Geotechnical engineers design and analyze the interface between the natural and built environments, often based on uncertain and inherently variable data due to the nature of the building material, soil. Engineers must estimate the subsurface conditions at a site using historical, in-situ, and laboratory testing data. However, only discrete representative...
A typhoon is a highly destructive weather event, causing severe damage and losses to the economy and lives. The impacts of typhoons can be mitigated by adequately predicting their path in advance. The progress of a typhoon can be investigated by analyzing the significant changes in Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV)...
Shallow landslides are a prevalent concern in mountainous regions that can result in severe societal, economic, and environmental impacts. The challenge is further compounded as the size and location of a potential slide is often unknown. This study presents a generalized approach for the evaluation of shallow landslide susceptibility using...
Earthquake engineering analyses are often performed using shallow, crustal earthquake motions (e.g., 1940 El Centro). However, large areas of the world are subject to subduction zone earthquake motions (e.g., the Pacific Northwest). A subduction zone earthquake motion is characterized by its long duration (e.g., strong shaking lasts for more than...
The production of high value non-conventional products, such as long utility poles; or the production of low value bulky products, such as chips or grindings; provide opportunities for forest owners to increase value from their forests. The transport of these products requires the use of specialized trucks and trailers. However,...
The blast technique has been used as an effective soil improvement method to compact loose coarse-granular soils since 1930s, and the use of the blast technique is extended as an application of in-situ liquefaction testing to investigate the performance of full scale foundations and countermeasures against liquefaction in recent decades....
Determining accurate elevations is important for many engineering and scientific applications, and finding these heights via GNSS increases efficiency and significantly reduces the costs as compared to precise geodetic leveling. The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has published guidelines for determining both ellipsoidal and orthometric heights with GPS to within 2...
The development of technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), light detection and ranging (lidar), and sensor-based systems poses new opportunities for researchers to rethink how construction safety and health can be approached during the design, planning, and construction phases of a project. Nevertheless, the majority of the technology applications...
The seismic response of deep deposits of liquefiable and cyclic-softening susceptible soils has presented the geotechnical profession with significant engineering challenges. Strong ground motions may serve to soften soils under cyclic shear, trigger liquefaction, and produce damaging displacements as a consequence. This study improves the understanding of the in-situ, nonlinear,...
The electrical grid of the Western Interconnection is vulnerable to earthquake damage, especially large-magnitude megathrust events, due to the unique seismic profile of the region. However, the size of the Western Interconnection makes it difficult to model seismic failure in electrical substations to the level of detail necessary to improve...