MSc. Projects (2017 - 2019) at TU Delft
Analytical and Numerical Study of Arch Action in T-beam Bridges (MSc. Thesis)
Most of the bridges constructed in 60s and 70s near the end of their service life and it is vital to reassess their load bearing capacities. Upon assessment most of these bridges do not fulfill the requirement of the current Eurocode, however, upon assessment these structures show no sign of distress. This project investigates the development of arch action in longitudinal direction of the main girder of a T-beam bridge in efforts to explain this hidden capacity of the structure. Analytical methods are developed to quantify the arch action using the results of non-linear finite element analysis and a case-study is also discussed.
Concept Structural Design and Method Statement for an Off-shore Water Purification and Power Generation Plant including Cost and Risk Analysis (MSc.)
The concept design of a floating water desalination and power generation plant was required within the specified boundary conditions and functional requirements which include but are not limited to: 20000 cubic meter of fresh water storage space, 600 cubic meter of fuel storage, 120 KN per meter square bearing capacity at final location and a 4 meter free board. The optimal construction solution is reached by comparing the risk/cost of construction in the available floating dock or a graving dock for six alternatives. Some other decisions have also been made including the material and type of form work, making the structure on shore or off shore and using the type of ballast at final location.
Optimization of reinforcement in pile caps using DIANA (Comparison of manual calculation with 2D and 3D models) - Intern at ABT BV
Pile foundations are the most used types of foundations in the Netherlands due to the poor sub-surface soil conditions in most part of the country. Unfortunately, even after such an appreciable application the Eurocode does not give a direct method for the design of pile caps and the older norms are still used for the design which deliberately tend to be on the conservative side. The aim of this internship at ABT was to determine if there was a room for optimization in the design of pile caps by comparing the results of the manual calculation, 2D model and 3D model in DIANA (A finite element method software). ABT also uses python scripting for automation of modelling therefore, a parametric python script was also developed for both 2D and 3D models.