ABuild Consulting Engineers

18/08/2026

🎉 A big welcome to Amir!

We're thrilled to have Amir joining ABuild as our Principal Geotechnical Engineer.

Bringing more than 15 years of industry experience, Amir has worked across a diverse range of projects, delivering practical and innovative geotechnical solutions for complex ground conditions. His expertise spans everything from foundations and site investigations to major earthworks, piling, and ground improvement.

Amir's passion for solving challenging engineering problems and delivering value for clients makes him a fantastic addition to our growing team.

Welcome aboard, Amir. We're excited for the journey ahead!

20/07/2026

🎅🎄 We're Proud to Give Back! 🎄🎅

ABuild Consulting Engineers is honoured to receive a Certificate of Appreciation from the Special Children's Christmas Party in acknowledgement of our support for the 2026 event.

The Special Children's Christmas Party creates magical experiences for children facing significant challenges, and we're grateful for the opportunity to play a small part in bringing smiles to their faces.

Thank you to the incredible organisers and volunteers who make this event possible every year. We are proud to support such a meaningful cause and help make a difference in our community.

❤️ Together, we can help create memorable moments for children and their families.

🎄✨

11/07/2026

📅 Over the weekend, I used the CalculiX solver to simulate the early-age temperature distribution in a mass concrete structure constructed in three stages.

💡 The analysis captures the heat generated by cement hydration during the chemical reaction between cementitious materials and water.

➡️ The modelling workflow included:
▪️ Gmsh for meshing
▪️ PrePoMax for pre- and post-processing
▪️ A user-defined heat of hydration subroutine implemented in CalculiX

🟢 The contour plot and temperature time histories illustrate the thermal response during staged construction, including heat diffusion within the concrete mass and foundation rock, as well as heat transfer through convection at the exposed concrete-air interfaces.

08/07/2026

Recently, Mojtaba had the opportunity to work on a challenging and rewarding project at ABuild Consulting Engineers Limited:
❇️ The seismic analysis of a 200 m high concrete gravity dam using the Domain Reduction Method (DRM) in LS-DYNA.

🟢 The animation below shows the displacement response of the coupled dam–foundation–reservoir system during earthquake excitation. The numerical model explicitly considers the dynamic interaction between the concrete dam, the rock foundation, and the reservoir, enabling a more realistic representation of the system's seismic response.

🟩 This project highlighted the importance of advanced numerical simulation techniques for assessing the seismic performance of critical infrastructure.

➡️ Note: The deformation shown in the animation is greatly exaggerated for visualization purposes and does not represent the actual displacement magnitude.

05/07/2026

🟢 Can we extract reliable design forces from 3D FEM models ❓

✍ In many projects, we move from shell models to full 3D simulations. A key challenge then is how to translate detailed stress results into quantities suitable for design.

⏭️ To explore this, I compared a slab modelled using:
◾ Shell elements (SAP2000)
◾ 3D solid elements (PrePoMax/CalculiX)

🧮 For the 3D model, the resultant bending moments were obtained by integrating stresses through the slab thickness during post-processing.

🍎 🍏 The comparison shows strong agreement between the two approaches, providing confidence that 3D FEM results can be reduced to sectional forces and directly compared with design capacities.

🎬 This approach is particularly useful for foundations and other cases where shell idealisation is not sufficient.

19/04/2026

Our thoughts are with everyone across the Wellington region who has been affected by the recent flooding and landslides.

We know this weather has caused significant stress, uncertainty, and damage for many families, homeowners, and businesses.

Please know you’re not facing this alone. As a local engineering team, we’re here to help where we can - whether that’s assessing land stability, providing structural or geotechnical advice, or helping you understand next steps after damage to your property.

If you or someone you know needs guidance, support, or simply a conversation about options, please reach out.

📞 Contact: 04 479 3929
📧 Email: [email protected]
🌐 Website: https://www.abuild.co.nz/contact

Take care, Wellington - we’re thinking of you all 💙

Contact ABuild™ Consulting Engineers in Wellington for professional engineering services. Reach out to our team for inquiries and project support.