Overview

The Department of Civil Engineering at UNC Charlotte provides opportunities for discipline specific and multidisciplinary graduate-level education in civil engineering.  Advanced course work and research are used to enhance professional competency through a master's degree.  Doctoral studies leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) are available through a cooperative arrangement with North Carolina State University (NCSU).  Research and teaching assistantships and tuition remission are available in the Department of Civil Engineering at UNC Charlotte on a competitive basis to highly qualified applicants.

The Structures and Materials Program within the Department of Civil Engineering offers graduate study in several areas including traditional construction materials, application of optimization and finite element techniques to structural systems, structural rehabilitation, advanced materials such as fiber reinforced polymers, durability and corrosion studies, and highway bridge analysis and testing.  (Click here to lean more about the College of Engineering and UNC Charlotte)

Facilities

The Department of Civil Engineering is located in the Smith Building on the UNC Charlotte campus.  Facilities available for research and instruction in civil engineering are located in Smith and Kennedy Buildings, and the C.C. Cameron Applied Research Center (CARC). 

Structures and materials research is primarily housed in the Smith Building and equipment includes several automated data acquisition and control systems, two independent servo-hydraulic testing systems, a structural load frame (with integrated strong floor, reaction wall, and overhead crane), precision electromagnetic force compensation scales, high capacity concrete compression equipment, and a scanning electron microscope. (Click here for a detailed description of Structures Lab Equipment)

Faculty

David M. Boyajian, Assistant Professor, 2003, Ph.D., West Virginia University.  Solid Mechanics and Structures, Experimental Fracture Mechanics, Durability Investigations, Engineered-Advanced Materials.  (dboyajia@uncc.edu)

Janos Gergely, Associate Professor, 1998, Ph.D., University of Utah, P.E.  Structures and Bridges, Structural Strengthening,  Composite Materials.  (jgergely@uncc.edu)

David C. Weggel, Assistant Professor, 2002, Ph.D., Drexel University.  Structural Dynamics, Seismic Design. (dcweggel@uncc.edu)

David T. Young, Professor and Chairman, 1985, Ph.D., Virginia Tech, P.E. Structural Failure Investigations, Masonry Materials, New and High Performance Structural Materials. (dyoung@uncc.edu)

Graduate and Undergraduate Students

Graduate Students

Monzer Allam, Kevin Bailey, Mike Beigay, Peter Foster, Tim Lawrence, Claudia Prado, Chad Ritter, Travis Sinclair, Mike Stewart, Brad Stiller, Brett Tempest, Tim Townsend, Bihn Vo, Jeremy Wallace, Brian Zapata

Undergraduate Assistants

Keith Ammons, Josh Bledsoe, Jennifer Carroll, Caroline Cone, Chris Frank, Doug Naumann Jr., Logan Smith, Avery Turner

 Current Projects

Bridge Analysis vis-à-vis Performance (NCDOT)

Structural Insulated Panels (WA Brown)

Chloride Permeability and Diffusion Coefficients (NCDOT)

Curtain Wall Evaluation (EFCO)

Analytical Modeling of Masonry Systems Retrofitted by FRP Composites (NSF)

Selected Publications

Beigay, M, Young, D.T., and Gergely, J., “An Improved Composite Anchoring System,” 3^rd International Conference on Composites in Infrastructure, San Francisco, June 2002.

Boyajian, D.M., Davalos, J.F. and Ray, I., "Appraisal of the Novel Single Contoured-Cantilever Beam," Materials and Structures, RILEM (submitted for publication, March, 2003).

Boyajian, D.M., Davalos, J.F. and Ray, I., "Freezing and Thawing Effects on the Fracture Toughness of Concrete-CFRP Interfaces," 14^th International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM-14, 10 pp. (2003).

Boyajian, D.M., Davalos, J.F. and Ray, I., "The CFRP-Concrete Interface Subjected to Sodium -Sulfate and -Hydroxide Attack," 17^th Annual Technical Conference: American Society for Composites, ASC-17, Session WB5, Paper 088, published by CRC press, LLC (on CD-ROM), 9 pp. (2002).

Pantelides, C.P., and Gergely, J., “Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Seismic Retrofit of RC Bridge Bent: Design and In Situ Validation,” Journal of Composites for Construction, ASCE, Vol. 6, No. 1, February 2002 – Received the 2002 BEST APPLIED RESEARCH PAPER AWARD from the Journal of Composites for Construction, ASCE.

Salom, P.R., Gergely, J., and Young, D.T., “Torsional Strengthening of Spandrel Beams with FRP Laminates,” Journal of Composites for Construction, ASCE, in print, September 2003.

Vandergrift, J., Gergely, J., and Young, D.T., “Composite Retrofit of Timber Beams,” Journal of Composites for Construction, ASCE, submitted in June 2003.