Dr Ryan Hoult

Dr Ryan Hoult’s PhD assessed the performance of reinforced concrete walls in response to rare and very rare earthquakes. Completed in 2017, Ryan’s research analysed both rectangular and C-shaped concrete walls to develop a secondary cracking model to predict the potential of cracks forming in these types of walls. Ryan found that the direction of loading and the mode of bending were particularly important for the seismic performance of these sorts of walls.

Ryan previously worked as a Research Fellow at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne University in Switzerland, leading a project working with South American researchers on mitigating earthquake risk, and noting that South America and Australia have similar issues in regards to a lack of testing on structures to assess their risk.

Ryan is now the Senior Tutor and Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne. His primary research focuses include: seismic performance of reinforced concrete walls and cores, torsional response and capacity of reinforced concrete U-shaped core walls, and performance and health monitoring of buildings. He teaches in a range of structural and civil engineering subjects at the University of Melbourne.

His thesis is available here.