Dr Helen Fairclough

School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering

Lecturer in Structural Engineering

Image of Dr Helen Fairclough
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helen.fairclough@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 5753
F113, Sir Frederick Mappin Building (Broad Lane Building)

Full contact details

Dr Helen Fairclough
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
F113
Sir Frederick Mappin Building (Broad Lane Building)
Mappin Street
91Ö±²¥
S1 3JD
Profile

My research aims to develop next-generation digital design tools and discover new, resource-efficient structural forms.

Dr Helen Fairclough

Helen graduated from the University of 91Ö±²¥ in 2015 with an MEng in Structural Engineering. She then joined the department as a PhD student, working in partnership with Expedition Engineering in London. Her work evaluated existing structural optimization methods against real-world projects and developed new techniques to overcome issues with clarity and buildability.

After her PhD, Helen spent time working at the spin-out software company LimitState. Here, she focused on integrating structural optimization techniques into design tools aimed at practicing engineers. She was lead developer of LayOpt, a simple and freely accessible web-app that allows users to quickly find structural forms with minimal material usage. She also contributed to the Peregrine plugin, which integrates structural optimization into workflows using the popular Rhino/Grasshopper CAD system.

Helen then re-joined the department as a post-doctoral researcher working on projects including the 'Digital Design Tools for Long Span Structures' project. Through the methods she developed, new structural forms were identified. When compared with current long span bridge forms (e.g. suspension or cable-stayed designs) with the potential to allow significant material savings and to increase the length of span that is possible.

She was appointed as Lecturer in Structural Engineering in 2022. Her research uses computational and mathematical methods to enable resource-efficient structural design. The tools she develops have a wide range of applications, from long span bridges to additively manufactured components, and across a spectrum of traditional and low-carbon materials. 

Research interests

Minimum material structures

Form finding

Design of long span structures

Integration of digital tools into design workflows

Structural design using low carbon materials

Publications

Journal articles

  • Fairclough HE (2024) . Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 67(7). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fairclough HE, Gilbert M & Tyas A (2022) . Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 65(2). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fairclough H, He L, Pritchard T & Gilbert M (2021) . Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Nanayakkara KIU, He L, Fairclough HE & Gilbert M (2020) . Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fairclough H & Gilbert M (2020) . Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 61(5), 1977-1999. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fairclough H, Gilbert M, Thirion C, Tyas A & Winslow P (2019) Optimisation-driven conceptual design : case study of a large transfer truss. The Structural Engineer, 97(10), 20-26. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fairclough HE, Gilbert M, Pichugin AV, Tyas A & Firth I (2018) . Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 474(2217), ---. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fairclough H & He L () Adaptive topology optimization of fail-safe truss structures. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fairclough H & Gilbert M () Layout optimization of long-span structures subject to self-weight and multiple load-cases. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. RIS download Bibtex download

Chapters

  • Gilbert M, Nanayakkara KI, Liew A, He L, Fairclough H, Amodio S & Rae-Smith J (2025) , Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering (pp. 765-774). Springer Nature Switzerland RIS download Bibtex download

Conference proceedings papers

  • Fairclough H, Gilbert M, Pritchard T, Firth I & Green D (2024) . IABSE Reports, 10 April 2024 - 12 April 2024. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fairclough H, Gilbert M, Tyas A & Pichugin A (2018) . IABSE Symposium, Nantes 2018: Tomorrow’s Megastructures, 19 September 2018 - 21 September 2018. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Whiteside EA, Fairclough HE & Rigby SE () Influence of member failure time on dynamic load redistribution in pinned planar trusses. Proceedings of the The 4th International Conference on Structural Safety Under Fire & Blast Loading (CONFAB 2024). London, UK, 9 September 2024 - 9 September 2024. RIS download Bibtex download

Preprints

  • Fairclough HE (2023) , Research Square Platform LLC. RIS download Bibtex download
Research group

Structural Engineering & Materials 

Computational Mechanics and Design / Intelligent Infrastructure groups

Grants

View all research projects

PhD opportunities

If you're interested in a PhD project please contact Helen at the above email. Current PhD opportunities in the department can be viewed here.

Links

LayOpt