Dr. Nihal Somaratne

Senior Lecturer (Higher Grade)

Faculty of Engineering | Civil Engineering

Career Summary

Head of the department & Senior Lecturer (Higher Grade), Department of Civil Engineering, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Sri Lanka, (Jan., 2018 - present) and (July, 2014 - Dec., 2017, on leave from University of Peradeniya)
Head of the Department (2005 – 2008) and Senior Lecturer (Gr. I and II) (1991-2017), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya.
Chairman of the Board, National Engineering Research and Development Center of Sri Lanka, Ekala, Ja-ela, Sri Lanka (2001 – 2002)
Project Manager (1987 – 1991) and Senior Structural Analyst (1985 – 1987), Engineering Technology Associates, Madison Heights, Michigan, USA
Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Materials Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. (1980 – 1985)
Assistant Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, (1978-1980)

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, 1985
MS, Materials Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, 1982
BScEng, Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, 1978

HONOURS AND AWARDS

Prof. E.O.E. Pereira memorial orator at the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, (2012)
Prof. E.O.E. Pereira prize for the best paper presented at the annual sessions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, (2011)
Fulbright Senior Research Scholar (2004), at the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Fellowship for graduate studies (1984), University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Ananda Amarasinghe memorial prize for the best performance at the First Examination in Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, (1975)
Brooke Bond Scholarship for highest aggregate of marks at the GCE(A/L) examination, Sri Lanka (engineering stream), (1974)

Research Interests and Memberships

Research Interests

Numerical methods in engineering applications
Investigation of unusual deformation patterns in Victoria dam
Design of piles with special reference to buckling
Adoption of eurocodes for structural designs in Sri Lanka

Memberships

Corporate Member, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (MIESL), Chartered Engineer (CEng)
Corporate Member, Society of Structural Engineers, Sri Lana (MSSESL)
Life Member, Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science

Ongoing Research

Validation of strain gauge data against displacement measurements in Victoria dam
Interpretation of eurocode guidance for design of piles against buckling
Invetigation of cracks in some important concrete structures

My Publications

Conference Proceedings

Pathirana, C.K., Abeyruwan, H., and Somaratna, A.P.N Assessment of alkali aggregate reactivity of some Sri Lankan aggregate by using ultrasonic and electrodynamic testing in Proceedings of Civil Engineering Postgraduate Research Symposium (CEPRS), year 2015, Peradeniya, 2015,
Edirisinghe, G.S., Nung, C.T., Pathirana, D.S.P.M.T. and Somaratna, A.P.N. Finite Element Simulation of Potential AAR in Victoria Dam in Proc. Civil Engineering Projects Symposium, university of Peradeniya, year 2014, Peradeniya, 2014,
Kumari, M.M.D.D., Samarakoon, M. and Somaratna, A.P.N. Development of Benchmark Solutions for AAR Problems in Proc. Civil Engineering Projects Symposium, university of Peradeniya, year 2014, Peradeniya, 2014,
Puvyrajinee, N., Sobija, S., and Somaratna, A.P.N. Improved Retrospective Analysis of the Victoria Dam in Peradeniya University Research Sessions, Vol. 17, year 2012, Peradeniya, Peradeniya, 2012,
Robina, S., Sriranganathan, S., and Somaratna, A.P.N. Effect of Foundation Stiffness on the Performance of a Finite Element Model of the Victoria Dam in Peradeniya University Research Sessions, Vol. 17, year 2012, Peradeniya, 2012,
Bandara, W.J.M.C.S., Rathnayake, R.M.G.M., and Somaratna, A.P.N. Simulation of Potential Alkali Aggregate Reaction in the Victoria Dam in Peradeniya University Research Sessions, Vol. 17, year 2012, Peradeniya, 2012,
Bandara, S.M.A.K., Dissanayake, D.M.S., Herath, S.R., and Somaratna, A.P.N. Determination of Parameters for a Seismic Analysis of the Victoria Dam in Peradeniya University Research Sessions, Vol. 17, year 2012, Peradeniya, 2012,
Jayathilaka, S.T., Chandrasiri, K.C., and Somaratna, N. New Problems in Old Materials � The Case of Victoria Dam in 1st Int. Conf. on Advanced Materials, Science, and Engineering, Colombo, Sri Lanka, year 2012, Colombo, 2012,
Kotagama, K.M.H.K., Aruppola, S.R.K., and Somaratna, N. Modeling of Rock Underlying Victoria Dam in 1st Int. Conf. on Advanced Materials, Science, and Engineering, Colombo, Sri Lanka, year 2012, Colombo, 2012,
Pathirana, C.K., Abeyruwan, H., Somaratna, A.P.N., and Pitawala, H.M.G.T.A. A study on potential alkali-silica reactivity of aggregates in Sri Lanka in Proceedings of the Peradeniya University Research Sessions (PURSE), year 2009, Peradeniya, Dec., 2009,
Pathirana, C.K., Abeyruwan, H., and Somaratna, A.P.N. An effort to distinguish cracks due to plastic shrinkage and alkali-silica reaction in concrete structures in Proceedings of the Peradeniya University Research Sessions (PURSE), year 2008, Peradeniya, Dec., 2008,

Journal Publications

Pathirana, C.K., Aberuwan, H., and Somaratna, A.P.N. " Development of potential reactivity index to quantify the reactivity of selected aggregates " Annual Transactions of IESL, Vol. 1 � Part B, pp. 87 � 93, The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 2011,
Pathirana, C.K., Somaratna, A.P.N., and Aberuwan, H. " Numerical simulation of alkali aggregate reaction in concrete using a general purpose finite element program package " Annual Transactions of IESL, Vol. 1 � Part B, pp. 102 � 109, The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 2011, 2011,
Pathirana, C.K. and Somaratna, A.P.N. " Arthritis in Concrete? No, We Call it AAR " Modulus � the journal of the Society of Structural Engineers, Sri Lanka, vol.18, Issue 1, 2008,
Somaratna, Nihal " Computational Aspects of Dams with respect to Earthquakes " Sri Lanka National Committee on Large Dams Bulletin, vol.XVI, Issue 1, 2006,