U.S.-Austria Cooperative Research on the Design of Earthquake Resistant Structures

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This award supports Professor Phillip L. Gould and a graduate student at Washington University, St. Louis, to collaborate in civil engineering research with Professor Gerhart I. Schueller of the Institute of Mechanics, University of Innsbruck, Austria. They share an interest in the response of structures to the strong ground motions of earthquakes. Professor Gould is currently supported by the Earthquake Engineering Section of NSF for a study of the interaction effects on pile-supported structures subject to severe ground motion during the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. One particular structure near San Francisco is the main focus of that study. Through collaboration with Professor Schueller and his colleagues, it will be possible to introduce probabilistic and simulation techniques to extend this research and generalize the results. This will significantly increase the interpretation and application of the anticipated results of the ongoing study. The structure under study by Professor Gould and colleagues is located in a region that sustained locally heavy damage during the 1989 earthquake; however, it survived with only minor cracking. It is suspected that the flexible pile foundation interacting with the surrounding soft soil played a major role in this outcome. The contribution of the Austrian investigators, who are expert in statistical methods, will enable the results to be applied to the effects of other earthquakes which may take place at many places in the world. This generalization would facilitate the design of structures to take advantage of the energy dissipation provided by soil-pile-structure interaction, and thereby improve the survivability of the structure and the safety of the occupants.