People
Zoi Ralli, Ph.D.
Associate Materials Consultant
Focus
- Materials Science + Engineering
Biography
Dr. Ralli has over seven years of experience in development and characterization of sustainable and resilient building materials. She specializes in sustainable and high-performance building materials, including ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) and high-performance geopolymer concretes. With a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from York University and experience as a postdoctoral fellow, she has developed and characterized an innovative low-carbon cement-free geopolymer concrete, reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90% while she has also developed test methods and analytical procedures for material characterization of UHPC.
Dr. Ralli’s is actively engaged in North American and International Scientific Committees such as ACI 239 on UHPC, 239C- Structural Design with UHPC, 239- D Materials and Methods of Construction with UHPC, 242 on Alternative Cements), CSA (A23.2-Annex U), CSCE Sustainable Development Committee, and fib (Task Group 4.8 on Low Carbon Concrete Structures).
Her expertise encompasses experimental and numerical studies of advanced concrete properties, seismic retrofitting, and sustainable construction materials, reflecting her commitment to bridging innovative research with practical applications in the construction industry.
Education
PhD, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University.
MASc, Department of Civil Engineering, D.U.Th.
Engineering Diploma, Department of Civil Engineering, D.U.Th.
Affiliations
American Concrete Institute ACI 239 “Ultra-High-Performance Concrete” (Associate Member)
American Concrete Institute ACI 239C “Structural Design with UHPC” (Voting Member)
American Concrete Institute ACI 239D “Materials and Methods of Construction with UHPC” (Voting Member)
American Concrete Institute ACI 242 “Alternative Cements” (Associate Member)
Canadian Standard Association CSA A23.1/2 Annex U Task Group
Canadian Association of Earthquake Engineering (CAEE)
International Federation for Structural Concrete FIB (Fédération Internationale du Béton) Commission 4: Task Group 4.8: Low-carbon concrete structures
Canadian Society of Civil Engineers Sustainable Development Committee
Featured Publications
Journal Publications (Peer-Reviewed)
Ralli Z. & Pantazopoulou S. J. (2021). “State of the art on Geopolymer Concrete” International Journal of Structural Integrity. Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 511-533. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSI-05-2020-0050
Ralli Z., Akhtarian, S., Pantazopoulou, S.J., and Perry, V. (2023). “Self-Sensing Nanoengineered UHPC under Tension”, Advances in Structural Engineering, Special Issue: Innovative Applications of UHPC in Structural Engineering , DOI: 10.1177/13694332231213457
Ralli Z. & Pantazopoulou S. J. (2024) “Development & Characterization of a Tension Hardening Quarry Waste-based Geopolymer Concrete” ACI Materials Journal DOI: 10.14359/51740704
Ralli Z., Gonzalez R.S., and Pantazopoulou S. J. (2024) “Effectiveness of UHPC Jackets in Pier Retrofitting for Lateral Load Resistance” Construction Materials, 4(4), 787-809 DOI:10.3390/constrmater4040043
Published Peer-Reviewed Conference Papers
Ralli Z., Pantazopoulou S. J. & Papangelakis V. G. (2021). “Microstructural Characterization of High-Performance Fiber Reinforced Geopolymer Concrete” Proceedings of fib Symposium ICCS20, 8-10 September 2021, Prague, Czech Republic Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings, 33, 480–488. https://doi.org/10.14311/APP.2022.33.0480
Ralli Z., Genikomsou A. S. & Pantazopoulou S. J. (2021). “Comparative Evaluation of Non-Linear F.E.A. Inverse Analysis of Tensile Properties of UHPFRC” Proceedings of fib Symposium 2021, 14-16 June 2021, Lisbon Portugal
Ralli Z. & Pantazopoulou, S. J. (2023). “Effect of Aggregate Skeleton and Admixtures on Fresh and Hardened Properties of High-Strength Geopolymer Mortars” In: Jędrzejewska, A., Kanavaris, F., Azenha, M., Benboudjema, F., Schlicke, D. (eds) International RILEM Conference on Synergising Expertise towards Sustainability and Robustness of Cement-based Materials and Concrete Structures. SynerCrete 2023. RILEM Bookseries, vol 44. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33187-9_39
Ralli Z., Husain, S., Pantazopoulou, S., Booya, E., and Loh, P., (2023). “Evaluation of CSA Prequalification Procedures of UHPC Materials for Bridge Construction”, International Interactive Symposium on Ultra-High-Performance Concrete 3(1): 76. doi: https://doi.org/10.21838/uhpc.16689
Ralli Z., Salazar Gonzalez, R., Tsiotsias, K., and Pantazopoulou, S.J.* (2024) “Seismic Retrofitting of Bridge Piers using Ultra-High-Performance Concrete” Proceedings of 18th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering WCEE2024, 30th June-5th July, Milan, Italy.
Ralli Z., Georgiou, A.*, and Pantazopoulou, S.J. (2024) “Development and Material Performance of Lightweight Strain-Hardening Fiber Reinforced Rock-Based Geopolymer Concrete” Proceedings of 19th Panhellenic Concrete Conference, 7-9 November 2024, Thessaloniki, Greece.
