The Engineer's Role in Reducing Curtainwall Failures
For a variety of reasons, engineers have abdicated responsibility for curtainwall design. Failures of curtainwall components are very common, leading to expensive repairs and even complete...
The Effective Use of Fire Ratings
Any consideration of components for construction must take into account the performance of those components when they are exposed to fire. Codes, standards, and fire ratings provide some...
Current Forensic Courses in Civil Engineering
The ASCE is taking a leadership role in the prevention of failures of engineered facilities. The Technical Council on Forensic Engineering Education Committee recently completed a survey...
Things That Fall?Lessons from Some Construction Accidents and Structural Failures
The causes and results of several construction accidents are reviewed. The lessons to be learned from such a summary are that all too often the simplest oversight leads to catastrophic...
Vortex Shedding Induced Fatigue Fracture of Mast Tower
The fracture of a pair of 60m high circular steel masts is investigated. The design criteria and fabrication practices are reviewed. The cause of failure is related to the fatigued condition...
A California Tower: Response to Seismic Forces
First Interstate World Center is a signature building for the city of Los Angeles. The granite clad tower with its serrated facade rises 1,018 ft. above street level. It is the tallest...
85 Stories in Kuala Lumpur?The 5th and 6th Tallest Buildings in the World
A concrete core and cylindrical concrete tube structure provides a safe, elegant, efficient and constructible solution to the challenge of designing the world's 5th and 6th tallest buildings,...
Seismic Vulnerability and Upgrading of Nonductile Reinforced Concrete Frames Using Passive Supplemental Dampers
The effects of vulnerable details of lightly reinforced concrete frames constructed prior to the 1970s is evaluated from tests conducted of two beam/slab/column subassemblages drawn from...
High-Strength Concrete Joints Under Cyclic Loading
This experimental investigation was undertaken to check the validity for high-strength concrete beam-column joints of recommendations made by ACI-ASCE (American Concrete Institute-American...
Tuned Mass Dampers for Towers and Buildings
Tuned mass dampers (TMD's) are used to reduce the response of tall slender structures to resonant wind-induced oscillations. This paper reviews the authors' experience with the design...
Structural Design and Wind Resistance of Fukuoka Tower with T.M.D.
Fukuoka Tower, which was built in 1989, was projected as a monument, a observation tower and a broadcasting antenna with 234m high. In this tower, a Tuned Mass Damper(TMD) was set, in...
Long-Span Design for Seismic Forces?A Case Study of the Anaheim Arena
The design for the Anaheim Arena roof evolved in response to the strict requirements for a structure in a seismic zone 4 location. The support of the 329 ft. (100 m) by 444 ft. (135 m)...
Blast-Damaged Concrete Structures in Beirut
This paper describes the effect of blasting loads on structural members. It identifies predominant structural systems in war-damaged zones of Beirut and to explain typical damage mechanisms....
On the Numerical Simulation of Wind Loads on Structures
A new methodology for numerical simulation of 3-dimensional turbulent flow based on the use of a Galilean frame and the finite point method is presented. The pressure field of the solutions...
Structural Response Using Stiffness Decoupler
The structural properties of a new stiffness decoupler developed by Hu, Kirmser and Swartz at Kansas State University, and its applications as an energy absorber and a device to isolate...
Steel Plate Energy Absorbers for Improved Earthquake Resistance
This paper discusses results of an combined experimental and analytical investigation on seismic response of frame structures using welded steel triangular plates as added damping and...
Response of Equipment in Structures Supported on Resilient-Friction Base Isolators Subjected to Ground Motion
In this paper, the response of equipment in structures on a particular friction-type device, the resilient-friction base isolator, is examined. The R-FBI is composed of layers of Teflon...
Robust Control for Buildings Under Earthquake
Robust control techniques are applied to civil engineering structures subjected to earthquake excitation. Full state feedback and observer based control laws are used to reduce the response...
Passive Energy Dissipation Systems for Earthquake-Resistant Design
Passive energy dissipation devices, also known as supplemental damping devices, have been proposed as a means by which the earthquake resistance of a building can be substantially enhanced,...
Parametric Study of Structures with Added Viscoelastic Dampers
This paper presents the result of a parametric study on the seismic behavior of minimum weight-designed structures with and without added viscoelastic dampers. The structures are first...
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