Performance-based circular structural design of steel-timber floor systems

Buildings are typically designed for a single life, with structural elements discarded at demolition. This project addresses that limitation by advancing performance-based circular structural design for steel-timber floor systems, aligned with the principles of circular engineering. Steel-timber floors can achieve substantial reductions in embodied carbon and construction impacts compared with conventional steel-concrete systems, yet their future reuse is rarely considered in design due to the absence of verified methods to assess performance after disassembly and reassembly.

The project evaluates how steel-timber floor systems can be designed and verified for both first use and subsequent reuse. A performance-based framework is adopted, integrating experimental testing and advanced numerical modelling to quantify the evolution of structural response and damage under repeated loading, dismantling and reassembly. This approach enables steel-timber floors to be conceived as reusable structural assets, capable of multiple service lives.

Large-scale experimental tests on steel-timber assemblies incorporating innovative shear connector systems will characterise mechanical behaviour, composite action and disassembly capacity. The study will also examine the feasibility of integrating self-sensing and monitoring strategies to assess degradation over the life cycle. The experimental findings will inform and validate nonlinear numerical models capable of predicting reuse performance beyond the tested configurations. The outcomes will be translated into code-compatible circular design guidance, including practical indices for reuse potential, residual capacity and disassembly performance.

Applicants should show interest in both experimental testing and numerical modelling of structural systems, and a background in materials and engineering. Essential attributes include sound analytical and quantitative skills, the ability to interpret structural behaviour, and motivation to work across laboratory and computational environments. Desirable experience includes familiarity with structural testing methods, nonlinear finite element modelling, programming, and an interest in sustainability, life-cycle assessment and circular engineering approaches.

Open to candidates who pay UK/home rate fees. See UKCISA for further information.