Home | Yi Shao

Welcome, I'm

YI SHAO

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I am a dedicated researcher. My research aims at improving the sustainability and automation level of the construction industry by promoting circular utilization and autonomous construction. Current projects focus on developing adaptable, resilient, and durable structural systems that minimize material and labor usage. My toolbox includes high-performance materials, innovative structural systems, advanced design methods, and autonomous construction methods.
I am a passionate educator and committed to (1) helping each student realize her/his unique dreams and (2) fostering a diverse, inclusive, and dynamic education environment.
Our lab at McGill University is actively HIRING! Learn more about the opportunities!

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Profession & Education

2022.09 - Present

McGill University, Assistant Professor

Our lab is HIRING!

2020.09 - 2022.08

University of California, Berkeley, Postdoctoral Scholar

2017.04 - 2020.09

Stanford University, Ph.D. in Structural Engineering

2015.09 - 2017.03

Stanford University, M.S. in Structural Engineering

2011.09 - 2015.07

Hunan University, B.S. in Bridge Engineering

Group Members
(Alphabetical order)

Research Projects

Improving the Sustainability and Ductility of Reinforced UHPC (ultra-high performance concrete) Beams

Tag: Reduce; Resilience

Background:

Current UHPC materials include 2% or higher volume of steel fibers, which can contribute to over 30% and 40% of material costs and carbon emission, respectively.
Current reinforced UHPC beams often fail early after crack localization and exhibit lower structural ductility than traditional reinforced concrete beams.

Goals:

Investigate the feasibility of lowering fiber volume in UHPC structures.
Develop design methods to improve the structural ductility of reinforced UHPC beams.

Research framework:

Academic Activities

Journal Publications

Shao Y., Ostertag C.P. (2023) LEGO-Inspired and Digitally-Fabricated steel reinforcement cage for Ultra-High performance concrete (UHPC) beams. Engineering Structures, 279, 115617
Shao Y., Parks A., Ostertag C.P. (2023) Carbon Footprint between Steel-Reinforced Concrete and UHPC Beams. Journal of Structural Engineering, 149(3): 06023001.
Shao, Y., Nguyen, W., Bandelt, M.J., Ostertag, C.P., Billington, S.L. (2022). Seismic Performance of High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cement-Based Composite Structural Members: A Review. Journal of Structural Engineering, 148(10): 03122004.
Shao Y., Ostertag C.P. (2022) Bond-slip behavior of steel reinforced UHPC under flexure: Experiment and prediction. Cement and Concrete Composites. 133: 104724.
Shao Y., Parks A., Ostertag C.P. (2022) Lightweight Concrete Façade with Multiple Air Gaps for Sustainable and Energy-efficient Buildings in Singapore. Building and Environment. 223: 109463.
Shao, Y., Billington, S.L. (2022). Impact of UHPC Tensile Behavior on Steel Reinforced UHPC Flexural Behavior. Journal of Structural Engineering, 148(1): 04021244.
Shao, Y., Tich, K. L., Boaro, S. B., Billington, S.L. (2022). Impact of Fiber Distribution and Cyclic Loading on the Bond Behavior of Steel-reinforced UHPC. Cement and Concrete Composites. 126: 104338. (PDF)
Hung, C-C., Hsiao, HJ., Shao, Y., Yen, CH. (2022). A comparative study on the seismic performance of RC beam-column joints retrofitted by ECC, FRP, and concrete jacketing methods. Journal of Building Engineering, 105691.
Williams, I.D., Arteta, C., Shao, Y., Ostertag, C.P. (2022) Hybrid fiber reinforced concrete special shear wall boundary element in compression. Engineering Structures, 252:113726.
Zhao, W, Liu, Y, Zhang, J, Shao, Y, Shu, J. (2022) Automatic pixel-level crack detection and evaluation of concrete structures using deep learning. Struct Control Health Monit. 2022;e2981.
Shao, Y., Hung, C-C., Billington, S.L. (2021). Gradual Crushing of Steel Reinforced HPFRCC Beams:
Experiments and Simulations. Journal of Structural Engineering, 147(8): 04021114.
Shao, Y., Billington, S.L. (2021). Impact of cyclic loading on longitudinally-reinforced UHPC flexural members with different fiber volumes and reinforcing ratios. Engineering Structures, 241:112454.
Shao, Y., Kuo, C-W., Hung, C-C. (2021). Seismic performance of full-scale UHPC-jacket-strengthened RC columns under high axial loads. Engineering Structures, 243:112657.
Zhang, C., Shu, J., Shao, Y., Zhao, W. (2021). Automated generation of FE models of cracked RC beams based on 3D point clouds and 2D images. Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring.
Hung, C-C., Kuo, C-W., Shao, Y. (2021). Cast-in-place and prefabricated UHPC jackets for retrofitting shear-deficient RC columns with different axial load levels. Journal of Building Engineering, 44:103305.
Shao, Y., Billington, S.L. (2020). Flexural Performance of Steel-reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites with Different Reinforcing Ratios and Steel Types. Construction and Building Materials, 231:117159.
Shao, Y., Billington, S.L. (2019). Predicting the Two Predominant Flexural Failure Paths of Longitudinally Reinforced High-performance Fiber-reinforced Cementitious Composite Structural Members. Engineering Structures, 199:109581.
Shao, Y., Shao, X., Li, L., Wu, J. (2017). Optimum Combination of Bridge and Deck Systems for Superspan Cable-Stayed Bridges. Journal of Bridge Engineering, 23(1), 04017112.
Deng, L., He, W., Shao, Y. (2015). Dynamic impact factors for shear and bending moment of simply supported and continuous concrete girder bridges. Journal of Bridge Engineering, 20(11), 04015005.

Conference Publications (Peer-reviewed)

Shao, Y., Billington, S.L. (2021). Bond Performance of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) Under Flexural States, Proceedings of fib Symposium 2021, Lisbon, Portugal. (Link to PDF)
Nguyen, W., Shao, Y., Billington, S.L., Bandelt, M. J., Ostertag, C. P. (2020). High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites for seismic design: A review of columns, 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (17WCEE), Sendai, Japan. (Link to PDF)
Mandeep, P., Shao, Y., Billington, S.L., Bandelt, M. J. (2020) Effect of Fiber Content Variation in Plastic Hinge Region of Reinforced UHPC Flexural Members, RILEM-fib X International Symposium on Fibre Reinforced Concrete, Valencia, Spain. (Link to PDF)
Shao, Y., Billington, S.L. (2019). Utilizing Full UHPC Compressive Strength in Steel Reinforced UHPC Beams, 2nd International Interactive Symposium on UHPC, Albany, NY (Link to PDF)
Billington, S.L., Shao, Y., Frank, T. E., Bandelt, M. J., & Moreno, D. M. (2018). Simulation of reinforced ductile cement-based composite beams under cyclic loads, Euro-C 2018 Conference. (Link to PDF)
Yu, Y., Ma, Y.B., Shao, Y., & Deng, L. (2013). Study of Local Dynamic Impact Factor on Prestressed Concrete Box-girder Bridges, the 7th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, Paper ID: 0580P. (Link to PDF)

Conference Presentations

Shao, Y. (2023). Bond-Slip Behavior of Reinforced UHPC Under Flexure, ACI Fall Convention, Boston, MA.
Shao, Y. (2023). Seismic Performance of Ultra-high Performance Concrete (UHPC) Structural Members: A Review, 3rd International Interactive Symposium on UHPC, Wilmington, DE.
Shao, Y. (2023). Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Concrete Beams Through UHPC Technology, ACI Spring Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Shao, Y. (2021). Design UHPC Structure with High Deformation Capacity, ACI Fall Convention, Atlanta, GA.
Shao, Y., Billington, S. L. (2021). Bond Performance of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) Under Flexural States, fib Symposium 2021, Lisbon, Portugal.
Shao, Y., Billington, S. L. (2019). Utilizing Full UHPC Compressive Strength in Steel Reinforced UHPC Beams, 2nd International Interactive Symposium on UHPC, Albany, NY.
Shao, Y., Billington, S. L. (2018). Impact of Composite Tensile Behavior and Reinforcement Ratio on the Failure Mechanisms of Steel-Reinforced HPFRC Flexural Members, ACI Fall Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Journal Reviewer Service

ASCE: Journal of Structural Engineering; Journal of Bridge Engineering; Journal of Architectural Engineering
Elsevier: Engineering Structures; Journal of Building Engineering; Composites Part B: Engineering; Construction and Building Materials; Structures; Automation in Construction.
Wiley: Structural Concrete.

Research Collaborators

Prof. Sarah L. Billington (Stanford University)
Prof. Claudia P. Ostertag (University of California, Berkeley)
Prof. Glaucio H. Paulino (Princeton University)
Prof. Szymon Rusinkiewicz (Princeton University)
Prof. Chung-Chan Hung (National Cheng Kung University)
Prof. Matthew J. Bandelt (New Jersey Institute of Technology)

Grants & Awards

2022-present Our lab has received funding over CAD 1.2 million from various partners including the government and industry.

2019.06 First Place Paper Award at 2nd international UHPC symposium (Albany, NY)

(1st out of 112 peer-reviewed papers)

2016.04 Charles H. Leavell Graduate Student Fellowship (Stanford University)

(Merit-based)

Service

2022.10-present

Guest editor, Journal Advances in Structural Engineering

Serving as a guest editor for the special issue "Innovative Applications of UHPC in Structural Engineering "

2022.08-2023.06

Organization and scientific committee member of the Third International UHPC Symposium

Serving as the co-chair of the panel discussion.

2022.06-present

Technical committee member of ASTM International

Serving as an active member of ASTM F42.07.07 Additive Manufacturing Technologies - Construction.

2021.09-present

Technical committee member of American Concrete Institue (ACI)

Serving as a voting member for ACI 239-0C (Structural design on UHPC) and the Chair of the shear design section of the upcoming ACI UHPC Structural Design Guidance.

Photography

Never Leave!

(current project)

(CNN News)-Microplastics have been found in human stools for the first time, suggesting they may be widespread in our food chain.

Industrial products (e.g., plastics and batteries) bring huge convenience to our life. However, have we ever seriously thought about these questions: where do they go to after they finish their service? Is the trash can the true end of their life? Do you pretend that they have left your world after throwing them away?

Actually, they never leave! They are everywhere! They threaten the wildlife and our pets who do not recognize them. They come back to us through polluted water, vegetables, and animal meat that grow on this polluted land. No matter how hard it is, they have found a way to our gut!

Every year, over 300 million tons of plastics are produced and more than 50% of them are discarded. Plastics have been found in the most remote areas of the ocean, including the Arctic and Marina Trench. To save us, our next generations, and our planet, it is now the time to look seriously at them and take action!