Reza Hedayat

Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Dr. Reza Hedayat is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. He received his PhD in 2013 from Purdue University. Dr. Hedayat is the recipient of the Department of Energy’s highly prestigious Early Career Award from the Basic Energy Sciences. Dr. Hedayat’s teaching and research interests focus on geomaterials, construction materials, reuse of mine tailings, tunnels and underground construction, and non-destructive evaluation methods. Dr. Hedayat’s research addresses the fundamental challenges in understanding the behavior of materials and the structures made of them at different time- and length- scales by designing and conducting highly detailed and controlled experiments. Dr. Hedayat has published over 120 peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

Labs and Research Centers

• Geomechanics Laboratory – Hedayat Research Group
• Center for Underground Construction and Tunneling
• Center for Mining Sustainability

Education

• PhD Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 2013
• MS Civil Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, 2009
• BS Civil Engineering, Shiraz University, 2006

Research Areas

• Geomechanics and Geomaterials
• Construction Materials (cementitious materials and geopolymer concrete)
• Mines Tailings and their Reuse for Construction Applications
• Non-destructive Evaluation Methods
• Underground Construction and Tunneling

Featured Talk

Mine tailings are not waste- here is why

Honors and Awards

• Colorado School of Mines Teaching Award, 2022
• Early Career Award from the Department of Energy- Basic Energy Sciences- Geoscience, 2018
• ASCE ExCEED (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Fellow, 2016
• Rocha Medal Runner-up Certificate Award, International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM), 2015
• N.G.W. Cook PhD Dissertation Award, American Rock Mechanics Association, 2014

Selected Publications

• Asadizadeh, M., Hedayat, A., Tunstall, L., Vega Gonzalez, J.A, Vera Alvarado, J.W., Taboada Neira, M. (2024). The impact of slag on the process of geopolymerization and the mechanical performance of mine-tailings-based alkali-activated lightweight aggregates. Construction and Building Materials, 395, 132275. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Figueroa, L., Steirer, X., Li, L., Sosa, H.G.B. (2023). Physical, mechanical, cracking, and damage properties of mine tailings-based geopolymer: Experimental and numerical investigations. Journal of Building Engineering, 75, 107075. Link
• Asadizadeh, M., Clements, C., Hedayat, A., Tunstall, L., Vega Gonzalez, J.A, Vera Alvarado, J.W., Taboada Neira, M. (2023). The effect of class F fly ash on the geopolymerization and compressive strength of lightweight aggregates made from alkali-activated mine tailings. Construction and Building Materials, 395, 132275. Link
• Perera-Mercado, Y., Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Figueroa, L., Saucedo-Salazar, E., Clements, C., Sosa, H.G.B., Tupa, N., Morales, I.Y., Canahua Loza, R.S. (2023). Production and Incorporation of Calcium-Hydrolyzed Nanoparticles in Alkali-Activated Mine Tailings. Nanomaterials, 13(12), Link
• Butt, A., Hedayat, A., Moradian, O. (2023). Laboratory investigation of hydraulic fracturing in granitic rocks using active and passive seismic monitoring. Geophysical Journal International, 234 (3), 1752-1770. Link
• Li, H., Gheibi, A., Hedayat, A., Yin, J., Deng, J. (2023). Experimental validation of a velocity discontinuity model for prediction of the seismic and static shear stiffness of rock joints. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 165, 105360. Link
• Garg, P., Zafar, S., Hedayat, A., Moradian, O., Griffiths, D.V. (2023). A novel methodology for characterizing fracture process zone evolution in Barre granite specimens under mode I loading. Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, 123, 103727. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Perera-Mercado, H. G. B., Tupa, N., Morales, I. Y., Loza, R. S. C. (2022). Including Class F Fly Ash to Improve the Geopolymerization Effects and the Compressive Strength of Mine Tailings–Based Geopolymer. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 34(11), 04022313. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Han, S., Ma, S., Sosa, H. G. B., Bernal, R.P.H., Tupa, N., Morales, I.Y., Loza, R. S. C. (2022). Fracture properties of tailings-based geopolymer incorporated with class F fly ash under mode I loading conditions. Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 271, 108646. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Figueroa, L., Steirer, K.X., Li, H., Sosa, H. G. B., Bernal, R.P.H., Tupa, N., Morales, I.Y., Loza, R. S. C. (2022). Experimental studies on the durability and leaching properties of alkali-activated tailings subjected to different environmental conditions. Cement and Concrete Composites, 130, 104531. Link
• Perera-Mercado, Y., Hedayat, A., Tunstall, L., Clements, C., Hylton, J., Figueroa, L., Zhang, N., Sosa, H. G. B., Tupa, N., Morales, I.Y., Loza, R. S. C. (2022). Effect of the Class C Fly Ash on Low-Reactive Gold Mine Tailing Geopolymers. Polymers, 14, 2809. Link
• Zafar, S., Hedayat, A., Moradian, O. (2022). Micromechanics of Fracture Propagation During Multistage Stress Relaxation and Creep in Brittle Rocks. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 55, 7611–7627. Link 
• Zafar, S., Hedayat, A., Moradian, O. (2022). Evolution of Tensile and Shear Cracking in Crystalline Rocks Under Compression. Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, 118, 103254. Link
• Arora, K., Gutierrez, M., and Hedayat, A. (2021). New Physical Model to Study Tunnels in Squeezing Clay-Rich Rocks. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 6(4), 433-445. Link
• Shirole, D., Hedayat, A., Walton, G. (2021). Damage monitoring in rock specimens with pre-existing flaws by non-linear ultrasonic waves and digital image correlation. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 142, 104758. Link
• Gheibi, A., Li, H., and Hedayat, A. (2021). Detection of seismic precursors in converted ultrasonic waves to shear failure of natural sandstone rock joints. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 54, 3611-3627. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Sosa, H. G. B., Cárdenas, J. J. G., Álvarez, G. E. S., and Rivera, V. B. A. (2021). Specimen size effects on the mechanical behaviors and failure patterns of the mine tailings-based geopolymer under uniaxial compression. Construction and Building Materials, 281, 122525. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Sosa, H., Tunnah, J., Cárdenas, J., and Álvarez, G. E. S. (2021). Estimation of the mode I fracture toughness and evaluations on the strain behaviors of the compacted mine tailings from full-field displacement fields via digital image correlation. Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, 114, 103014. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Sosa, H. G. B., Tupa, N., Morales, I. Y., and Loza, R. S. C. (2021). Mechanical and fracture behaviors of compacted gold mine tailings by semi-circular bending tests and digital image correlation. Construction and Building Materials. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Sosa, H. G. B., Bernel, R.P.H., Tupa, N., Morales, I. Y., and Loza, R. S. C. (2021). Fracture properties of the gold mine tailings-based geopolymer under mode I loading condition through semi-circular bend tests with digital image correlation. Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics. Link
• Arora, K., Gutierrez, M., Hedayat, A. (2021). Physical model simulation of rock-support interaction for the tunnel in squeezing ground. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Sosa, H.G.B., Tupa, N., Morales, I.Y., Loza, R.S.C. (2021). Crack evolution in the Brazilian disks of the mine tailings-based geopolymers measured from digital image correlations: An experimental investigation considering the effects of class F fly ash additions. Ceramics International, 47(22), 32382-32396. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Sosa, H.G.B., Bernal, R.P.H., Tupa, N., Morales, I.Y., Loza, R.S.C. (2021). On the incorporation of class F fly-ash to enhance the geopolymerization effects and splitting tensile strength of the gold mine tailings-based geopolymer. Construction and Building Materials, 308, 125112. Link
• Arora, K., Gutierrez, M., Hedayat, A., Cruz, E.C. (2021). Time-Dependent Behavior of the Tunnels in Squeezing Ground: An Experimental Study. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering 54 (4), 1755-1777. Link
• Zhang, N., Hedayat, A., Gelber Bolaños Sosa, H., González Cárdenas, J.J., Ascuña Rivera, V.B. (2020). Damage evaluation and deformation behavior of mine tailing-based Geopolymer under uniaxial cyclic compression. Ceramics International. Link
• Gheibi, A., and Hedayat, A. (2020). Ultrasonic imaging microscale processes in quartz gouge during compression and shear. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Link
• Shirole, D., Walton, G., and Hedayat, A. (2020). Experimental investigation of multi-scale strain-field heterogeneity in rocks. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 127, 104212. Link
• Shirole, D., Hedayat, A., and Walton, G. Illumination of damage in intact rock specimens by ultrasonic wave transmission and reflection. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, 125(7), e2020JB019526. Link
• Shirole, D., Hedayat, A., Ghazanfari, E., and Walton, G. (2020). Evaluation of an ultrasonic method for damage characterization of brittle rocks. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. Link

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