Dr Tatheer Zahra
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Biography
Dr Tatheer Zahra’s research is inspired by energy absorbing memory foams used in shoes, replicating these to develop sustainable 3D printed reinforcement for application in civil structures, and protecting them from collisions and impact. Her experimental research on small-scale designed geometries has already proven to enhance impact resistance, results highlighted in the World Economic Forum and receiving worldwide interest. Dr Zahra’s ambitious research agenda is to use these sustainable materials at large-scale and replace conventional carbon intensive materials in the construction industry.
Tatheer is also investigating the performance of various kind of masonries such as interlocking mortarless masonry, brick masonry and reinforced concrete masonry. Her experimental and numerical studies have shown that masonry has potential as an environmentally friendly construction materials with less wastage and quicker construction time. She is a member of Standards Australia BD-004 Committee to outline the design guidelines for masonry.
She teaches civil engineering materials and design of concrete and masonry structures to the undergraduates at QUT. She has been lecturing different civil engineering units across various national and international universities for about 14 years with outstanding student feedback. Tatheer is passionate about her teaching with maximised students learning experience and engagement. She enthuses in-class and online students for learning by challenging them to understand new and difficult topics using case studies and authentic examples. Tatheer received Vice Chancellor’s and faculty’s award for student learning excellence for her positive student engagement and learning experiences in 2021.
Research areas: Within the broad field of structural engineering research, Tatheer has focused on the following areas:
- Structural behaviour of Mortarless masonry
- Assessment of ancient masonry arch bridges
- Reinforced masonry and concrete
- Auxetic materials and composites for structural protective application
Personal details
Positions
- Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Keywords
Structural Analysis, Masonry, Concrete, Auxetics, Finite Element Analysis, Structural assessment, Impact analysis, Seismic Analysis
Research field
Civil Engineering, Materials Engineering
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (Queensland University of Technology)
Professional memberships and associations
- Member – BD-004 Standards Australia Committee for Masonry Structures
- Member – Engineers Australia
- Member – The Masonry Society (TMS), USA
- Member – Pakistan Engineering Council
Teaching
Teaching areas
- Civil Engineering Materials
- Concrete Structures
- Mechanics of Materials
- Structural Analysis
- Masonry Structures
Experience
- 2014 – present: Academic and Researcher, QUT. Currently, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
- 2012 – 2014: Assistant Professor, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan
- 2007 – 2011: Lecturer, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan
- 2000 – 2004: Design Engineer, AA Associates - Engineering Consultants and Planners, Pakistan
Selected list of projects undertaken Tatheer's research outcomes are of immediate relevance to masonry industry and she is collaborating with industry to promote mortarless masonry, reinforced masonry for better earthquake resistance and for assessing safety of ancient masonry arch bridges. In Pakistan, she investigated the seismic behaviour of RC buildings, condition assessment of concrete buildings and performance of different cements in marine environment. A selected list of projects undertaken include:
- Application of 3D Printed Auxetic Composites for Seismic Retrofitting of Masonry Columns
- Collaboration with Concrete Masonry Association Australia to promote teaching and research in masonry
- Serviceability of ARTC Masonry Arch Bridges
- Case studies on the design of reinforced masonry buildings
- Experimental Investigation on Mortarless Masonry Walls
- Experimental investigation on concrete and masonry shear walls for different reinforcement arrangements
- Testing performance of chairs in restraining vertical bars of RM walls
- Mix design of coral concrete
Publications
Research outputs by year
- Zahra, T., Thamboo, J. & Asad, M. (2021). Compressive strength and deformation characteristics of concrete block masonry made with different mortars, blocks and mortar beddings types. Journal of Building Engineering, 38. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/209691
- Asad, M., Zahra, T., Thambiratnam, D., Chan, T. & Zhuge, Y. (2021). Assessing vibration induced damage in unreinforced masonry walls subject to vehicular impact - A numerical study. Engineering Structures, 245. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/211760
- Dorji, J., Zahra, T., Thambiratnam, D. & Lee, D. (2021). Strength assessment of old masonry arch bridges through moderate destructive testing methods. Construction and Building Materials, 278. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/209690
- Thamboo, J., Zahra, T. & Dhanasekar, R. (2020). Development of design methodology for mortarless masonry system: Case study - a resettlement housing colony. Journal of Building Engineering, 27, 1–11. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/136090
- Asad, M., Dhanasekar, M., Zahra, T. & Thambiratnam, D. (2020). Failure analysis of masonry walls subjected to low velocity impacts. Engineering Failure Analysis, 116. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202902
- Asad, M., Dhanasekar, M., Zahra, T. & Thambiratnam, D. (2019). Characterisation of polymer cement mortar composites containing carbon fibre or auxetic fabric overlays and inserts under flexure. Construction and Building Materials, 224, 863–879. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/131534
- Zahra, T. & Dhanasekar, M. (2018). Characterisation and strategies for mitigation of the contact surface unevenness in dry-stack masonry. Construction and Building Materials, 169, 612–628. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124840
- Zahra, T. & Dhanasekar, M. (2017). Characterisation of cementitious polymer mortar - Auxetic foam composites. Construction and Building Materials, 147, 143–159. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/114267
- Zahra, T. & Dhanasekar, M. (2016). A generalised damage model for masonry under compression. International Journal of Damage Mechanics, 25(5), 629–660. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/103077
- Zahra, T. & Dhanasekar, M. (2016). Prediction of masonry compressive behaviour using a damage mechanics inspired modelling method. Construction and Building Materials, 109, 128–138. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/92745
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Tatheer, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Supervision
Looking for a postgraduate research supervisor?
I am currently accepting research students for Honours, Masters and PhD study.
- Structural assessment of 100+ years old masonry arch bridges
- Finite element modelling of 3D auxetic structures
- High energy absorbing materials and composites for building protection from collision damage
You can browse existing student topics offered by QUT or propose your own topic.
Current supervisions
- Response of Underground Transport Tunnels to Internal Blast and Mitigation Using Materials Technology
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor David Thambiratnam, Professor Tommy Chan - Effect of reinforcement on performance of masonry and concrete shear walls
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor David Thambiratnam