Johnson Zhang
Johnson Zhang

Prof Johnson Zhang

Professor

 0131 455 2482

  j.zhang@napier.ac.uk

  

Biography

Professor Zhang is a Professor in Structural Engineering and Head of International for the School of Engineering and the Built Environment at Edinburgh Napier University. Before joining Edinburgh Napier University in 2004, he worked on his PhD project at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology investigating structural performance and developing novel finite elements for transfer plate structures in tall buildings. Prior to his PhD study, he also practised as a structural engineer in China and became a chartered engineer in China in 1999.

Professor Zhang's research focuses on engineered bamboo-timber composite in construction, laminate glass structures, pre-stressed concrete and steel-reinforced concrete structures in complex loading conditions. Currently, he is devoting himself to developing bamboo-timber composite materials for long span and tall building structures with a patent filed in 2020. and his research is featured as a case study by the Royal Academy of Engineering. He has extensive experiences in photogrammetry technology, software development and multiple sensor systems in civil engineering studies. In one of his research projects with the advantages of tailored photogrammetry system, he has been able to give several convincing recommendations on the torsion test method for timber beams which have been adopted by the European standard: EN 408. (EN 408:2010 currently under review and revision). He is also an experienced computer programmer who developed several analyse and design software packages for trusses and scaffolding structures.

Professor Zhang has led several research and knowledge transfer projects funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, Scottish Founding Council, Innovation UK, British Council, etc. His research has been published widely in both highly ranked civil engineering journals and conference proceedings. He is a member of CEN/TC 124/WG-1 committee for European Standard: EN408 review and revision. He also frequently organised and chaired special sessions, gave keynote speeches and guest lectures in international conferences and other universities.

School

Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Member of CEN/TC 124/WG 1-Test methods committee for European Standard: EN 408 review and revision

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Invited International Conference Special Session Organiser: "Analysis, Design and Modelling of Structures Using Unconventional Construction Materials", 2020
  • Invited International Conference Special Session Organiser: "Analysis, Modelling and Design of Timber Structures", 2019
  • Invited International Conference Special Session Organiser: "Analysis, Modelling and Design of Timber Structures", 2015
  • Invited International Conference Special Session Organiser: "Analysis, Modelling and Design of Timber Structures", 2013
  • Co-organised International Telford-UKIERI Workshop with The University of Edinburgh, 2013

 

Editorial Activity

  • International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research - Member of Editorial Board (2021-present)
  • Member of Editorial Board - The Fourteenth International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 2020
  • Member of Editorial Board - The Sixteenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, Riva del Garda, Italy, 2019
  • Journal of Architectural Research and Development - Member of Editorial Board (2018-2022)
  • American Journal of Civil Engineering - Editorial Panel (2018-2020)
  • Member of Editorial Board - The Fifteenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, Prague, Czech Republic, 2015
  • Member of Editorial Board - The Fourteenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, Cagliari, Italy, 2013

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External Panel Member for MSc Programme Re-Validation: The University of West London, 2019
  • External Panel Member for MSc Programme Validation: The University of West London, 2014
  • External Examiner for BSc Civil Engineering Programme in University of Abertay Dundee, 2013 - 2017

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Academic Champion for Royal Academy of Engineering - Visiting Professor in Integrated Civil Engineering Design 2020-2023
  • Royal Academy of Engineering - Industrial Fellowship 2019 - 2020
  • Best Paper award 2017 - 19th International Conference on Wood Science and Engineering, Japan, 2017
  • Queen's Anniversary Prize 2015, Innovation in Timber Engineering and Wood Science.
  • Project shortlisted for Scottish KTP Award 2012 - KTP Action Scaffolding (KTP007069)
  • Project shortlisted for Scottish KTP Award 2012 - KTP Diageo Plc (KTP006209)

 

Invited Speaker

  • Keynote speaker at Civil and Infrastructure World Forum (CivilEnggInfra-2022)
  • Keynote Talk at Global Summit on Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (GSCAEE-2021)
  • Invited Speaker: The Natural Materials Association(NMA) Lunchtime Seminars: Focus on Natural Materials: Bamboo, organised by the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (2021)
  • Invited Speaker at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 2019

 

Media Activity

  • Research project featured on the website of the Royal Academy of Engineering - Bamboo-Timber composites for construction 2021

 

Research Degree External Examining

  • PhD External Examining 2021 - University of West London, UK
  • PhD External Examining 2019 - The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
  • PhD External Examining 2019 - Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India
  • PhD External Examining 2017 - The University of West London

 

Reviewing

  • Materials
  • Computers and Concrete, An International Journal
  • Book review - Elsevier: Engineered Bamboo: Glubam Structures
  • Advances in Concrete Construction
  • Materials
  • Structures
  • International Journal of Numerical Methods in Engineering
  • International Journal of Wind and Structures
  • International Journal of Wood Products
  • Engineering Structures
  • Computers and Structures
  • International Journal of Structural Engineering and Mechanics
  • Ocean Engineering
  • International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids
  • Structures
  • Structures
  • Materials and Structures
  • Proceedings Of The Institution Of Civil Engineers - Structures And Buildings
  • International Journal of Structural Engineering and Mechanics
  • Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Management, Procurement and Law
  • Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Structures and Buildings
  • Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Management, Procurement and Law

 

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78 results

Evaluation of the Shear Constant of a Timber Beam using a Photogrammetric Approach

Conference Proceeding
Zhang, H., Mohamed, A., & Xiao, Z. (2011)
Evaluation of the Shear Constant of a Timber Beam using a Photogrammetric Approach. In Y. Tsompanakis, & B. H. V. Topping (Eds.), Proceedings of the thirteenth international conference on civil, structural and environmental engineeringdoi:10.4203/ccp.96.164
The shear modulus is a fundamental mechanical property of wood that is used in general timber design [1,2,3]. Compared with other engineering materials, timber has relatively ...

The shear strength and failure modes of timber joists obtained from the torsion test method.

Conference Proceeding
Khokhar, A. M., Zhang, H., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2010)
The shear strength and failure modes of timber joists obtained from the torsion test method. In A. Ceccotti (Ed.), 11th World Conference on Timber Engineering 2010 (WTCTE 2010) (3509-3516
This paper presents details of the experimental method and test results from a series of torsion tests undertaken to evaluate the shear strength of timber joists. The failure...

A study of cross-lamination of a multi-component liquid-retaining timber structure

Conference Proceeding
Savage, N., Kermani, A., & Zhang, H. (2010)
A study of cross-lamination of a multi-component liquid-retaining timber structure. In P. J. S. Cruz (Ed.), Structures & Architecture, (115-116). https://doi.org/10.1201/b10428-53
The orthotropic nature of timber creates issues with regards to dimensional stability and strength in most shell/surface structures and i particular in liquid-retaining wooden...

Optimisation of an oak container

Conference Proceeding
Savage, N., Kermani, A., & Zhang, H. (2010)
Optimisation of an oak container. In Proceedings of the 10th World Conference on Timber Engineering
Traditional containers such as barrels, used in the transportation and storage of food and liquid, have been constructed from timber for thousands of years. The design of the ...

Using OpenSees for structures in fire

Conference Proceeding
Usmani, A., Zhang, J., Jiang, Y., Kotsovinos, P., Zhang, J., & May, I. (2010)
Using OpenSees for structures in fire. In Structures in Fire - Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference, SiF'10, 919-926
OpenSees is an open source object oriented software framework developed at UC Berekeley and currently supported by PEER and Nees. OpenSees has so far been focussed on providin...

Space-Time Finite Element Dynamic Analysis of Transfer Plate Structures in Tall Buildings

Conference Proceeding
Kuang, J., & Zhang, H. (2009)
Space-Time Finite Element Dynamic Analysis of Transfer Plate Structures in Tall Buildings. In B. H. V. Topping, L. F. Costa Neves, & R. C. Barros (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th international conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computingdoi:10.4203/ccp.91.223
A new space-time finite element formulation for dynamic analysis of transfer plates is presented. The method is based on an unconventional Hamilton variational principle and a...

A semi-analytical method for plate and grid structures

Journal Article
Kuang, J. S., & Zhang, H. (2008)
A semi-analytical method for plate and grid structures. Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering and Computational Mechanics, 161(3), 121-128. https://doi.org/10.1680/eacm.2008.161.3.121
In current design practice, analysis of plate and grid structures in civil engineering, such as waffle slabs, ribbed plates and slab-girder bridges, is based largely on code-s...

Eight-node membrane element with drilling degrees of freedom for analysis of in-plane stiffness of thick floor plates

Journal Article
Zhang, H., & Kuang, J. S. (2008)
Eight-node membrane element with drilling degrees of freedom for analysis of in-plane stiffness of thick floor plates. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 76(13), 2117-2136. https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.2395
The development of eight-node arbitrary quadrilateral membrane elements with drilling degrees of freedom is presented using the compatible displacement interpolation within th...

Determining the Shear Modulus of Sitka Spruce from Torsion Tests

Conference Proceeding
Khokhar, A., Zhang, H., Ridley-Ellis, D. & Moore, J. (2008)
Determining the Shear Modulus of Sitka Spruce from Torsion Tests. In 10th World Conference on Timber Engineering 2008, 2137-2144. ISBN 9781615670888
This paper presents details of the experimental method, and preliminary results from, a series of torsion tests undertaken to evaluate the shear modulus of Sitka spruce (Picea...

Eight-node Reissner–Mindlin plate element based on boundary interpolation using Timoshenko beam function

Journal Article
Zhang, H., & Kuang, J. S. (2007)
Eight-node Reissner–Mindlin plate element based on boundary interpolation using Timoshenko beam function. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 69(7), 1345-1373. https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.1809
A new eight-node Reissner-Mindlin plate element is developed with a special interpolation within the element. This special interpolation is an extension of the element boundar...

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