The historic Lane Building is a twelve-story, nonductile concrete structure originally constructed in the early 1920s. The owner undertook a renovation project to convert the building to a mixed-use property with ground-floor retail and more than...
With bedrock more than 200 ft below street level, the fifty-eight-story Millennium Tower, like most downtown high-rises, is founded on piles driven through soft, compressible clay soils deposited by the San Francisco Bay and extending into a...
Located in Petone, the site of the new Ryman Healthcare Retirement Village has a challenging combination of liquefiable soils with close proximity to a fault line. To protect the new development during seismic events, the lead structural engineer...
Founded in the early 1900s, Chevron’s Richmond Refinery produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and lubricants. Since the refinery is located within the corporate boundary of the City of Richmond and on San Francisco Bay, it is subject to...
Constructed in 1969, this two-story building houses administrative offices and the school library. As part of a campus modernization project, Glendale High School wanted to mitigate the seismic deficiencies resulting from a soft-story...
Built in 1972, the 977 ft Sutro Tower is the tallest tower in California and serves as a base for radio, television, and microwave transmission throughout the Bay Area. Since 2002, SGH has performed a wide range of engineering services,...
Designed by a joint team of students from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Brown University, this "passivhaus" entry for the 2014 Solar Decathlon competition balances the use of new materials, constructability, and solar-powered energy...
Harvard University planned to locate a new science complex above a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) brick masonry pipeline that was over 115 years old. The University was concerned about the impact of construction on the 69 in. high...
The 1,097 MW power plant went into commercial operation in 1971 and consists of a single-unit boiling water reactor. The owner/operator of the Mühleberg Nuclear Power Plant (KKM) needed to submit an updated Level 1 probabilistic safety...
In the event of an earthquake, hospitals must remain standing and should be functional, if possible. The poor performance of older hospitals observed following the 1994 Northridge earthquake forced the State of California to reassess seismic...
An important element of structure seismic fragility evaluation for seismic probabilistic risk assessment is determination of the inelastic energy absorption factor. This factor accounts for a structure’s ability to withstand earthquake...
This paper presents findings from a research project on the development of a numerical framework to predict the collapse load of a wharf supported by corroded piles under gravitational loads. Data from a detailed marine investigation performed in...
By: Koliou, M., Filiatrault, A, Dominic Kelly, Lawson, J.
Abstract: This study focuses on the development of a two dimensional (2D) simplified numerical framework of rigid wall-flexible diaphragm (RWFD) structures that can be used to validate seismic design approaches. This type of low-rise industrial...
Abstract: Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) offers an economical and reliable methodology for testing integrated structural systems with rate dependent behaviors. Within a RTHS implementation, critical components of the structural system under...
Abstract: In this paper we present design and detailing concepts of metal stud wall systems for achieving a predictable performance when subject to air-blast loading effects. These systems are commonly used for exterior cladding and interior...
By: Aviram, Ady, Dominic Kelly, Birely, Anna C., Lowes, Laura N., Lehman, Dawn E.
Abstract: The 2010 Maule, Chile earthquake resulted in significant damage to many mid- and high-rise shear wall buildings. Damage data on many of these buildings was collected by post-disaster reconnaissance teams and construction drawings were...
By: Ronald Mayes, Huang, Yin-Nan, Whittaker, Andrew S., Kennedy, Robert P.
Abstract: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 43-05 presents two performance objectives for the design of nuclear structures, systems and components in nuclear facilities: (1) 1% probability of unacceptable performance for 100% design...
By: Philip Hashimoto, Yusof Ghanaat, Olivier Zuchuat, Robert P. Kennedy
Abstract: A series of nonlinear seismic evaluations was performed to determine seismic fragility of the Mühleberg Dam as part of the Seismic Probabilistic Risk Analysis (SPRA) of the Mühleberg Nuclear Power Plant (KKM)....
Seismic fragility evaluation of the buried Auxiliary Cooling Water System (ACWS) intake pipeline of the Mühleberg Nuclear Power Plant (KKM) was conducted to determine its performance when subjected to liquefaction-induced...
By: Ronald Hamburger, Yin-Nan Huang, Andrew S. Whittaker, Nicolas Luco
The impact of alternate ground-motion scaling procedures on the distribution of displacement responses in simplified structural systems is investigated. Recommendations are provided for selecting and scaling ground motions for performance-based...