Professor Saouma’s research interests include: 1. Computer (finite element) modeling of concrete material degradation (aging, corrosion) of major infrastructures (dams and nuclear reactors in particular) subjected to seismic load; 2. Theoretical, experimental and computational fracture mechanics as applied to various materials 3. Innovative (concrete) material testing, and large scale dynamic testing of structural components (real time hybrid simulation) 4. Interaction of earthquake and culture (myths, religion, art) 5. Performance based engineering 6. Hand based analysis of historic iconic structures; 7. Arches and Shells.
keywords
concrete deterioration, safety assessment of dams and nuclear reactors, experimental-numerical and theoretical fracture mechanics, innovative (hybrid) structural testing, computer modeling