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Prof. H.D. Yapa

Professor

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Office Address:
Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Peradeniya,
Peradeniya, 20400, Sri Lanka.

Biography

Prof. Hiran Yapa is a Professor at the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Peradeniya. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Moratuwa in 2006 and thereafter worked as a research assistant at the same university till he went to the Cambridge University in 2007 to read his PhD. His PhD thesis was ‘Optimum shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams’ and it included experiments on shear retrofitting, strengthened behaviour prediction, and use of stochastic optimisation techniques for structural optimisation. Upon completion, he joined in the University of Peradeniya in 2011. Since then, he teaches structural design, prestressed concrete, concrete technology, etc. in the bachelor’s and postgraduate degree programmes. He also engages actively in research and consultancy projects.

  • PhD: University of Cambridge (2011)
  • BSc Engineering (first class honours): University of Moratuwa (2006)
  • Dr. ANS Kulasinghe Gold medal for the best civil engineering graduate – 2006
  • Cambridge Commonwealth Trust award – 2007 – 2010
  • Overseas research studentship (UK) – 2007 – 2010
  • Prof. Ragu Chandrakeerthy Gold medal for the best paper presented at the SSESL annual sessions – 2013
  • President’s award for scientific publications – 2014
  • Access Engineering Gold medal for the best paper published in the MUDULUS – 2018,2019,2020
  • Corporate member of IESL
  • 2022 – to date: Professor
  • 2014 – 2022: Senior Lecturer (GII)
  • 2012 – 2014: Lecturer – University of Peradeniya
  • 2011 – Senior lecturer (on contract) – University of Peradeniya
  • 2007 – 2011 – PhD student, University of Cambridge
  • 2006 – 2007 – Research assistant for Prof. W.P.S. Dias, University of Moratuwa
  •  
  • University Research Grant (principal investigator): Shear strength of high-strength reinforced concrete beams at beam-column joints – 2016
  • NRC (sole investigator): Optimisation of shear retrofitting of RC beams via non-linear numerical analysis – 2017
  • NSF (principal investigator): Simulation of temperature development in concrete using finite difference approaches – 2020
  •  
  • Shear behaviour of concrete structures, structural retrofitting, non-linear simulation of concrete structures, temperature modelling of concrete, time-dependent behaviour of concrete, non-structural cracking of concrete
  • Non-linear simulation of dapped end concrete beams and retrofitting
  • Numerical simulation of time-dependent behaviour of concrete
  • Optimum use of deep embedded reinforcement for shear retrofitting of RC beams
  • Numerical simulation of temperature development of concrete structures
  • Shear friction behaviour of concrete
  • Split PhD programme with RMIT, Australia
  • CategoryPublications
    Indexed journals
    1. Deegoda, I., Buddika, S., Yapa, H., Navaratnam, S. and Zhang, G., 2023. Review on the Application of Organic Fibers as Substitutes for Asbestos in Thin Fiber Cement Sheets from a Sri Lankan Perspective. Sustainability, 15(13), 1-18
     
    2. Najas, M. S. M., Vaseekaran, T., and Yapa, H. D., 2023, High-temperature curing application for concrete comprising fly ash and GGBS, The Indian Concrete Journal, 97(3), 15-24
     
    3. Egodagamege, H., Yapa, H., Buddika, S., Navaratnam, S., and Nguyen, K., 2023, Effective use of biochar as an additive for alkali-activated slag mortar production , Construction and Building Materials, 370, 130487
     
    4. Jayasinghe, S.C., Abeysinghe, S.A. and Yapa, H.D., 2022. Structural retrofitting of impaired dapped-end beams: a review. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 50(4), 239-252.
     
    5. Abeysinghe, S.A. and Yapa, H.D., 2022. Numerical simulation of damaged RC half-joint beams: towards appraisal and retrofitting. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Structures and Buildings, 1-17
     
    6. Dissanayaka, M.P. and Yapa, H.D., 2021. Numerical prediction of early age concrete temperature via 3D finite difference simulation. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, 49(4)
     
    7. Bhanugoban, M., Yapa, H.D. and Dirar, S., 2021. Efficient shear retrofitting of reinforced concrete beams using prestressed deep embedded bars. Engineering Structures, 246, 113053
     
    8. Caro, M., Dirar, S., Quinn, A. and Yapa, H., 2021. Shear strengthening of existing reinforced concrete beams with embedded bars–an overview. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Structures and Buildings, 1-14
     
    9. Yapa, H.D. and Lees, J.M., 2014. Optimisation of shear strengthened reinforced concrete beams. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Engineering and Computational Mechanics, 167(2), pp.82-96
     
    10. Yapa, H.D. and Lees, J.M., 2014. Rectangular reinforced concrete beams strengthened with CFRP straps. Journal of Composites for Construction, 18(1), 04013032
     
    11. Yapa, H.D. and Lees, J.M., 2011. Analysis of CFRP strap-strengthened reinforced concrete beams using the modified compression field theory (MCFT). ACI Special Publication, 275, 1-20
     
    12. Dias, W.P.S., Yapa, H.D. and Peiris, L.M.N., 2009. Tsunami vulnerability functions from field surveys and Monte Carlo simulation. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems, 26(2), 181-194
    Referred journals
    1. Wasala, W.M.T.D. and Yapa, H.D., 2017, Prediction of Temperature Development in Concrete using Semi-adiabatic Temperature Measurements, Engineer: Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 50(3), 1-8
     
    2. Sanjeewa, R.M.D.M., Pathirana, P.S.K. and Yapa, H.D., 2017, Mix Design Aspects of High Performance Concrete Comprised of Silica Fume and Fly Ash. Engineer: Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. 50(4), pp.23-29
     
    3. Gatheeshgar, P., Silojan, P., Dammika, A.J. and Yapa, H.D., 2018. Prediction of Shear Transfer in High-strength Concrete Crack Interfaces. Engineer: Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 51(3), pp.21-30. DOI:
     
    4. Dissanayake, D.M.M., Dissanayake, D.M.M.P. and Yapa, H.D., 2018, Prediction of Concrete Temperature using 3D Finite Difference (FD) Modelling, MODULUS-SSESL, 28(3), pp. 5-10.
     
    5. Yapa, H.D., Najas, M.S.M. and Vaseekaran, T., 2018, Influence of High Temperature Curing for Strength Development of Concrete Comprising Fly Ash and GGBS, MODULUS-SSESL, 28(4), pp. 18-24.
     
    6. Abeysinghe, A. and Yapa, H.D., 2020, Finite Element Modelling of Damaged Half-Joint Beam Behaviour, MODULUS-SSESL, 30(3), pp. 4-10.
    Conference
    1. Yapa, H.D. and Lees, J.M., 2009, Optimum Shear Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Prestressed Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Straps, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Advanced Composites in Construction (ACIC 09), Edinburgh, UK, 214-226
     
    2. Yapa, H.D. and Lees, J.M., 2013, Modelling the Behaviour of Shear Strengthened Reinforced Concrete Beams using a Shear Friction Concept, SSESL Annual Sessions, Colombo, Sri Lanka
     
    3. Ahamed, M.I., Senaratna, R.S.L.R., Weerasinghe, A.B., Yapa, H.D., 2014, Sensitivity of External Reinforcement Location on the Shear Capacity of Retrofitted RC Beams, Proceedings of NIRMAAN ICESS 2014, Bangalore, India
     
    4. Wickrama Arachchi, W.A.A.C. and Yapa, H.D., 2016, Prediction of Cracking in Reinforced Concrete Bridges, Annual Sessions of IESL, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 79-85
     
    5. Sanjeewa, R.M.D.M., Pathirana, P.S.K. and Yapa, H.D., 2017, Optimum Use of Silica Fume and Fly Ash for Production of High Performance Concrete, Proceedings of 5th International Symposium on Advances in Civil and Environmental Engineering Practices for Sustainable Development (ACEPS-2017), Galle, Sri Lanka, 339-346
     
    6. Madupushpa, K.D., Kahatapitiya N.K.S.S. and Yapa, H.D., 2017, Numerical Prediction of Concrete Temperature, Proceedings of 5th International Symposium on Advances in Civil and Environmental Engineering Practices for Sustainable Development (ACEPS-2017), Galle, Sri Lanka, 347-354
     
    7. Dissanayake, D.M.M.P., Dissanayake, D.M.M. and Yapa, H.D., 2017, Numerical Modelling of Temperature Development in Concrete Comprising Pipe-cooling Networks, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction Management, ICSECM 2017 – 54
     
    8. Gatheeshgar, P., Silogen, P. and Yapa, H.D., 2017, Shear Friction Behaviour of High-strength Concrete, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction Management, ICSECM 2017 – 73
     
    9. Kurukulasuriya, M.C., Rathnayake, H.S. and Yapa, H.D., 2017, Optimum Shear Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams Using an Un-bonded CFRP Strap Shear Retrofitting System, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Advanced Composites in Construction (ACIC 2017), Sheffield, UK, 107-113
     
    10. Yapa, H.D., Fatheen, M. and Ahamed, S., 2019, Efficient Retrofitting of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Beams using Prestressed Deep Embedded (DE) FRP Bars, Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Advanced Composites in Construction (ACIC 2019), Birmingham, UK, 17-22.
  • Structural Analysis; Design of structures; Prestressed concrete; Concrete technology
WorkshopsPre-conference workshop on Retrofitting of structures – 2013

3-day workshops on ‘Design of concrete Structures to Eurocode 2’ – 2014,2015,2016
Talks
Knowledge sharing monthly talk organised by INSEE on ‘Shear retrofitting of reinforced concrete structures – towards the future’ – 2020

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