Research Topics

• Reuse of waste materials in Civil engineering applications
• Laboratory characterization of new construction materials
• Modelling the behaviour of waste materials

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

1. Indraratna, B., Qi, Y., Malisetty, R. S., Navaratnarajah, S. K., Mehmood, F. and Tawk, M. (2022) ‘Recycled materials in railroad substructure: an energy perspective’, Railway Engineering Science, 30(3), pp. 304-322.
2. Tawk, M. and Indraratna, B. (2021) ‘Role of Rubber Crumbs on the Stress-Strain Response of a Coal Wash Matrix’, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 33(3), pp. 04020480.
3. Tawk, M., Qi, Y., Indraratna, B., Rujikiatkamjorn, C. and Heitor, A. (2021) ‘Behavior of a Mixture of Coal Wash and Rubber Crumbs under Cyclic Loading’, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 33(5), pp. 04021054.
4. Indraratna, B., Qi, Y., Tawk, M., Heitor, A., Rujikiatkamjorn, C. and Navaratnarajah, S. K. (2020) ‘Advances in Ground Improvement Using Waste Materials for Transportation Infrastructure’, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Ground Improvement, 0(0), pp. 1-44.
5. Indraratna, B., Rujikiatkamjorn, C., Tawk, M. and Heitor, A. (2019) ‘Compaction, degradation and deformation characteristics of an energy absorbing matrix’, Transportation Geotechnics, 19, pp. 74-83.
6. Wang, D., Tawk, M., Indraratna, B., Heitor, A. and Rujikiatkamjorn, C. (2019) ‘A mixture of coal wash and fly ash as a pavement substructure material’, Transportation Geotechnics, 21, pp. 100265.
7. Kaafarani, R., Abou-Jaoude, G., Wartman, J. and Tawk, M. (2019) ‘Landslide susceptibility mapping based on triggering factors using a multi-modal approach’.

Peer-Reviewed Conference Papers

1. Tawk, M., Qi, Y., Kulappu Arachchige, C. M. and Indraratna, B. (2023) ‘A Sustainable Foundation: Recycling Waste Rubber Tyres in the Railway Track’, Proceedings of the 9ICEG 9th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics, Volume 4.
2. Indraratna, B., Qi, Y., Rujikiatkamjorn, C., Tawk, M., Mehmood, F., Navaratnarajah, S. K., Neville, T. and Grant, J. ‘Smart Solutions in a Circular Economy for Advancing Railroad Design and Construction Using Recycled Materials’. Geotechnical Lessons Learnt—Building and Transport Infrastructure Projects, Singapore, 2023: Springer Nature Singapore, 1-32.
3. Tawk, M., Indraratna, B., Qi, Y., Mehmood, F. and Heitor, A. ‘Recycling of marginal materials to replace traditional capping in track substructure’ (2022), 20th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ICSMGE 2022)
4. Tawk, M., Indraratna, B., Rujikiatkamjorn, C. and Heitor, A. ‘A Mixture of Waste Materials as a Construction Fill in Transportation Infrastructure’. Advances in Transportation Geotechnics IV, Cham, 2022: Springer International Publishing, 565-577.
5. Indraratna, B., Qi, Y., Tawk, M. and Rujikiatkamjorn, C. (2022) ‘Mining Waste Materials and Recycled Rubber Matrix for Rail Tracks under Cyclic Loading’, Geo-Congress 2022, pp. 239-248.
6. Qi, Y., Indraratna, B. and Tawk, M. (2020) ‘Use of Recycled Rubber Elements in Track Stabilisation’,  Geo-Congress 2020, pp. 49-59.
7. Tawk, M., Indraratna, B., Rujikiatkamjorn, C. and Heitor, A. (2019) ‘Review on Compaction and Shearing-Induced Breakage of Granular Material’. Geotechnics for Transportation Infrastructure. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 259-270.

Academic degrees

PhD, Civil Engineering, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2020
BE, Civil Engineering, Lebanese American University, Lebanon, 2016

Professional Memberships

• Member – American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE (2012-present)
• Member – Australian Geomechanics Society AGS (2018-2021)
• Vice President – Centre for Geomechanics and Railway Engineering (2018-2019)