Prof. Aleksandar Pavic

Professor of Vibration Engineering
Faculty Director of Research & Innovation

Address:
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering
Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD

Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 5721
Fax: +44 (0) 114 222 5791
Email (Academic): a.pavic@sheffield.ac.uk
Email (Faculty Research & Innovation): driengineering@sheffield.ac.uk

Qualifications

BSc (University of Belgrade), MSc (University of Belgrade), PhD (University of Sheffield), MIStructE

Profile

Professor Aleksandar Pavic is a graduate of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia where he graduated in 1988 and worked before coming to the UK in 1992. He was appointed a Lecturer in Structural Engineering in January 1996 after spending just over two years as a doctoral student in the Department. This was followed by his promotions to a Senior Lecturer in October 2002 and a Personal Chair in Vibration Engineering in March 2004. Two months later, in May 2004, he became a research professor as he was awarded a prestigious 5-year Advanced Research (AR) Fellowship between 2004 and 2009, funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to work on a novel Stochastic approach to human-structure dynamic interaction.

Professor Pavic heads the Vibration Engineering Section in the Department. His research portfolio is focused on vibration performance of civil engineering structures. His particular expertise is in vibration serviceability of slender civil engineering structures, such as long-span floors, footbridges and grandstands, which are occupied and dynamically excited by humans. This portfolio is underpinned by advanced research tools such as vibration testing and system identification of as-built large civil engineering structures using full-scale modal testing and finite element model correlation and updating based on experimental measurements. This is a high-tech approach to structural vibration widely used in mechanical and aerospace engineering disciplines, parts of which have been adapted and transferred into civil engineering applications by Professor Pavic and his team. Since gaining his PhD in 1999, he has authored and co-authored more than 150 publications including at least 50 refereed journal papers.

Professor Pavic has edited two special issues of international journals devoted to vibration performance of civil engineering structures. Firstly, a special issue on Vibration Serviceability published in 2006 by ICE Proceedings Structures and Buildings. Then in 2007, a special issue on Crowd Dynamic Loading of Assembly Structures published by Shock and Vibration. His contribution has been recognised in three key recently published state-of-the-art design guidelines which are currently used in the UK and internationally when checking vibration serviceability of floors and footbridges. These were published by:

• The Concrete Society (Technical Report 43, Appendix G: Vibration Serviceability of Post-Tensioned Concrete Floors) in 2005,
• The Concrete Centre (A Design Guide for Footfall Induced Vibration of Structures) in 2007, and
• The Steel Construction Institute (Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach) in 2007.

Professional Activities and Distinctions

• Appointed to the role of Faculty of Engineering Director of Research & Innovation (R&I) in September 2011, utilising his experience in Civil Engineering research and working with commercial partners to lead the Faculty’s R&I having annual portfolio of over £30m. This followed 5-year AR Fellowship which finished in 2009, and successful periods as Departmental Director of R&I (2009/10) and Deputy Head of Department (2010/11).
• Academic expert advising on the vibration serviceability problems. Explicit acknowledgements of contribution given in the current floor/footbridge vibration serviceability guidelines published by the Concrete Society, Concrete Centre and the Steel Construction Institute.
• Since 2006 EPSRC College Member and expert assessor of international standing for the Australian Research Council (ARC), South Africa's National Research Foundation (SANRF) and Portuguese National Research Funding Agency (FCT).
• Member of International Standardisation Organisation Working Group ISO/TC98/SC2/WG9 which updated ISO 10137 guidelines on serviceability of buildings against vibration in 2007.
• Member of the national IStructE/ODPM/DCMS Working Group on the Dynamic Performance and Design of Stadia Structures and Seating Decks. Co-authored the current UK design guidance.
• Media commentator on contemporary scientific issues related to the vibration of public structures, such as footbridges, floors and grandstands.

Selected Publications

• Jones CA, Pavic A, Reynolds P and Harrison RE (2011) Verification of equivalent mass-spring-damper models for crowd-structure vibration response prediction. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering Structures, 38 (10), pp 1122-1135. ISSN 0141-0296.
• Jones CA, Reynolds P and Pavic A (2011) Vibration serviceability of stadia structures subjected to crowd loads: a literature review. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 330 (8), April, pp 1531-1566. ISSN 0022-460X.
• Zivanovic S, Pavic A and INGOLFSSON E (2010) Modelling Spatially Unrestricted Pedestrian Traffic on Footbridges. ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering, 136 (10), pp 1296-1308. ISSN 0733-9445.
• Racic V and Pavic A (2010) Mathematical model to generate near-periodic human jumping force signals. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 24 (1), January, pp 138-152. ISSN 0888-3270. DOI 10.1016/j.ymssp.2009.07.001
• Racic V and Pavic A (2009) Mathematical model to generate asymmetric pulses due to human jumping. ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 135 (10), October, pp 1206-1211. ISSN 0733-9399. DOI 10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0000044

Grants

• 2009-2014: "Dynamic Performance of Large Civil Engineering Structures: An Integrated Approach to Management, Design and Assessment" funded by EPSRC. Investigators: A Pavic (Principal Investigator, PI), JMW Brownjohn, M Petkovski and P Reynolds. Value: £779,987.
• 2007-2009: "Human walking and running forces: Novel experimental characterisation and application in civil engineering dynamics" funded by EPSRC. Investigators: JMW Brownjohn, A Pavic (Co-I) and P Reynolds. Value: £306,675.
• 2006-2010: "Vibration behaviour of stadia structures under crowd dynamic loading using data from full-scale structures" funded by EPSRC and ARUP. Investigator: A Pavic (PI). Value: £80,000.
• 2005-2008: "Stochastic approach to human-structure dynamic interaction" funded by EPSRC. Investigator: A Pavic (PI). Value: £271,462.
• 2004-2009: "Advanced Fellowship: Stochastic approach to human-structure dynamic interaction" funded by EPSRC. Investigator: A Pavic (PI). Value: £325,382.
• 2004-2008: "Dynamic Behaviour of Stadia Under Human Occupation and Excitation" funded by EPSRC. Investigators: P Reynolds and A Pavic (Co-I). Value: £323,318.
• 2003-2007: "Investigation of the as-built vibration performance of system-built floors" funded by EPSRC. Investigators: A Pavic (PI), P Reynolds and P Waldron. Value: £278,681.
• 2002: "Human-Engineering Interfaces: Development of a Vibro-Acoustic Research Facility in Sheffield" funded by HEFCE Science Research Investment Funding (SRIF) Initiative. Investigators: A Pavic (PI). Value: £200,000.
• 2001: "Capture and Analysis of Vibration Data from an Unfinished Laboratory Floor" funded by DETR and Buro Happold Consulting Engineers. Investigators: A Pavic (PI) and P Reynolds. Value: £18,510.
• 2001-2004: "Dynamic Crowd Loading on Flexible Stadium Structures" funded by EPSRC. Investigators: A Pavic (PI), P Waldron and P Reynolds. Value: £109,740.

Teaching

• Staff Member Responsible (SMR) for MSc module CIV6180 Vibration Engineering delivered on-campus as a 3-week block taught module which utilises Computer Aided Learning (CAL) MATLAB software code called NDOF and advanced on-line Blackboard-based communications and assessment technology.