SEAOSD October Dinner Meeting

Structural Engineers Association of San Diego

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

How to Shake 1 Million Pounds of Concrete

UC San Diego Structural Engineering Researchers completed three months of rigorous earthquake simulation tests on a half-scale three-story structure, and are now analyzing the results to be used in the future designs of buildings (parking garages, college dormitories, hotels, stadiums, prisons, and increasingly, office buildings) across the nation. Precast concrete, which is built in pieces and then put together to construct buildings, has been a breakthrough in the industry in terms of saving time and money, and increasing durability. While precast concrete has proven to be a robust design material for structures, researchers are working to provide the industry with new methods of connecting these pieces more efficiently. Researchers produced a series of earthquake jolts on a structure resembling a parking garage. The 1 million-pound precast concrete test structure had the largest footprint of any structure ever tested on a shake table in the United States. The $2.3 million research project is a collaboration between UC San Diego, the University of Arizona, and Lehigh University. It is funded by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute and its member companies and organizations, the National Science Foundation, the Charles Pankow Foundation and the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation.  Professor Jose Restrepo led the team that tested this structure and, in this talk, he presents the main objectives of the research work as well as the main implications in future designs.

 

Speaker Biography

José I. Restrepo is a Professor in Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, Director of Operations of the Charles Lee Powell Structural Research Laboratories, the largest Structures Laboratory complex in United States and the world, and Principal of Advanced Analysis and Design LLC.  The Powell Laboratories includes the recently dedicated Robert and Natalie Englekirk Structural Research Center that hosts three unique testing facilities, including the largest earthquake simulator in the nation funded by the National Science Foundation under the George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) and a blast simulator funded by TSWG for testing hardening techniques to improve the behavior of structural elements to possible terrorist attacks.

 

Dr. Restrepo led the team of Researchers and Structural Engineers who designed the unique Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table and subsequently designed, built and tested a 7-story and a 3-story precast concrete structure on it.   These structures are  largest ever subjected to input ground motion on a shake table in United States.   Dr. Restrepo has over 100 publications in different conferences and journals.  Dr. Restrepo has received a number of awards, including 2006 Chester Paul Siess Award by the American Concrete Institute for Excellence in Structural Research, the 2006 Charles C. Zollman Award by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute for the best technical paper in the PCI Journal, the 2003-2004 Best Teacher of the Structural Engineering Department, the 2008 James Cooper best-paper award at the National Seismic Bridge Conference and a Commendation by the New Zealand Concrete Society for the team work in the Seismic Retrofit of a Historical Bridge.  Dr Restrepo also holds an adjunct faculty position at the International School for the Reduction of Seismic Risk at the University of Pavia, Italy.

 

Time:               Registration: 5:30 PM   Dinner: 6:15 PM   Program: 7:15-8:15 PM

 

Menu:               Grilled New York Steak, Caesar Salad, and for dessert, Tiramisu, tea and coffee service. (vegetarian plate is available but must be requested by October 17th)

 

Cost:                Members: $35.00, Non-Members: $45.00, Students: $12.50

                       

Location:          The Doubletree Hotel Mission Valley, 7450 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego, California, 92108, (619) 297-5466.

 

Reservation:     RSVP by 11 AM Friday, October 17^th, 2008 by emailing Cathy at secretary@seaosd.org, or calling 619-223-9955. You may also reserve your place and pay in advance with your credit card at www.seaosd.org, click on the dinner meeting announcement.  Your advanced reservations, made and honored, are essential to fulfilling our catering commitment.  If you make a dinner reservation without advanced payment and fail to attend you will be invoiced.

 

Cancellation:    Cancellation must be made at least 24 hours in advance.

 

 

Drawing to be held for a 2006 Design of Reinforced Masonry Structures Manual!

 

Thanks to RCP Block & Brick!