First-level Doctorate Discipline in Civil Engineering

1. Structural Engineering Discipline

1) Modern Masonry Structure

This field focuses on self-insulation block and wall insulation technology; new energy-saving building system; crack prevention, energy saving and earthquake resistance of masonry structure.

2) New Composite Structure

This field focuses on the theory and application of steel and concrete composite beams, steel-reinforced concrete structures, corrugated metal sheet concrete composite floors, enveloped steel-reinforced concrete structures and concrete filled steel tube structures.

3) Structural Reliability and structural Design Theory

This field focuses on load and structural design method, and the design and calculation theory of concrete structure, masonry structure and steel structure.

4) Inspection and Reinforcement Technology of Engineering Structure

This field focuses on inspection and evaluation methods of existing buildings, and their renovation policies and related standards. This helps solve the problems in these buildings such as poor safety, applicability and function; serious waste of resources and energy.

5) Research on key Technologies of Modern Building Industrialization

This field focuses on the performance and standardization, assembly technology, certification technology, information management technology and production technology of key members such as composite exterior wall, partition wall, floor, kitchen and toilet.

2. Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Discipine

1) Vibration Control and Intelligent structure of Engineering Structure

Vibration control of engineering structures is a new field of seismic (vibration) and wind resistance, including vibration isolation, energy dissipation, passive control, active control, semi-active control, hybrid control, and intelligent control. This field mainly studies the ways of adjusting or changing the dynamic parameters of the structure. This can obviously reduce the vibration (seismic) dynamic response of the structure, and effectively protect the safety of the structure and internal facilities in the strong earthquake, or enable the structure to meet higher damping (vibration) requirements under the action of other external interference forces. With the increasing requirements for seismic (vibration) and wind resistance, the vibration control and intelligent structure technology of engineering structures will be more and more widely used.

2) Structural Seismic Theory and Engineering Application

Structural seismic theory and engineering application is one of the main research directions of structural engineering. It is mainly engaged in random vibration theory and application, structural seismic response analysis, structural seismic design theory and method, transmission tower system seismic analysis and so on.

3) Explosion Resistance of Engineering Structures

The research on explosion resistance of engineering structures is a new research field in recent years. With the progress of science and technology, how to ensure the safety of structures under the action of explosion load and shock wave has become an important problem in the field of engineering. This field mainly studies the mechanical properties of all kinds of components and structures under explosive load, as well as all kinds of numerical simulation analysis and so on.

4) Health Monitoring, Diagnosis and Reinforcement of Engineering Structures

This field focuses on using modern testing and analysis technology to evaluate its health status, so as to take corresponding measures for maintenance and reinforcement. It mainly studies the basic theories, methods and techniques of engineering structural health monitoring, which include the study on structural health diagnosis method, data acquisition, transmission, analysis and processing, identification of damage location and degree, control algorithm, controller manufacture and performance, optimal layout of controller, and structural reliability evaluation.

5) Fire Prevention, Disaster Reduction and Reinforcement Technology of Building structure

With the development of economy, the loss caused by building fire is increasing. It is urgent to understand the behavior of building structure in fire in order to prevent, reduce and strengthen the fire prevention and reinforcement of building structure. This field mainly includes the analysis of fire resistance of building structure, the response of building structure in fire and the technology of post-disaster reinforcement and repair.

6) Urban Earthquake Damage

Combining seismology and civil engineering seismology, this field studies the problem of earthquake damage in near-fault cities with the emphasis on structural groups. For the actual seismic process including source, propagation medium and urban structure group, experimental study is infeasible. So the study is carried out by means of “numerical experiment” of integrated wave simulation based on wave path. The study will considering the rupture process of the earthquake generating fault and the propagation process of the excited seismic wave in the geotechnical medium and structure (group), and then find out the seismic response characteristics and laws of the near-fault urban structure group, so as to prevent and reduce the earthquake disaster loss of the city or the city. The study can can reproduce the response of structural groups in the process of earthquake and thoroughly explain the phenomenon of urban earthquake damage, and predict the possible near-fault earthquake damage of urban structural groups in the future. So, it can provide scientific basis for earthquake safety evaluation of cities, rational planning and layout of urban structure groups, and location of major projects.

3. Geotechnical Engineering Discipline

1) Soft Soil Foundation and Foundation Engineering

Based on the needs of Liaoning coastal economic belt, “Five Points and One Line” construction and “Breaking through Northwest Liaoning” construction, this field makes an in-depth and systematic study on the engineering characteristics, bearing capacity, deformation and control standards, foundation treatment technology and static pressure pipe pile technology of coastal soft soil foundation and collapsible loess in western Liaoning. This can solve the geotechnical technical problems restricting the infrastructure construction of Liaoning 12th Five-year Plan, so as to provide technical support for engineering construction. A special study on the reuse of solid waste resources such as scrap steel slag and sea ash is being carried out, based on the in-depth understanding of circular economy and the development demand of building a green ecological city. Considering the engineering characteristics of solid waste resources, the study focuses on developing new materials, new construction methods and new technologies with solid waste resources as basic building materials in the fields of soft foundation and roadbed. The research direction is characterized by the combination of applicable technology and innovative technology, the combination of “production, learning, research and application”. The study will serve the local economy development by providing technical services and technical trainings, and commercializing the innovations.

2) New Pavement Material and Pavement Structure Design Theory

This field involves two aspects: one is to study the new pavement materials used in highway construction and maintenance engineering (including modified asphalt mixture, rubber asphalt mixture, high modulus asphalt mixture, warm mix asphalt mixture, recycled asphalt mixture, inorganic binder stabilizing waste pavement materials, various sealing layers and stress absorption materials), focusing on the composition design and road performance of these new pavement materials. The second is to study the structural mechanical response law of semi-rigid base asphalt pavement, composite and inverted asphalt pavement and long-life asphalt pavement under the action of complex traffic and environmental factors, as well as the theory and method of structural design.

4. Bridge and Tunnel Engineering Discipline

1) Design Theory and Engineering Control of long-Span Bridge

This field focuses on the mechanical characteristics of long-span cable-stayed bridge, steel pipe arch bridge, long-span arch bridge, thin-walled box girder bridge, continuous prestressed bridge and landscape bridge. It mainly includes the research on the theory and application of the ultimate bearing capacity of the overall stability of bridge structure; the spatial analysis theory of modern long-span bridge and structure; the stability theory of bridge structure; high performance concrete and its application in bridge engineering; the theoretical study of modern prestressed concrete structure; the nonlinear behavior of bridge structure; the fatigue of steel pipe joints; the construction control of long-span bridges.

2) Wind Resistance and Seismic performance of Bridges

It mainly studies the wind resistance, seismic performance, performance-based seismic design, ductile seismic design, bridge structural members with high seismic performance, vibration control and related basic theory. Through quasi-static and dynamic tests, the vibration characteristics of bridges under overweight vehicle excitation are studied. Through the analysis of the characteristics of regional earthquakes, the seismic performance of prestressed box girders and box girders without telescopic devices is studied, and the seismic theory of prestressed structures is improved. Through experiments and numerical analysis, the bridge structural members with good seismic performance are studied and the seismic performance of the whole bridge is optimized.

3) Theory of Tunnel and Underground Engineering.

The latest theory and technology are applied to solve the safety construction problems such as tunnel, underground engineering support, and ventilation. This field studies the structure, site selection, design and calculation of tunnel and underground engineering, as well as the related surrounding rock stability theory and mechanical analysis methods are studied. The study on the theory and method of geological disease treatment of tunnel and underground engineering should be carried out in order to form the characteristics of the subject.