Research & Publications

Research Profile

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Research Interests 

Earthquake Engineering                 Bridge Engineering          Opening in RC wall                                      Structural Steel Joints

Composite Structural System       Concrete Technology        Sustainability in Construction Sector      Structural  Dynamics

Research Works

• Undergraduate Thesis

"Seismic Analysis of a Three span Deck Girder Bridge", B.Sc. Engineering Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

** Supervised by: Dr. Khan Mahmud Amanat, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET.

• Postgraduate Thesis

“Investigation on bolt tension of flanged pipe joint subjected to bending”, M.Sc. Engineering Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

**Supervised by: Dr. Khan Mahmud Amanat, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET.

• Supervised Undergraduate Theses- List (<-- Click here)

Experimental Work Experiences 

•      Tests on Aggregate-

           Specific Gravity, Water absorption capacity, Unit weight, Sieve analysis of Coarse, Fine aggregate.

•       Tests on Cement-

          Initial and final Setting time test, Fineness test, Compression  test of Cement Mortar.          

•       Tests on Concrete Specimens-

          Slump test, Compression Test &  Splitting Tension test of concrete cylinder, Flexure (Bending) test of Concrete Beam.

•      Non-destructive Tests on Reinforced Concrete Columns-

        Schmidt Rebound  Hammer Test, Scratching Test, Windsor Pinning Test

•     Test on Steel rebar

        Direct tension test of Reinforcing bar

•    Test on Reinforced concrete wall

1.        Attaching strain gauges to steel rebars , Attachment of LVDTS (displacement transducer)   

       on the test specimen; 

2.      Crack drawing at different loading steps, Formation of Hysteresis & backbone curves.

 Postgraduate Courses Completed

      [1]   CE 6101:  Theory of Elasticity

     [2]   CE 6109:  Finite Element Methods- I

     [3]   CE 6201:  Advanced Concrete Technology

     [4]   CE 6111:  Advanced Design of Concrete Structures

     [5]   CE 6107:  Wave Motion and Soil-Structure Interaction

     [6]   CE 6119:  Advanced Theory and Design of Steel Structures

     [7]   CE 6117:  Structural Dynamics and Seismic Design of Structures

     [8]   CE 6114: Analysis and Design of Tall Buildings

     [9]   CE 6116: Finite Elements Methods - II

   Publications  

  (a) Journal Articles 

• 1. Tafheem, Z., and Amanat, K.M., (2011) "Modelling and analysis of a three spanned concrete deck-girder bridge under seismic loading", International Journal of Civil and  Structural Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 604-613. [ ISSN: 0976-4399; DOI: 10.6088/ijcser. 00202010135] 

  2. Tafheem, Z., and Khusru, S., (2013) "Structural behavior of steel building with concentric and eccentric bracing: A comparative study", International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 12-19. [ ISSN: 0976-4399; DOI: 10.6088/ijcser. 201304010002] 

  3. Tafheem, Z., Nahid, A.S.M.R., Rahman, T., and Shamim, T.M., (2013) "Effect of Edge beam and Shear Wall on the structural behavior of flat-plate multistoried Building: A Computing  modeling for lateral load analysis", The AUST Journal of Science and Technology, Vol. 5, No.1, pp.78-92. [ISSN 2072-0149 ]   

  4. Khusru, S., and Tafheem, Z., (2014) "Comparative assessment on structural performance of optimally designed Steel braced buildings under lateral loading", Journal of  Civil and  Earthquake  Engineering (JCEE), Vol. 3, No.1, pp.52-63. [ ISSN: 1996-9066 ]

  5. Tafheem, Z., Shourav, M.H., Islam, Z., and Tumpa, S.I., (2015) "Investigation of the effect of Number of Story on different structural components of RC building", International  Journal of Civil, Environmental, Structural, Construction and Architectural Engineering, Vol. 9, No. 2,  pp.1630-1634.  

  6. Tafheem, Z., and Amanat, K.M., (2015) “Finite Element Investigation on the behavior of Bolted flanged steel pipe joint subject to bending,” Journal of Civil Engineering, The Institution of Engineers,  Bangladesh (IEB), Vol. CE 43 (1), pp.79-91.

  7. Tafheem, Z.,  Jihan, J.I., Samdanee, T., Islam, M.Z. and Tarin, A.S.M., (2016) "Earthquake response analysis of  a multistoried RC building under Equivalent Static and dynamic  loading as per  Bangladesh National Building Code 2006", Malaysian Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 28, Issue 1, pp.108-123.

  8. Tafheem, Z., Arafat, T. A., Chowdhury, A. and Iqbal, A., (2017), "Effect of base isolator on the structural response of reinforced concrete multistoried building under seismic loads",  Journal of Civil  Engineering, Science and Technology, Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp.49-56.

  9. Tafheem, Z., Rakib, R. I., Esharuhullah, M., Alam, S. M. R. and Islam, M.M., (2018), Experimental investigation on the properties of concrete containing post-consumer plastic waste as coarse aggregate replacement, Journal of Materials and Engineering Structures, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 23-31.

  10. Hossain, M.M., Tafheem, Z. and Amanat, K.M. (2021) ‘Experimental investigation on bolted flanged steel pipe joint subjected to flexure’, International Journal of Structural Engineering (UK), Inderscience  Publisher, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp.189–203. 

  11. Tafheem, Z., Alwashali, H., Maeda, M., Seki, M., (2022). Experimental study of the influence of opening size and additional reinforcement around opening on seismic performance of reinforced concrete walls. Asian Journal of Civil Engineering, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-022-00441-z (read-only copy)

  12.  Ashfia, Z., T, Nizam, T. B., Islam, M. R.,  and Tafheem, Z., (2025) Evaluation of seismic performance of RC frames by Response spectrum analysis for different lateral stiffness, IUT JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (JET), Special issue (IUT-ICCET), Vol. 19, No.1, pp. 285-297, June 2025 (pdf)

  (b)  Conference Proceedings 

1. 1. Tafheem, Z., Sakib, N., and Amanat, K.M., "Seismic analysis of a three-span deck girder bridge", Proceedings of the 2nd International Joint Conference of IABSE-JSCE on Advances in Bridge Engineering - II, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Aug. 8-10, 2010, pp.285-295. [ISBN:978-984-33-1893-0]   [Presentation]

   2. Tafheem, Z., Khusru, S. and  Nasrin, S., "Environmental impact of Green Concrete in practice", Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Mechanical Engineering and Renewable Energy (ICMERE 2011), CUET, Chittagong, Bangladesh, Dec. 22-24, 2011. [PDF]

   3. Khusru, S., Nasrin, S., Tafheem, Z. and Sakib, N. “Structural and aesthetical Aspects of Green Technology in Perspective of Bangladesh”, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Mechanical Engineering and Renewable Energy, CUET, Chittagong, Bangladesh, Dec. 22-24, 2011.

   4. Tafheem, Z., and Amanat, K.M., "Investigation on bolt tension of a  flanged pipe joint subjected to bending", Proceedings of the 4th Annual Paper Meet and 1st Civil Engineering  Congress, IEB, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec. 22-24, 2011, pp.227-234. [ ISBN: 978-984-33-4363-5]

   5. Nasrin, S., Khusru, S. and Tafheem, Z. “Fiber Reinforced Polymers for Seismic Retrofitting of Structures”, Proceedings of the 4th Annual Paper Meet & 1st Civil Engineering Congress of IEB, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 22-24 December, 2011, ISBN: 978-984-33-4363-5, pp. 352-358.

   6. Tafheem, Z., “Sustainable development in construction sectors”, Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Civil Engineering for Sustainable Development, KUET, Khulna, Bangladesh, March 23-24, 2012. 

   7. Tafheem, Z., Arafat, T. A., Chowdhury, A., and Iqbal, A., "Seismic Isolation systems in structures: The State of art Review", Proceedings of  the 11th Global Engineering, Science and Technology Conference, 18-19 December, 2015, Dhaka, Bangladesh. [ISBN:978-1-922069-92-4] [Presentation]

   8. Haque, M.A., Masum, A.M., Ratul, M.M., and Tafheem, Z., “Effect of different bracing systems on the structural performance of steel building”, Proceedings of 4th International Conference on Civil Engineering for Sustainable Development (ICCESD 2018), KUET, Khulna, Bangladesh, Feb 9-11, 2018. [PDF]

   9. Tafheem, Z., Islam, M.S., Sen, D., Alwashali, H., Seki, M., and Maeda, M., Evaluation of Seismic Capacity and Expected Damage of RC Buildings in Bangladesh Part 2: Correlation between Seismic capacity and Damage level, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ), 289-290, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Ishikawa, Japan, 2-6 Sept., 2019.

   10. Islam, M.S., Tafheem, Z., Sen, D., Alwashali, H., Seki, M., and Maeda, M., Evaluation of Seismic Capacity and Expected Damage of RC Buildings in Bangladesh Part 1: Study on characteristics of existing RC buildings in Bangladesh, Proceedings of the Annual meeting of Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ), 287-288, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Ishikawa, Japan, 2-6 Sept., 2019.

   11. D. Sen, Y. Torihata, H. Alwashali, S. Islam, Z. Tafheem & M. Maeda, Investigation of the Ferro-cement laminated infilled masonry wall under cyclic lateral load, Pacific Conference on Earthquake Engineering (PCEE 237), Auckland, New Zealand, 3-6 April 2019.

   12. Tafheem, Z., Al-Washali, H., Shegay, A., Sen, D., Islam, M.S., Seki, M., and Maeda, M., A Review study on the effect of openings on the seismic performance of RC wall panels, Proceedings of Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Annual Meeting, Sep 2020.

   13. Islam, M.S., Sen, D., Tafheem, Z., Al-Washali, H., Seki, M., and Maeda, M., Failure modes and capacity evaluation of Ferro-cement laminated masonry infilled RC frame　Part 1: Proposal and validation of capacity evaluation, Proceedings of Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Annual Meeting, Sep 2020. (link)

   14. Sen, D., Islam, M.S., Tafheem, Z., Al-Washali, H., Seki, M., and Maeda, M., Failure modes and capacity evaluation of Ferro-cement laminated masonry infilled RC frame　Part 2: Proposal and validation of capacity evaluation, Proceedings of Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Annual Meeting, Sep 2020. (link)

   15. Tafheem, Z., Al-Washali, H., Shegay, A., Sen, D., Islam, M.S., Maeda, M., and Seki, M., Review on the effect of openings on the seismic response of wall panels, 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE, Sendai, Japan, 27 Sept.- 2 Oct., 2021 (link).

   16. A.G. Aljuhmani, A. Ogasawara, E. Atsuzawa, H. Alwashali, A.V. Shegay, Z. Tafheem, and M. Maeda, Influence of openings on the shear strength and stiffness of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE, Sendai, Japan, 27 Sept.- 2 Oct, 2021. (link)

   17. Tafheem, Z., Al-Washali, H., Seki, M., and Maeda, M., Investigation of the influence of opening parameters on the seismic capacity of reinforced concrete walls, Proceedings of the Japan Concrete Institute (JCI) Annual convention, Nagoya, Japan, July 7-9, 2021.

   18. Alwashali, H., Tafheem, Z., Maeda, M., Seki, M., Tsurugai, K., Aizawa, N., and Ogata, Y., Experimental study on the influence of openings on strength and stiffness of RC walls Part 1: Outline of experiment plan, Proceedings of Architecture Institute of Japan (AIJ) Annual Meeting, Sep 2021. 

   19. Tafheem, Z., Alwashali, H., Maeda, M., Seki, M., Tsurugai, K., Aizawa, N., and Ogata, Y., Experimental study on the influence of openings on strength and stiffness of RC walls Part 2: Experiment results, Proceedings of Architecture Institute of Japan (AIJ) Annual Meeting, Sep 2021. 

   20. F. Zahura, D. Sen, R. Sabrin, A. Das, MJ Uddin, Z. Tafheem, F. Khanam, H. Alwashali, and M. Maeda, In-plane seismic performance of masonry-infilled RC frame with and without Ferrocement overlay, 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE, Sendai, Japan, 27 Sept.- 2 Oct, 2021.

   21. Sen, D., Al-Washali, H., Tafheem, Z., Islam, M.S., Maeda, M., and Seki, M., Experimental investigation and capacity evaluation of ferro-cement laminated masonry infilled RC frame, 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 17WCEE, Sendai, Japan, 27 Sept.- 2 Oct, 2021.

   22. Tafheem, Z., Al-Washali, H., Maeda, M., and Tsurugai, K., Seismic response of Reinforced Concrete walls with opening: Experiment And Strut-and-tie Method, Proceedings of the Japan Concrete Institute (JCI) Annual convention, Chiba, Japan, July 13-15, 2022.

   23. Alwashali, H., Tafheem, Z., Maeda, M., Seki, M., Tsurugai, K., Aizawa, N., and Ogata, Y., Experimental study on the influence of openings on strength and stiffness of RC walls Part 3: Overview of 2nd test series, Proceedings of Architecture Institute of Japan (AIJ) Annual Meeting, 5-8 Sep 2022. 

   24. Tafheem, Z., Alwashali, H., Maeda, M., Seki, M., Tsurugai, K., Aizawa, N., and Ogata, Y., Experimental study on the influence of openings on strength and stiffness of RC walls Part 4: Discussion of Experiment results, Proceedings of Architecture Institute of Japan (AIJ) Annual Meeting, 5-8 Sep 2022. 

   25. J. Monical, Z. Tafheem, H. Lai, H. Yoshida, M. Maeda, M. Seki, M. Sato, N. Aizawa, and Y. Ogata, Influence of openings and strengthening methods on shear Strength of RC wall specimens, 18th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 18WCEE, Milan, Italy, 30 June - 5 July 2024. (link)

   26. Ashfia, Z. T., Nizam, T. B., Islam, M. R. and Tafheem, Z.,  Evaluation of seismic performance of RC frames by Response spectrum analysis for different lateral stiffness, 1st IUT International Conference on Core Engineering & Technology , IUT, Gazipur, Bangladesh, 25-27 April, 2025

 (c)   Dissertations 

• Tafheem, Z., “Investigation on bolt tension of flanged pipe joint subjected to bending”, M.Sc. Engineering Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET, Bangladesh.

• Tafheem, Z., “Seismic analysis of a three-span deck-girder bridge”, B.Sc. Engineering Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET, Bangladesh   

Professional Exposures

• Participant, Hybrid Seminar on " 4th GLOBAL SEMINAR ON SUSTAINABLE & EARTHQUAKE RESILIENT STRUCTURES  ", Organized by Okayama University, Japan, Nov 12, 2025.

• Participant, Hybrid Seminar on " Timber Education Seminar  ", Organized by Okayama University, Japan, Sept 30, 2025.

• Participant, Online Seminar on  "Design of a Modular Truss Bridge using Incremental Launching Construction Sequence", organized by North American Centre for Professional development, Sept 27, 2025. 

• Participant, Seminar on "Geotechnical Engineering Challenges and Providing Non-Traditional Solutions” , Seminar room, AUST, December 29, 2024. [Organized by AUST Civil Engg. Society] 

• Participant, Workshop on 'Enhancing Undergraduate Engineering Education by Incorporating Complex Engineering Problem Solving (CEP) and Complex Engineering Activities (CEA) using AI Tools', organized by AUST OBE team , October 6, 2024.

• Participant, Lecture on "Moral lessons for students from the life of  our prophet (MSM)”, MH Khan Auditorium, AUST, Sept 26, 2024 [Organized by AUST Peace Club (AUSTARPC)]

• Participant, Seminar on "Quantum Electric Arc Furnace Technology for Production of Construction Steel” powered by GPH Ispat Ltd, MH Khan Auditorium, AUST, June 30, 2024 [Organized by AUST Civil Engg. Society]

• Participant, Seminar on 'Sustainability of Construction materials: Bangladesh perspective ', organized by ACI AUST student chapter, AUST multipurpose hall, 25 Jan, 2024.

• Participant, Seminar on 'Creating a culture of HARMONY: Best practices and approaches', AUST seminar room, Dhaka, 12 Oct 2023 [Organized by IQAC-Institutional Quality assurance cell, AUST]

• Participant, Seminar on 'Reinforcement for Concrete Structures', AUST seminar room, Dhaka, 14 Aug 2023 [Organized by AUST Civil Engg. Society]

• Participant, Seminar on “Climate change impacts, scenario and vulnerability of Bangladesh”, May 21, 2023 [Organized by AUST Civil Engg. Society, Dhaka, Bangladesh]

• Participant, Joint online Seminar on the '2023 Earthquake in the Southern Turkey and Syria', 27 Feb, 2023.  [Organized by IRIDeS, Tohoku University, Japan and IRDR, University College London, UK ; Supported by Middle east Technical University, and Istanbul Technical University, Turkey]

• Participant, Global webinar on 'Sustainable and Earthquake resilient Structures', 29 Sept., 2022. [Organized by Okayama University, Japan]

• Participant, Online webinar on 'Digital infrastructure – Smart Bridge Technologies', 23 Sept, 2020.  (Certificate)

• Presenter, SOFTech Workshop for Young Researchers, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, 13 Feb, 2020.

• Participant, Seminar of '20th Earthquake Engineering Research Society of Japan', Tohoku University Aoba Memorial Hall, Sendai, Japan, 12 Jan, 2019.

• Participant, JCI Annual Convention, Sapporo Convention Centre, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan,  10-12 July, 2019.

• ​Presenter, AIJ Annual Meeting*, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Ogigaoka Campus, Japan, 3-6 Sept, 2019.

• Visited Kumagai Gumi Construction Company with Technical Research & Development Institute, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan, 31 Aug 2018. (Observed the Research facilities relating to Base isolator, Tuned mass damper, Wind tunnel, Special Sound Absorbing Materials etc.)

• Visited  ASSISS Construction Company, Inashiki-shi, Ibaraki- Ken 300-1424, Japan, 30-31 Aug 2018. (Observing the Casting of Shear wall Test Specimen, Preparation of Beam-column Joint  specimen before casting, Observation of Reaction Frame)

• Participant, Seminar on 'Case Study of Advanced Wooden Construction in Europe', 27 Aug 2018, CLT Seminar Room, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.

• Participant, Open forum on proposed ' Visual Rating (VR) Method for Seismic Assessment of Existing Buildings" under JICA's SATREPS-TSUIB Project, 13 August, 2018, PWD Auditorium,, Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Attended  Workshop  of JICA's SATREPS Project (TSUIB), 11-12 August, 2018,  Ascott the Residence, Baridhara and HBRI, Darusssalam, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• Participant, Seminar on ' Outcome based Education', 8 July 2018, AUST Seminar Room, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• Participant, Meeting of Working group 2 for the SATREPS-TSUIB Project of JICA,  10-13 May, 2018, CLT Seminar Room,Tohoku University,Sendai, Japan.

• Visited  HBRI (Housing & Building Research Institute), Dhaka, Bangladesh to get information on Reaction Frame, Ferrocement Technology and infilled Masonry surrounded by RC frame on 26th April, 2018.

• Attended 3rd JCC (Joint Co-ordination Committee) meeting of JICA's SATREPS-TSUIB Project, 10 March, 2018, JICA Bangladesh office, Gulshan-1, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• Attended 6th Workshop  of JICA's SATREPS TSUIB project, 10-11 March, 2018,  HBRI & Six Season's Hotel, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• Participant, Seminar on 'Bridge Engineering Practice in Bangladesh', organized by AUST Civil Engineering Society (ACES), 3 February 2018, AUST Seminar Room.

• Participant, Seminar on 'Slope stabilization using Recycled Plastic Pin and Magic Box for Subsurface Investigation', 24 June, 2017, AUST Seminar Room.

• Participant, Seminar on 'Recent trends in Bridge Engineering: Bangladesh Experience', 

13 January, 2016, AUST Multipurpose Hall.

• Participant, Workshop on " Seismic vulnerability Assessment and Structural Health Monitoring", 25-26 December, 2015, BUET-JIDPUS, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• Participant, 11th Global Engineering, Science and Technology Conference, 18-19 December, 2015, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• Participant, Seminar on 'Advent of Grade 80- High Strength Steel Reinforcement' organized by BSRM, 15 December, 2015, Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, Dhaka, Bangladesh 

• Participant, Seminar on 'Water Resources in Bangladesh: Issues, challenges and role of water Professionals', 8 August 2015, AUST Seminar Room.

• Participant, Seminar on ' Miniature Concrete Prism Test - A new Test Method for evaluating the ASR Potential of Aggregates and the effectiveness of ASR mitigation Measures ', 29 November 2014, AUST Seminar Room. 

• Co-ordinator, Seminar on ' Paint as a Construction Material ', 25 June 2014, AUST Seminar Room

• Participant, Seminar on 'Concrete Technology & BASF Admixture System', 8  February 2014, AUST Seminar Room. 

• Participant, Seminar on 'Review of the Post-tensioned Extradosed Bridge design in context of Bangladesh', 24 January 2013, AUST Seminar Room. 

• Participant, Seminar on 'Construction Engineering: Lessons learned from failures', 25 July 2012, AUST Seminar Room .

• Participant, Seminar on ‘Seismic signal analysis for surface soil characterizations’, organized by Bangladesh Society for Geo-technical Engineering  in collaboration with the Department of Civil engineering, AUST, 23 January, 2012.     

• Participant, Seminar on ‘Earthquake and its impact in Bangladesh and Composite Portland Cement’, organized by AUST Civil Engineering Society (ACES), 21 January, 2012.

• Participant, Teachers’ Orientation program, organized by AUST, 11-13 December, 2011.

• Presenter, 4th Annual Paper Meet and 1st Civil Engineering Congress, 22-24 December, 2011, Institution of Engineers Bangladesh (IEB), Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• Participant, 13th International conference on Computer and Information Technology (ICCIT), hosted by AUST, 22-24 December, 2010.

• Presenter, 2nd International Joint Conference of IABSE-JSCE on Advances in Bridge Engineering - II, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 8-10 August , 2010 

• Participant, Seminar on ‘Earthquake engineering and Construction Project Management’, organized by AUST Civil Engineering  Society (ACES),  30 December, 2009