Background

Zelong is a Geotechnical researcher with experience in Large-scale infrastructure monitoring. He is currently working as a research associate on the EPSRC funded project ACHILLES to assess, monitor, design and repair the performance of the ground. Prior to involvement in the ACHILLES, he completed a PhD in Strategies for improving railway track-bed settlement. During his PhD, he also involved with industry consultancies with Tensar, Tarmac and Network Rail. 

Qualifications

• PhD in Civil Engineering (Heriot-Watt University, 2019)
• MSc in Civil Engineering (University of Dundee, 2014)
• BEng in Civil Engineering (Wuhan University of Technology, 2013)

Previous Positions

• 2015-2019: Independent Distance Learning Tutor in Ground Engineering/Foundation Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

• 2015-2019: Geotechnical Lab demonstrator, Heriot-Watt University

Research Interests:

• Infrastructure improvement, particularly in relation to geogrid and use of Asphalt-bitumen
• Railway ballast properties
• Large-scale infrastructure monitoring  

• Yu Z, Eminue O.O, Stirling R, Davie C, Glendinning S. Desiccation cracking at field scale on a vegetated infrastructure embankment. Géotechnique Letters 2021, 11(1), 1-21.
• Yu ZL, Connolly DP, Woodward PK, Laghrouche O, Tutumluer E. Railway ballast anisotropy testing via true triaxial apparatus. Transportation Geotechnics 2020, 23, 100355.
• Yu Z, Connolly DP, Woodward PK, Laghrouche O. Settlement behaviour of hybrid asphalt-ballast railway tracks. Construction and Building Materials 2019, 208, 808–817.
• Yu Z, Woodward PK, Laghrouche O, Connolly DP. True triaxial testing of geogrid for high speed railways. Transportation Geotechnics 2019, 20, 100247.
• Horton M, Connolly DP, Yu Z. Rail Trackbed and Performance Testing of Stabilised Sub-ballast in Normal and High-speed Environments. In: International Scientific Conference Transportation Geotechnics and Geoecology (TGG-2017). 2017, St. Petersburg, Russia: Elsevier.
• Yu Z, Connolly DP, Woodward PK, Horton M, Oliver T. Performance testing of geogrid-stabilised ballast and sub-ballast subjected to high speed rail forces. In: 10th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (BCRRA 2017). 2017, Athens, Greece: CRC Press.
• Yu Z, Connolly DP, Woodward PK, Evans G, Tivey T, Lee B, Ghazireh N. Large scale testing of direct fixation systems for asphaltic railways. In: 14th International Railway Engineering conference. 2017, Edinburgh.
• Connolly DP, Mezher SB, Woodward PK, Yu Z, Laghrouche O, Pombo J, Costa PA. Scoping prediction of railway critical velocity. In: 3rd International Conference on Railway Technology. 2016, Cagliari, Sardinia: Civil-Comp Press.