Ductile Frames Are Tough for Earthquakes
Implications of a new structural system in wharf design go far beyond San Francisco Bay, where two such wharves remained intact after the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. The design, introduced...
Rehab Roundup
The concrete exterior of San Franciso's Coit Tower was damaged and the murals were being destroyed by water infiltrating the structure. Interactive Resources, Inc., Point...
Jointless Redecking
If you're redecking a bridge, why not eliminate a major cause of its corrosion at the same time? Why not remove the expansion joints? The Department of Public Works in Steuben...
Update: Bridge Scour
Nearly 500 bridges have failed because of hydraulic conditions�primarily scour�since 1950, but the collapse of the Route 90 bridge over Schoharie Creek in April 1987 focused national attention...
Quake-Safe Housing, Again
Because so little data exist about earthquake behavior of buildings that have been strengthened to meet seismic codes, many engineers are curious about the Hotel Oakland in California...
Corrosion Below: Sewer Structures
When a sewer system fails, the cause is often not the pipe but a manhole, junction or other special-purpose structure. Most of these structures are concrete, either cast in place or precast....
Foundation Studies in a Fault Zone and a Steep Valley Slope
This paper presents two case histories which illustrate unique problems in defining the character of rock for support of structures. The first case study concerns a conventional building...
Structural Aesthetics
When the design and construction of a building was the responsibility of a single individual, interaction between the aesthetics of architecture and the demands of structure did not exist...
Flawed Assumptions: Why Bridge Deck Joints Fail
Engineers should continually examine, evaluate and improve their representations of reality to avoid basing their beliefs, decisions, practices and policies on flawed assumptions. Such...
A New Look at Galvanized Bridges
Engineers are rediscovering that galvanizing is one of the longest lasting methods of imparting corrosion protection to steel bridges. It also avoids the stringent new EPA regulations...
Out of the Lab...and into the Field?
Materials experts know very little about concrete's basic structure. Now, though, engineers at a research center sponsored by the National Science Foundation are working on...
Seismic Surgery Rewarded
By installing isolators in the columns and strengthening the frame, engineers upgraded an eight-story concrete office building in Seal Beach, Calif. so that it should continue to function...
Plastic Highway Bridges
For highway bridges, composites are most effective in cables and decks. Researchers have developed and tested cables and deck sections for strength and fatigue resistance. Link-type cables...
Caring for a Covered Bridge
Today the quaint Cornish-Windsor covered bridge (winner of this year's Outstanding Civil Engineering Merit Award) doesn't look much different than it did when...
Recent Advances in Seismic Design and Retrofit of California Bridges
This paper describes the damage and lessons learned from the most recent major earthquakes, the resulting bridge seismic design and detailing changes and the seismic retrofit program implemented...
Seismic Design and Performance of Railroad Bridges
Damage to railroad bridges during earthquakes in the United States and Japan is summarized. Research tasks are outlined to develop seismic design and retrofit criteria for railroad bridges....
Seismic Retrofit of Highway Bridge Structures
The California Division of Structures began its column retrofit program in 1986. This program is a supplement to the earlier superstructure retrofit program. Analysis and design concepts...
San Francisco Double-Deck Viaduct Retrofits
Following the Loma Prieta Earthquake in October 1989, six double-deck reinforced concrete viaducts in San Francisco were closed because of some isolated damage, and as a precaution for...
Retrofitting Northwest Connector for Seismic Forces
Many pre-1971 bridges in California have inadequate seismic resistance due to non-ductile components or poor connectivity of superstructure elements. Caltrans has finished the first retrofit...
Lifeline Design of Bridges
An analysis and design procedure is presented for retrofitting steel girder bridges that may experience the loss of a pier or column. Multispan and continuous grider bridges are treated....
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