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Akram Jawdhari, assistant professor in South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University's Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, was named a 2024 Daniel P. Jenny Fellow from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute. 
 

Ultra-high performance concrete is a new-generation building material that is much stronger and durable than traditional concrete. It’s unique in that is has small but high-strength steel or synthetic fibers mixed into it. First developed in the 1980s, the material is becoming more widely researched and used in a variety of projects, including bridges and buildings.

In Sioux Falls, ultra-high performance concrete was used in 2023 to construct a nine-story commercial building in the Steel District. 

As a relatively new material, it must undergo a vast amount of research before it can be used more widely in construction projects, said Akram Jawdhari, an assistant professor in the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering at South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University.

"Ultra-high performance concrete is a magic material," Jawardhi said. "Its superior properties facilitate reducing the number of sections, eliminating or minimizing the use of passive (non-prestressed) reinforcement, and enabling the production of extremely thin elements."

Recently, Jawardhi was awarded the prestigious, highly competitive  to study anchorage in precast ultra-high performance concrete panels. Through experimental tests, numerical simulations and analytical modeling, Jawardhi and a graduate student will investigate different types of connections used in precast construction.

Industry partners on Jawardhi's project include the Sioux Falls-based Gage Brothers Concrete Products, Precast Institute Midwest, Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc. and ceEntek Inc.

"I am grateful to partner with industry leaders on this project," Jawardhi added.

, which included a $50,000 award for Jawardhi's research, is open to any research topic relevant to the precast concrete industry and which advances the state of the art of precast concrete design, fabrication or construction. These fellowships have advanced the precast concrete industry through financial support of graduate engineering students and research while also engaging faculty in the precast concrete industry, introducing students to the benefits of precast concrete, and connecting the student, faculty and Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute members for future networking opportunities.
The project, expected to last two years, will help inform future design guides through establishing design guidelines for connecting thin UHPC walls to the structural frame and will pave the way for greater use of ultra-high performance concrete precast panels in building structures.