Dr Sahani Hendawitharana
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Biography
Sahani completed her Honours degree of Bachelor of Science of Engineering with first class honours and Master of Science (with a major component of research) from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka before joining QUT. During her PhD, she integrated the knowledge of the material properties along with numerical modelling, advanced technologies and full-scale fire tests, to improve bushfire safe rooms as a last resort option in bushfire-prone areas. She conducted QUT’s first large-scale fire test of a three-compartment safe room exposed to bushfire conditions and this is one of the few fire tests conducted in Australia of this scale. Since the completion of her PhD, Sahani has continued to focus on developing novel approaches that enhance the resilience of residential and community buildings in bushfire-prone areas. Her research interests include the bushfire performance of materials in building components (such as in walls roofs etc.) and accessories (solar panels etc.) through material testing, performance of buildings and building components in bushfire conditions using small-scale and full-scale fire testing and utilizing of advanced technologies such as LiDAR and AI in improving bushfire resilience in urban interface.Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Research Associate
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Keywords
Resilient Infrastructure, Bushfire Resistant Buildings, Structural Fire Engineering, Disaster Risk Reduction, Full-scale Fire Tests
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Queensland University of Technology)
- Master of Science (University of Moratuwa)
Publications
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Sahani, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).