| 2011 New Faculty |
Mohammad Pour-Ghaz
Assistant Professor,
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
PhD (2011), Purdue University
Research Interests
Health monitoring and service life prediction of concrete structures, durability of reinforced concrete structures, non-destructive testing and in-situ sensing, flow and transport in fractured porous media, and sustainable materials for
civil infrastructure.
Pour-Ghaz earned his BS in civil engineering from Tabriz University in Iran in 2003. Before pursuing his MS in civil engineering, he practiced as a research engineer in the area of nondestructive testing of composites at a research and development company in Concord, Ontario, Canada. After receiving his MS in 2007 from Carleton University in Canada, he attended Purdue University where he earned his PhD in civil engineering with an emphasis in concrete materials. While at Purdue, Pour-Ghaz received the William L. Dolch Graduate Scholarship for outstanding research in materials science and the Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Pour-Ghaz currently investigates the use of electrical methods for damage tomography in concrete structures. His research in this area involves development of new electrical imaging techniques, development and application of sensing skins for concrete elements, and development of self-sensing concrete materials. Pour-Ghaz also studies the effect of discrete fractures and distributed networks of fractures on moisture flow and transport in cement-based composites. He performs his research in this area using both experimental and numerical methods.
Selected Publications
- Pour-Ghaz, M., Weiss, J. Application of frequency selective circuits for crack detection in concrete elements. Journal of ASTM International. 2011; (In press).
- Pour-Ghaz, M., Kim, J., Nadukuru, S.S., O’Connor, S., Michalowski, R.L., Bradshaw, A., Green, R.A., Lynch, J.P., Poursaee, A., Weiss, J. Using electrical, magnetic and acoustic sensors to detect damage in segmental concrete pipes subjected to permanent ground displacement. Cement and Concrete Composites. 2011; 33(7): 749-762.
- Pour-Ghaz, M., Weiss, J. Detecting the time and location of cracks using electrically conductive surfaces. Cement and Concrete Composites. 2011; 33:116-23.
- Pour-Ghaz, M., Isgor, O.B., Ghods, P. The effect of temperature on the corrosion of steel in concrete. Part 1: simulated polarization resistance tests and model development. Corrosion Science. 2009; 51(2):415-25.
- Pour-Ghaz, M., Rajabipour, F., Couch, J., Weiss, J. Numerical and experimental assessment of unsaturated fluid transport in saw-cut (notched) concrete elements. In: Tanesi, J. editor. Model-ing as a Solution to Concrete Problems. ACI Special Publication. 2009; SP-266:73-86.
(New Faculty Profile Published: 2011)