Dr Behrouz Zafari
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment
- Department of Civil Engineering, Surveying and Construction Management
- School of Built Environment and Geography
- Penrhyn Road
Course Leader for Postgraduate Programmes in Structural Design and Construction Management
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I am a chartered structural engineer (CEng MIStructE) with over 30 years of experience in the field, both in industry and academia. I am course leader for four postgraduate programmes in Structural Design and Construction Management at the Department of Civil Engineering, Surveying and Construction Management (CSCM) within the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment (ECE) at Kingston University (KU). In 2015, I completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at the University of Warwick and currently hold the Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
Educated at four universities, I have held a variety of academic roles for 15 years, including lecturer, senior lecturer and course leader for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in civil engineering. I have also served on several networks and teams, including EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion), Sustainability, the BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) Network, and the REC SAT (Race Equality Charter – Self Assessment Team). These roles have provided me with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing educational institutions. I am familiar with the University's strategic priorities, including the Town House Strategy, and I am a member of the Academic Council at Kingston University, representative of the staff of the ECE faculty.
I specialise in pultruded Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite structures and actively engage in cutting-edge structural engineering research, developing approaches and techniques for studying innovative FRP structural systems and shapes in construction, with a particular focus on "Connections and Joints". I have published several research papers in leading journals, and my work has generated numerous test results that have supported the preparation of industry-wide standards and design guidelines for FRP structures such as the American Standard ASCE SEI 74-23, the Eurocode Technical Specification (FprCEN/TS 19101:2022), and FRP Bridges - Guidance for Designers, CIRIA, C779, 2018.
Qualifications
- 2012: PhD in Civil Engineering Structures (Composites), University of Warwick
- 2008: MSc in Civil Engineering Structures, City University London
- 2015: Postgraduate Certificate in Academic and Professional Practice (PCAPP), University of Warwick
Domains
Behrouz has been in academia for 12 years. He has an understanding of Higher Education from an international perspective. At Kingston, he is teaching a range of modules in Civil and Structural Engineering related to Analysis, Design, Construction Management, and Sustainability at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Dr Zafari contributes to the teaching of CE4013 Structures and Engineering Materials, CE6113 Building and Environmental Engineering, CE7011 Management of Project Risk Quality and Safety, CE7012 Legal Obligations and Conditions of Contract, and CE7112 Structural Design in Concrete and Steel. In close collaboration with teaching team members, Behrouz has contributed to the planning and developing three modules which he is leading within the department.
Qualifications
- 2016: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Courses taught
Behrouz belongs to the structures research group of the department. He is specialised in GFRP composites structures and has a clear plan to develop his research expertise over the next few years in the areas of Facade Engineering and Sustainability. Behrouz has Visiting Fellowship status with Warwick University, and this gives him the opportunity to continue his close collaboration with the FRP composites research team at Warwick School of Engineering. He is also collaborating with Glass & Facade Technology Research Group at Cambridge. Internationally Behrouz is in contact with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology where a research team is working on monitoring and aging of advanced composite materials. His research interests include pultruded fibre-reinforced polymer structures, novel methods of connection with FRP materials, and low impact building systems. Behrouz is supervising two self-funded PhD research students at Kingston who are co-supervised by Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and the University of Warwick.
Publications
Experimental and analytical study on net-tension strength formulae and stress concentration factors of multi-row bolted joints in pultruded fibre-polymer composites
Samsor, Abdul Mahboob, Zafari, Behrouz and Mottram, J. Toby, 2026, Structures (85), Published
AI-enhanced automation of building energy optimization using a hybrid stacked model and genetic algorithms: experiments with seven machine learning techniques and a deep neural network
Mehraban, Mohammad H., Sepasgozar, Samad ME, Ghomimoghadam, Alireza and Zafari, Behrouz, 2025, Results in Engineering (26), Published
Hygrothermal aging of a pultruded fiber-polymer composite with predictions for design service lives
Zafari, Behrouz, Mottram, J. Toby, Purnell, Phil, Grammatikos, Sotirios and Evernden, Mark, 2025, Journal of Composites for Construction (29), 1, Published
A new methodology to inform maintenance decisions and budget requirements for bridges
Omer, Joshua, Haroglu, Hasan and Zafari, Behrouz, 2025, International Journal of Sustainable Engineering (18), 1, Published
Static and fatigue performance of resin injected bolts for a slip and fatigue resistant connection in FRP bridge engineering
Zafari, Behrouz, Qureshi, Jawed, Mottram, J. Toby and Rusev, Rusi, 2016, Structures (7)pp 71-84, Published
On the response to hygrothermal aging of pultruded FRPs used in the civil engineering sector
Grammatikos, Sotirios A., Evernden, Mark, Mitchels, John, Zafari, Behrouz, Mottram, James T. and Papanicolaou, George C., 2016, Materials and Design (96)pp 283-295, Published
Moisture uptake characteristics of a pultruded fibre reinforced polymer flat sheet subjected to hot/wet aging
Grammatikos, S. A., Zafari, B., Evernden, M. C., Mottram, J. T. and Mitchels, J. M., 2015, Polymer Degradation and Stability (121)pp 407-419, Published
Durability and life prediction of a pultruded fibreglass flat sheet using an arrhenius method
Zafari, Behrouz and Mottram, J. Toby (2026). In: Sena-Cruz, José, Barros, Joaquim A. O., Correia, Luís, Custódio, João, Louro, Ana Sofia, (eds.), Cham, Switzerland: Springerpp 1741-1751 [Published]
Flexural response of glass-GFRP composite sandwich façade panels
Ranaweera, D., Zafari, B., Overend, M. and Peiris, D. (2026). In: Sena-Cruz, José, Barros, Joaquim A. O., Correia, Luís, Custódio, João, Louro, Ana Sofia, (eds.), Cham, Switzerland: Springerpp 81-90 [Published]
Further study on the preparation of a resistance formula for net-tension failure of single and multi-rowed bolted connections of fibre-polymer composites
Samsor, Abdul Mahboob and Zafari, Behrouz (2026). In: Correia, João R., Gonilha, José, Firmo, João, Garrido, Mário, Cabral-Fonseca, Susana, (eds.), Cham, Switzerland: Springerpp 46-56 [Published]