Lifelines Workshop - Topics for Opinion Papers

	International Workshop on Uncertainties in Nonlinear Soil Properties and their Impact on Modeling Dynamic Soil Response Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and PEER Lifelines Program PEER Headquarters, UC Berkeley, March 18-19, 2004

General Information Workshop Schedule Registration Paper Submission Plenary & Opinion Papers Plenary Presentations Travel & Lodging Sponsors Contact Information	Topics for Opinion Papers The short (1-3 pages) opinion papers submitted by each participant will provide the breakout sessions with important views and current perspectives from which the discussions can build. The following questions are provided as starting points for these responses, and are grouped according to the breakout session topics. PDF of questions (72 KB) Morning breakout sessions BO#1 View from Practice: Adequacy of Current Design Models How are site effects addressed in engineering practice? When are generic versus site-specific soil properties used? What models are currently being used? What are the limitations of current models? BO#2 Adaptations Needed for Use in Performance-Based Framework What are the known site response biases arising from material models? Is uncertainty in the models adequately addressed? Can uncertainty be reduced through more lab testing? through a new model form? How can uniform hazard probabilities be maintained in site response analysis? BO#3 Understanding and Addressing Soil Disturbance Issues What evidence is available that indicates soil disturbance is an issue? How are soil disturbance issues currently being addressed in practice? What is the impact of soil disturbance on materials models and site response analysis? What tests could be performed to address the soil disturbance issues? BO#4 Issues for “Special Soils” such as gravels, silt, peat, and improved ground Are adequate models available for these special soils? What are the needs in practice for these special soils? Are conventional or specialized equipment needed to study these special soils? Afternoon breakout sessions BO#5 Desired Model Form(s) for New Models What parameters are essential for models to meet the needs of practice? What parameters are needed to address emerging needs of advanced models? Can self-consistent basic and advanced models be developed? What statistical tools and considerations should be addressed? BO#6 Issues for Merging Existing Worldwide Data Sets What worldwide data sets are available for model development? Are different testing techniques and methods used in other countries? What are the differences between the US and international data sets? BO#7 Testing Needs for Applied and Advanced Models What testing data are needed to constrain parameters for advanced models? What additional data are needed to define uncertainty in soil models? What are the remaining gaps that exist in current models? BO#8 Incorporating Nonlinear Soil Data into NEES How can nonlinear soil data be best integrated with NEES? What metadata are needed to archive soil testing data in the NEES data repository? How can nonlinear soil data and models be used in NEES numerical simulation? What NEES experiments would best assist in soil model development?