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Mr Pavan Chigullapally
MS - Civil Engineering (Structures) - North Carolina State University, Raleigh, US. B.Tech – Civil Engineering - Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU), Varanasi, India.
Biography
Pavan did his under graduation at IIT-BHU, Varanasi, India and graduated from it in 2010. He then worked as an Assistant Manager for 2 years at Reliance Infrastructure, India in 2 – 4000MW thermal power plants. Later, he moved to USA to complete his MS in Structural Engineering at NC State University. There he was awarded a full departmental research scholarship and worked on various research projects related to FRP, Nondestructive testing of Materials, and Bridge test inspections etc. After completing his Masters in 2014, he moved to Manhattan, New York, to further his career as a structural engineer designing high rise buildings. 99 Hudson in NJ, 15 East 30th street, NY etc. are some of the projects he worked on. He then moved to Auckland, NZ in 2017 to pursue his PhD. He is now a Ph.D. Candidate and QuakeCoRE scholar at the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Auckland.
Research | Current
The main objective of this research is to characterize the in-situ behavior of reinforced concrete bridge components that are typical of New Zealand design. By undertaking a suite of field tests on the Whirokino Trestle during its demolition and the extraction of components for off-site testing. Six isolated pile tests under monotonic pushover and cyclic pushover were performed during the demolition of the bridge on-site. Following field testing, I will focus on the development of analytical models for the Whirokino Bridge piles, Henderson Creek Bridge piles, and Thorndon Bridge using OpenSeesPy to capture the strength and dynamic properties of bridges components and subassemblies, allowing for an assessment of the ability of existing modeling techniques to represent the in-situ characteristics. Using this information, we can analyze different possible failure modes of the bridge as a whole and at an element level. The data obtained during this research program will be used in improving assessment approaches for existing bridges and their potential retrofitting needs in New Zealand, as well as being applicable to older buildings in New Zealand that have similar column designs.
Some more information related to my research covered by various organizations:
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/media-releases/old-whirokino-trestle-stands-up-to-destructive-earthquake-testing/
https://www.eqc.govt.nz/news/old-whirokino-trestle-stands-up-to-destructive-earthquake-testing
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/old-bridge-tested-give-researchers-idea-earthquake-proof-bridges
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/horowhenua-chronicle/news/earthquake-simulation-on-old-whirokino-trestle-to-provide-valuable-data/2W2MM4Z3Z2VS56SVNR3KWYNYFU/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPp8GHgAEY8&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=WakaKotahiNZTransportAgency
https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/manawatu-guardian/20200611/281569472966381
Teaching | Current
Civil 331 (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
Civil 221(Graduate Teaching Assistant)
Civil 210(Graduate Teaching Assistant)
Distinctions/Honours
2017 QuakeCoRE PhD Scholarship - NZ
2012 NCSU Civil Department Research Scholarship - US
2006 Prathiba Award - State Government of A.P. - India
Areas of expertise
Seismic assessment of reinforced concrete bridges and structures
Performance of reinforced concrete components of bridges
Nonlinear analysis of structures
High Rise building design
Bridge Design and Construction
Seismic analysis using OpenSees python
Selected publications and creative works (Research Outputs)
- Roeslin, S., Ma, T. M. Q. M., Chigullapally, P. C., Wicker, J. S. W., & Wotherspoon, L. M. W. (2020). Feature Engineering for a Seismic Loss Prediction Model using Machine Learning, Christchurch Experience. 17WCEE 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering Sendai, Japan. Related URL.
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Joerg Wicker, Liam Wotherspoon - Lew, S. W., Wotherspoon, L., Hogan, L., Al-Ani, M., Chigullapally, P., & Sadashiva, V. (2020). Assessment of the historic seismic performance of the New Zealand highway bridge stock. STRUCTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING10.1080/15732479.2020.1762675
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Shong Wai Lew, Liam Wotherspoon, Lucas Hogan
Contact details
Primary office location
B906 STRUCTURES HALL - Bldg 906
Level 3, Room 331
262 KHYBER PASS
NEWMARKET
AUCKLAND 1023
New Zealand