Architecture Commons^™

Mechanism Of Seismic Liquefaction For Heterogeneous Soil, Radu Popescu, Pradipta Chakrabortty

Architectural Engineering

In addition to inducing uncertainty in the predicted response, natural spatial variability of soil properties affects the mechanical response of geotechnical structures. When a failure surface is involved in the response, this surface can deviate from its theoretical location to pass through weaker zones of material. For the case of seismically induced soil liquefaction, it has been found that a larger amount of excess pore water pressure is generated in a soil exhibiting small-scale variability of its properties than in the corresponding uniform soil having geomechanical properties equal to the average properties of the heterogeneous soil. An explanation for this …

Teaching The Equivalent Rectangular Stress Block, Anahid Behrouzi, J. Chris Carroll, Ben Dymond

Architectural Engineering

The equivalent rectangular stress block is the basis for determining the flexural strength of reinforced concrete members. Instructors commonly present the concept in two dimensions, contrary to its three-dimensional nature. Unfortunately, this can be particularly difficult for students to understand and visualize, especially for students with visual learning style preferences. This paper presents an overview of the equivalent rectangular stress block, select active learning methods, and four specific examples used by the authors to introduce the equivalent rectangular stress block in an undergraduate reinforced concrete design course. The first method focuses on understanding the terms associated with the equivalent rectangular …

Active And Visual Methods For Teaching Nonrectangular Reinforced Concrete Beams, Anahid Behrouzi, J.Chris Carroll, Karl F. Meyer

Architectural Engineering

Nonrectangular cross sections are a common occurrence in reinforced concrete design typically taking the form of flanged beam sections, circular columns, and square or rectangular columns subject to biaxial bending. Instructors typically introduce the theory behind nonrectangular beams using two-dimensional sketches of flanged sections. Students can struggle to visualize the examples when presented in two dimensions; deciphering the multiple resultant compressive forces and their corresponding moment arms are particularly difficult. This paper presents an overview of nonrectangular beam theory and select active learning methods along with three specific examples used by the authors to teach nonrectangular beams in an undergraduate …

Wood Diaphragm Deflections. Part I: Generalizing Standard Equations Using Mechanicsbased Derivations For Panel Construction, John W. Lawson, Scott Breneman, Marco Lo Ricco

Architectural Engineering

Horizontal wood diaphragm systems, whether decked with conventional or mass timber panels, transfer wind and seismic loads to vertical elements of the lateral force-resisting system (LFRS), in flexible, rigid, or semi-rigid fashion. Characterizing and calculating the resulting diaphragm deflections determines the distribution of forces to critically loaded components and a significant portion of lateral building translations and rotations. Deflection equations for sheathed wood structural panel (WSP) diaphragms are well established in U.S. design standards in a 4-term expression that models flexural, shear, and fastener-slip deformations and its full derivation using principles of mechanics is provided herein. Derivations of similar equations …

Wood Diaphragm Deflections. Part Ii: Implementing A Unified Approach For Current Clt And Wsp Practice, John Lawson

Architectural Engineering

Horizontal wood diaphragm systems, whether decked with conventional or mass timber panels, transfer wind and seismic loads to vertical elements of the lateral force-resisting system (LFRS), in flexible, rigid, or semi-rigid fashion. Characterizing and calculating the resulting diaphragm deflections determines the distribution of forces to critically loaded components and a significant portion of lateral building translations and rotations. Deflection equations for sheathed wood structural panel (WSP) diaphragms are well established in U.S. design standards in a 4-term expression that models flexural, shear, and fastener-slip deformations, but similar equations for cross-laminated timber (CLT) diaphragms have yet to unfold, despite growing industry …

Physical And Digital Models For Timber Design And Analysis Courses, Paulina Robles, Gabrielle Rose Favro, Anahid Behrouzi, Abby Lentz

Architectural Engineering

Among structural engineering education research, there is a limited number of studies on interactive learning tools and activities specifically for the timber design classroom to assist students in visualizing material behavior, vertical and lateral load paths, and construction sequence. Timber design courses within the undergraduate program in the Architectural Engineering department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), place an emphasis on seismic and wind design. Therefore, the proposed learning tools and activities are intended to pair with an introduction to concepts in the American Wood Council’s National Design Specifications (NDS) and Special Design Provisions for …

Leveraging Lessons Learned From A Virtual Hands-On Outreach Program To Cultivate Diversity In The Next Generation Of Structural Engineers, Anahid Behrouzi, Nicole Buck, Sarah Navias

Architectural Engineering

A challenge that continues to face the structural engineering (SE) profession is the recruitment and retention of individuals from underrepresented minority (URM) groups, underscored over the years by findings reported on by the SE3 project committee. One approach to address this is by developing and conducting early outreach efforts with diverse populations of K-12 students, so they are aware of SE’s meaningful contributions to society and the intriguing technical problem- solving opportunities in this field. During these educational activities it is also important for young students to be exposed to engineering practitioner-educators who represent diverse backgrounds and whose lived experience …

Hands-On Earthquake Engineering Curriculum For The Virtual Classroom, S. Navias, N. Buck, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

During Summer 2021, five week-long virtual earthquake engineering sessions were offered in the Cal Poly Engineering Possibilities in College (EPIC) summer program. Typically, this is a residential program comprised of faculty-led workshops in various engineering fields to provide pre-college experiences to students, particularly from underrepresented backgrounds. The challenge posed by remote learning, due to the global pandemic, was to continue providing educationally effective hands-on activities. To accomplish this, the instructor team designed, fabricated, and shipped over 120 mail-home engineering kits for students to assemble a shake table, build and retrofit a structural model, as well as collect and analyze data …

Considerations Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Advanced Structural Engineering Courses, Claire Leader, Faith Sharp, Anahid Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

This paper presents various techniques investigated by the authors to bring discussion of societal impact into two advanced structural engineering courses taught at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo within the Architectural Engineering (ARCE) department during the 2020-21 academic year. The first was an undergraduate reinforced concrete design lecture/lab class where the instructor was able to convey the stories of the individuals and events that influence the ACI 318 code and ASTM standards used for concrete design. The second was a graduate nonlinear structural behavior lecture class that involves a weekly seminar by guest speakers who presented case studies with …

Student-Led Summer Diversity Workshops For Built-Environment Majors, Dolores Herrera, Claire Marie Leader, Soham Patel, Anahid Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

In response to the instances of racial injustice in Spring 2020, members of the College of Architecture & Environmental Design (CAED) Student Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (SDEI) committee at the authors’ institution developed online summer workshops focused on topics of anti-racism titled the Unlearning Series. This series began with the mission of questioning practices and education in the built environment that are integrated in formal instruction. The goal is to utilize an alternative method of education where participants (students, faculty, staff, and administrators) recognize how their discipline shapes and supports systems of oppression, while giving them tools to combat it. …

Large-Scale Timber Shear Wall Experimentation In An Undergraduate Design Course, Taylor Christian Cardinale, Michael James Deigert, Anahid Behrouzi, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

Despite the widespread use of light-frame timber construction in residential building, wood design courses are typically offered to graduate students and focus on member-level calculations for gravity and lateral systems per the National Design Specification (NDS) for Wood Construction. In years prior, the 10-week advanced undergraduate class described in this paper exposed students through a system-level perspective through a group design project of a multistory, mixed-use wood building located in a seismic region. A significant course modification in Fall 2020 involved the two class sections constructing and testing large-scale wood shear walls representing a one-story segment of a wall present …

The Institute’S Team For Damage Investigations, Lucas A. Laughery, Aishwarya Y. Puranam, Christopher L. Segura Jr., Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

ACI Committee 133, Disaster Reconnaissance, was conceived in the aftermath of the 2010 Chilean Earthquake, an event that affected thousands of structures. That event caused extensive damage to an estimated 50 to 100 mid-rise and high-rise reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, including seven that were damaged beyond repair.^1-3 Although ACI has had a strong history of publishing assessments of disasters (refer to textbox: Historical Disasters Examined in ACI Publications), the Institute had no formal mechanism in place to deploy a team to investigate and report on critical lessons to its technical committees and membership. Furthermore, the broadening international reach of …

Impact: The Visual Communication Of Information, Jennifer Shields, Mark Cabrinha, Sasha Menshikova, Catherine Trujillo, Emily Chung, Miles Young, Hope Golden, Laura Akatsu Kuffner, Markus Rogne, Aimie Olson

Creative Works

Impact: The Visual Communication of Information focuses on the diversity of visual communication created by students, faculty, and staff across California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Drawing from a multitude of methods in courses and activities across the campus, the exhibit displays the influences of visual communication in fields ranging from statistical data and geography, to art, design, and engineering, to performance and physics. This project was made possible by a gift from the Austin and Gabriela Hearst Foundation.

This catalog represents the onsite exhibit of the same name, which opened in winter of 2020 at Robert E. Kennedy …

Assessment Of Modeling Strategies For Lightly Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls, J. Williams, T. Doan, P. Laursen, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

element detailing, which suggest they are susceptible to brittle, compression-controlled failure modes, and deemed deficient by industry practitioners. Researchers at the California Polytechnic State University [1], San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), recently tested a slender RC wall with vertical and horizontal reinforcement ratios approaching ACI 318-14 [2] code minimum (ρl= ρh= 0.37%) and no boundary elements. Results from this wall test will be presented and contrasted with a set of lightly reinforced walls, specimens C1-C3 tested by Lu et al. [3] at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, with higher levels of reinforcement (ρl= 0.53%). This paper will examine the …

Geo-Spatial Analysis Of Reinforced Concrete Building Damage In 2017 Mexico Earthquake, N. Slavin, A. Bravo, A. Datta, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

This paper summarizes analyses of structural damage to reinforced concrete buildings seen after the 2017 Mexico City earthquake. With respect to the 2017 earthquake, the authors are part of a multi-institution National Science Foundation (NSF) RAPID effort that involved several in-field data collection missions yielding a dataset with detailed metadata for nearly 120 buildings. This data has been analyzed in conjunction with a high-density data set of around 1400 buildings from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The focus of analyses includes identifying correlations between building attributes (age, height, column ratio, design vulnerabilities, etc.) and site attributes (soil zone …

Observations About The Seismic Response Of Rc Buildings In Mexico City, Sergio Alcocer, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Sergio Brena, Kenneth J. Elwood, Ayhan Irfanoglu, Michael Kreger, Rémy Lequesne, Gilberto Mosqueda, Santiago Pujol, Aishwarya Puranam, Mario Rodriguez, Prateek Shah, Andreas Stavridis, Richard Wood

Architectural Engineering

Over 2000 buildings were surveyed by members of the Colegio de Ingenieros (CICM) and Sociedad Mexicana de Ingenieria Estructural (SMIE) in Mexico City following the Puebla-Morelos Earthquake of 2017. This inventory of surveyed buildings included nearly 40 collapses and over 600 buildings deemed to have structural damage. Correlation of damage with peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), predominant spectral period, building location, and building properties including height, estimated stiffness, and presence of walls or retrofits was investigated for the surveyed buildings. The evidence available suggests that (1) ground motion intensity (PGV) drove the occurrence of damage and (2) …

Implementing Bluebeam Software In Architectural Engineering Design Courses, Michael James Deigert, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Pamalee A. Brady

Architectural Engineering

A critical aspect of structural engineering education is helping students develop effective electronic graphical communication skills to convey their design solutions. Many undergraduate civil and architectural engineering programs address this at the document creation stage by teaching Autodesk AutoCAD or Revit to create 2-D or 3-D structural design files. However, students tend to have limited exposure to commercial software for document management and markup that allows for coordination between the engineer, architect, and contractor teams. Bluebeam Revu is one such software that has emerged as an industry standard for annotation and markup of engineering design documents.

Previous educational studies on …

Impact Of Bi-Directional Loading On The Seismic Performance Of C-Shaped Piers Of Core Walls, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Andrew W. Mock, Dawn E. Lehman, Laura N. Lowes, Daniel A. Kuchma

Architectural Engineering

Reinforced concrete structural walls are commonly used as the primary lateral load resisting system in modern buildings constructed in high seismic regions. Most walls in high-rise buildings are C-shaped to accommodate elevators or other architectural features. C-shaped walls have complex loading and response including: (1) symmetric response in the direction of the web, (2) asymmetric response in the direction of the flange and (3) high compression and shear demands when used as a pier in a coupled-wall configuration. A research study was conducted on C-shaped walls tested under (1) uni-directional and (2) bi-directional loading of an isolated walls and (3) …

Feasibility Of A Fiber Reinforced Polymer Retrofit For Non-Ductile Concrete Walls, Rory S. De Sevilla, Jerry Hue Truong Luong, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Peter T. Laursen, Mike J. Deigert

Architectural Engineering

A significant number of pre-1980’s non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) structures in California have been identified as deficient, many of which utilize RC shear wall systems to resist earthquake lateral forces. These non-ductile wall systems are typically lightly reinforced and lack adequate boundary element detailing. Engineers suspect these walls to susceptible to brittle, compression-controlled failure modes due to damage from concrete crushing and bar buckling. As a result, one approach designers are taking is to seek fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) retrofit solutions that improve the compression capacity of high-stressed wall end zone regions based on effectiveness of these approaches with columns. …

The Five Tribes Of Machine-Learning: A Brief Overview, Jens G. Pohl

Architecture

This paper reviews recent advances in automated computer-based learning capabilities. It briefly describes and examines the strengths and weaknesses of the five principal algorithmic approaches to machine-learning, namely: connectionism; evolutionism; Bayesianism; analogism; and, symbolism. While each of these approaches can demonstrate some degree of learning, a learning capability that is comparable with human learning is still in its infancy and will likely require the combination of multiple algorithmic approaches. However, the current state reached in machine-learning suggests that Artificial General Intelligence and even Artificial Superintelligence may indeed be eventually feasible.

Diversity, Inclusion And The Exceed Teaching Workshop, Allen C. Estes

Architectural Engineering

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Teaching Workshops are currently in their 20th year of existence and have been highly successful. There is a growing body of literature on creating a multi-cultural classroom that celebrates diversity, accounts for the global differences and experiences of students, and deliberately fosters inclusivity. This paper examines the content of the existing culturally inclusive literature and quantifies how much is already present in the current ETW curriculum. It then suggests how much more could be included if a deliberate effort is made to include diversity and inclusivity into …

Interactive Physical Experiments In An Advanced Undergraduate Structural Dynamics Course, Charles D. Facciolo, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

This paper describes a number of physical models and hands-on lab activities incorporated in an advanced undergraduate structural dynamics lecture and laboratory course pairing offered within the Architectural Engineering department at California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo. These course modifications were designed and implemented in the Winter 2018 quarter to enable students to:

-Collect acceleration data during free or forced vibration tests using a smartphone accelerometer application to generate data plots in Matlab; -Conduct free vibration tests on various single-degree of freedom (SDOF) systems to investigate effects of varying mass, stiffness/height, material type, and damping type (pendulum or …

Exposing Undergraduates To Design, Fabrication, And Large-Scale Experimentation In A Structural Steel Design Course, Jenna Williams, Mark William Wright, Michael James Deigert, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

During Fall 2017, Spring and Fall 2018 quarters, various hands-on design, fabrication, and large-scale experimental projects were incorporated into a 10-week undergraduate structural steel design course offered in the Department of Architectural Engineering at California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo. Through these projects students investigated one or two unique steel lateral force resisting systems (LFRS) consisting of either: special moment frame (SMF), special concentric braced frame (SCBF), and/or buckling restrained braced frame (BRBF). Students completed design calculations per the American Institute of Steel Construction steel building and seismic codes, visualized their final design using AutoCAD software, constructed and …

E-Learning Tools To Facilitate Instruction Of A Large Enrollment Structural Engineering Course, Maelle Van Thienen, James Boon Piang Lim, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Pablo Garcia, Wyatt Banker-Hix

Architectural Engineering

A significant challenge in teaching large civil engineering courses is engaging and providing feedback to students in a meaningful and timely manner. This paper presents a solution that uses e-learning tool Xorro-Q in the successful instruction of a Structures II course of 250+ second year students since 2016 at a research-intensive university in New Zealand.

During the course, Xorro-Q has been utilized as an online practice-based learning tool where students can repeat questions without penalty and automatically receive detailed instructor-developed feedback (diagrams, text, or link to website/video) in response to specific incorrect answers. Additionally, Xorro-Q permits a variety of questions …

Economy: Life In Paradise, Ali Chen, Killian Angell

Research

This poster describes significant aspects of Paradise’s economy, primarily statistics about income and income sources, as well as major employers in the town.

On the positive side, the cost of living in Paradise is approximately a third less than in California as a whole, housing prices are about half ($200,000 versus $400,000), and the rate of owner-occupied housing is higher (nearly 70% versus 54%). On the negative side, however, Paradise residents earn less than California and US residents: average household incomes are some $15,000 less than the state’s, and $7,000 less than the country’s. One part of this income disparity …

Demographics: Life In Paradise, Elisabeth Frizzell, Victor Hoyos

Research

This poster provides statistical information derived from the US Census Bureau on the town’s population, such as age, race, income, and education levels.

The most salient points derived from this information have to do with the inhabitants’ median age, ethnicity, and income. By these measures and compared to the population of California as a whole, the citizenry of Paradise was generally older (median age of 50 versus 36), whiter (92% versus 72%), and less educated (percentage with a bachelor's degree or higher 25% versus 32%). The town also has fewer households with children (30% versus 46%) and proportionally more people …

Infrastructure: Life In Paradise, Khoa Le, Sabrina Yerena

Research

This poster presents information about the town’s infrastructure, including the many town facilities before the fire: one police station, four fire stations, and Feather River Hospital. There is also information about public services, including transportation, water, gas, sewer, and waste management. Of these, the issues of transportation and sewage treatment are most significant for the future development of the town.

Given the low-density development that prevails in Paradise, public transportation before the fire was severely limited; there were only two bus routes, one along Skyway and the other along Clark Road. Most people had long walks to bus stops, and …

Climate: Life In Paradise, Benjamin Campbell, Natalie Giombi

Research

This poster provides information on climate in Paradise, as well as some passive strategies for heating and cooling buildings given that climate.

Typical of most of California, Paradise’s climate is characterized by wet winters and dry summers but is generally rather benign: residents like to say that the town is located “above the fog line, but below the snow line.” Passive strategies for building design include shading devices to regulate solar heat gain, evaporative cooling to enable venting of hot air within buildings, thermal insulation to trap heat, and south-facing glass to allow heat gain.

History: Life In Paradise, Emma Puryear, Gabrielle Icardo

Research

This poster presents information about the history of Paradise.

In the mid-19th Century, three Native-American tribes, known collectively as the Maidu, inhabited the area around Paradise. Estimates of their pre-contact population hover around 9,000 people. With the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, the history of modern Paradise begins – with an influx of white settlers and the subsequent near-obliteration of the Native-American people. By 1930, the Maidu numbered less than one hundred.

Other than this calamity, the town’s growth was slow and steady over the course of the next hundred and fifty years – the noteworthy events …

Culture & Education: Life In Paradise, Christian Bernard, Arielle Eleazar, Ryan M. Huddlestun

Research

This poster describes cultural and community life in Paradise before the fire, noting the locations and types of schools, churches, and other civic institutions. The poster also describes several cultural events the town held each year, most of them festivals celebrating its history (Gold Nugget Days) or cuisine (Chocolate Fest).