Research projects

Dr. Bohumil Kasal
Bernard and Henrietta Hankin Chair of Residential Building Construction

Several research projects are underway and the projects include both fundamental and applied research.

Project title	Short description	Investigators	Keywords	Status
US housing technologies and their application to Chinese market	Identification of US housing technologies that can be potentially applicable in Chinese environment.	Dr. Zhang Yuan	residential construction; US; China; sustainability; environment; natural disaster	current
Pre- and pos-crack behavior of radially renforced arches	Composite fiber reinforced laminated arches and tested in bending.	Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair Robert Blass Graduate Research Assistant	laminated wood; composite reinforcement; cracks; analytical models; testing	current
Low-rise buildings subjected to wind loads	Determination of wind pressure distribution on low-rise buildings and model verification using full-scale and wind tunnel experiments. Collaboration with UNB and Concordia University, Canada.	Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair Maral Amini, Graduate Research Assistant Tanya Myers, Graduate Research Assistant	wind velocity; pressure distribution; stochastic models	current
Hygro-Thermal Performance of Imperfectly Protected Bellow-grade Walls with Interior Insulation	Testing of CMU walls with imperfect damp proofing and various insulation strategies	Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair Brian Wolfgang Graduate Research Assistant Li Hao Postdoctoral Fellow	soil; concrete masonry unit; damp proofing; permeability; perforation; insulation; condensation; temperature gradient	current
Radiographic investigation of structural components	Application of radiography in measurements of internal deformation of beam-to-column connections	Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair Andrew Adams, Graduate Research Assistant	X-ray; load; stress; strain; deformation	current
Performance of ligh-frame partition walls under cyclic shear load	Experimental investigation of wood- and steel-stud partition walls. Preliminary tests.	Ali Memari, Associate Professor Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair Harvey Manbeck, Professor Emeritus	shear wall; wood stud; steel stud; cyclic load; capacity; failure modes	finished
Composite-fiber reinforced beam-to-column connections of timber frames	Fundamental research into the application of radial reinforcement of laminated wood beam-to-column connections.	Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair Joerg Wehsener Research Associate	laminated timber frames; radial reinforcement; glass-fiber; real-time radioscopy; failure modes	finished
Simplified analytical models of wind-loaded light-frame structures	Simplified analytical models suitable for stochastic analysis of light-frame buildings subjected to wind load.	Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair Cyril Fischer, Visiting Scientist	light-frame buildings; wind load; stochastic model; shear walls; deformation; rigid plate; rigid beam	finished
Hygrothermal performance of below-grade wall systems.	Climate chamber tests of basement walls.	Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair Norbert Repka, Postdoctoral Fellow	soil; concrete masonry unit; concrete wall; insulation; condensation; temperature gradient	finished
Test methods for determination of mechanical properties of genetically modified wood	Test methods that can be used to identify the effects of genetic modification at early stages of the material formation.	Perry Peralta; Associate Professor Ilona Peszlen, Associate Professor Bohumil Kasal, Hankin Chair	genetically modified wood; mechanical properties	current

 

Residential Construction Research Group
Undergraduate scholarships in Residential Construction
J. Roger Glunt Graduate Fellowship in Residential Construction
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) - Student Chapter
Pennsylvania Housing Research Center
Hankin Distinguished Lecture series