridges in Iowa
Sponsor: Iowa Highway Research Board (Role: PI)
Duration: 2018-2019
Project Title: Development of Guidelines to Establish Effective and Efficient Timelines and Incentives for ABC
Sponsor: Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (Role: PI)
Duration: 2017-2018
Project Title: Bridge Research to K-12
Sponsor: Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (Role: Co-PI)
Duration: 2017-2018
Project Title: Assessing and Enhancing the Transportation Resilience for the State of Iowa
Sponsor: Iowa Department of Transportation (Role: PI)
Duration: 2017-2019
Project Title: Development of a Novel Aerodynamic Solution to Mitigate Large Vibrations in Traffic Signal Structures
Sponsor: National Cooperative Highway Research Program Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (NCHRP-IDEA) (Role: PI)
Duration: 2017-2020
Project Title: Fatigue Evaluation of Reinforced and Unreinforced Hand Holes in Light Poles
Sponsor: Iowa Department of Transportation (Role: PI)
Duration: 2017-2020
Project Title: Initiative for Big Data-Driven Prediction of Long-Term Bridge Performance and Management Improvement
Sponsor: Midwest Transportation Center (Role: Co-PI)
Duration: 2016-2017
Project Title: Resilience Enhancement of Electric Power Systems and Associated Infrastructures
Sponsor: Iowa Energy Center (Role: PI)
Duration: 2016-2017
Project Title: Partially Grouted Revetment for Low Volume Road Bridges
Sponsor: Iowa Highway Research Board (Role: Co-PI)
Duration: 2016-2018
Project Title: Development of High Performance Control Systems for Wind Response Mitigation
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: Co-PI)
Duration: 2016-2019
Project Title: An Integrated Project- to Enterprise-Level Decision Making Framework for Prioritization of Accelerated Bridge Construction
Sponsor: Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (Role: PI)
Duration: 2016-2017
Project Title: Next-Generation Monitoring and Evaluation of California Bridges
Sponsor: California Department of Transportation (Role: PI)
Duration: 2016-2017
Project Title: Multi-scale Resilience Assessment of Highway Transportation Networks Subject to Extreme Flood Events
Sponsor: Midwest Transportation Center (Role: PI)
Duration: 2015-2016
Project Title: Post-Extreme Event Assessment of Infrastructure Damage to Highway Bridges
Sponsor: National Cooperative Highway Research Program (Role: PI)
Duration: 2014-2015