Funded Project Archive

Funded Core Research Projects

Project # PI Name Institution Title
1202005 Mary Comerio UC Berkeley Downtime Modeling and Consequences for Decision Variables
This project will complete the work on downtime modeling developed in Year 8, in coordination with Prof. Jim Beck at Cal Tech. In addition, we will apply the model to the U. C. Berkeley campus, in order to test the PEER loss modeling methodology.
1292005 Helmut Krawinkler Stanford Facilitating the Use of the PEER PBEE Methodology in Engineering Practice
This project is an essential element of the Building Packaging/Outreach Program, whose objective it is to communicate the PEER methodology to the users and to facilitate the use of the methodology in engineering practice. Its focus is on a simplified PBEE approach and on documentation of the PBEE methodology and its components.
1302005 Eduardo Miranda Stanford Effect of Modeling Uncertainty in Loss Estimation and on Financial Decision Variables
The main goal of this project is to develop fragility/loss information and tools that will enable practicing structural engineers to conduct loss assessments of buildings using PEER’s performance-based loss estimation methodology. Specific objectives of this research are: (a) development of fragility functions for generic nonstructural components; (b) development of generic loss curves for building stories; (c) development of computer tools to facilitate loss estimation calculations and delivering loss information to decision makers.
1312005 Allin Cornell Stanford IM and Ground Motion Selection for EDP Hazard Assessment
This project is developing recommended IMs for various site/building cases and recommended procedures for selection and processing of ground motion accelerograms for EDP hazard assessment. The recommendations will follow from development, consideration, study, and demonstration of alternatives, including the identification of their weaknesses and strengths. Included are both scalar and vector schemes for IMs. For example, for first-mode dominated buildings the preferred scalar may well be inelastic spectral displacement, as used in the Van Nuys test bed, whereas an alternative for important and/or taller structures may be a vector consisting of elastic Sa coupled with spectral ratios and/or epsilon. (Epsilon is the standardized deviation of Sa from its predicted (median) value.) Far and near-source situations are being considered; the latter require extra care and/or modified IMs. The recommended procedures include (1) record selection and record processing such as scaling and/or “shaping”, (2) number and kinds of Nonlinear Time History (NTH) analyses, and (3) suggested post-processing of response output. Fundamental engineering insights can be derived by recognition of the highly inter-related issues of record selection, scaling and processing - as it relates to a specific site and structure. Structures are, in general, three-dimensional and with different natural periods in different directions. The project will address this problem as well.
1332005 Peter May U Washington Societal Implications of Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering
The goals of this continuing project from Year 8 are to:
  • - Characterize the societal implications of the use of performance-based approaches earthquake engineering assessment and design;
  • - Draw implications for efforts to implement PBEE methodologies
1342005 Jonathan Stewart UC Los Angeles Implementation SFSI and site Effect Models In PEER Methodology
The Year 7 project by the PIs consisted of a benchmark study of a code-compliant structure, which was carried out in collaboration with researchers at Stanford (Deierlein) and Caltech (Beck). During the course of that project, several critical "gaps" within the PEER methodology were identified with respect to the implementation of models for site effects and soil-foundation- structure interaction (SFSI) effects. Some of those issues were addressed during our Year 8 project, although not as many as we had originally anticipated because of roll-over of the Year 7 work into Year 8 (accordingly, some of our Year 8 work is rolling into Year 9). Our proposed Year 9 work is continuing to fill the gaps identified during the benchmark project and to package tools developed during previous years' work for application.
1362005 Jim Beck Caltech Loss Modeling for Downtime, Deaths and Decision-Making
The main goal of this project is to continue to work towards closing the gaps that exist in the loss estimation module of the PEER performance-based earthquake engineering methodology. We aim to close these gaps by Year 10 in order to complete, document and package the PEER methodology. Specific objectives for Year 9 are:
  1. Joint methodology document. Prepare a joint document of PEER’s loss estimation methodology with PI Miranda at Stanford which presents PEER’s damage- and loss- analysis methodologies for the repair–cost decision variable.
  2. Indirect loss associated with downtime. In coordination with PI Comerio at UC Berkeley and BIP Hecksher, complete the PEER damage- and loss-analysis methodology for the decision variable of indirect losses arising from downtime, including the probability of building closure (thereby creating a virtual building inspector).
  3. Decision-analysis performance metric. In coordination with PIs May and Ince, work on the decision-analysis framework that uses the “3 Ds” (deaths, dollars, and downtime) as decision variables but also allows decision makers to account for their risk attitude.
1382005 Greg Deierlein Stanford Benchmarking Performance of New RC Frame Building
The objective of this project is to assess the seismic performance provided by modern design provisions for reinforced-concrete buildings. By applying the PEER PBEE assessment methodology to a collection of building designs, the project will provide insight on how to extend the building-specific assessment methodology for individual buildings to assess building code provisions, which are used as the basis for design. Data from this research will serve a number of goals, including: (a) gage whether design standards provide the expected performance across the range of building configurations permitted by design codes, (b) contribute to establishing appropriate performance targets for performance-based design of new buildings, (c) provide a benchmark against which new innovative systems can be judged, (d) provide data for improved building fragility models as input for loss simulations of large geographic regions, and (e) demonstrate the benefits of the PEER PBEE assessment method as compared to the current state-of-art in engineering practice (e.g., FEMA 356). A related objective is to compare the collapse safety of modern (2003) buildings with ones designed according to the 1967 UBC code, which are viewed as seismically deficient according to modern codes.
1402005 Laura Lowes U Washington Database and Simulation Models for RC Structural Components
The research will develop a comprehensive report to support modeling of reinforced concrete beam-column joints for performance-based earthquake engineering. A web-based, searchable database will be developed to provide easy access to experimental data characterizing the seismic behavior of RC components. Data will include geometric and material properties as well as damage data and load-deformation response data.
1412005a Tara Hutchinson UC San Diego Performance-Based Design of Soil-Foundation Interface in Buildings
Seismic loading on a building with shear walls can potentially cause the foundations of the shear walls to rock. Current building codes discourage designs that allow rocking. For existing buildings, however, it is often very expensive to retrofit foundations to prevent rocking. Furthermore, it has been suggested that building performance might actually be enhanced if rocking is allowed because rocking could reduce seismic demands on a building and dissipate energy in hysteresis at the foundation soil interface. Although previous work has focused on shear walls, results should be applicable to shallow foundations for building and bridge columns as well.
The ultimate goal of this project is to develop the necessary tools to predict rotations and translations at the soil – shallow foundation interface and to allow engineers to assess, through quantitative analysis, the trade off between the benefits (energy dissipation and isolation) and the detriments (e.g., permanent and cyclic settlement and/or tilt) associated with foundation nonlinearity.
1412005b Bruce Kutter UC Davis Performance-Based Design of Soil-Foundation Interface in Buildings
Soil foundation interaction associated with heavily loaded shear walls during large seismic events may produce highly nonlinear behavior. Geotechnical components of the foundation are known to have a significant effect on the building response to seismic shaking. The nonlinearity of the soil may act as an energy dissipation mechanism, potentially reducing shaking demands exerted on the building. This nonlinearity, however, may result in permanent deformations that also cause damage to the building.
The goals of this research are to develop and test procedures to account for the foundation nonlinearity in performance based earthquake engineering. The primary goal of the research at UC Davis is to produce archived test data at prototype stress levels, regarding the cyclic and permanent deformation behavior of shallow foundations over a typical range of moment to shear ratio, shear to axial load ratio, foundation embedment, and soil type. A second goal of the researchers at Davis is to develop a coupled macro-element "constitutive model" to simulate the cyclic rotation, sliding, and settlement of a shallow foundation subject to combined moment, shear and axial loading.
1412005c Jonathan Stewart UC Los Angeles Performance-Based Design of Soil-Foundation Interface in Buildings
Work with Topic Area Leader Helmut Krawinkler to coordinate foundation modeling activities of PEER researchers Kutter/Gavin (funded separately), Hutchinson/Prishati (funded separately), and Taciroglu. Goal of the work is to have alternative foundation modeling routines implemented into OpenSees that provide reasonable results for benchmark buildings.
Specific goals include identifying non-physical parameters used in the SSI models, evaluating the sensitivity of the results to reasonable range of those non-physical parameters, and developing guidelines for users on the selection of those non-physical parameters.
2392005 Ross Boulanger UC Davis Effect of Ground Deformations and Liquefaction on Bridges
The objective of this project has been to support the Bridge Thrust Area's efforts regarding the simulation and performance of bridges subject to liquefaction and lateral spreading hazards, with particular emphasis on supporting the continuing development of simulation tools, the validation of those simulation tools against physical data, and the continuing development of design procedures and guidelines.
2402005 Stephen Mahin UC Berkeley PBEE Assessment and Design of Enhanced Bridge Piers for Near Field Effects
The overall goal of this study is to examine and assess various design concepts for enhancing the seismic performance of new bridge structures of the type being considered by PEER. Promising design details will be assessed though dynamic shaking table and/or quasi-static tests as well as through more extensive nonlinear dynamic analyses using the OpenSees computational framework. In particular, the potential for reducing residual displacements of bridges following severe earthquakes will be examined through the use of special plastic hinge regions containing combinations of unbonded prestressed and mild reinforcement. Other design approaches utilizing high performance concrete will be examined in concert with others working within the PEER Center. The results will be presented in a fashion that will support the development and assessment of the overall PEER PBEE methodology being devised by the Bridge and Transportation Thrust Area. The goal of this project would be to demonstrate physically and through PBEE the value of the PEER methodology for a specific application, and thereby accelerate the adoption of new bridge design technologies into practice.
2412005 Steve Kramer U Washington Performance-Based Evaluation of Bridge on Liquefiable Soils Using OpenSees
The goal of this project is to show that the PEER PBEE methodology, as expressed in the PEER raming equation, can be used with the OpenSees analytical tool to allow owners to make better decisions about seismic design and risk mitigation. The project will show how the OpenSees program can be used to develop EDP|IM fragility relationships for a bridge founded on liquefiable soils, and how those fragility curves can be used in the PEER PBEE framework to evaluate hazards for a complex soil-pile-structure system. The project will demonstrate the capabilities of OpenSees to (a) predict soil movements due to lateral spreading, (b) evaluate soil- pile-structure interaction in liquefiable soils, and (c) estimate the reliability of the performance predictions. The project will also demonstrate the capabilities of several important components of OpenSees.
2422005 Jonathan Bray UC Berkeley Development of a Probabilistic Simplified Design Procedure for Assessing the Effects of Liquefaction and Lateral Spreading on Bridges
The primary objective of this research project is to develop a simplified design procedure for evaluating the effects of liquefaction and lateral spreading on bridges. This simplified design procedure must be developed to work within the PEER probabilistic performance-based engineering framework in that sources of uncertainty within each step should be incorporated properly. This project will translate pertinent PEER research findings into forms that can be adopted in practice as a probabilistic-based alternative to existing deterministic approaches. The project will demonstrate how the PEER methodology can be effectively used with simpler design-level analysis methods to make informed decisions.
2442005 Boza Stojadinovic UC Berkeley PBEE Procedures Report for Bridges and Benchmarking Performance of RC Bridges
The goal of this project is to demonstrate how to use the PEER tools for probabilistic seismic performance assessment to highway overpass bridge structures. Such tools enable assessment of bridge performance in terms of the potential for bridge collapse in an earthquake, cost of repair of such a bridge after an earthquake, and the ability of the bridge to carry a given level of traffic load after an earthquake. The intended users of such tools are bridge engineers and highway system maintenance and emergency management professionals.
This project has two objectives. The first objective is to complete the benchmarking of the PEER PBEE procedure to the bridge test-bed developed in PEER project 2004209. This PBEE procedure was successfully applied up to the DM level. Repair cost data will be collected in order to extend the PBEE procedure to the DV level. The second objective is to complete the PBEE procedure report as it applies to bridges, and to provide support for other researchers working in the PEER bridge group on the test-bed bridge models to enable them to complete their portions of the PEER procedures report.
The intended users of the results of this study are: (1) PEER researchers working to enhance performance of bridges in geotechnical and structural engineering domains; and (2) Caltrans engineers who want to implement the PEER methodology in their design process.
2452005 Marc Eberhard U Washington Relating EDPs in RC Bridges to Damage and Decison Metrics
The overall goal of this project is to relate Engineering Demand Parameters (EDPs) to Damage Measures (DMs) and Decision Variables (DVs) for reinforced concrete bridges. The specific objectives are to
  1. Evaluate and calibrate the OpenSees column modeling strategies using the PEER Structural Performance Database, and for complex loading conditions, including varying axial loads, bi-directional loading and shaking-table experiments.
  2. Calibrate and evaluate the benefits/drawbacks of implementing new material models for the cyclic response of reinforcing bars (Mohl-Kunnath) and concrete (Mitra-Berry- Lowes).
  3. Provide simulation support for PEER bar buckling experiments (Lehman-Stanton)
  4. Coordinate WSDOT, FHWA and PEER-sponsored modeling (Mahin, Billington) on the development of post-tensioned systems for bridge columns.
  5. Assist Stojadinovic on the development of methodologies to estimate a general set of EDPs, DMs and DVs for reinforced concrete bridges.
  6. Continue to maintain and (if possible) expand the Structural Performance Database, which provides column data for nearly 500 columns.
2462005 Sarah Billington Stanford Benchmarking Enhanced Performance of Post-Tensioned RC Piers with Ductile Materials
The overall goal of this study is to demonstrate how the PEER PBEE methodology can accelerate the adoption of new bridge design technologies by quantitatively assessing the performance enhancement provided by these technologies. We will be demonstrating the application of the PBEE methodology while also identifying where in the process the uncertainties have the most impact on the final assessment. The demonstration will be performed on a baseline bridge also studied by other researchers in PEER’s Thrust 2 area, to facilitate comparisons of performance assessment. The technologies investigated here apply to the design of bridge piers and will focus on unbonded vertical post-tensioning for self-centering, segmentally precast concrete, and high performance fiber-reinforced concrete materials for localized regions of a structure. IM-EDP and EDP-DM relationships will be developed analytically using a combination of OpenSees modeling and where necessary, more advanced finite element (continuum) modeling. All models have been or are being calibrated again recent cyclic and seismic experiments on reinforced concrete and enhanced-performance bridge piers.
2472005 Dawn Lehman U Washington Performance Assessment of Reinforcing Bar Anchorage and Buckling Effects in RC Piers
The primary objective of this research project is to quantitatively study parameters that influence the occurrence of bar buckling in bridge components and to develop data to be used by other PEER researchers to develop and calibrate appropriate simulation (Kunnath) and damage (Eberhard) models. The specific Year-8 research project objectives include:
  • - Generation of experimental data for validation and calibration of performance and analytical models.
  • - Improvement of a practical performance model to predict bar buckling
  • - Meet the needs of those conducting the analytical (Kunnath) and Performance (Eberhard) simulation including coordination and exchange meetings
2502005a Yueyue Fan UC Davis Transportation Network Following a Large Metropolitan Earthquake
The highway system is one of the most important lifeline systems subject to natural and manmade hazards. The main objective of this research is to ensure a high level of reliability for continued operation of the system following an earthquake through more efficient transportation operation and resource allocation.
2532005 Jack Moehle UC Berkeley Tri-Center Initiative on Geographically Distributed Network Systems
The goal is to enhance PEER research in geographically distributed networks by strategic planning and collaboration with other earthquake centers.
2552005 Scott Ashford UC San Diego Simulation and Performance of Bridge Abutments
The overall project goal is develop and validate numerical models in OPENSEES of bridge abutments over the next 2 years. We plan to utilize the results of ongoing Caltrans experiments on bridge abutments in the validation efforts. Specifically, the objectives in Year 9 are to:
  1. Provide abutment structural details to Thrust Area Team for overall modeling effort.
  2. Provide preliminary estimates of soil springs to Thrust Area Team for overall modeling effort, based on pseudo-static response. It is anticipated that improved dynamic springs would be periodically provided up through Year 10.
  3. Participate in payload experiments with already planned Caltrans experiments on bridge abutments to be completed June 2006.
  4. Collaborate on deep foundation and lateral spreading issues with PEER researchers.
2562005 Anne Kiremidjian Stanford Development and Implementation of Decision Variables for Bridges within Transportation Network Systems
The objectives of the project are to:
  • - Include the uncertainty in replacement cost and damage factor arising from the transformation from damage state to damage factor.
  • - Explore methods for computing the probability distribution of loss from an ensemble of bridges without numerical integration or simulation.
  • - Estimate the total loss due to components damage and network disruption using the above formulations.
  • - Assess the behavior transportation networks for several earthquake scenarios
  • - Account for uncertainty in component loss (sL) for a spatially distributed transportation network arising from
    • - Ground Motion Correlation
    • - Damage Correlation
2572005 Scott Brandenberg UC Los Angeles Improved Fragility Functions for Bridges Susceptible to Large Ground Deformations and Liquefaction
The objective of this project is to improve fragility functions for bridges in liquefiable soil for assessing seismic risk of the San Francisco Bay Area transportation network. The need for improved fragility functions was identified through transportation network fragility analyses performed by Kiremidjian, which predicted that liquefaction would cause unrealistically widespread bridge damage and collapse. Liquefaction hazard was modeled using general guidelines inherent to the program HAZUS created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the liquefaction hazard analysis was not specific to conditions in the Bay Area. A more careful region-specific consideration of liquefaction fragility is warranted since liquefaction was such a dominating factor in the transportation network analyses.
4102005 Gregory Fenves UC Berkeley PEER Analysis Platform for Demand Simulation
The objectives of this project are to design, develop, implement, and utilize OpenSees (the Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation), a software framework for simulation of structural and geotechnical systems. The open-source software is an important enabling technology within PEER because it allows integration of the results of research in structural performance modeling, geotechnical modeling of soils and foundations, computational methods, and advanced information technologies, such as databases and visualization. The objective of this project is to continue the development of the simulation technology. A major thrust is adapting the recent models developed for OpenSees for parallel and distributed computing. This will enable larger problems to be analyzed. This project also provides the user and developer support for many other PEER projects that are utilizing OpenSees in their research. We continue to hold workshops for both users and developers, and meet regularly with the PEER participants involved with OpenSees to assist in their research and projects.
4132005 Joel Conte UC San Diego Reliability of Soil-Structure-Foundation Systems
  • - Extension of sensitivity and reliability framework in OpenSees to perform probabilistic response analysis and reliability analysis of Soil-Structure-Foundation (SSF) systems.
  • - Implementation in OpenSees of stochastic earthquake ground motion model.
  • - Extend current OpenSees capabilities for solving the large-scale nonlinear constrained optimization problems that the search for the design point(s) reduces to.
  • - Extend OpenSees framework for response sensitivity and reliability analysis of SSF systems to high-performance computing (to enable treatment of 3-D large-scale problems).
  • - Development of “demonstration” applications for building and bridge structures.
4142005 Armen Der Kiureghian UC Berkeley Reliability of Degrading Systems
The objective of this project is to develop a nonlinear random vibration approach that is appropriate for reliability analysis in the context performance-based earthquake engineering. The Tail-Equivalent Linearization Method (TELM) has already been developed in the previous phases of this project. For the present phase, the objectives are: (a) extend the method for non- stationary response, (b) apply to degrading systems, which necessarily require non-stationary analysis, (c) demonstrate the use of the TELM in the PEER PBEE framework, (d) complete and refine the implementation of TELM in OpenSees.
4212005 Filip Filippou UC Berkeley Modeling and Simulation of Degrading Shear Behavior in RC
Development of a rational, yet computationally affordable, beam-column model for the analysis of new and existing reinforced concrete members under the combined action of axial force, bending moment and shear.
4232005 Sashi Kunnath UC Davis Simulation and Performance Models for Cyclic Degradation Effects in RC Bridge Columns
This project will pursue the development, validation and calibration of phenomenological material models in the context of fiber-based nonlinear beam-column elements currently implemented in OpenSees. In particular, the project will focus on the development of a reinforcing steel material model that collectively incorporate the effects of observed phenomena such as bar buckling, cyclic degradation and low-cycle fatigue. A parallel objective is the implementation of damage modeling schemes for use in performance assessment of RC structures. While this effort will focus on material-based damage models, the overall development will facilitate the incorporation of a general class of damage measures for use in performance-based seismic assessment.
4242005 Ahmed Elgamal UC San Diego Abutment and Deep Foundation Modeling and Simulation
With a focus on ground-foundation-structure simulation efforts, develop and provide computational modeling capabilities for Abutment and Deep Foundations. Developments within the PEER OpenSees Platform are a main goal.
4252005 Khalid Mosalam UC Berkeley Simulation of Structural Collapse
Allowing realistic prediction of potential collapse limit state and identifying the mode and extent of system collapse. For existing structures, such modeling will enable sound assessment of life- safety hazard and estimation of expected losses to life in the event of an earthquake. For new and retrofitted construction, collapse-capable simulations will lead to proper design of new RC framed structures against the undesired limit state of collapse.
4262005 Boris Jeremic UC Davis Geomechanics Simulations Tools for PBEE
The main goal if this project is to provide a number of simulations tools for use in Performance Based Earthquake Engineering. Of particular interest are tools for modeling and simulations of soil-foundation-structure interaction (SFSI). Among the developed tools so far are the ones used for:
  • - Elastic plastic modeling of soils (through template elastic plastic methodology)
  • - Seismic motions input (through the domain reduction method)
  • - Parallel computational methodology for large scale geotechnical and structural models
  • - Fully coupled (porous solid – fluid) methodology for modeling of saturated soils, cyclic mobility and liquefaction.
4282005 Jack Moehle UC Berkeley RC Frame Validation Tests
The goal of this project is to develop validation data and models for nonlinear response, component failure mechanisms, and internal force redistribution as collapse occurs in a building frame representative of older concrete construction.

Tall Buildings Initiative: Development of Criteria for the Seismic Design and Analysis of Tall Buildings

Project # PI Last Name Institution Title
Task 1 Jack Moehle UC Berkeley Establish and Operate the Tall Buildings Project Advisory Committee
Task 2 William Holmes Rutherford & Chekene Develop Consensus on Performace Objectives
Task 3 Jack Moehle UC Berkeley Assessment of Ground Motion Selection and Scaling Procedures
Task 4 Paul Somerville URS Corporation Synthetically Generated Ground Motions
Task 5
Farzad Naiem


Yousef Bozorgnia
John Martin & Associates

UC Berkeley		 Review and Validation of Synthetically Generated Ground Motions UC Berkeley
Task 6 Yousef Bozorgnia
Nico Luco		 UC Berkeley Guidelines on Selection and Modification of Ground Motions for Design US Geological Survey
Task 7 James Malley / ATC Degenkolb Engineers Guidelines on Modeling and Acceptance Values
Task 8 Jonathan Stewart UC Los Angeles Input Ground Motions for Tall Buildings with Subterranean Levels
Task 9 Jack Moehle UC Berkeley Presentations at Conferences, Workshops, Seminars

Lifelines Research Project Archive

To view more archived lifelines projects, visit the Project Listing by Topic Area Prior to 2006.

To view the current progress on Lifelines Program, visit the Lifelines website.

Project # PI Last Name Institution Title
1E08 Robert Darragh PEER-Caltrans Processing of Recent Earthquake Records
Provide processed strong-motion records of six recent earthquakes
1L11 Maury Power Geomatrix Consultants Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) Models, WUS Shallow Crustal Earthquakes
The overall goal of the project is to develop Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) relationships for shallow crustal earthquakes in the western United States. Five attenuation relationship developer teams (Norman Abrahamson and Walter Silva; David Boore and Gail Atkinson; Brian Chiou and Robert Youngs; Kenneth Campbell and Yousef Bozorgnia; and I.M. Idriss) are developing separate sets of NGA relationships through a process that includes interaction among the developer teams and with other researchers, development of an upgraded strong motion data base, and utilization of related research results on strong ground motion.
1M01 Paul Spudich US Geological Survey Directivity in Preliminary NGA Residuals
Development and calibration of improved functional forms for directivity, based on isochrone theory, that can be used by NGA attenuation relation developers in their new attenuation models.
1N01 Robb Moss Cal Poly Variance Analysis of Strong Motion Attenuation Relationships
Quantify measurement uncertainty of input parameters and perform variance analysis using Bayesian regression.
2G03 Jonathan Stewart UC Los Angeles Benchmarking of Nonlinear Geotechnical Ground Response Analysis Procedures
  1. Obtain Vs profiles for vertical array sites in Japan using SASW testing.
  2. Process Italian strong motion data (about 500 records).
  3. Completion of validation exercise from PEER Lifelines Project 2G02 and preparation of final report.
3I01 Keith Knudsen CA Geological Survey Liquefaction Hazard Screening of Caltrans Bridge Sites
There are two principal goals of this project:
  1. Develop a methodology for screening and prioritizing highway bridge sites for retrofit and/or site–specific field investigations based on exposure to liquefaction-induced ground failure hazard, and
  2. Apply the methodology(ies) to identify those Caltrans bridge sites at highest risk from liquefaction-related damage.
9A01 Bozidar Stojadinovic UC Berkeley Guidelines for Nonlinear Analysis of Bridge Structures
  1. Ensure that accurate nonlinear modeling techniques are employed by Caltrans.
  2. Ensure that PEER researchers realistically model typical Caltrans bridge details.
  3. Identify incompatibilities or inconsistencies between SAP2000 and OPENSEES.
  4. Identify bridge components that require special modeling consideration.
  5. Establish criteria for when specific bridge components require nonlinear characterization as well as the level of sophistication of that nonlinear characterization.
  6. Develop summary guidelines for nonlinear modeling of bridges.
9B01 Ahmed Elgamal UC San Diego Analysis of Lateral Pile-Ground Interaction
The main goal is to develop a 3-dimensional finite element analysis tool for use by practice to estimate seismic lateral loading effects on piles and large diameter piers. This tool, OpenSeesPL, will allow for the execution of single pile and pile group simulations under seismic excitation scenarios as well as push-over situations.
BART Jack Moehle
Jon Bray
Nicholas Sitar
Yousef Bozorgnia		 UC Berkeley Development of Improved Procedures for Seismic Design of Buried or Partially-Buried Structures
Investigate seismic response of partially embedded structures