Welcome to Dr. Chao Sun's Lab
Dr. Sun’s lab is dedicated to understanding the complex multiscale performance of civil and mechanical infrastructure systems. The research goals are to create resilient sustainable and intelligent infrastructure systems facing aging issues and tropical cyclone induced environmental effects (winds, storm surge, and waves), seismic excitations, impacts, ice loadings, etc. Currently, the lab is developing computational models for hurricane induced multi-hazard, and cost-effective intelligent solutions for monitoring and hazard mitigation of infrastructure. The research interests include:
  • Coastal hazards(winds, waves, and flooding) modeling and mitigation;
  • Fluid structure interaction, offshore energy infrastructure;
  • Machine learning & AI-based  structural health monitoring;
  • Structural dynamics, smart sensing and vibration control;
  • Analytical, numerical and experimental study on nonlinear vibrations;
  • Energy harvesting from ambient vibrations and ocean waves;
  • Data acquisition and advanced signal processing.
chao's pic
Chao Sun, Ph.D., P.E.
Mike N. Dooley Professor
Education
  • Ph.D., 2013, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
  • M.S., 2009, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
  • B.S., 2006, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
Contact
  • Office: 3240M Patrick F. Taylor Hall
  • Phone: (225) 578-8511 / Fax: (225) 578-4945
  • Email: csun@lsu.edu
Recent News
Dr. Sun received the 2024 LSU Mid-Career Rainmaker Scholar Award and the 2025 Research Achievement Award of the CEE Department (03/2025)!
We have postdoctoral and PhD student positions on offshore wind energy and CFD. Please contact Dr. Sun if you are interested.
Our paper on nonlinear time-varying system response modeling via Runge-Kutta PINN has been published in EAAI (01/2025). Congrats, Huaguan!
Journal Publications (* denotes corresponding author)
  • [62] G. Zhao, W. Chen, K. Xing, M. Zhang*, C. Sun*. Wind-Induced Response Prediction of a Transmission Tower-Line System Based on a Long Short-Term Memory Network (under review).
  • [61] X. Wang, C. Sun*, C.S. Cai. Quantifying effects of turbulence intensities on wind pressures on elevated buildings, (under review).
  • [60] H. Li, C. Sun*. PGVAE-VBAKF: a robust strategy for complex system response prediction and noise variance estimation considering modeling errors and nonstationary noises (Under review).
  • [59] T. Ma, C. Sun*. Modeling and Analysis of Combined Wind and Wave Loading on Monopile Offshore Wind Turbines (Under review).
  • [58] H. Li, C. Sun*. Joint loosening identification of a pipeline structure: A two-step strategy via machine learning and FE model updating (Under review).
  • [57] B. Zhu, Y. Wu, C. Sun*, J. Sun. Dynamic response mitigation of offshore wind turbines under ice and wind using an inerter-pendulum mass damper, Ocean Engineering, 2025, 327:120932.
  • [56] H. Li, C. Sun*. Nonlinear time-varying system response modeling via a real-time updated Runge-Kutta physics-informed neural network, Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 2025, 144: 110067. .
  • [55] B. Zhao, C. Sun*, S. Zhong. Strength analysis of eccentric rectangular hollow section (ERHS) X-joints under axial compression, Journal of Structural Engeering, 2024, 150(12): 04024177.
  • [54] Y. Zhang, D. Wang, C. Sun, X. Fu. Probabilistic study on non-stationary extreme response of transmission tower under moving downburst impact, Structures, 2024, 68, 107179.
  • [53] B. Zhao, C. Sun*, S. Lin, T. Lin. In-plane flexural behavior of eccentric rectangular hollow section (ERHS) X-joints: Experimental, numerical and analytical study, Journal of Building Engineering, 2024, 96, 110371.
  • [52] T. Ma, C. Sun*, Paul Miller. Large Eddy Simulation of Non-stationary Highly Turbulent Hurricane Boundary Layer Winds, Physics of Fluids, 2024, DOI: 10.1063/5.0214627.
  • [51] X. Wang, C.S. Cai, C. Sun*, Amal Elawady. Large eddy simulation of wind pressures on elevated low-rise buildings, Physics of Fluids, 2024, 36(5): 055121.
  • [50] T. Ma, C Sun*. Large Eddy Simulation of Wind Turbulences over Non-breaking and Breaking Waves, Ocean Engineering, 2024, 305: 117898.
  • [49] Y. Chen, X. Wang, C. Sun*, B. Zhu. Exploring failure mechanism of light poles on elevated highway bridges under extreme winds, Engineering Failure Analysis, 2024, 59: 108076.
  • [48] B. Zhu, Y. Wu, C. Sun*, D. Sun. An improved inerter-pendulum tuned mass damper and its application in monopile offshore wind turbines, Ocean Engineering, 2024, 298:117172.
  • [47] X. Wang, C.S. Cai, P. Yuan, G. Xu, C. Sun*. An efficient and accurate DSRFG method via nonuniform energy spectra discretization, Engineering Structures, 2024, 298:117014.
  • [46] V. Jahangiri, C. Sun*, H. Babaei. Application of a new two-dimensional nonlinear tuned mass damper in bi-directional vibration mitigation of wind turbine blades, Engineering Structures, 2024, 302: 117371.
  • [45] M. Zhang, C. Gao, C. Wang, J. Li, G. Zhao*, C. Sun*. Fracture Failure Analysis of a Lightening Rod on a Substation Frame Residual Thermal Stress, Engineering Failure Analysis, 2023, 154, 107679.
  • [44] D. Wang, L. Yang*, Y. Xiang, C. Sun*, Q. Chen. Analytical Prediction of Quasi-static response of transmission lines under moving downburst: A nonlinear model with linear approximation, Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics, 2023, 105407.
  • [43] C. Sun*, W. Song, V. Jahangiri. A Real-Time Hybrid Simulation Framework for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines, Ocean Engineering, 2022, 265, 112529.
  • [42] V. Jahangiri, C. Sun*. A novel three-dimensional nonlinear tuned mass damper and its application for reducing vibrations of offshore floating wind turbines, Ocean Engineering, 2022, 110703.
  • [41] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*, V. Jahangiri. Structural Damage Identification of Offshore Wind Turbines: a Two-step Strategy via FE Model Updating， Structural Control and Health Monitoring, e2872.（DOI: 10.1002/stc.2872）.
  • [40] D. Wang, S. Li, C. Sun*, Guoqing Huang, Qingshan Yang. Assessment of wind-induced fragility of transmission towers under quasi-static wind load, Wind and Structures, 2021, 33(4): 343-352.
  • [39] B. Zhu, C. Sun*, Y. Huang, Vibration response and control of offshore monopile wind turbine in ice area, Journal of Vibration and Shock, 2021, 40(9): 133-141.
  • [38] G. Zhao, J. Xu, J. Zhou, M. Zhang, C. Sun*. Study of thermal-structural characteristics of electrified conductors under aeolian vibration, Wind and Structures, 241, 2021, 112383.
  • [37] B. Zhu, C. Sun*, Y. Huang, Ice-induced vibration response analysis of monopile offshore wind turbine, China Civil Engineering Journal (In Chinese), 2021, DOI: 10.15951/j.tmgcxb.2021.01.008.
  • [36] V. Jahangiri, C. Sun*, F. Kong. Study on a 3D pounding pendulum tuned mass damper for mitigating bi-directional vibration of offshore wind turbines, Engineering Structures, 241, 2021, 112383.
  • [35] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*, B. Guo. Transfer-Learning Guided Bayesian Model Updating for Structural Damage Detection Accounting for Modeling Uncertainty, Mechanical System and Signal Processing, 166, 2022, 108426.
  • [34] C. Sun*, V. Jahangiri, H. Sun. Adaptive Bi-directional Vibration Control of Offshore Wind Turbines with Time-varying Structural Properties Structural Control and Health Monitoring, DOI: 10.1002/stc.2817.
  • [33] T. Ma, C. Sun*. Large Eddy Simulation of Hurricane Boundary Layer Turbulence and Its Application for Power Transmission Systems, Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Dynamics, 2021, 210:104520.
  • [32] B. Zhao, C. Sun*, Y Zheng, Y. Cai, Effects of adjacent braces interaction on the out-of-plane flexural behavior of CHS connections, Engineering Structures, 2021, 231:111711.
  • [31] B. Zhu, C. Sun*, V. Jahangiri, Characterizing and Mitigating Wind Ice-induced Vibration of Monopile Offshore Wind Turbines, Ocean Engineering, 2021, 219:108406..
  • [30] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*. Structural Damage Localization via Physics-Guided Machine Learning: A Methodology Integrating Pattern Recognition and Finite Element Model Updating，Structural Health Monitoring, https://doi.org/10.1177/1475921720927488.
  • [29] W. Song, C. Sun, Y. Zuo, V. Jahangiri, Y. Lu, Q. Han. Conceptual Study of a Real-Time Hybrid Simulation Framework for Monopile Offshore Wind Turbines under Wind and Wave Loads, Frontiers in Built Environment doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00129.
  • [28] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*, A Numerical Study of Multi-Site Damage Identification: A Data-Driven Method via Constrained Independent Component Analysis, Structural Control and Health Monitoring. https://doi.org/10.1002/stc.2583
  • [27] V. Jahangiri, C. Sun*. Three Dimensional Vibration Control of Spar-type Offshore Wind Turbines Using Multiple Tuned Mass Dampers, Ocean Engineering 206(15): 107196.
  • [26] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*, Y. Huang, Sparse Signal Recovery for WIM Measurements from Under-sampled Data through Compressed Sensing with Highly Coherent Sensing Matrices, Measurement, 2020, 151: 1-18.
  • [25] B. Zhao, C. Sun*, H. Li. Study on the moment-rotation behavior of eccentric rectangular hollow section cross-type connections under out-of-plane bending moment and chord stress, Engineering Structures, 2020, 207:110211 .
  • [24] B. Zhao, C. Sun*, Y. Cai, C. Liu. Out-of-plane bending hysteretic model for unstiffened CHS X-connections, Structures, 2020, 23:335-350.
  • [23] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*. Multi-site Structural Damage Identification Using a Machine Learning Method of Multi-label Classification, Measurement 2020, 154: 107473.
  • [22] V. Jahangiri, C. Sun*. Integrated Bi-Directional Vibration Control and Energy Harvesting of Monopile Offshore Wind Turbines, Ocean Engineering, 2019, 178: 260-269.
  • [21] C. Sun*, V. Jahangiri. Performance Evaluation of a 3D-PTMD in Offshore Wind Turbines under Multiple Hazards and Damage. Smart Structures and Systems, 2019, 24(1): 53-65.
  • [20] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*, R. Bridgelall, M. Sun. Road profile reconstruction and evaluation using connected vehicle responses and wavelet analysis. Journal of Terramechanics, 2018, 80:21-30.
  • [19] C. Sun, S. Nagarajaiah. Study on a Novel Adaptive Passive Stiffness Device and Its Application for Seismic Mitigation. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 443: 559-575.
  • [18] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*, C. Li, M. Sun. Bridge Scour Monitoring: A Data-driven Method Using Structural Modal Properties. Structural Monitoring and Maintenance, 2019, 6(2): 125-145.
  • [17] C. Sun*, V. Jahangiri. Fatigue Damage Mitigation of Offshore Wind Turbines under Real Wind and Wave Conditions, Engineering Structures, 2019, 178: 472-483.
  • [16] Z. Zhang, C. Sun*, M. Sun, R. Bridgelall. Application of a Machine Learning Method to Evaluate Road Roughness from Connected Vehicles. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements, 2018, 144(4).
  • [15] W. Xu, Y. Ma, C. Ji, C. Sun. Laboratory Measurements of Vortex-induced Vibrations of a Yawed Flexible Cylinder at Different Yaw Angles. Ocean Engineering, 2018, 154:27-42.
  • [14] C. Sun*, V. Jahangiri. Bi-directional Vibration Control of Offshore Wind Turbines Using a 3D Pendulum Tuned Mass Damper. Mechanical System and Signal Processing, 2018, 105: 338-360.
  • [13] C. Sun*. Mitigation of Offshore Wind Turbines under Wind-wave Load: Considering Soil Structure Interaction and Damage. Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 2018 25(3): 1-22.
  • [12] C. Sun*. Semi-active Control of Offshore Wind Turbines under Multi-Hazards. Mechanical System and Signal Processing, 2018, 99: 285-305.
  • [11] E. Sonmez, C. Sun, S. Nagarajaiah, B. Basu. A study on Semi-active Tuned Liquid Column Dampers (sTLCDs) for Structural Response Reduction under Random Excitations. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2016, 362: 1-15.
  • [10] R. P. Eason, C. Sun, A. J. Dick, S. Nagarajaiah. Steady-state response attenuation of a linear oscillator-nonlinear absorber system by using an adjustable-length pendulum in series: Experimental and numerical results. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2015, 344(26): 332-344.
  • [9] C. Sun, S. Nagarajaiah, A. J. Dick. Experimental Investigation of Vibration Attenuation Using Nonlinear Tuned Mass Damper and Pendulum Tuned Mass Damper in Parallel. Nonlinear Dynamics, 2014, 78(4): 2699-2715.
  • [8] C. Sun, S. Nagarajaiah. Study on Semi-active Tuned Mass Damper with Variable Damping and Stiffness under Seismic Excitations. Structural Control and Health Monitoring: 2014, 21(6): 890-906.
  • [7] C. Sun, S. Nagarajaiah, A. J. Dick. Family of Smart Tuned Mass Dampers with Variable Frequency under Harmonic Excitations and Ground Motions: Closed-Form Evaluation. Smart Structures and Systems, 2014, 13(2): 319-341.
  • [6] C. Sun, R. P. Eason, S. Nagarajaiah, A. J. Dick. Hardening Dűffing Oscillator Attenuation Using a Nonlinear TMD, a Semi-active TMD and Multiple TMD. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2013, 332(4): 674-686.
  • [5] R. P. Eason, C. Sun, A. J. Dick., S. Nagarajaiah. Attenuation of a linear oscillator using nonlinear and semi-active tuned mass dampers in series. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2013, 332(1): 154-166.
  • [4] C. Sun, S. Nagarajaiah. STFT Based Real-time Control with Variable Stiffness and Damping of Smart Tuned Mass Damper for Seismic Protection. [C]. 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • [3] R. P. Eason, C. Sun, A. J. Dick., S. Nagarajaiah. Using a Semi-Active Tuned Mass Damper to Limit the Motion of a Nonlinear Absorber and Attenuate Structural Vibrations. 2012 IMECE, ASME 2012 Congress.
  • [2] C. Sun, X. Wu, Y. Zhou, J. Li. Numerical Simulation of Concrete Stochastic Damage Constitutive Law[J]. Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Urban Science Edition), 2008, 25(4):276-279.
  • [1] Liu Hankun, Sun Chao, Li Jie. X-ray CT based Three Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Concrete in Mesoscopic Level. Journal of Architecture and Civil Engineering, 2010, 27(1):54-59.

Current Students

Huaguan Li

Huaguan Li

Ph.D. Student
Research topic: Structural health monitoring of energy infrastructure.
Hossein Babaei

Hossein Babaei

PhD Student
Research topic: Resilient offshore wind energy under tropical cyclones.
Mohammad Asgari

Mohammad Asgari

PhD Student
Research topic: Complex dynamics modeling of floating offshore wind turbines.

Graduated Alumni

Zhiming Zhang

Zhiming Zhang
Current position: Research Engineer at Extreme Event Solutions.

Vahid Jahangiri

Vahid Jahangiri
Current position: Assistant Professor at Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering of the University of Rhode Island.

Tianqi Ma

Tianqi Ma
Current position: Assistant Professor at School of Energy Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University.

Xiangjie Wang

Xiangjie Wang
Current position: Civil Structural Engineer at ECI Group.

Yanlin Chen

Yanlin Chen
Current position: Civil Engineer at LA DOTD.

Noah Taylor

Noah Taylor
Current position: Civil Structural Engineer at GIS Engineering, LLC.

Facilities

1. Structural Dynamics, Vibration Testing and Control Systems

Shaking table and vibration control system
Dual-purpose shaker
Signal generation and data acquisition system
UAV for condition sensing of structures

2. Structural System Test Facilities

MTS Test Frame with Hydraulic Grip
Reaction Frame and Hydraulic Jack

Outreach

Dr. Sun taught local high school students the fundamentals of truss structures and the method to calculate forces of truss structure members. He serves as a member of the coach team to help the students prepare for a national bridge design competition.

Teaching

CE 3400 Strength of Materials
CE 3415 Structural Analysis
CE 4410 Principles of Reinforced Concrete
CE 4460 Bridge Design (Capstone project)
CE 7430 Structural Dynamics
CE 7701 Dynamics of Offshore Structures