Specialization

Structural Engineering (Composite and Hybrid Structures)

Email

zakir.mohammad@thapar.edu

Dr. Mohammad Zakir

Assistant Professor (Research)

Contact: 7006419372

Office: Room CD218 (First Floor Civil Engineering Department)

Biography:

Dr. Mohammad Zakir is currently serving as an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Civil Engineering at Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala, since May 2025. Dr. Zakir earned his B.Tech. in Civil Engineering in 2013 from the State Government Engineering College, BGSBU, Jammu & Kashmir, followed by an M.Tech. in Structural Engineering in 2016 from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar. Dr. Zakir was awarded a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from NIT Srinagar on March 15, 2022. Following his doctorate, he was appointed as Principal Project Scientist for an SERB-DST funded project in the Department of Structural Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi), where he served from March 23, 2022, to April 30, 2023. Subsequently, he was selected as a National Postdoctoral Fellow (NPDF) in the Structural Engineering Department at IIT Delhi, serving from May 2023 to April 2025.

Dr. Zakir’s research revolves around the behavior of composite and hybrid structures (FRP, concrete, and steel), particularly emphasizing extensive large-scale experimental testing under axial compression, cyclic and fire loading, and the application of advanced finite element (FE)-based analytical modelling. His research contributions have been to facilitate the development of analysis and design-oriented stress-strain models for modern Hybrid FRP-Concrete-Steel Double Skin Tubular Columns (DSTCs) using experimental testing and a detailed finite element analysis in ANSYS parametric design language (APDL). He has proposed axial load-bearing equations for multiple shaped hybrid DSTCs. He has developed his own advanced FE-based modelling framework in ANSYS-APDL for automation in analytical modelling and nonlinear analysis for composite and hybrid structures under compressive and fire loading. In addition, he has developed various machine learning algorithms for predicting the compressive behavior of hybrid DSTCs.

Education:

• Post-Doctoral Fellow in Structural Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi-April 2025.
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Structural Engineering at National Institute of Technology Srinagar-March 2022.
• M.Tech in Structural Engineering at National Institute of Technology Srinagar-2016.
• B.Tech in Civil Engineering at State Govt Engineering College-BGSBU, J&K-2013

Post Ph.D Experience:

• Principal Project Scientist in the department of structural engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, March 2022- April 2023.
• National Postdoctoral Fellow in the department of structural engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, May 2023-April 2025.

Research Tags:

• Behavior of composite and hybrid structures (FRP, Concrete and Steel).
• Repair and rehabilitation of composite structures.
• Large scale experimental testing under compression, cyclic and fire Loading.
• Advanced numerical modelling techniques in ANSYS- APDL and ABAQUS.
• Machine learning applications in Structural Engineering.

Awards/Honors

• Selected as Principal Project Scientist for the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology (SERB-DST) funded project at IIT, Delhi, 2022.
• Securing funded research project as Principal Investigator (PI) from Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (SERB-DST), 2023.
• Securing National Postdoctoral Fellowship from SERB-DST, Government of India, 2023.
• Securing Travel Grant for presenting my two research articles at the Ninth Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures (APFIS 2024), University of Adelaide, Australia, 8-11 December 2024 from SERB-DST 2024.

Reviewer for Scientific Journals

• Journal of Composites for Construction, ASCE.
• Journal of Constructional Steel Research, Elsevier.
• Construction and Building Materials, Elsevier.
• Structures, Elsevier.
• Innovative Infrastructure Solutions, Springer.
• Frontiers in Built Environment.

Research Publications

1. Zakir M., Sahoo D. R; Souvik S. (2025) “Fire Performance of Concrete Filled Circular Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns: Experimental and Non-Linear Finite Element- Simulation based Investigation”), Thin-Walled Structures, Elsevier (SCI-Q1), Accepted, In Press.
2. Zakir M., and Sahoo D. R. (2024) “Axial Compressive Performance of Hybrid FRP–Concrete–Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns with Varying Slenderness Ratios in Square-Circle Configuration”), ASCE, Journal of Composites for Construction, (SCI-Q1), 28 (6), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/JCCOF2/CCENG-4462.
3. Zakir M., and Sahoo D. R. (2023) “Axial compression behavior of double-skin FRP-concrete-steel tubular columns: Experimental and analytical investigations”), Elsevier, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, (SCI-Q1), 211 (2023), 108183, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2023.108183.
4. Zakir M., and Sofi F.A. (2022) “Experimental and nonlinear FE simulation -based compressive behavior of stiffened FRP -concrete -steel double -skin tubular columns with square outer an d circular inner tubes”), Elsevier, Engineering Structures, (SCI-Q1), 260 (2022), 114237, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.114237.
5. Zakir M., Sofi F. A. and Behera S. (2021) “Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Circular Stiffened FRP Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns and Experimental Compressive Behavior of Multiple DSTC Shapes”), Elsevier, Structures, (SCI-Q1), 34,3283-3299, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2021.09.076.
6. Zakir M., Sofi F. A. and Naqash J. A. (2021) “Compressive testing and finite element analysis-based confined concrete model for stiffened square FRP-concrete-steel double-skin tubular columns”, Elsevier, Journal of Building Engineering, (SCI-Q1), 44 (2021), 103267, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103267.
7. Zakir M., Sofi F. A. and Naqash J. A. (2021) “Experimentally Verified Behavior and Confinement Model for Concrete in Circular Stiffened FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns”, Elsevier, Structures, (SCI Q1), 33, 1144-1157, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2021.05.010 

Book Chapters

1. Sofi F. A., Wani H., Zakir M., Tantray M.A. (2022) “Estimating axial load capacity of concrete-filled double-skin steel tubular columns of multiple shapes using genetic algorithm-optimized artificial neural networks”, Machine Learning Applied to Composites. Springer Nature, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6278-3_9.
2. Sofi F. A., Joo M. R., Zakir M; Seetharaman R. (2021) “Compressive Behavior and Nonlinear Load Carrying Capacity of Multiple-shape Concrete Filled Double-Skin Steel Tubular Columns”, accepted, Recent Advances in Computational and Experimental Solid Mechanics Book by Springer Nature, Mechanics, Vol–I, Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6738-1_39.
3. Sofi F. A., Zakir M., Naqash J. A. (2021) “Experimentally Verified Behavior of Multiple-shape Hybrid FRP Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns under Axial Compression”, accepted, Recent Advances in Computational and Experimental Solid Mechanics Book by Springer Nature, Mechanics, Vol–I, Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6738-1_14.

International Conference Papers

1. Zakir M; and Sahoo D. R. (2024) “Eccentric Compression Behavior of Hybrid Double Skin Tubular Columns with Circle-Circle Configuration”, Conference Proceedings APFIS2024-071, Ninth Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures (APFIS 2024), University of Adelaide, Australia, 8-11 December 2024.
2. Zakir M; and Sahoo D. R. (2024) “Experimental and Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Hybrid FRP-Concrete Steel Double Skin Tubular Columns Subjected to Axial Compression”, Conference Proceedings APFIS2024-018, Ninth Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures (APFIS 2024), University of Adelaide, Australia, 8-11 December 2024.
3. Sofi F. A; Joo M. R., Zakir M Seetharaman R. (2020) “Compressive Behavior and Nonlinear Load Carrying Capacity of Multiple-shape Concrete Filled Double-Skin Steel Tubular Columns”, Conference Proceedings Paper SM-20-032, International Conference on Recent Advances in Computational and Experimental Mechanics (ICRACEM 2020), Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India.
4. Sofi F. A., Zakir M., Naqash J. A. (2020) “Experimentally Verified Behavior of Multiple-shape Hybrid FRP Concrete-Steel Double Skin Tubular Columns under Axial Compression”, Conference Proceedings Paper-EM-20 006, International Conference on Recent Advances in Computational and Experimental Mechanics (ICRACEM 2020), Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India.