The investigations: The World Trade Center towers
On Aug. 21, 2002, the National Institute of Standards and Technology announced it would conduct a building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster. This investigation was conducted...
The investigations: The Pentagon
On the day that terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, ASCE and its Structural Engineering Institute established a group of volunteers, known as the building performance study, or...
Material Difference
It was only fitting that the design of a center dedicated to the visual arts on the campus of Franklin & Marshall College feature an interplay of materials � from glass and concrete to steel and...
Intergalactic Soil Nails: Excavation Support for the Deep Space Auditorium
A software company based outside Madison, Wis., had a need for an auditorium as part of its campus expansion in 2011. The 829,000-sq-ft, 11,400-seat "Deep Space" auditorium was to be built underground,...
The SoFi Stadium Perimeter Wall: A Retaining Wall Helps Avoid Encroaching on LAX Airspace
SoFi Stadium, one of the two newest venues in the National Football League, opened in September 2020 after breaking ground in November 2016. The stadium hosts NFL games for the Rams and Chargers, and will...
Pay Now, Or Pay Later � Using A Risk-Informed Mindset for Site Investigation Decisions
How much subsurface investigation is adequate to aid in the planning and design of a construction project? It�s a question every geo-professional must grapple with, particularly in an era where cost efficiency...
Moving Down the Road of Progress: Geosynthetics Subdue Failures on Expansive Clays and Frost-susceptible Soils
Using geosynthetics in roadway projects has provided sustainable alternatives for reconstruction and maintenance and now represents a significant portion of the total geosynthetics market. Geosynthetics...
Design of Shoreline Protection Measures : The Importance of Geotechnical Engineering in Waterfront Design
Over the past decade, there�s been an increased realization of the need to better protect our shorelines, particularly in urban environments along coastlines that have already been impacted by storm surge...
Site Constraints Complicate a Bulkhead Replacement: It Takes a Team to Overcome the Challenges
North American Aggregates (NAA), a leading supplier of aggregates in the New York area, recently constructed a new processing facility in Perth Amboy, NJ. One of the final components of the new facility...
Seismic Performance of a Deep Soil Mixing Grid: A Magnitude 7.1 Load Test at the Port of Alaska
The Port of Alaska in Anchorage (Port) has embarked on a multiphase modernization program that includes the development of a new petroleum and cement terminal (PCT) berth. The berth consists of a pile-supported...
Megaproject Monitoring by Satellite ? InSAR-based Settlement-time History: Measuring Hundreds of Thousands of Points, Several Times a Month, Across an Entire City
Satellite-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar, or InSAR, has gained unequivocal importance as a routine and precise monitoring method for large and small areas alike. Historical datasets allow...
Trenchless Goes Hybrid: Old Tricks Are Finding New Applications
The International Society for Trenchless Technology defines trenchless technology as "Underground construction methods of utility installation, rehabilitation, inspection, location and leak detection,...
Composite Special Moment Frames
Wide Flange Beam to Concrete-Filled Steel Column Connections
Prepared by the Composite Construction Committee of the Metals Technical Administrative Committee of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCEComposite Special Moment Frames: Wide Flange Beam to Concrete-Filled...
Tsunami Loads and Effects
Guide to the Tsunami Design Provisions of ASCE 7-16
The devastating tsunamis that struck Chile and Japan in 2010 and 2011 underscored the critical need for new structural design criteria to improve building resilience and safeguard human life. They also...
Spin, Spin, Spin
A scalable, vertical axis windmill tower with dynamic shutters that decrease wind loading on the structure has won an energy efficiency design contest....
Floating on Air
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has designed a concept for how Venus�which has a surface that is hot enough to melt lead�can be safely explored by astronauts....
Power and Speed
A new venture aims to build an underground cargo distribution system that operates at airline speeds using an electromagnetic levitation and propulsion system....
Purging the Plastics
A full-scale floating system designed to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for a fraction of the cost and time of traditional methods has been deployed....
One Small Step
A concept design for an inflatable habitat on Mars incorporates indigenous ice as a structural element and a shield to protect occupants from galactic cosmic radiation....
Supertall Timber
At 350 m tall, this supertower would be three times the height of the California Redwoods and boast a structural system that is 90 percent wood....
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