Structures Section
Supervised by Prof. Ahmed Elghazouli and Dr. Dan Bompa

Prior to starting his PhD, Mohamed completed his undergraduate and MSc studies at Universiti Putra Malaysia and was awarded with an Imperial College President’s PhD Scholarship to undertake his studies.

Why did you decide to study for a PhD at Imperial and join the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering?
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London is renowned for its academic and research excellence. In addition, the work carried out by Prof. Elghazouli, my PhD supervisor, aligns well with my research interests and background. That motivated my decision to apply for a PhD here at Imperial. Moreover, having done my undergraduate and master’s degrees in Malaysia, I figured that it was just about time to seek a PhD in another place, experience a different culture and meet new people.

Tell us about your PhD project
The first part of my PhD is related to developing one-part ‘just add water’ rubberised geopolymer concrete. One-part geopolymer concrete is cement-free concrete synthesized by mixing aluminosilicate rich materials, a solid alkaline activator, aggregates, and water. This type of concrete has a substantially reduced environmental footprint through lower energy consumption during production and reuse of industrial by-products (e.g., fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag). In addition, due to the rise of the automotive industry, the disposal of end-of-life tyres has become a major issue. One way to deal with end-of-life tyres is to incorporate them into concrete as replacement for natural aggregates. As such, the first stage of my research is about characterising the structural material properties of one-part rubberised geopolymer concrete to understand their behaviour on the material level.

In the second stage, my research will be focused on understanding the structural behaviour of members made of one-part rubberised geopolymer concrete when subjected to different loading conditions, including monotonic and cyclic loading scenarios, using both numerical modelling and experimental testing in the laboratory.

What are your first impressions of being a PhD student at Imperial?
I must say that I am impressed by the attention to details displayed by the Department, and the College in general, to ensure a conducive learning environment for students. Starting a PhD amidst an ongoing pandemic is not easy, but the support we have been given so far has made that much easier. Also, I found the supervision that I have received so far to be exemplary. It strikes a perfect balance between self-reliance and constructive guidance.  

What are you most looking forward to over the next 3-4 years?
I am excited to see how my research here at Imperial will unfold and how the concrete material we are trying to develop will turn out to be. Also, I look forward to expanding my network and meeting other researchers, and potentially joining conferences to present my research findings to a broader research community.