Civil Engineering
Lavan

Oren Lavan

, Assoc. Prof.
Associate Professor

Dr. Oren Lavan is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Technion in 2006 and was a Visiting Research Scientist (2005-2007) at the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, University at Buffalo – The State University of New York. He spent a sabbatical as a Visiting Associate Professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute at Kyoto University (2014). Dr. Lavan teaches and conducts research in structural engineering, structural dynamics, structural optimization, earthquake engineering, structural control and multi-hazard (wind-seismic) analysis and design of tall buildings. Dr. Lavan serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE. He is the Israeli national delegate to the International Association for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE). He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) where he is a member of several committees. He is also a member of the European Association for Earthquake Engineering (EAEE) where he is a member of the executive committee of TG8 (Seismic behavior of irregular and complex structures). He is also active in Israeli committees of standards.

My group’s main research focuses on the design and optimal design of both retrofitting existing civil structures and designing new ones under dynamic loadings. This is often done using advanced technologies (i.e., viscous dampers; TMDs; weakening and damping; and friction/yielding dampers; etc.).

A key goal of structural engineering is increasing the resilience of civil structures in extreme events, limiting their loses and the expected life-cycle-costs (LCC). In low and mid-rise buildings in extreme events, earthquake loads and their effects dominate the LCC. One of my group’s major research topics focuses on the optimal seismic design of both retrofitting existing buildings and designing new ones. Emphasis is given on equipping structures with various types of advanced technologies, as well as on optimally designing conventional structures.

Any optimized design is as good as the formulation of the optimization problem it solves. Thus, in contrast to “convenient” formulations, the optimization problems we formulate are guided by reality, as complex as their solutions might be. Then, efforts are made to develop efficient methodologies for their solution. Realistic problems are in line with the Performance-Based Design philosophy where a desired target is chosen (e.g. desired LCC) with minimum initial cost, or within multi-objective optimization frameworks. For that purpose, in a unique manner, nonlinear models are considered and advanced Nonlinear Response History Analyses are performed to evaluate the structural responses (or LCC) under realistic ground motion records. As regular structures exist only in textbooks, emphasis is given to formulating problems that are appropriate for generally irregular systems. Furthermore, relying on sound and advanced theories, the new methodologies developed are computationally efficient and could optimize large-scale realistic structures within minimum time on desktop computers. Our methodologies are considered as leading approaches in several comparative studies of benchmark optimal seismic design solutions and are found to lead to excellent designs.

When it comes to tall buildings, although from the perspective of code requirements either winds or earthquakes may dominate the design, a multi-hazard approach is required, as both may strongly contribute to the LCC. Thus, a pioneering work for the optimal design of passive, semi-active and active TMDs in tall buildings to minimize LCC due to both winds and earthquakes has been pursued.

To support the optimization of complex dynamic systems, the extension of a robust analysis theory (namely, the Mixed Lagrangian Formalism), that is robust in terms of convergence, has been adopted (among other more traditional appruaches). It has been extended to account for large-scale realistic buildings, strength degradation and fracture, gap closing and contact as well as rocking behavior. To enable its use as the analysis tool within a gradient based optimization framework, sensitivities of the responses of interest w.r.t structural parameters have been derived. This enabled, thus far, efficient optimization of novel rocking structures.

Ph.D. students

  • Solly Exman-Kleingesinds
  • Ameer Marzok
  • Ohad Idels
  • Nir Izhak Ben-Israel

 

M.Sc. students

  • Omer Vikinski
  • Oran Barzilay
  • Yanay Abras
  • Ghazal Alwilly

 

Alumni Ph.D.

  • Seda Dogruel (University at Buffalo)
  • Yael Daniel
  • Phillip J. Wilkinson
  • Nicolo’ Pollini
  • Arun M. Puthanpurayil (University of Canterbury)

 

Alumni M.Sc.

  • Meiri Avishur
  • David Tubul
  • Roberto Stimamiglio (Politechnico Di Milano)
  • David Abecassis
  • Julia Tokarev
  • Miho Sato (Kyoto University)
  • Stefano Fabrizi (University of Perugia)
  • Abed-Elcareem Bahnasy
  • Elad Katriel
  • Ameer Marzok
  • Itamar Netzer
  • Liran Anaby
  • Daniel Weingarden
  • Raed Jeries
  • Hossam Yassin
  1. Lavan, O. and Levy, R. (2005). “Optimal design of supplemental viscous dampers for irregular shear-frames in the presence of yielding.” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics 34(8): 889-907.
  2. Levy, R., Lavan, O. and Rutenberg, A. V. (2005). “Seismic design of friction-damped braced frames based on historical records.” Earthquake Spectra 21(3): 761-778.
  3. Greenberg, B. J. and Lavan, O. (2005). “Flexural vibrations of composite orthotropic annular plates with edge-damage.” Journal of Sound and Vibration 284(3-5): 1165-1179.
  4. Lavan, O. and Levy, R. (2006). “Optimal peripheral drift control of 3D irregular framed structures using supplemental viscous dampers.” Journal of Earthquake Engineering 10(6): 903-923.
  5. Greenberg, B. J. and Lavan, O. (2006). “Vibrations of orthotropic annular plates subjected to non-uniform boundary conditions over different sections of the inner and outer circumferences.” Thin-Walled Structures 44(4): 455-465.
  6. Levy, R. and Lavan, O. (2006). “Fully stressed design of passive controllers in framed structures for seismic loadings.” Journal of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization 32(6): 485-498.
  7. Lavan, O. and Levy, R. (2006). “Optimal design of supplemental viscous dampers for linear framed structures.” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics 35(3): 337-356.
  8. Lavan, O., Cimellaro, G. P. and Reinhorn, A. M. (2008). “Noniterative optimization procedure for seismic weakening and damping of inelastic structures.” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE 134(10): 1638-1648.
  9. Levy, R. and Lavan, O. (2009). “Quantitative comparison of optimal solutions for the design of supplemental damping in earthquake engineering practice.” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE 135(3): 321-325.
  10. Sivaselvan, M. V., Lavan, O., Dargush, G. F., Kurino, H., Hyodo, Y., Fukuda, R., Sato, K., Apostolakis, G. and Reinhorn, A. M. (2009). “Numerical collapse simulation of large-scale structural systems using an optimization-based algorithm.” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics 38(5): 655–677 (Special Issue: Nonlinear Modeling, Analysis and Simulation for Earthquake Engineering).
  11. Cimellaro, G. P., Lavan, O. and Reinhorn, A. M. (2009). “Design of passive systems for control of inelastic structures.” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics 38(6): 783-804.
  12. Lavan, O. and Levy, R. (2009). “Simple iterative use of Lyapunov’s solution for the linear optimal seismic design of passive devices in framed buildings.” Journal of Earthquake Engineering 13(5): 650-666.
  13. Lavan, O. and Dargush, G. F. (2009). “Multi-objective optimal seismic retrofitting of structures.” Journal of Earthquake Engineering 13(6): 758–790.
  14. Lavan, O., Sivaselvan, M. V., Reinhorn, A. M. and Dargush, G. F. (2009). “Progressive collapse analysis through strength degradation and fracture in the Mixed Lagrangian Framework.” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics 38(13): 1483-1504.
  15. Reinhom, A. M., Lavan, O. and Cimellaro, G. P. (2009). “Design of Controlled Elastic and Inelastic Structures.” Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration 8(4): 469-479 (Special issue: “Advances in Seismic Response Control of Structures” in honor of the retirement of Prof. T.T. Soong).
  16. Lavan, O. (2010). “Dynamic analysis of gap closing and contact in the Mixed Lagrangian Framework: Towards progressive collapse prediction.” Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE 136(8): 979-986.
  17. Gillani, A. S. J., Reinhom, A. M., Glasgow, B., Lavan, O. and Miyamoto, H. K. (2010). “Earthquake Simulator Testing and Seismic Evaluation of Suspended Ceilings.” Journal of Architectural Engineering, ASCE 16(2): 63-73
  18. Lavan, O. and Levy, R. (2010) “Performance based optimal seismic retrofitting of yielding plane frames using added viscous damping.” Earthquakes and Structures 1(3): 307-326.
  19. Lavan, O. (2012). “On the efficiency of viscous dampers in reducing various seismic responses of wall structures.” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics 41:1673–1692.
  20. Daniel, Y., Lavan, O. and Levy, R. (2012). “Multiple-Tuned-Mass-Dampers for multi-modal control of pedestrian bridges.” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE 138(9): 1173-1178.
  21. Lavan, O. (2013) “Time Integrated Mixed Lagrangian Formulation for time discontinuous or impulsive loadings and responses of structures.” Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, 139(9), 1239–1248.
  22. Lavan, O. and Daniel, Y. (2013) “Full resources utilization seismic design of irregular structures using multiple tuned mass dampers.” Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 48(3), 517-532.
  23. Lavan, O., and Avishur, M. (2013) “Seismic behavior of viscously damped yielding frames under structural and damping uncertainties.” Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 11(6), 2309-2332.
  24. Lavan, O., and Amir, O. (2014) “Simultaneous topology and sizing optimization of viscous dampers in seismic retrofitting of 3D irregular frame structures” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 43(9), 1325–1342.
  25. Daniel, Y. and Lavan, O. (2014) “Gradient Based Optimal Seismic Retrofitting of 3D Irregular Buildings using Multiple Tuned Mass Dampers” Computers and Structures, 139, 84-97.
  26. Nakashima, M., Lavan, O., Kurata, M. and Luo, Y. (2014) “Earthquake engineering research needs in light of lessons learned from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake”. Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration, 13, 141-149
  27. Daniel, Y. and Lavan, O. (2015) “Optimality Criteria Based Seismic Design of Multiple Tuned-Mass-Dampers for the Control of 3D Irregular Buildings”. Earthquakes and Structures, 8(1), 77-100
  28. Lavan, O. (2015) “A methodology for the integrated seismic design of nonlinear buildings with supplemental damping”. Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 22(3), 484-499
  29. Lavan, O., and Abecassis, D. (2015) “Seismic behavior and design of wall–EDD–frame systems.” Frontiers in Built Environment, 1:7. doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2015.00007
  30. Wilkinson, P.J. and Lavan, O. (2015) “Practical Modal Pushover Design of asymmetric-plan reinforced concrete wall buildings for unidirectional ground motion” Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 13, 2915–2944
  31. Lavan, O. (2015) “Optimal design of viscous dampers and their supporting members for the seismic retrofitting of 3D irregular frame structures” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, 141(11),
  32. Pollini, N., Lavan, O., and Amir, O. (2016) “Towards Realistic Minimum-Cost Optimization of Viscous Dampers for Seismic Retrofitting” Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 14(3), 971-998.
  33. Kurata, M., Sato, M., Zhang, L., Lavan, O., Becker, T., and Nakashima, M. (2016) “Minimal-Disturbance Seismic Rehabilitation of Steel Moment-Resisting Frames using Light-weight Steel Elements” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 45(3), 383-400.
  34. Puthanpurayil, A., Lavan, O., Carr, A.J., and Dhakal, R.P. (2016) “Elemental damping formulation: An alternative modelling of inherent damping in nonlinear dynamic analysis” Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 14(8), 2405-2434.
  35. Lavan, O. and Wilkinson, P.J. (2017) “Efficient Seismic Design of 3D Asymmetric and Setback RC Frame Buildings for Drift and Strain Limitation” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, 143(4), 04016205.
  36. Lavan, O., Sato, M., Kurata, M. and Zhang, L. (2017) “Local Deformation Based Design of Minimal-Disturbance Arm Damper for Retrofitting Steel Moment-Resisting Frames” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 46(9), 1493-1509.
  37. Wilkinson, P.J. and Lavan, O. (2017) “Effective Modal Seismic Design of asymmetric-plan RC wall structures for bidirectional ground motion” Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 15(9), 3819-3853.
  38. Lavan, O. (2017) “Multi-Objective optimal design of Tuned-Mass-Dampers” Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 24(11), stc.2008
  39. Pollini, N., Lavan, O., and Amir, O. (2017) “Minimum-cost optimization of nonlinear fluid viscous dampers and their supporting members for seismic retrofitting” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 46(12), 1941-1961.
  40. Pollini, N., Lavan, O., and Amir, O. (2017) “Adjoint sensitivity analysis and optimization of hysteretic dynamic systems with nonlinear viscous dampers” Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 57(6), 2273-2289
  41. Venanzi, I., Lavan, O., Ierimonti, L., and Fabrizi, S. (2018) “Multi-hazard loss analysis of tall buildings under wind and seismic loads” Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 14(10), 1295-1311
  42. Wilkinson, P.J. and Lavan, O. (2018) “Extension of the effective modal seismic design method to generally irregular RC wall structures” Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering,16(11), 5341-5370
  43. Puthanpurayil, A., Lavan, O., Carr, A.J., and Dhakal, R.P (2018) “Application of local elasticity continuum damping models in nonlinear dynamic analysis” Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 16(12), 6365-6391.
  44. Pollini, N., Lavan, O., and Amir, O. (2018) “Optimization‐based minimum‐cost seismic retrofitting of hysteretic frames with nonlinear fluid viscous dampers” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 47(15), 2985-3005.
  45. Puthanpurayil, A.M., Lavan, O., and Dhakal, R. (2020) “Multi-objective loss-based optimization of viscous dampers for seismic retrofitting of irregular structures” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 129, 105765.
  46. Lavan, O. (2020) “Adjoint sensitivity analysis and optimization of transient problems using the Mixed Lagrangian Formalism as a time integration scheme” Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 61, 619–634
  47. Idels, O., and Lavan, O. (2020) “Performance based formal optimized seismic design of steel moment resisting frames” Computers and Structures, 235, 106269
  48. Marzok, A., Lavan, O., and Dancygier, A.N. (2020) “Predictions of moment and deflection capacities of RC shear walls by different analytical models” Structures, 26, 105-127
  49. Kleingesinds, S., Lavan, O., and Venanzi, I. (2020) “Life-cycle cost-based optimization of MTMDs for tall buildings under multiple hazards” Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, DOI: 10.1080/15732479.2020.1778741
  50. Netzer, I., and Lavan, O. (2020) “Optimized seismic design of passively damped outriggers considering perimeter column flexibility” Journal of Structural Engineering – ASCE, 146(12), DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002825.
  51. Marzok, A., and Lavan, O. (2021) “Mixed Lagrangian Formalism for dynamic analysis of self-centering systems” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 50(4), 998-1019.
  52. Idels, O., and Lavan, O. (2021) “Optimization based seismic design of steel moment resisting frames with nonlinear viscous dampers” Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 28(1), e2655.
  53. Kleingesinds, S., and Lavan, O. (2021) “Gradient-based multi-hazard optimization of MTMDs for tall buildings” Computers and Structures, 249, 106503
  54. Idels, O., and Lavan, O. “Performance-based seismic retrofitting of frame structures using Negative Stiffness Devices and Fluid Viscous Dampers via optimization” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (In press)
  55. Marzok, A., and Lavan, O. “Seismic Design of Multiple-Rocking Systems: A Gradient-Based Optimization Approach” Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (In press)

Courses continuously taught at the Technion:

  • Structural Dynamics 1 (019141) – graduate
  • Structural Control under Dynamic Loadings (018141) – graduate
  • Design of Tall Buildings 1 (018101) – graduate
  • Earthquake Engineering (016142) – joint graduate/undergraduate
  • Steel Structures 1 (014140), (014150) – undergraduate

Oren Lavan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Vice-Dean for Graduate Studies and Research
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Technion City, Haifa 32000, Israel
Phone: +972(4)829-2276
email: lavan@technion.ac.il

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