Architectural Engineering Commons^™

Getting La To Net Positive Competition For Innovation In Design, Alexander Lohr

Architectural Engineering

For my senior project I participated in the Getting LA to Net Positive Competition for Innovation in Design competition which is part of the living building challenge. The Living Building Challenge™ is a building certification program, advocacy tool and philosophy that define advanced measure of sustainability in the building environment. The Challenge is comprised of seven performance categories called Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty. Petals are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence. The competition is run by the Living Building Challenge Collaborative: Los …

Structural Damage Detection By Comparison Of Experimental And Theoretical Mode Shapes, William George Rosenblatt

Master's Theses

Existing methods of evaluating the structural system of a building after a seismic event consist of removing architectural elements such as drywall, cladding, insulation, and fireproofing. This method is destructive and costly in terms of downtime and repairs. This research focuses on removing the guesswork by using forced vibration testing (FVT) to experimentally determine the health of a building. The experimental structure is a one-story, steel, bridge-like structure with removable braces. An engaged brace represents a nominal and undamaged condition; a dis-engaged brace represents a brace that has ruptured thus changing the stiffness of the building. By testing a variety …

Buildings With Rigid Walls And Flexible Roof Diaphragms. I: Evaluation Of Current U.S. Seismic Provisions, Maria Koliou, Andre Filiatrault, Dominic J. Kelly, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

Buildings having rigid walls and flexible roof diaphragms (RWFD) are a type of building construction widely used for light industry in the United States; they incorporate rigid in-plane concrete or masonry walls and flexible in-plane wood, steel, or hybrid roof diaphragms. In this first of two companion papers, the probability of collapse of this type of building designed to current code provisions in the United States, given an MCE earthquake event, is evaluated according to the FEMA P695 methodology for a large set of representative building archetypes. The results of the study indicate that current code provisions for this type …

Buildings With Rigid Walls And Flexible Roof Diaphragms. Ii: Evaluation Of A New Seismic Design Approach Based On Distributed Diaphragm Yielding, Maria Koliou, Andre Filiatrault, Dominic J. Kelly, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

A seismic collapse evaluation study of buildings with rigid walls and flexible roof diaphragms (RWFD) presented in the companion paper indicates that this type of structure, as designed to current seismic design provisions in the United States, does not satisfy FEMA P695 performance criteria for Risk Category II Buildings. The seismic performance of RWFD buildings is often characterized by large deformations and yielding in the roof diaphragm rather than in the vertical elements of the seismic force–resisting system (SFRS). In this paper, a new seismic design approach is proposed to account for flexible roof diaphragm response. The proposed approach relies …

Exploring Emerging Technologies For The Built Environment Circa 2015 For Use In Architectural Engineering And Related Majors, Connor J. Hanlon

Architectural Engineering

For this senior project I am seeking to combine my knowledge of Structural Engineering with Construction Management. For this task, I have decided to look at Building Information Modeling (BIM). In this project I investigate the BIM tools Trimble Tekla Structures and Autodesk Navis- works Manage. Tekla is a modeling, fabrication, and design program. Navisworks is a visualiza- tion and Clash Detection tool. For this project I have identiÅied two main goals relating to Navis- works and Tekla:

1. Create content to allow students and professors learn how to use Tekla and Navisworks

2. Determine the capabilities of these softwares, and Åigure …

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Tron 2.0 - The Experience, Alecsandro G. Vitale, Alexander W. Billings, Jordan Delfino, William Beechinor, Kelly Rorden

Architectural Engineering

The goal of this senior project was to come up with a structural-engineering-related schematic design for a roller coaster to be installed in Disneyland called TRON 2.0: The Experience. This involved looking at both design processes that we had already learned through our curriculum as well as researching concepts that were previously foreign to us, namely the dynamic application of loads and the effects of fatigue stresses.

A story was established based on the source material: the TRON movies produced by Walt Disney Studios. Thematic elements from the story were used as the basis for design implications that would become …

Issues Facing Design Professionals Through The Lens Of Two Rain-Induced Roof Collapses, J. W. Lawson, M. E. Parolini

Architectural Engineering

The drainage of low-sloped roof systems involves multiple design professionals, and often each has a different opinion as to their design responsibility. Roofing issues have been identified as being a number one source of litigation, and rain-induced roof collapses continue to occur with alarming frequency. With the backdrop of several rain-induced roof collapses, this paper illustrates the complexity of assigning design responsibility for drainage systems; and investigates a variety of outcomes associated with the current building code provisions transporting rainwater from large low-sloped roof structures.

Distributed Yielding Concept For Improved Seismic Collapse Performance Of Rigid Wall-Flexible Diaphragm Buildings, Maria Koliou, Andre Filiatrault, Dominic J. Kelly, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

Rigid wall-flexible diaphragm (RWFD) buildings are a common type of single-story construction in North America, Europe, and New Zealand that incorporate rigid in-plane concrete or masonry walls and flexible in-plane wood, steel, or hybrid roof diaphragms. RWFD buildings have shown poor seismic performance during past earthquake events. In particular, it has been observed that the global seismic response is dominated by the response of the diaphragm, which is mainly attributed to large in-plane diaphragm displacements that significantly exceed the displacements of in-plane walls. In this study, the concept of distributed yielding in the flexible diaphragm by weakening certain intermediate diaphragm …

Physical Models In The Reinforced Concrete Design Classroom, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

An overview is presented of various physical demonstration tools intended to supplement lectures in topic areas that students consistently identify as being troublesome. The article describes the design, fabrication, and implementation of classroom models to help explain flexural behavior and detailing of beams, slabs, and frame systems.

New Civil Engineering Program Criteria: The Rest Of The Story, Allen Estes, Thomas A. Lenox, Richard O. Anderson P.E.

Architectural Engineering

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) organized the Civil Engineering Program Criteria Task Committee in October 2012 whose charge is to determine if the current ABET Civil Engineering Program Criteria (CEPC) should be changed to reflect one or more of the 24 outcomes of the second edition of the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge published in 2008. After two years of work, a proposed CEPC has been approved by the relevant ASCE committees and forwarded to ABET for approval and incorporation into accreditation criteria. A paper chronicling the committee’s efforts through a review of the literature, the committee’s methodology …

Team Solar Sip, Patrick Fillingham, Wesley Goodson, Kenneth Li

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Design Build Experience In The Context Of A Self-Consolidating Grout Research Project, Tanner Blumenfeld, Jordan Delfino, Deryk Izuo, Matthew Josten

Architectural Engineering

The purpose of this project was to experience the design-build project delivery method in the context of a research-fueled, procedural testing investigation. Thus, this project consisted of 3 main components each of which will be addressed in this report.

The first aspect to be addressed is the research aspect. The goal of our research was to establish a chemical understanding of how replacement of cement with pozzolans in a grout mixture affects chemical processes and resulting structural characteristics within and of the grout. This research was then applied to formulation of potentially self-consolidating mix designs to be tested in the …

Crack Control Measures For Tilt-Up Concrete Panels, John Lawson

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Existing And Proposing New Seismic Design Provisions For Rigid Wall - Flexible Diaphragm Buildings, John Lawson, Dominic Kelly, Maria Koliou, Andre Filiatrault

Architectural Engineering

Buildings with heavy concrete on masonry walls supported by flexible wood or steel deck roof diaphragms are ubiquitour across the United States and the rest of North America. The current seismic design approach is based on the equivalent lateral force (ELF) method whose underlying assumptions significantly differ from the actual dynamic response of these buildings. The seismic behavior of rigid wall-flexible rood diaphragm (RWFD) Buildings is dominated by the diaphragm's response instead of the wall' in-plane response. Furthermore, the diaphragm's ductility and overstrength capacity is unique to its own construction. Yet the current design methodology employed by practitioners directly ties …

Distribution Of Chord Forces In Large Panelized Wood Roof Diaphragms, Weichang Pang, Chun Ni, John Lawson, Sami Pant

Architectural Engineering

Flexible wood roof diaphragms are very common in the United States, both for residential buildings and large-scale commercial buildings. Due to its simplicity, the traditional diaphragm design method is commonly used in diaphragm design, in particular for the design of diaphragms with relatively small dimensions. The traditional diaphragm design method assumes the axial chord forces developed in framing members under in-plane loading are carried only by the perimeter elements. This method has always been thought to be a conservative design method, especially when applied to large diaphragms. In recent years, the engineering community began to question the applicability of the …

Numerical Framework For Seismic Collapse Assessment Of Rigid Wall-Flexible Diaphragm Structures, M. Koliou, A. Filiatrault, D.J. Kelly, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

This study focuses on the development of a two dimensional (2D) simplified numerical framework of rigid wall-flexible diaphragm (RWFD) structures that can be used to validate seismic design approaches. This type of low-rise industrial buildings, which is widely used in North America, incorporates rigid in-plane concrete or masonry walls and flexible in-plane wood, steel or “hybrid” roof diaphragms. The numerical modeling is detailed enough to capture the nonlinear seismic response of RWFD buildings, but simplified enough to efficiently conduct a large number of nonlinear time-history dynamic analyses. The 2D numerical modeling framework is based on a three step sub-structuring approach …

Development Of Seismic Design Methodologies For Rigid Wall-Flexible Diaphragm Structures, John W. Lawson, D. J. Kelly, M. Koliou, A. Filiatrault

Architectural Engineering

Evidence indicates that the dynamic behavior of Rigid Wall – Flexible Diaphragm (RWFD) structures is dominated by the diaphragm’s response instead of the walls’ response, and this is a significant departure from the underlying assumptions of the widely used equivalent lateral force method in current building codes. RWFD buildings are common in North America and other parts of the world, and incorporate rigid in-plane concrete or masonry walls and flexible in-plane wood or steel roof diaphragms. With the use of a numerical computer modeling framework developed specifically for this type of building, this study sets out to investigate the seismic …

Examining The Applicability Of Design Methods For Large Panelized All-Wood Roof Diaphragms Under Seismic Loading, W. Pang, S. Pant, C. Ni, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

The use of flexible roof diaphragms is very common in the United States, both for residential buildings and large-scale commercial buildings. Due to its simplicity, the traditional diaphragm design method is commonly used in diaphragm design, in particular for the design of diaphragms with relatively small dimensions. The traditional diaphragm design method assumes the axial chord forces developed in framing members under in-plane loading are carried only by the perimeter elements. The traditional diaphragm design method has always been thought to be a conservative design method, especially when applied to large diaphragms. In recent years, the engineering community began to …

No Admixture, Sustainable, Self-Consolidating Grout, Craig Baltimore, James P. Mwangi, Eric W. Bateman

Architectural Engineering

The consolidation of grout in concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls is labor-intensive. Also, the grout’s Portland cement content has a high embodied energy demand – a non-sustainable characteristic. For the labor-intensive issue, chemical admixture self-consolidating grouts have been used in walls 12.67 ft. (3.86 m) tall, however the chemical additive can impose new limitations on the grout (non-robust characteristics). No admixture self-consolidating grout with high percentage Portland cement replacement have potential for robust and sustainable application. This paper reports on the consolidation of no admixture self-consolidating grout made by substituting high percentages of Portland cement with Type-F fly ash and/or …

Using K’Nex To Teach Large Scale Structures To Architects And Constructionstudents, Allen C. Estes, Craig Baltimore

Architectural Engineering

The College of Architecture and Environmental Design at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) is the only college in the nation that includes architecture (ARCH), architectural engineering (ARCE) and construction management (CM) programs in the same college. Given the unique mix of disciplines and the emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, the ARCH and CM students take a five-course structural engineering sequence from the ARCE department. A challenge of these courses is to maintain some degree of computational rigor while offering a broader perspective that will benefit the ARCH and CM students. This paper reports on one …

New Civil Engineering Program Criteria: How The Sausage Is Being Made, Allen Estes, Thomas A. Lenox

Architectural Engineering

The American Society of Civil Engineers organized the Civil Engineering Program Criteria Task Committee in October 2012 whose charge is to determine if the current ABET Civil Engineering Program Criteria (CEPC) should be changed to reflect one or more of the 24 outcomes of the second edition of the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge published in 2008. After over a year of conference calls and face to face meetings, the committee has drafted and disseminated a proposed CEPC. This paper chronicles the development of the proposed criteria by sharing a review of the literature, the committee’s methodology and process, the …

Structural Damage Detection Utilizing Experimental Mode Shapes, Evan Jamison Gerbo

Master's Theses

A method of locating structural damage is developed and tested to aid in the evaluation of structural health. This method will help minimize the cost of structural inspection and repair by informing engineers of where damage, due a seismic event, has occurred before the removal of finishes for visual inspection. This thesis begins to answer the question “can structural damage be detected solely through analysis of experimentally measured mode shapes?”

The work encompasses construction of a test structure, with three braces that can be repeatedly engaged or dis-engaged, thus allowing for testing of a variety of braced configurations. For this …

Performance Of No Vibration/No Admixture Masonry Grout Containing High Replacement Of Portland Cement With Fly Ash And Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, Eric Bateman

Master's Theses

When hollow concrete masonry is used for construction in high seismic regions, structural designs typically require fully grouted walls. The grouting process is labor-intensive, time-consuming and has a high energy demand due to requirements of consolidation in each and subsequent grout lifts. Self-consolidating grout with admixtures has been successfully used without segregation in walls of up to 12.67 ft. in height. Investigation of self-consolidating grout mixes without admixtures has potential for sustainability improvement.

This thesis reports on the compression strength and consolidation observations of self-consolidating characteristics of no vibration/no admixture grout made by substituting various proportions of Portland cement with …

Summary Of Large-Scale C-Shaped Reinforced Concrete Wall Tests, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Andrew Mock, Laura Lowes, Dawn Lehman, Daniel Kuchma

Architectural Engineering

Flexural concrete walls (i.e., walls the yield in flexural prior to failure) are used commonly as the lateral load resisting system for mid‐ and high‐rise buildings on the West Coast. They are relatively stiff under service‐level loading, can take on various configurations to accommodate architectural constraints, and are generally assumed to exhibit ductile response under severe earthquake loading. Despite heavy reliance on concrete walls, relatively little research has been done to investigate the earthquake performance of walls with modern design details. Few data exist characterizing the performance of modern walls under variable levels of earthquake loading or the impact of …

Summary Of Large-Scale Nonplanar Reinforced Concrete Wall Tests, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Andrew Mock, Laura Lowes, Dawn Lehman, Daniel Kuchma

Architectural Engineering

Nonplanar wall configurations are prevalent in engineering practice, yet relatively little research has addressed nonplanar walls and the earthquake response of these components remains poorly understood. A recent experimental test program conducted by the authors investigated the earthquake response of modern, ACI Code compliant C‐shaped walls subjected to unidirectional and bidirectional lateral loading. To compare the results of this study with previous experimental investigations conducted by others, this document examines laboratory tests of slender nonplanar walls available in the literature. Response histories, damage patterns, drift capacity and failure mechanisms are used to characterize the behavior of each nonplanar wall test …

Empirically Derived Effective Stiffness Expressions For Concrete Walls, Andrew Mock, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Laura Lowes, Dawn Lehman, Daniel Kuchma

Architectural Engineering

In most cases, analysis to determine component demands for seismic design of concrete buildings employs linear elastic models in which reduced, effective component stiffnesses are used. This document i) reviews the recommendations for defining the effective flexural, shear and axial stiffness of concrete walls that are included in current design codes, standards and guidelines and ii) compares these recommendations with stiffness expressions derived directly from experimental data by the authors and others. Section 2 reviews existing empirically derived and code‐, standard‐, and guideline‐based expressions for the effective stiffness of concrete walls. Section 3 presents the process used by the authors …

Cost Analyses And Benefit Studies For Earthquake-Resistant Construction In Memphis, Tennessee, John W. Lawson, John R. Hayes, Jr., Steven L. Mccabe, Matthew Speicher, James R. Harris

Architectural Engineering

The cost premium for earthquake-resistant construction is of great interest in regions that have significant seismic hazard, but have not suffered serious damage from earthquakes in the memories of people now living. The middle Mississippi River Valley was struck by very large earthquakes in 1811 and 1812, and scientific study has found evidence of multiple large earthquakes prior to that. This history indicates that the risk for loss of human life due to earthquake hazard in the region is high.

Brocade & Cal Poly Project Challenge, Andy Vallejo

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Approximating The Seismic Amplification Effects Experienced By Solar Towers Mounted On The Rooftops Of Low-Rise Industrial Buildings, Peter Luiz Balla

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the acceleration amplification experienced by solar towers mounted on the rooftops of low-rise industrial buildings during a seismic event. Specifically, this thesis looks to assess the validity of using amplification factors adopted by the ASCE 7-05Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures to approximate seismic acceleration amplification for roof-mounted solar towers. To investigate the validity of the ASCE 7-05 amplification factors, this thesis conducts timehistory analyses of three theoretical solar towers mounted on the roof of a case study building. The time history analyses are conducted in the finite element computer modeling program SAP 2000 using …

Teaching Archtecture, Engineering And Construction Disciplines: Using Various Pedagogical Styles To Unify The Learning Process, Jill Nelson, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

The Architectural Engineering Department at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) teaches introductory sophomore level statics and mechanics of materials courses to students in three departments in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design. These courses are unique in that students in the Architectural Engineering Department share coursework with students in the Architecture and Construction Management Departments. While learning and problem solving in these multidisciplinary courses have many advantages, they also offer many challenges. The learning preference of the students in these three distinctly different disciplines requires a fresh approach to the course structure. The courses …