Alper Kanyilmaz

Alper Kanyilmaz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, Construction Engineering, and Built Environment (DABC) at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He addresses interdisciplinary issues on both experimental and numerical bases, creating synergies between various departments (e.g., Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Information Engineering, and Data Science), contributing to European research proposals. He has been the principal investigator of four EU projects with a total budget of 10 million euros and over 40 international partners. He is currently the expert of the technical group (Steel Applications for New Markets, Mandate 2023-2028), appointed by the European Executive Agency, and an expert project monitor for the European Commission, B.1 – Future Low Emission Industries.

His main research themes are:

Development of innovative structural solutions using additive manufacturing (3D printing) and topological optimisation methods in combination with traditional construction systems to design hybrid structures with high structural performance, with particular attention to the optimisation of various factors such as: structural integrity (e.g., fatigue phenomena in connections), architectural satisfaction, and economic and environmental impacts.

Automated off-site assembly of metal structures with laser cutting, aimed at optimising the mechanical behaviour of joints, speeding up construction times, reducing manufacturing waste, and minimising economic and environmental impacts considering the entire life cycle of a building.

Design of rapid and digitised decision-making tools and methods to design efficient structures in terms of structural performance, economic and environmental impact using artificial intelligence.

Mitigation of dynamic actions (fatigue, seismic) on metal structures of a residential and/or industrial type (e.g., self-supporting warehouses, industrial shelving), considering not only structural performance but also durability, reparability, and reuse.

On these themes, he has worked on various research projects co-financed by the European Commission continuously from 2010 to the present at the Polytechnic University of Milan, working in close collaboration with international research institutes. He has been a speaker at numerous international conferences and is a reviewer for various international scientific journals. He has relations with foreign universities and research groups.

He carries out teaching activities as a lecturer in degree courses and as a supervisor of specialist degree and doctoral theses.

Recent publications (complete list here):

Mouad Madhouni, Maël Couchaux, Mohammed Hjiaj, Alper Kanyilmaz, Passing-through I-plates-to-SHS moment resisting joints subjected to symmetric bending moments, Thin-Walled Structures, 2024, 112442, ISSN 0263-8231, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2024.112442

Alessandro Menghini, Simone Maffia, Ali Gökhan Demir, Alper Kanyilmaz, Filippo Berto, Carlo Andrea Castiglioni, Barbara Previtali, Performance of laser metal deposition on hot-rolled stainless steel for hybrid steel structures, Construction and Building Materials, Volume 443, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.137744.

Rajarshi Das, Alper Kanyilmaz, Ezzeldin Zoromba, Alessandro Menghini, Hervé Degée, A cradle-to-site life cycle analysis of laser-cut passing-through tubular joints under different seismic conditions, Structures, Volume 63, 2024, 106313, ISSN 2352-0124, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2024.106313.

Menghini A., Chierici M., Kanyilmaz A., Demir A.G., Castiglioni C.A., Berto F., Previtali B., Fatigue analysis of hybrid steel construction parts using LPBF on hot-rolled steel, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, Volume 215, 2024, 108513, ISSN 0143-974X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2024.108513

Kanyilmaz A., Dang V., Kondratenko A., How does conceptual design impact the cost and carbon footprint of structures?, Structures, Volume 58, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2023.105102.

Kanyilmaz, A., Birhane, M., Fishwick, R., Castillo C.. Reuse of Steel in the Construction Industry: Challenges and Opportunities. Int J Steel Struct (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13296-023-00778-4

Menghini A., Kanyilmaz A., Calado L., Castiglioni C.A., Experimental Assessment of the Behavior of Tubular Truss Girder Joints Fabricated with Laser Cutting Technology (2023) Journal of Structural Engineering (United States), 149 (6), https://doi.org/10.1061/JSENDH.STENG-12019

Kanyilmaz A., Tichell P.R.N., Loiacono D., A genetic algorithm tool for conceptual structural design with cost and embodied carbon optimization (2022) Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 112, art. no. 104711, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engappai.2022.104711

Chierici, M., Demir, A.G., Kanyilmaz, A., Berto F., Castiglioni, C.A, Previtali B., Hybrid manufacturing of steel construction parts via arc welding of LPBF-produced and hot-rolled stainless steels. Prog Addit Manuf (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40964-023-00466-z

Role of metal 3D printing to increase quality and resource-efficiency in the construction sector, Alper Kanyilmaz, Ali Gökhan Demir, Martina Chierici, Filippo Berto, Leroy Gardner, Sastry Yagnanna Kandukuri, Paul Kassabian, Takuya Kinoshita, Andrea Laurenti, Ingrid Paoletti, Anton du Plessis, Seyed Mohammad Javad Razavi, Additive Manufacturing, Volume 50, 2022, 102541, ISSN 2214-8604, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2021.102541.

Kanyilmaz, A., Berto, F., Paoletti I., Caringal, R.J., Mora, S., Nature-inspired optimization of tubular joints for metal 3D printing, Struct Multidisc Optim (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-020-02729-7, Springer Nature

Chierici, M, Berto, F, Kanyilmaz, A. Resource‐efficient joint fabrication by welding metal 3D‐printed parts to conventional steel: A structural integrity study. Fatigue Fract Eng Mater Struct. 2021; 1– 21. https://doi.org/10.1111/ffe.13428

Kanyilmaz, A, Berto, F. Robustness-oriented topology optimization for steel tubular joints mimicking bamboo structures. Mat Design Process Comm. 2019; 1:e43. https://doi.org/10.1002/mdp2.43.

Couchaux M., Vyhlas V., Kanyilmaz A., Hjiaj M., Passing-through I-beam-to-CHS column joints made by laser cutting technology: Experimental tests and design model, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, Volume 176, 2021, 106298, ISSN 0143-974X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2020.106298.

Das R., Kanyilmaz A., Couchaux M., Hoffmeister B., Degee H., Characterization of moment resisting I-beam to circular hollow section column connections resorting to passing-through plates, Engineering Structures, Volume 210, 2020, 110356, ISSN 0141-0296, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2020.110356.

Kanyilmaz, A., Castiglioni C.A., Fabrication of laser cut I-beam-to-CHS-column steel joints with minimized welding, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, Volume 146, 2018, Pages 16-32, ISSN 0143-974X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2018.02.039

Kanyilmaz, A., The problematic nature of steel hollow section joint fabrication, and a remedy using laser cutting technology: A review of research, applications, opportunities, Engineering Structures, Volume 183, 2019, Pages 1027-1048, ISSN 0141-0296, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.12.080.

Kanyilmaz A., Milot Muhaxheri, Carlo Andrea Castiglioni, Influence of repairable bolted dissipative beam splices (structural fuses) on reducing the seismic vulnerability of steel-concrete composite frames, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 119, 2019, Pages 281-298, ISSN 0267-7261, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2019.01.007