Academic Career

Research Areas

• Developement of a material model for fiber based biomaterials with anisotropic and heterogeneous material properties.
• Developement of a virtual method for strength prediction of wood.
• Developement of a numerical model for prediction of the structural pattern of wood.
• Numerical analysis of Engineered Wood Products.
• 3D geometrical reconstruction based on point-clouds.
• Damage and failure analysis of timber and timber joints.

Research

My research is concentrated on the development of a material model for fiber-based biomaterials to predict their mechanical behavior including their anisotropy and heterogeneity using FE-numerical analysis. 

Wood is a non-homogenous and anisotropic material. It is a biomaterial with a cellular structure and imperfections (defects) such as knots that are influencing its strength properties.

By reconstruction of the full 3D geometrical model of timber boards from surface image of knots, imperfections are fully integrated into the finite element model. After prediction of the fiber patter, strength of the single lamellas can be predicted by analyzing the stress distribution in boards and by performing virtual vibration techniques.

The model can further be used for reconstruction of the engineered wood products with an optimized setup configuration. Additionally, failure behavior of single and engineered components can be predicted.

Lectures

• Timber in Construction
• SoftwarLab

Publications

• Rais A., Bacher M., Khaloian-Sarnaghi A., Zeilhofer M., Kovryga A.,Fontanini F., Hilmers T., Westermayr M., Jacobs M., Pretzsch H., van de Kuilen J.W.G. (2021) Local 3D fibre orientation for tensile strength prediction of European beech timber. Construction and Building Materials 279: 122527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.122527.
• Khaloian A., Rais A., Kovryga A., Gard W.F., van de Kuilen J.W.G. (2020) Yield optimization and surface image-based strength prediction of beech. European Journal of Wood and WoodProducts. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-020-01571-4.
• Kovryga A., Khaloian Sarnaghi A., van de Kuilen J.W.G. (2020) Strength grading of hardwoods using transversal ultrasound. European Journal of Wood and Wood Products. 78:951–960. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-020-01573-2.
• Sandhaas C., Khaloian A., van de Kuilen J.W.G. (2020) Numerical modeling of timber and timber joints:Computational aspects. Wood Sci. Technol. 54:31–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-01901142-8.
• Khaloian Sarnaghi A., van de Kuilen J.W.G (2020) Reducing machinery in sawmills: development of computer-based method for timber board classification. Proceedings of the Second Edition of the International Conference on Innovative Applied Energy. Cambridge United Kingdom. 036(149).
• Khaloian Sarnaghi A., van de Kuilen J.W.G (2019) Strength prediction of timber boards using 3D FE analysis. Construction and Building Materials 202: 563-573, doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.01.032.
• Khaloian Sarnaghi A., van de Kuilen J.W.G (2019) An advanced virtual grading method for wood based on surface information of knots. Wood Sci. Technol. 53 (3): 535–557, doi: 10.1007/s00226-019-01089-w
• Khaloian Sarnaghi A., van de Kuilen J.W.G (2019) Tensile strength prediction of softwood glulam lamellas using virtual vibration technique. ASCE J. Mater. Civ. Eng.,31(12): 0899-1561.
• Sandhaas C., Khaloian A., van de Kuilen J.W.G. (2019) Testing and modeling of hardwood joints using beech and azobé. Proceedings of the seventh international scientific conference on hardwood processing ISCHP, Delft, The Netherlands, pp. 85-92.
• Khaloian A., van de Kuilen J.W.G. (2018) Development of an advanced FE-Numerical method for virtual grading of timber. Proceedings of the 18th World Conference on Timber Engineering. Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Khaloian A., Gard W.F., van de Kuilen J.W.G. (2017) 3D FE-numerical modeling of growth defects in medium dense European hardwoods. Proceedings of the sixth international scientific conference on hardwood processing ISCHP, Lahti, Finland, pp. 60-67.
• Khaloian A., van de Kuilen J-W (2016) Numerical modeling of the time dependent behavior of glulam beams. Doktorandenkolloquium Holzbau „Forschung und Praxis“, Stuttgart

Presentations

• ICP-IAPE virtual conference (Cambridge, UK, 2020)
• ISCHP conference (Delft, The Netherlands, 2019)
• ECCOMAS conference (Glasgow, UK, 2018)
• EMI conference (Shanghai, China, 2018)
• ISCHP conference (Lahti, Finland, 2017)
• CompWood conference (Vienna, Austria, 2017)
• Doktorandenkolloquium Holzbau „Forschung und Praxis“ (Stuttgart, Germany, 2016)

Projects

• FaiMONat:
  Multi-fidelity Failure Modeling and Optimization for Natural Fiber Structures in Complex Environments
• HS-Hybrid:
  Integrierte Holz-Stahl-Hybridelemente für Gewerbe- und Mehrgeschossbau
• HoMaBa:
  Holzbasierte Werkstoffe im Maschinenbau: Berechnungskonzepte, Kennwertanforderungen, Kennwertermittlung