2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT · include base isolation, new generation of mechanical adaptive passive devices, sustainable development with focus on resilient infrastructure, as well as

2015-2016 Annual Report, May 06, 2016

University of Nevada, Reno Student Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute page 1

2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT

University of Nevada, Reno Student Chapter

of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute

Report Date: May 06, 2016

This report summarizes the membership and activities conducted by the University of Nevada, Reno Student

Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute during the 2015-2016 academic year.

MISSION & GOALS

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute at University of Nevada Reno (EERI@UNR) student chapter was

established in October 2000. The main objective of our chapter is to encourage and engage students’ interest

in earthquake engineering through increased awareness, personal interaction and information exchange

between research and professional engineering practice, while providing context to the earthquake

engineering education they may have been exposed to. Our chapter mission is to promote a world in which

potential earthquake risk and losses are understood and steps taken to reduce them to an acceptable level.

The goals of EERI@UNR is to reduce the earthquake risk by (1) advancing the science and practice of

earthquake engineering, (2) improving understanding of the impact of earthquakes on the physical, social,

economic, political and cultural environment.

MEMBERSHIP

The University of Nevada, Reno Student Chapter had a total of 13 members in 2015-2016.

OFFICERS

The Board consisted of the following members:

Role Name EERI Member

Number Email Student Status

President Jean C. Guzmán Pujols 13581 [email protected] Graduate student

Treasurer Alireza Mohebbi 17012 [email protected] Graduate student

Secretary Islam Mantawy [email protected] Graduate student

Historian Hilda Lovasz [email protected] Graduate student

Board meetings were held once a month or as needed.

President Treasurer Historian



FACULTY & INDUSTRYADVISORS

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ramin Motamed, Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Reno ([email protected])

MEMBERS

A complete list of members is shown below.

Name EERI Member


Ian Mastick 18696 [email protected] Undergraduate student

Matt Steventon 18695 [email protected] Undergraduate student

Janae Johnston 18563 [email protected] Undergraduate student

Siddaiah Yarra 18293 [email protected] Graduate student

Chelsea Weller 17977 [email protected] Undergraduate student

Alireza Mohebbi 17012 [email protected] Graduate student

Adam Mancuso 16082 [email protected] Undergraduate student

Jean C. Guzman Pujols 13581 [email protected] Graduate student

Hilda Lovasz [email protected] Graduate student

Mohammed Mohammed [email protected] Graduate student

Islam Mantawy [email protected] Graduate student

Denis Istratii [email protected] Graduate student

Loyd West Graduate student

BUDGET & FINANCIALS

For the year, our chapter had a budget of $640 out of which, only $172 were used for hosting expenses. The

remaining balance will continue to be used for future seminar events and other club activities.

CHAPTER ACTIVITIES

Last year we continued our efforts to promote earthquake engineering with our ongoing seminar series, E-week,

UNR Engineers Day as well as social and outreach activities.

Our year started with the popular E-Week, held in February each year, where we joined other engineering

clubs and explained with quick demonstrations to the University community what we do as earthquake

engineers. In April we had the chance to host the CEE department tours for the 13th annual Engineers Day at

the University, where close to 500 middle and high school students attended our popular earthquake

engineering laboratory in a joint effort with the College of Engineering to promote and encourage them to

pursue engineering in college. The tour consisted of three demos: 1) earthquake engineering lab floor tour and

description, highlighting lab space and equipment capacity and experimental projects, 2) mini shake table

demonstration, showing performance of rigid and flexible frames, and 3) videos of past projects at the UNR

earthquake engineering laboratories. Throughout the year, we hosted the EERI@UNR Seminar Series, which we

consider to be our regular chapter meetings. The seminars consist of lectures in broad areas of earthquake

engineering that include, but not limited to, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, seismology,



geophysics, and socio-economics. Presenters are nationally- and internationally-recognized experts in their

fields.

REGULAR CHAPTER MEETINGS: EERI@UNR Seminar Series

Our regular chapter meetings, better known as the EERI@UNR Seminar Series, continues to increase in

popularity. In the events, which we attempt to hold once a month during the academic year, a guest expert is

invited to hold a lecture where they present their cutting edge earthquake engineering related research and

professional experiences in the field. Throughout the year, we were able to host 10 speakers, coming from both

the industry and academia. Some of the events were joint efforts with the CEE Department. Topic highlights

include base isolation, new generation of mechanical adaptive passive devices, sustainable development with

focus on resilient infrastructure, as well as insight on interesting projects like the seismic retrofit of the St. Mary in

the Mountains Catholic Church. A summary of each seminar is presented next in turn, with flyers including the

talk abstract provided in the attachments.

1) Kevin Friskel, M.S., P.E. – Senior Engineer at Dynamic Isolation Systems

Date: March 6, 2015

Title of Presentation: “Base Isolation – Testing, Performance and Applications”

Attendance: 12

2) Zia Zafir, Ph.D., P.E., G.E. – Vice President/ Senior Principal Engineer at Kleinfelder, Inc. Sacramento, CA

Date: March 13, 2015

Title of Presentation: “Seismological and Geotechnical Aspects of 2014 South Napa Earthquake”

Attendance: 17

3) Dr. Navid Attary – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Date: March 23, 2015



Title of Presentation: “Development and Application of Mechanical Devices for Increased Community

Resilience”

Attendance: 26

4) Dr. Mohamed Moustafa – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC, Berkeley

Date: April 7, 2015

Title of Presentation: “Advances in Infrastructure Assessment and Design towards Resilience and

Sustainability”

Attendance: 40

5) Dr. Paolo Calvi – University of Toronto, Canada

Date: April 8, 2015

Title of Presentation: “Performance Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Structures Subject to Complex

Loading Conditions”

Attendance: 36

6) Michael Taylor, M.S., P.E. – Senior Structures Engineer at Nevada Department of Transportation, Carson

City, NV.

Date: April 10, 2015

Title of Presentation: “Design of the US-95 / CC-215 Interchange WS Flyover”

Attendance: 17

7) Anthony Chu – Director of Global Test and Measurement Sensor Sales, Measurement Specialties, Inc.


Title of Presentation: “Choosing the right type of accelerometer”

Attendance: 11

8) Andrew Lawrence, M.S., P.E. – Senior Geotechnical Engineer at Nevada Department of Transportation,

Carson City, NV.




Title of Presentation: “Design of the US-95 / CC-215 Interchange WS Flyover” (Geotechnical Aspects)

Attendance: 13

9) Paul Ferrari, M.S., P.E. – President, Ferrari Shields and Associates Structural Engineers


Title of Presentation: “St. Mary in the Mountains Catholic Church Seismic Retrofit”

Attendance: 15

10) Mark Koelling, P.E. – Senior Project Manager, Hayward Baker Inc. Seattle, Washington

Date: October 16, 2015



Title of Presentation: “Current Practice of Ground Improvement in North America”

Attendance: 18

E-Week 2015

E-Week is an event hosted by the College of Engineering at UNR in February of each year to display everything

the college has to offer by showcasing all the engineering clubs to the University community. The week-long

event culminates with the Engineer’s Brawl, a social event in which you have to go through a hands-on

engineering-related activity in order to be admitted. On display days we used a mini-shake table to engage

visitors in conversations about seismic mitigation technologies through explaining the concept of seismic

isolation. The brief demonstration consisted of a ‘fixed frame’ and an ‘isolated frame’ subjected to a 1-D

motion of a known ground motion history (e.g. Rinaldi Recording Station), explaining to viewers the key

differences in the response behavior. In doing so, we were able to get the audience interested in some of the

things our earthquake engineering program has to offer, earthquake engineering in general, club events and

the seismic design competition.



Fall BBQ

In October 2015 we had the opportunity to engage our members in a relaxing day of music, food and games

at a local park, while discussing club ideas for future events, and showcasing to new members what the club is

about and our goals to promote earthquake engineering.

SEISMIC DESIGN COMPETITION TEAM

The University of Nevada, Reno sent its first SDC team in 2008 to the annual competition. Ever since, our

participation and growth have been a continuous effort in order to pass along the knowledge and areas of

improvement to future teams. At the 65th EERI annual meeting in Seattle, the 2013 SDC team placed 11th out of

38 teams, which was the highest of teams that did not withstand the most intense motion. Moving forward, the

SDC team continues to learn from the experience, while promoting the competition and recruiting members to

strengthen the team.



SDC Team Members

A complete list of members is shown below.

Name EERI Member Number Email Role

Chelsea Weller 17977 [email protected] President

Adam Mancuso 16082 [email protected] Project Manager

Matt Steventon 18695 [email protected] Vice President

Ian Mastick 18696 [email protected] Secretary

Janae Johnston 18563 [email protected] Treasurer

Team results and lessons learned

At the 2016 Undergraduate SDC in San Francisco, California in April, the UNR SDC team placed 31st out of 33

teams that competed from all over the world. Although not our best performance to date, the team members

put in tremendous effort into the competition and gained insight and ideas to improve greatly for upcoming

years.

The team felt confident going into the competition, however, due to some issues during construction, the

structure had major deductions because of floor space as well as beams that did not meet the specifications.

During the shake, although the team thought the structure survived, the building was classified as collapsed

when additional floors were found broken after judges assessed the damaged closely.

Despite the failures, the team feels this experience left plenty of room for great improvement next year. They

plan to start testing over the summer with different types of bracing and glue as well as different construction

methods, focusing on non-weight bearing floors and the overall design of the structure. In addition, the team

plans to recruit many more students to be able to delegate the tasks into architecture, design and analysis,

and construction, each with their own manager. With continuing members, the team would like to improve

and be more confident in the dynamic analysis of the structure, and share this knowledge with new members

of the team. The SDC team at UNR is really looking forward to becoming a more competitive team in the years

to come.



ELECTION & ELECTION RESULTS

An election for officers for the 2016-2017 academic year was held in March 2016. The table below shows the

new officers appointed to the Chapter board who will take office on March 2016.

Role Name EERI Member


President Alireza Mohebbi 17012 [email protected] Graduate student

Secretary Ahmed Maree 18737 [email protected] Graduate student

Treasurer Ilaria Vinci [email protected] Graduate Student

Historian Francesco Zuniga [email protected] Graduate Student



LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

Included at the end of this report are various attachments to supplement the information included above. A

list of the attachments is included below:

Item 1, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Kevin Friskel, M.S., P.E.

Item 2, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Zia Zafir, Ph.D., P.E., G.E.

Item 3, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Dr. Navid Attary

Item 4, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Dr. Mohamed Moustafa

Item 5, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Dr. Paolo Calvi

Item 6, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Michael Taylor, M.S., P.E.

Item 7, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Anthony Chu

Item 8, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Andrew Lawrence, M.S., P.E.

Item 9, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Paul Ferrari, M.S., P.E.

Item 10, EERI@UNR Seminar Series Flier: Mark Koelling, P.E.

Earthquake Engineering

Research Institute

Guest Speaker:

EERI@UNR Student Chapter Seminar Series

For More Information Contact: President, Jean Guzmán Pujols – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering – Office: EEL, 3rd Floor, E-mail: [email protected]

“Base Isolation – Testing, Performance and Applications”Friday, March 6, 2015

12:00 PM – EEL Auditorium (EEL 200)

Abstract:

Kevin Friskel, M.S., P.E.Senior Engineer

Dynamic Isolation Systems, Inc.

This presentation will cover a brief history of Dynamic Isolation Systems, Inc.(DIS), an overview of DIS’ manufacturing facility outside of Reno, testing andperformance criteria for isolation bearings, and applications of base isolation.

Kevin Friskel graduated from UNR with a BS and MS in Civil Engineering.Kevin has been employed with DIS for 4 years and has been involved with thedesign and implementation of over 100 isolation projects including bridges,buildings, and sensitive equipment. His expertise include international salesand technical support, analysis and design of building, bridge and equipmentisolation systems, and new product development.


Research Institute

Guest Speaker:



“Seismological and Geotechnical Aspects of

2014 South Napa Earthquake”Friday, March 13, 2015


Abstract:

Zia Zafir, Ph.D., P.E., G.E.Vice President / Senior Principal Engineer

Kleinfelder, Inc.

Sacramento, California

On the early morning hours of Sunday August 24, 2014 at about 3:20 AM, anearthquake with magnitude 6.0 struck the southern end of the West Napa faultnear Napa, California. This earthquake initiated at the south end of the fault andpropagated towards the north and ruptured an 11-km long segment of the WestNapa fault with measured surface displacements of up to about ½ meter. Thisearthquake resulted in 1 fatality, more than 100 injuries, and more than $100million in damages. Dr. Zafir was part of the Earthquake Engineering ResearchInstitute (EERI) reconnaissance team and his presentation will focus on theseismological and geotechnical aspects of this earthquake.

Dr. Zia Zafir is Vice President and a Senior Principal Engineer based inSacramento. Dr. Zafir is a registered civil and geotechnical engineer in Californiaand has more than 25 years of experience in the field of geotechnical andearthquake engineering and research. Dr. Zafir has been actively involved onseismic hazard evaluations and seismic retrofit for renowned national andinternational projects. He has published and presented more than thirty papers ininternational journals and conferences.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

University of Nevada, Reno

SEMINAR

Monday, March 23, 2015

11:00 am to 12 noon, SEM 257

Development and Application of Mechanical

Devices for Increased Community Resilience

Dr. Navid Attary


Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Seismic protection systems have been used to modify stiffness, strength, or energy dissipation

capacity of structures. Such systems generally incorporate passive, active or semi-active control

devices. In this presentation, a new generation of mechanical adaptive passive devices will be

presented. These unique passive devices are able to mechanically change stiffness and/or

damping, by using various mechanical elements and mechanical feedback. In particular,

implementation of one of these devices, capable of generating negative stiffness (nonlinear

elastic destabilizing forces), within a reduced-scale highway bridge model will be presented.

Results from analytical, numerical and experimental studies will be used to demonstrate the

effectiveness of these devices in limiting the seismic response of structures and thus their

potential for contributing to increased community resilience.



SEMINAR

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

2:30 pm to 3:30 pm, SEM 257

Advances in Infrastructure Assessment and

Design towards Resilience and Sustainability

Dr. Mohamed Moustafa


University of California, Berkeley

Research on sustainable development with special focus on resilient infrastructure systems is

expanding. As we experience more infrastructure deterioration in the US, numerous efforts are

ongoing for building the nation’s new infrastructure and maintaining the existing. On the other

hand, the need for resilient communities is also indispensable to bounce back stronger after

hazards such as earthquakes. In this presentation, the use of advanced experimental and

computational methods to enhance infrastructure design and seismic performance as applied to

two different sectors is discussed. While building new bridges and retrofitting existing one is a

national priority, the first application in this talk tackles a design issue that is concerned with the

response of bent caps in as-built and retrofitted reinforced concrete bridges. This study used

large-scale quasi-static and hybrid simulation testing along with detailed finite element modeling

to investigate the structural behavior of integral bent caps. A second application that is concerned

with the seismic qualification of electrical substation equipment, with particular focus on

disconnect switches, to avoid prolonged power outage and down time due to substations failures

during earthquakes is also presented. Future directions of using novel experimental testing,

monitoring techniques, and numerical methods in assessing new systems, construction

techniques, and innovative materials towards more resilient and sustainable infrastructure is

briefly discussed as well in conclusion.



SEMINAR

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

2:30 pm to 3:30 pm, SEM 234

Performance Assessment of Reinforced Concrete

Structures Subject to Complex Loading Conditions

Dr. Paolo Calvi

University of Toronto, Canada

There is a growing need for the repair and retrofit of North America`s aging infrastructure. Structures are

reaching the end of their design lives and in most cases excessive deterioration has resulted in a reduction

of their structural performance. Extreme events and natural catastrophes, have demonstrated that an

alarming amount of existing structures are inadequately designed and are therefore incapable of meeting

desired performance levels as a result of various deficiencies including, poor detailing, lack of adequate

shear reinforcement, lack of sufficient ductility, etc.

In Canada, more than 50% of the existing bridges were built between 1950 and 1980, which gives the

bridge infrastructure an average age of 50 years. A great deal of the built environment is affected by some

deficiencies. A tragic example is the collapse of the de la Concorde overpass in Laval, Quebec, on

September 30, 2006. The structure suffered a shear failure after extensive concrete deterioration, causing

the death of five people. Similarly, in the US, the average bridge is now 47 years old, and more than 27%

of the nation‘s bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. It is of paramount

importance to have methodologies that can be used to reliably analyze and assess structures to identify

those in need of immediate attention.

This seminar will provide an overview of some the most advanced non-linear models and tools currently

available to deal with the analysis and assessment of reinforced concrete structures subject to complex

loading conditions. Emphasis will be placed on a new approach, developed over the course of the past

four years that can be used to assess the state of health and reserve capacity of cracked reinforced

concrete structures. The method uses field measurements of crack spacing, crack inclinations, crack

widths and crack slips. This tool may constitute a quick and relatively inexpensive way to obtain critical

information in order to formulate scientifically based conclusions about the need for a structure to receive

further attention, either in terms of monitoring or strengthening.


Research Institute

Guest Speaker:



“Design of the US-95 / CC-215 Interchange WS Flyover”Friday, April 10, 2015


Abstract:

Michael Taylor, M.S., P.E.Senior Structures Engineer

Nevada Department of Transportation

Carson City, Nevada

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is in the process of designinga new system-to-system interchange for the US-95 / CC-215 intersection innorthwest Las Vegas. The completed $260M interchange will include directconnect ramps for the major system-to-system traffic movements, as well as aservice-level interchange to maintain local connectivity within the area. NDOT hascompleted design on the first phase of the project, which features the first ofthree large flyover structures, conveying westbound CC-215 to southbound US-95.Mr. Taylor was the lead bridge engineer for the WS structure, a 2,365-ft cast-in-place post-tensioned concrete box girder. The focus of the presentation will be onthe design process and challenges encountered on the WS structure.

Michael Taylor is a Senior Structures Engineer with the Nevada Department ofTransportation, where he’s been employed for the past eight years. Mr. Taylor hasboth Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering from the University ofNevada, Reno, and is a registered civil engineer in Nevada. Mr. Taylor’s main areasof experience and interest are in the design of post-tensioned concrete structuresand seismic design.


Research Institute

Guest Speaker:



“Choosing the right type of accelerometer”

Wednesday, April 15, 2015


Abstract:

Anthony ChuDirector of Global Test and Measurement Sensor

Sales, Measurement Specialties, Inc.

• History, present day and future of accelerometers

• Techniques and tips

• Type of accelerometer based on measurement and application

Anthony Chu has been active in the field of accelerometer designs and dynamicmeasurement for the last 30+ years. Mr. Chu holds Mechanical Engineeringdegrees from California Polytechnic University, Pomona and an MBA fromPepperdine University. He is a Contributing Editor for Harris’ Shock and VibrationHandbook since the 4thedition, and has published various articles and papers onthe subjects related to shock measurements and impact testing.


Research Institute

Guest Speaker:



“Design of US-95 / CC-215 Interchange WS Flyover”

(Geotechnical Aspects) Friday, April 17, 2015


Abstract:

Andrew Lawrence, M.S., P.E. Senior Geotechnical Engineer

Nevada Department of Transportation

Carson City, Nevada

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) has designed the substructure foundations for a new system-to-system interchange for the US-95 / CC-215 interchange in northwest Las Vegas. Challenging site conditions for obtaining geotechnical engineering parameters embarked NDOT to conduct in-situ geophysical engineering and load testing to assign the geotechnical parameters for axial and lateral analyses of the flyover under both static and seismic conditions. Andrew Lawrence is a Senior Geotechnical Engineer with the Nevada Department of Transportation, where he has been employed for the past seven years. Mr. Lawrence has both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno, and is a registered civil engineer in Nevada. Mr. Lawrence’s main areas of experience and interest are geotechnical engineering in-situ testing.


Research Institute

Guest Speaker:



“St. Mary in the Mountains Catholic Church Seismic Retrofit”Tuesday, April 28, 2015


Abstract:

Paul Ferrari, M.S., P.E.President / Ferrari Shields and Associates Structural Engineers

St. Mary of the Mountains is the first Catholic Church established in the State of Nevada.The church, built in 1875, is constructed of 30’ high unreinforced brick masonry walls. Ahistoric preservation plan was prepared for the United States Park Services, in compliancewith a grant for the project. The seismic retrofit will strengthen the superstructure of thebuilding by inserting concrete reinforced columns into the thickness of the existing brickwalls, reinforcing the roof structure, and reconstructing the original choir loft which wasremoved in the 1950’s. The seismic strengthening will insert a competent lateral loadsystem into the building, with little disruption to the historic lateral load system into thebuilding, with little disruption to the exterior historic fabric of the building. The completedproject returned the building to its historic architecture whileproviding an integral structural seismic capability to the structure. Theproject was recognized with a Historic Building Seismic Safety award.Paul Ferrari has both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Civil

Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. His extensivehistoric/forensic engineering experience in structural renovationintegrates a competent structural retrofit into the parameters of thehistoric fabric of the building. The result is a structurally sound buildingthat reflects the historic architecture of the building, not the structuralretrofit.


Research Institute

Guest Speaker:



“Current Practice of Ground Improvement in North America” Friday, October 16, 2015


Abstract:

Mark Koelling, P.E. Senior Project Manager

Hayward Baker Inc.

Seattle, Washington

This presentation offers aspects of the current practice of ground improvement in North America. Design considerations for both static and seismic loads will be discussed. Various method applications will be shown as project specific case histories to include: Vibro Systems, Dynamic Compaction/Replacement, Soil Mixing, Compaction Grouting, and Jet Grouting. General method cost ranges will be presented along with summary comments regarding the direction of the industry and market. Mark Koelling has over 40 years of geotechnical consulting and contracting experience. For the past 33 years he has been employed by Hayward Baker/Keller in the ground improvement industry in the US, of which the last 28 years have been spent in the Northwest/Seattle market. His experience includes design and management of ground improvement projects utilizing vibro systems, dynamic compaction, soil mixing, compaction grouting, chemical grouting, jet grouting, and micropiles as they apply to roadways, bridges, ports, dams, tunnels, and industrial plants. Previously, he has worked for 2 geotechnical consulting firms, Dames & Moore in Chicago and Law Engineering in Tampa. From May 2011 through September 2013 he has worked for Keller Ground Engineering in New Zealand and Australia as a Senior Engineer.

Documents

2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT · include base isolation, new generation of mechanical adaptive passive devices, sustainable development with focus on resilient infrastructure, as well as