Research

My research interests include:

  • large-scale experiments and numerical simulations to evaluate response of structures under extreme multi-hazard loading
  • Innovative structural solutions to address amplified hazard levels and novel hazard patterns due to climate change
  • performance-based design for multi-hazards
  • design optimization of industrial structures
  • repair and strengthening of existing structures
  • space structures / extra-terrestrial habitats

A list of my publications and talks is presented below. For any additional information, please contact me at saahas.bhardwaj@ua.edu

Publications

Refereed Books, Reports, and Design Tools

  1. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H. (2017) “Design of Modular Steel-Plate Composite Walls for Safety-Related Nuclear Facilities,” Design Guide 32, American Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago, IL, USA. https://www.aisc.org/Design-Guide-32-Modular-Steel-Plate-Composite-Walls-for-Safety-Related-Nuclear-Facilities 
  2. Anvari, A.T., Bhardwaj, S.R., Wazalwar, P., Varma, A.H. (2020) “Structural Fire Engineering and Design of Filled Composite Plate Shear Walls (SpeedCore),” Final Report, Charles Pankow Foundation and American Institute of Steel Construction. https://www.aisc.org/globalassets/aisc/research-library/final_report_cpsw_fire_design_cpf_03-18.pdf.
  3. Varma, A., Taghipour Anvari, A., Wazalwar, P., Bhardwaj, S., Hariharan, H. (2020). “Fire design of SpeedCore walls and CFT columns.” (Version 1.1). Purdue University Research Repository. doi:10.4231/93AZ-1K22

Articles in Refereed Journals (Corresponding author is underlined)

  1. Bhardwaj, S.R., Sener, K.C., and Varma, A.H. (2022). “Effects of Accident Thermal Loading on In-Plane Behavior of Steel-plate Composite Walls,” accepted pending revision, Engineering Journal, AISC
  2. Anvari, A.T., Bhardwaj, S.R., Sharma, S., and Varma, A.H., (2022). “Performance of Composite Plate Shear Walls/Concrete Filled (C-PSW/CF) Under Fire Loading: A Numerical Investigation,” Engineering Structures, Elsevier, Vol. 271, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.114883.
  3. Madera Sierra, C., Bhardwaj, S.R., and Varma, A.H. (2022). “Design of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Wall Panels in Industrial Facilities: Eurocode “Sandwich” Model Approach,” European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Taylor and Francis, pp. 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/19648189.2022.2090446
  4. Booth, P.N., Bhardwaj, S.R., Tseng, T. Varma, A.H. (2020). “Ultimate shear strength of steel-plate composite walls with boundary elements,” Journal of Constructional Steel Research, Elsevier, Volume 165, Feb. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2019.105810
  5. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H., Orbovic, N. (2019). “Behavior of Steel-plate Composite Wall Piers under Biaxial Loading,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 145, Issue 2, Feb. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002247
  6. Sener, K.C., Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H. (2019). “Effects of Accident Thermal Loading on Shear Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Members,” ACI Structural Journal, Vol. 116, No. 3, May 2019, American Concrete Institute.
  7. Terranova, B., Bhardwaj, S.R., Whittaker, A., Varma, A.H., Orbovic, N. (2019). “An experimental investigation of the effects of out-of-plane loading on the in-plane seismic response of SC wall piers,” Engineering Structures, Elsevier, Vol. 190, July 2019, pp. 380-388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.04.030
  8. Bhardwaj, S.R., Sener, K.C., Varma, A.H. (2019). “Multi-hazard Investigation and Testing of Steel-plate Composite (SC) Wall Piers: Seismic and Thermal Loads,” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Elsevier, Vol. 348, July 2019, pp. 121-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.03.026
  9. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H., Wazalwar, P. (2019). “Axial Force-Biaxial Moment-Vector Shear (P-M-V) Interaction for Steel-plate Composite Wall Piers,” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Elsevier, Vol. 349, August 2019, pp. 162-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.04.022
  10. Sener, K.C., Varma, A.H., Wang, S., Bhardwaj, S.R., Gallocher, S. (2019). “Modular Steel-plate Composite (SC) Wall Steelbricks: Experimental and Numerical Evaluations,” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.04.032
  11. Bhardwaj, S., Varma, A.H., and Malushte, S. (2017). “Minimum Requirements and Section Detailing Provisions for Steel-Plate Composite (SC) Walls of Safety-Related Nuclear Facilities,” Engineering Journal, AISC, 2nd Quarter, March 2017, pp. 89-107, https://www.aisc.org/Minimum-Requirements-and-Section-Detailing-Provisions-for-Steel-Plate-Composite-SC-Walls-in-Safety#.WRMpghP1DDM

Refereed Conference Proceedings and Manuscripts

  1. Anvari, A.T., Wazalwar, P., Bhardwaj, S.R., and Varma, A.H., (2021). “Stability of concrete-filled composite plate shear walls exposed to non-uniform fire loading,” Proceedings of Annual Stability Conference, Structural Stability Research Council, 12 pp.
  2. Anvari, A.T., Bhardwaj, S.R., Wazalwar, P., Varma, A.H. (2020). “Stability of SpeedCore Walls under Fire Loading: Summary of Numerical Analyses,” Proceedings of Annual Stability Conference, Structural Stability Research Council, 13 pp. https://www.aisc.org/education/continuingeducation/education-archives/stability-of-speedcore-walls-under-fire-loading-summary-of-numerical-analyses/
  3. Wazalwar, P., Bhardwaj, S.R., Anvari, A.T., Varma, A.H. (2020). “Stability of Composite Axial Members under Fire Loading,” Proceedings of Annual Stability Conference, Structural Stability Research Council, 13 pp. https://www.aisc.org/education/continuingeducation/education-archives/stability-of-composite-axial-members-under-fire-loading/
  4. Bhardwaj, S.R., Sharma, S., Taghipour, A., Varma, A.H. (2019). “On the Stability of Composite Plate Shear Walls under Fire Loading,” Annual Stability Conference, Structural Stability Research Council, St. Louis, MO, 15 pp. https://www.aisc.org/globalassets/continuing-education/ssrc-proceedings/2019/bhardwaj_et_al_ssrc_2019.pdf
  5. Al-Shawaf, T, Bhardwaj, S.R., Kennedy, B., Varma, A.H. (2019). “Comparison between Thermal Evaluations of Steel Structures using the New and the Old AISC N690 Code Methods,” International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, SMiRT 25, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 11 pp. https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/37855
  6. Anwar, H.S., Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H. (2019). “On the In-plane Response of Reinforced Concrete Walls for Accident Thermal Loading,” Proceedings of International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, SMiRT 25, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 11 pp. https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/37803
  7. Sharma, S., Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H. (2019). “Investigation of Steel-plate Composite (SC) Wall Behavior for Beyond Design Basis Fire Events,” Proceedings of International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, SMiRT 25, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 12 pp. https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/37958
  8. Bhardwaj, S.R., Wang, A.Y., Varma, A.H. (2018), “Slenderness Requirements for CF-CPSW: The Effects of Concrete Casting,” in Proceedings of Eighth International Conference on Thin-Walled Structures, Lisbon, Portugal, 15 pp.
  9. Bhardwaj, S.R., Sener, K.C., Varma, A.H. (2018). “Experimental Evaluation of Structural Walls for Seismic and Thermal Forces,” in Proceedings of Eleventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A, 11 pp.
  10. Bhardwaj, S.R., Wazalwar, P., Varma, A.H., Tseng, T. (2018). “Interaction of Axial, In-plane, and Out-of-plane Forces in Structural Walls,” in Proceedings of Eleventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A, 11 pp.
  11. Bhardwaj, S.R., Sener, K.C., Varma, A.H. (2017). “Investigation of Accident Thermal Effects on Seismic Performance of Structural Walls,” Transactions of Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, SMiRT-24, Busan, South Korea, 10 pp. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/36097
  12. Malushte, S.R., Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H. (2017). “Rigorous Mechanics-based Stress Acceptance Criteria for SC Containment Structure,” Transactions of Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, SMiRT-24, Busan, South Korea, 9 pp. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/36113
  13. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H., Orbovic, N. (2017). “On the Interaction of In-plane and Out-of-plane Demands for Steel-plate Composite (SC) Walls,” Transactions of Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, SMiRT-24, Busan, South Korea, 11 pp. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/36070
  14. Varma, A.H., Sener, K.C., Bhardwaj, S.R. (2017). “Investigation of Accident Thermal Effects on Reinforced Concrete Beams,” Transactions of Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, SMiRT-24, Busan, South Korea, 10 pp. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/36131
  15. Sener, K.C., Varma, A.H., Wang, S., Bhardwaj, S.R., Gallocher, S. (2017) “Experimental Studies on Modular Steel-concrete Construction Assembled with a Novel Fabrication Technology,” Transactions of Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, SMiRT-24, Busan, South Korea, 10 pp. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/36069
  16. Bhardwaj, S.R., and Varma, A.H. (2017). “SC Wall Compression Behavior: Interaction of Design and Construction Parameters.” Proceedings of the Annual Stability Conference, Structural Stability Research Council, San Antonio, Texas, March 2017, 14 pp.
  17. Bhardwaj, S.R., and Varma, A.H. (2017) “Design of Wall Structures for In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Forces: An Exploratory Evaluation.” Proceedings of Structures Congress. Denver, USA, April 2017, 12 pp. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784480427.046.
  18. Bhardwaj, S.R., and Varma, A.H. (2016). “Effect of Imperfections on the Compression Behavior of SC Walls.” Proceedings of the Annual Stability Conference, Structural Stability Research Council, Orlando, FL. April 12-15, 11 pp.
  19. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H., and Al-Shawaf, T. (2016). “Outline of Specification for Composite Walls in Nuclear Facilities.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, ICONE 24, ASME, Charlotte, NC, 7 pp. doi: 10.1115/ICONE24-60960
  20. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H., and Malushte, S.R (2016). “Design of SC walls and Connections in Nuclear Facilities.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, ICONE 24, ASME, Charlotte, NC, 10 pp. doi: 10.1115/ICONE24-60962
  21. Bhardwaj, S., Varma, A., and Al-Shawaf, T. (2015) “Outline of Specification for Composite SC Walls in Nuclear Facilities.” Proceedings of Structures Congress, ASCE: pp. 1021-1031. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784479117.087
  22. Sener, K., Varma, A.H., and Bhardwaj, S.R. (2015). “Out-of-Plane Shear Strength of SC Walls: Effects of Additional Forces.” Transactions of SMiRT 23, Manchester, UK, Paper ID 697, IASMIRT, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, pp. 1-10, http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/34153
  23. Sener, K.C., Varma, A.H., and Bhardwaj, S.R. (2015). “Accident Thermal Loading Effects on Seismic Behaviour of Safety-Related Nuclear Structures.” Transactions of SMiRT 23, Manchester, UK, Paper ID 701, IASMIRT, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, pp. 1-10, http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/34286
  24. Bhardwaj, S.R., Kurt, E.G., Terranova, B., Varma, A.H., Whittaker, A.S., and Orbovic, N. (2015). “Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Out-of-Plane Loading on the In-Plane Behavior of SC Walls.” Transactions of SMiRT 23, Manchester, UK, Paper ID 712, IASMIRT, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, pp. 1-10, http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/34287
  25. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H., and Sener, K.C. (2015). “On the Calculation of Design Demands for Accident Thermal Loading Combination.” Transactions of SMiRT 23, Manchester, UK, Paper ID 850, IASMIRT, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, pp. 1-10, http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/34279

Articles in Profession Magazines

  1. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H., and Al-Shawaf, T. (2017). “Nuclear Option” Modern Steel Construction, AISC, November 2017, 3 pp. https://www.aisc.org/globalassets/modern-steel/archives/2017/11/steelwise.pdf
  2. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H., and Al-Shawaf, T. (2016). “Nuclear Design Development” Modern Steel Construction, AISC, January 2016, 2 pp. http://msc.aisc.org/globalassets/modern-steel/archives/2016/01/nuclear.pdf
  3. Bhardwaj, S.R., Sener, K.C., and Varma, A.H. (2015). “Investigation of Accident Thermal Effects on Seismic Performance”. Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting, 2015, Washington DC, 4 pp.

Presentations at Conferences / Invited Talks

  1. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2019). “Multi-hazard Resilience: Towards Performance-based Design,” Invited Talk, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, April 2019.
  2. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2019). “Multi-hazard Resilience: Towards Performance-based Design,” Invited Talk, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, April 2019.
  3. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2019). “Multi-hazard Resilience: The Need of the Hour,” Invited Talk, Sonny Astani Department of Civil Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, March 2019.
  4. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2018). “Fire resistant design of Concrete Filled Tubes (CFTs) and Concrete filled composite plate shear walls (C-PSW/CF),” Presentation to AISC TC 8, Fire Committee, Chicago, IL, Nov. 2018.
  5. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2018). “Design Optimization of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures for Safety-related Nuclear Facilities: A Proposed ACI based Approach,” Invited talk at Technological Innovations in Nuclear Civil Engineering (TINCE), Paris. France.
  6. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2018). “Design of Modular Steel-plate Composite Walls for safety-related Nuclear Facilities: AISC Design Guide 32,” Invited talk at Technological Innovations in Nuclear Civil Engineering (TINCE), Paris. France.
  7. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2018). “Using ACI Code Equations along with Linear Elastic FE Analysis Results,” Special session at ACI Convention, Spring 2018, Salt Lake City, UT.
  8. Bhardwaj, S.R., Varma, A.H. (2017). “Design Guide 32: AISC N690 Appendix N9.” Special session at Annual Steel Conference, NASCC, San Antonio, Texas. http://cloud.aisc.org/nascc/2017/370322-E13A.mp4
  9. Bhardwaj, S.R., Sener K.C. (2017). “Calculation of Design Demands for Accident Thermal Loading Combination,” Presented to ACI 349 Committee, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2txzEO1DYY&feature=youtu.be
  10. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2017). “SC Wall Compression Behavior: Interaction of Design and Construction Parameters.” Annual Stability Conference, Structural Stability Research Council, San Antonio, Texas.
  11. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2017). “Design of Wall Structures for In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Forces: An Exploratory Evaluation.” Structures Congress, Denver, USA.
  12. Bhardwaj, S.R., Malushte, S.R. (2017). “Rigorous Mechanics-based stress acceptance criteria for SC Containment Structure.” SMiRT 24, Busan, South Korea.
  13. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2017). “Investigation of Accident Thermal Effects on Seismic Performance of Structural Walls.” SMiRT 24, Busan, South Korea.
  14. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2017). “On the Interaction of In-Plane and Out-Of-Plane Demands for Steel-Plate Composite (SC) Walls.” SMiRT 24, Busan, South Korea.
  15. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2016). “Effect of Imperfections on the Compression Behavior of SC Walls.” Annual Stability Conference, Structural Stability Research Council, Orlando, FL.
  16. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2015). “Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Out-of-Plane Loading on the In-Plane Behavior of SC Walls.” SMiRT 23, Manchester, UK.
  17. Bhardwaj, S.R. (2015). “On the Calculation of Design Demands for Accident Thermal Loading Combination.” SMiRT 23, Manchester, UK.