Fires that affect buildings can have disastrous impacts, including significant losses to people, property, and the environment. Understanding how fires can impact structures provides the foundation to prevent structural collapse in fire. It is critical that the effect of fire is studied to protect the safety and welfare of civilians....
The safety of coastal infrastructure has been a concern after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and the Great East Japan Tsunami in 2011. The western coast of the United States is also exposed to tsunami hazards due to the Cascadia subduction zone. Therefore, it is critical to design coastal...
A challenge for municipal authorities of growing urban areas is to provide larger and faster transportation and utility networks that are safe and resilient to significant disruptions after an earthquake event and other disasters. Urban regions, like the San Francisco Bay or the Los Angeles area, are situated in seismically...
The finite element software framework, OpenSees, has been used by researchers
to simulate the response of structural and geotechnical systems to earthquake loading. Implementation of the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) has made it possible to simulate hydrodynamic forces through fluid-structure interaction (FSI) in OpenSees. To validate the FSI implementation...
To facilitate the evaluation and design of structures subjected to fluid loading, a study of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) using the particle finite element method (PFEM) is presented to approximate the responses and sensitivities of structures which interact with fluid. A wide range of structural types are permissible by making no...
An analysis method for moving loads computes the internal demand history in a structural member at integration points of force-based finite elements as opposed to the end forces of a refined displacement-based finite element mesh. The force-based formulation satisfies strong equilibrium of internal section forces with the element end forces...
Probability-based reliability methods have placed an increased emphasis on realistic simulation of structural behavior in bridge engineering. Uncertainty is present in every aspect of structural analysis. Aleatory uncertainties in the loading and load-carrying capacities, and epistemic uncertainties in mathematical idealization of bridge systems are the major contributors to uncertain structural...
In recent years confinement requirements for concrete columns have increased in seismic regions. Steel jackets are one way to confine reinforced concrete columns. The increased confinement provides additional strength and ductility for the columns during seismic events. For reinforced concrete columns with steel jackets, there are different section properties in...
A generalized, three-dimensional, finite element bridge model was created in order to efficiently and accurately assess live-load girder distribution factors for a variety of bridge types. This model shortens the time required by bridge analysts to develop individual finite element models for bridges of varying geometries. The creation of the...
