Dr Michael Patrick Byfield PhD BEng CEng MIStructE MICE
Lecturer
Dr Michael Patrick Byfield is Lecturer within the School of Engineering at the University of Southampton.
My research is centred on blast effects on structures, progressive collapse of buildings, and steel and reinforced concrete structures
My research background is in the experimental testing and analysis of steel and reinforced concrete structures and I welcome enquiries from students who have funding for PhD research in either of these areas. I took up my first lectureship at Cranfield University in 1997, before moving to Southampton University in 2003. In 2004 I won the Institution of Civil Engineers Parkman Medal and was shortly afterwards elected to the EPSRC College, which awards research grants worth over £390M annually.
Previous research
Most steel framed buildings take advantage of the composite action between the steel beams and slabs. My research helped develop composite beam to column connections for use in design, see the experimental testing conducted in Fig. 1.
Steel sheet piles suffer from loss of strength due to inter-pile movements. My research defined loss factors which are used by designers during design.
Most designers of steel framed buildings utilise the tying force method to comply with the disproportionate collapse building regulations. My research was the first to show that the tying force method does not work when used with industry standard beam to column connections, see Fig. 2.
The probability of structural failure is dependent on the design complexity. My research helped to understand the reliability issues related to design using Eurocode 3.
Ongoing research
My research was the first to use the component-method for modelling buildings subjected to extreme loading from column loss or blast. This work is ongoing and is aimed at developing beam-to-column connections with improved ductility, see attached video clip of experimental tests.
Control of cracking in reinforced concrete structures is a major problem facing practicing engineers. My research is helping to provide improved crack control for reinforced concrete structures, see recent tests shown in Fig. 3.
Some of my research is geared towards understanding the vulnerability of buildings to collapse due to vehicle borne improvised explosive devices. I am developing methods for protecting military expeditionary forces from building collapse following detonation of vehicle borne improvised explosive devices, see Fig. 4.
Teaching
I aim to develop a fundamental understanding of structural design principles during my lectures, rather than teaching the application of codes of practice.
