Jaroslav Vaculik

Dr Jaroslav Vaculik

Grant-Funded Researcher (A)

School of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology


Having spent several years as a consulting engineer, I have practical design experience using a variety of different structural types and materials. However, I am also familiar with some of the limitations inherent in our design standards and the challenges faced particularly in the area of seismic design.

My current research focus is spread across several areas as described under the "My Research" tab below, with a particular focus on the seismic response of unreinforced masonry buildings and a key emphasis on developing outcomes that can be used by engineering practitioners.

Heritage Stone and Brick Masonry

Australia has a wealth of culturally significant heritage masonry buildings constructed from the colonial years of the early 1800s up to the early-to-mid 1900s.  Whilst these buildings tend to be among the most earthquake-prone of our overall building stock, undertaking seismic assessment of such buildings is insufficiently catered for by our modern-day design standards.

This research aims to characterise Australia's heritage stone and clay brick masonry buildings in terms of material properties and structural layouts to better understand their behaviour under earthquake loading, and to devise efficient methods for strengthening them for better earthquake performance so that they can survive for future generations.

 

Strengthening of Unreinforced Masonry with FRPs

It is well known that unreinforced masonry buildings perform poorly in earthquakes as evidenced most recently by the events in New Zealand and Italy.  To address this inherent lack of capacity, retrofitting masonry walls using fibre-reinforced polymers (FRPs) has emerged as a popular means of enhancing their seismic capacity---both for in-plane and out-of-plane loading.

Among the aims of this project are:

  • Develop a generic bond model for the interaction between FRP sheets, plates and bars to clay brick and concrete block masonry;
  • Develop mechanics-based analysis techniques for predicting the strength and ductility of FRP-strengthened walls; and
  • Investigate the influence of environmental exposure on the long-term durability of strengthened systems.

 

Out-of-Plane Response of Unreinforced Masonry Walls Under Earthquake Loading

Out-of-plane wall collapse is regarded as arguably the single greatest vulnerability of unreinforced masonry construction in earthquakes. This project comprises a long-term, ongoing research effort aimed to better understand the structural mechanics and dynamics of out-of-plane response, with the ultimate aim of developing analysis tools that can be used for practical design and assessment.

Areas of focus include:

  • Enhancement of capacity from two-way bending;
  • Building response effects including interstorey drift, dynamic amplification, and height amplification;
  • Development of alternate design approaches which are, respectively, reliant and not reliant on bond strength; and
  • Force-based and displacement-based design techniques.
  • Appointments

    Date Position Institution name
    2016 - ongoing Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Adelaide, Adelaide
    2012 - 2016 Structural Engineer Wallbridge & Gilbert, Adelaide
  • Awards and Achievements

    Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
    2012 Award Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence - - -
    2011 Award TMS Journal Outstanding Paper Award (The Masonry Society, USA) for the paper "Out-of-plane flexural strength of unreinforced clay brick masonry walls" - - -
    2007 Award Best student paper at the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society conference; for paper "Shaketable tests on masonry walls in two-way bending" - - -
    2005 Award Honourable mention for the R. G. Drysdale Award at the 10th Canadian Masonry Symposium for the paper "Flexural strength of unreinforced clay brick masonry walls" - - -
  • Education

    Date Institution name Country Title
    University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Engineering (1st Class Honours)
    University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science
    University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia PhD
  • Research Interests

  • Position: Grant-Funded Researcher (A)
  • Phone: 83130598
  • Email: jaroslav.vaculik@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Engineering North, floor N2
  • Org Unit: Civil Engineering

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External Profiles