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- WTC Incident to Damage Assessment
The damage to the buildings surrounding the World Trade Center complex does not fully coincide with that which would have been expected using standard wave propagation and energy dissipation models. Goals include to evelop new algorithms to describe reflected and refracted blast waves in urban environments, and evaluate and characterize the collateral damage caused by projectile debris.
- Surface Settlement Prediction for Tunnels in Alluvial Soils
Surface settlement caused by tunneling is difficult to predict due to a range of contributing variables (e.g. soil type, ground water table level, tunneling method, line selection, above ground surcharge). The problem is further complicated by difficulty of obtaining above ground measurements in urban areas. Goals include to extend knowledge of tunneling induced settlement in alluvial soils and to create better volume- and deflection-based correlations between subsurface tunnel performance and above ground free field response.
- Stabilization of a Sinking Historic Site
The state of North Carolina is the steward of Somerset Place, the largest extent plantation in the state. In recent years, the original buildings have undergone sufficient settlement to interfere with the functionality of the structures (doors that will not open, sheared porch rails and a collapsed sidewalk). Goals include to characterize the type and extent of movement, which has occurred to date, determine the source of the settlement and recommend an intervention and subsequent repair program.
- Blasting without Explosives
Increasingly communities are banning blasting within city limits. Yet, the continued need to remove both rock and old foundations from construction sites has caused an increased reliance on vibration based methods, thus generating complaints and concerns based on the subsequent noise, as well as the vibrations. Goals include to evaluate and quantify the effectiveness of blasting alternatives and establish recommendations for use of new and traditional removal methods that do not employ blasting or mechanically induced vibrations.
- Adaptive Reuse of Existing Pile Foundations by Means of Grouted Screwpiles:
For sites slated for rehabilitation, the presence of existing deep foundations is an increasing problem in urban areas. A reliable method for incorporating these elements to support new structures is needed if the cost of full foundation removal and soil fabric reconstitution is to be avoided. Goals include to develop a new reliable and economical approach to deep foundation reuse and propose a reliable method for design and load verification.
- Masonry Production and Repair, 160 Years of Indexed Bibliography 1837 - 1997:
Large amounts of important information regarding the production and repair of brick, terra cotta, and stone masonry are largely inaccessible due to their status in non-index and non-computerized format. Goals include to obtain a significant portion of the available information, index the materials according to publication type and content, and place information in a sortable database available via the Internet.
- The Impact of Clay on Early Jet Grouting Strengths:
Despite studies showing that the presence of clay in structural grout mixes can significantly decrease compressive strength the impact of clay seams on the strength in jet grouted columns has yet to be quantified. A substantial loss of strength may have important implications as to the safe scheduling of excavations when jet grouting is used for retaining walls and underpinning. Goals include to consider loss of compressive strength with increasing presence of clay in jet grouted mixes and document the rate of strength gain in comparison to mixes without any clay.
- Automation FEM meshes generation for existing load bearing masonry structure:
Three-dimensional scanning laser systems hold great potential for the automated generation of FEM meshes for existing structures, but the current two-part procedure of first converting to CAD and then to a mesh generates excessive discrepancies causing untenable amounts of manual redrawing. Goals include to create a sufficiently precise, one step mesh generation process to convert scanned data into a usable FEM mesh and to develop a user-friendly interface to execute the conversion.
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