Prof. Dilum Fernando

With 20+ years' experience in the industry, Dilum Fernando has delivered innovative structural projects for both private and public clients across 4 continents, involving steel, reinforced concrete, timber, and composite structural designs.

A recipient of Australia's Most Innovative Engineers Award (2019) and the BERD-FEUP Price for World Innovation in Bridge Engineering (2019), Professor Dilum Fernando currently sits as Chair in Structural Engineering at The University of Edinburgh.

Dilum Fernando's particular interest in the application of fundamental theories of material behaviours and geometric concepts to develop efficient structural systems has allowed him to deliver bespoke, cost efficient designs in transport, energy, buildings and factory components and has earned him worldwide recognition in the field of structures.

Years Experience

4

Continents

In

20

Technical Lead, Property and Structures

Over

Our Experts' Projects

Technology winner of the 2019 Berd-FEUP Prize for Innovation in Bridge Engineering.

Novel double-skin tubular arch (DSTA) bridge system developed for vehicle access and used in two pedestrian bridges in South China University of Technology (SCUT). Designed in collaboration with the University of Queensland, ARUP, RocketC, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Based on hybrid double-skin tubular members (DSTMs), with an FRP outer tube, steel inner tube, and concrete core to give a lightweight, durable, low-cost, and quick to construct design.

DSTA Bridges at SCUT

China

Prefabricated Timber House Designs

Australia, China and US

Full structural design of pre-fabricated timber frame houses for automated manufacturing, transportation and installation.

Large cost reductions in construction costs of housing were achieved through this design.

Private Timber Building Design

Australia

Design of bespoke Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glued Laminated Timber (glulam) based building structure with optimised CLT beam profiles to minimise material usage and waste.

Prefabricated Timber Apartment Designs

Australia

Design of pre-fabricated 5 storey steel-timber framed apartment building, designed for panelized construction, with a bespoke connections design to minimise installation costs and time.

Pre-heater Tower and Supporting Structures

Australia, Switzerland and India

Analysis and assessment of pre-heater towers and design of supporting steel and reinforced concrete structures for cement plants in Australia, Switzerland and India.

Significant cost reductions were achieved in factory construction through structural optimization of the structural elements.

Jewel Changi Airport Coffee Shop

Singapore

Structural design for exterior decoration façade and handrail of staircase for coffee shop in Jewel Changi Airport.

Yio Chu Kang Bus Interchange

Singapore

Structural steel roof design for Yio Chu Kang Bus Interchange, leading to significant cost reductions through structural optimisation.

Drop Shaft Design

New Zealand

Design of 23m tall, 5m diameter Glass Fiber Reinforced (GRP) drop shaft design, including cascade shaft, connections and hollow core sandwich platforms.

Material optimization achieved through the use of Finite Element Analysis during the design stage.

Pedestrian and Vehicle Bridges

Guatemala

Hydrologic and hydraulic bridge design for over 35 pedestrian and vehicle access bridges across Guatemala, for the Ministry of Infrastructure of Guatemala.

Designs aimed at minimising construction costs.

Lattice Wind Rotor Blade

Ireland

Prototype design of lattice structure designed with a finite element modelling approach. Results showed a significant reduction in overall material weight and cost.

3D Printed Core Tidal Rotor Blade

United Kingdom

Design and manufacture of a bespoke 2.5m long tidal turbine blade with a 3D printed inner core leading to significant reductions in manufacturing cost.

Tidal Rotor Blade

United Kingdom

Prototype design and manufacturing of a 5 m long tidal turbine blade with a support structure consisting of a cast-iron spart, carbon-glass composite ribs and skin system. Use of finite element modelling and data-driven design led to significant cost reductions over conventional tidal blade designs.

Modular Railway Overpass

United Kingdom

2.4 m wide, carbon fibre and strand mat modular railway overpass for a client in the transport sector.

The overpass is characterised for its high durability, light weight and ease of transportation and installation when compared to conventional steel systems.

Structural Design of Temporary Works

United Kingdom

Reviews, testing and development of internal company standards and standard operational procedures relating to safety decks and net strands, for a client in the temporary works sector.

News

Led by Dr. Eddie McCarthy, a new state-of-the-art tidal turbine blade has been manufactured in Scotland for the first time — and at a lower cost than previous versions. According to its developers, this innovation could help reduce the levelised cost of tidal energy.

FastBlade leader Dr Eddie McCarthy, said: “This project represents a major step change in our group’s capacity to manufacture tidal blades at reasonable size scale (around three metres long) at a reasonable speed ... we have found a faster, cheaper route to manufacture than the usual tidal blade fabrication."