Dr Hassan (Milad) Liravi

I am particularly interested in the development and application of advanced computational approaches for modelling complex geotechnical systems and infrastructure.

Another aspect of my research focuses on digital twins for civil and geotechnical infrastructure, elastic and acoustic wave propagation, and machine learning surrogate models for underground infrastructure and geotechnical systems, with the aim of improving infrastructure monitoring, predictive modelling, and asset management.

Summary of expertise

• Soil–structure interaction analysis
• Meshless computational methods
• Digital twins for civil and geotechnical infrastructure
• Vibration and acoustics
• Machine learning surrogate models for underground infrastructure and geotechnical systems
• Railway geotechnics

Current research activity

• Digital twin frameworks for soil–structure interaction problems in elastodynamics
• POD-TWIN: AI-driven digital twin for pantograph–overhead line interaction monitoring (in collaboration with Durham University)
• Building–pile–soil interaction: advanced computational modelling and analysis of dynamic soil–foundation–structure systems

Recently completed research projects

• META-NOVIB: Digital twin for ground-borne railway-induced NOise and VIBration control with METAmaterials in underground tunnels (Durham university, University of Birmingham)
• Fast computational model for railway induced vibrations and re-radiated noise (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)
• Web-based computational tool for the assessment of vIBrations induced by railWAY traffic (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)

• Liravi, H., Alizadehshiraz, A., Kaewunruen, S., & Ninić, J. (2026). A coupled FEM–SBM methodology for dynamic interaction of multiple structures and soil. Computers and Geotechnics, 191, 107816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2025.107816
• Colaço, A., Liravi, H., Soares, P. J., Ninić, J., & Costa, P. A. (2025). Ground-borne vibrations induced by railway traffic: Impact, prediction, mitigation and future perspectives. Vibration, 8(4), 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/vibration8040073
• Liravi, H., Bécot, F. X., Kaewunruen, S., & Ninić, J. (2025). Surrogate model-based multi-objective Bayesian optimisation of porous acoustic barriers. Engineering with Computers. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00366-025-02221-0
• Liravi, H., Fakhraei, J., Kaewunruen, S., Fu, Z., & Ninić, J. (2025). Bayesian optimization of underground railway tunnels using a surrogate model. Data-Centric Engineering, 6, e32. https://doi.org/10.1017/dce.2025.10011
• Liravi, H., Fakhraei, J., Kaewunruen, S., Fu, Z., & Ninić, J. (2025). A meshless numerical method for optimised design of buried structures in elastic medium. Computers and Geotechnics, 183, 107222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2025.107222

Undergraduate

• CVA103 Structural Forms and Stress Analysis

Postgraduate

• CVP448 Quantitative and Numerical Methods in Engineering
• CVP371 Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

After completing my bachelor's degree in Civil engineering at Isfahan University of Technology, I obtained my MSc in Railway Engineering from the Iran University of Science and Technology in 2017, where I also worked as a Research Assistant for more than two years. In 2018, I joined the Acoustical and Mechanical Engineering Laboratory at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain, as a Research Assistant. I completed my PhD at UPC in 2022, where my research focused on advanced 2.5D meshless methodologies for soil–structure interaction problems in elastodynamics.

During my doctoral studies, I was a Visiting Researcher at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Coimbra, Portugal, in 2021. Following the completion of my PhD, I continued at UPC as a Research Associate for two years, conducting numerical research on soil–structure interaction and wave propagation problems.

In 2024, I was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA PF) for the project META-NOVIB: Digital Twin for Ground-Borne Railway-Induced Noise and Vibration Control with Metamaterials in Underground Tunnels. The fellowship was hosted by The University of Birmingham and Durham University. Alongside my research activities at The University of Birmingham, I contributed to teaching, particularly in Mechanics 1 and LI Materials Engineering 1.

My research interests lie in computational mechanics, wave propagation, soil–structure interaction, digital twins, vibration and acoustics, underground tunnelling, railway engineering, and metamaterials.

Professional affiliations

• UK Association for Computational Mechanics (UKACM)
• Railway Engineering Institution (RailEI)

Awards

• Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship – UKRI Postdoctoral Fellowships Guarantee 2024-2026
• Winner of the 2020 Young Professionals Grant for attending the 49th International Congress on Noise Control Engineering (INTER-NOISE 2020, Seoul, South Korea)

External activities

• I am reviewer in several international journals: ”Engineering Structures”, ”Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology”, “Computers and Geotechnics”, “Transportation Geotechnics”, “Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements”, Science of the Total Environment, Ocean Engineering, and Applied Mathematical Modelling from Elsevier; ”International Journal of Steel Structures” from Springer; ”Journal of Low Frequency Noise, Vibration and Active Control” from Sage; ”Applied Sciences”, “Mathematics”, and ”Buildings” from MDPI; and ”Engineering Research Express” and ”Measurement Science and Technology” from IOPscience
• Organiser of the UKACM autumn school
• The Editor of the special issue ”Railway Dynamics and Ground-Borne Vibrations”, Vibration, MDPI

Key collaborators

My research and enterprise activities are conducted with a range of academic and stakeholder partners, including:

• Durham University, UK (University)
• Cambridge university, UK (University)
• University of Porto, Portugal (University)
• University of Birmingham, UK (University)
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain (University)
• Siemens energy wind turbine, Denmark (Industry)
• NetworkRail, UK (Industry)
• Matelys, France (Industry)