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Applied Mechanics Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Applied Mechanics

Reliability Of Concrete Masonry Unit Walls Subjected To Explosive Loads, Christopher D. Eamon Jul 2007

Reliability Of Concrete Masonry Unit Walls Subjected To Explosive Loads, Christopher D. Eamon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

This study discuses the development of a procedure that can be used to assess the reliability of concrete masonry unit infill walls subjected to personnel-delivered blast loads. Consideration is given to maintain reasonable computational effort for both the structural analysis and reliability models. Blast load and wall resistance models are developed based on experimental and analytical data, and resistance is evaluated with a large strain, large displacement transient dynamic finite element analysis. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify significant random variables and a reliability analysis conducted with a feasible level of computational effort. Reliability indices are estimated for two …


Observations Of Structural Damage Caused By Hurricane Katrina On The Mississippi Gulf Coast, Christopher D. Eamon, Patrick Fitzpatrick, Dennis D. Truax Apr 2007

Observations Of Structural Damage Caused By Hurricane Katrina On The Mississippi Gulf Coast, Christopher D. Eamon, Patrick Fitzpatrick, Dennis D. Truax

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

The loads associated with Hurricane Katrina led to the destruction or severe damage of approximately 130,000 homes and over 200 deaths in the state of Mississippi. This paper discusses the results of a field inspection of structural damage along the state’s Gulf Coast area caused by this hurricane. It was found that reinforced concrete, steel frame, and heavy timber structures generally performed well, with minimal structural damage. Precast concrete, light frame wood, and bridge structures generally performed poorly. Non-structural components of all building types, in particular facades and interior partitions subjected to storm surge, were typically destroyed. For various structures, …