Most of the existing bridges in Montreal have not been designed to resist seismic forces. Although Montreal is not as highly exposed to earthquake hazards as New Zealand, Japan, California, or Vancouver, seismic hazards do exist. Seismic retrofitting has been considered as the most appropriate way to mitigate seismic hazards except for bridges that have a high retrofit cost and rather low importance. As the first step in seismic retrofitting, prioritization of bridges becomes a very important activity. / The goal of this thesis is to upgrade the current Canadian prioritization procedure using the latest information from the performance of bridges during recent earthquakes, as well as results from the latest research projects. The previous procedure used in Canada was developed in 1993, since then many changes have occurred relative to seismic retrofitting philosophy. An analytical procedure has replaced the previous simple numerical scoring procedure for the evaluation of vulnerability, and the evaluation of the importance of a bridge has also changed significantly, especially with the addition of new factors such as the ratio of replacement cost to retrofit cost, structure condition and remaining service life. The proposed procedure incorporates these new features and is applied and compared to eleven other procedures for twenty-four bridges administered by the Montreal Office of Transport Quebec.

Despite the widespread use of cold-formed steel (CFS) in Canada, the 2005 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) do not address the seismic design. Previous research conducted at McGill University resulted in the development of a design procedure and seismic force modification factors related to ductility and overstrength, Rd and Ro, for the CFS frame wood sheathed shear wall system. Based on this prior research, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) included the design procedure and the force modification factors for the wood sheathed shear walls into the North American Lateral Standard for Cold-Formed Steel Framing (AISI S213). In order for this information to be included in the NBCC it was necessary to validate the design procedure, the R values and the 20 m height limit detailed in the AISI S213 by conducting dynamic analyses as well as dynamic tests. Fourteen structures (4, 6 & 7 storeys) were designed and modeled using two different software packages: Ruaumoko and SAPWood. Two different seismic force resisting systems were validated: CFS frame wood sheathed shear walls (Rd = 1.5, Ro = 1.7) and a combination system whereby wood sheathed shear walls and gypsum walls work together (Rd = 1.5, Ro = 1.7). Two seismically active regions in Canada were selected for the design of the structures: Montreal, QC and Vancouver, BC. The performance of the modeled structures was then evaluated based on the ATC-63 methodology developed for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the United States. Given the performance of the models, the shear wall design approach documented in AISI S213 was proven to be satisfactory according to the ATC-63 methodology. The walls provided the necessary shear resistance when subjected to the suite of earthquake records scaled beyond the design level excitation and the structures maintained interstorey drifts far below the recommended 2% limit under design level earthquakes. The seven storey structures proved that buildi / La construction de structures en acier formé à froid est beaucoup utiliser au Canada dans le secteur résidentiel et commercial. De plus, les murs de refends créés à l’aide des panneaux de bois faisant déjà parti du bâtiment sont un système efficace pour résister les forces latérales provenant d’un séisme. Malgré l’aspect pratique présenté par ces murs de refends, le Code National du Bâtiment du Canada (CNB) et la norme CSA S136 de l’Association Canadienne de Normalisation ne fournissent aucune directive pour leur conception. Pourtant, une limite de 20 mètres pour la hauteur et des facteurs de modification de force (Rd, Ro) compatible avec le CNB ont été incluses par l’American Iron and Steel Institute dans la norme américaine, AISI S213. Cette norme adresse la conception des systèmes de reprise des forces latérales en acier formé à froid. L’importance de valider les directives incluses dans le AISI S213 avec des analyses dynamiques et des essais dynamiques était la motivation derrière cette recherche.Quatorze structures (4, 6 & 7 étages) ont été conçues et ensuite modélisées à l’aide de deux logiciels : Ruaumoko et SAPWood. Deux systèmes de murs de refends ont été traités : un système constitué de murs de refends en acier formé à froid avec des panneaux de bois (Rd = 2.5 and Ro =1.7) et un autre système comprenant de ces mêmes murs de refends mais travaillant avec les murs de gypse (Rd = 1.5 and Ro =1.7). De plus, deux régions de forte séismicité, Montréal, QC et Vancouver, BC, ont été incluses dans la recherche. La performance de ces structures a été évaluée selon l’ATC-63, développé pour le Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) au États-Unis.Le niveau de performance des modèles, déterminé selon le ATC-63, a confirmé la réussite de ces deux systèmes. Les murs ont démontré une résistance au cisaillement suffisante alors qu’ils étaient soumis à 45 séismes calibrés au-delà

An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 occurred in the Saguenay region of the province of Quebec, Canada, on November 25, 1988. Although no loss of life or severe structural damages were caused by this earthquake the poor performance of unreinforced masonry and structures with 'tension-only' cross-bracing were reported by a site visit team. / This thesis presents some of the important engineering characteristics of the 1988 Saguenay earthquake. Comparisons are made in terms of elastic and inelastic response spectra for the lateral forces to be considered for the seismic response analysis of short-period structural systems. In particular, the seismic response of a low-rise braced steel building designed according to the National Building Code of Canada is investigated in both the elastic and inelastic range. / The code-suggested equivalent lateral force method for short-period structures with a substantial strength-reduction factor does not provide a rational control of structural damage that can be expected from seismic excitation in Eastern Canada. The use of a period-dependent strength reduction factor applied to the elastic strength demand for short-period structures is proposed to take advantage of the inelastic energy dissipation capacity for this type of system on a more rational basis.

In this thesis, methods are developed for representing in planar computer models the full behaviour of complex three dimensional tall building structural systems. Simple models capable of duplicating the simultaneous bending and torsional response to loading of progressively more complex systems are described and justified. In contrast with previously existing planar techniques, a geometrical approach is used here throughout so that no pre- or post-analysis transformations of structural properties or of analysis results are required. The development culminates in a planar model for the static and dynamic analysis of asymmetrical structures composed of intersecting structural bents whose properties and configurations may vary throughout the height.

The purpose of the present work was to examine the effects of asphaltenes, amphiphilic molecules found in crude oils, on subsurface contamination by petroleum liquids. Initial experiments were conducted, using naphthalene as a representative target contaminant, to determine the contaminant equilibrium partitioning relationships in an asphaltene-oil-water system. / Further experiments were conducted to determine if the presence of asphaltenes in petroleum liquids affected resistance to interphase mass transfer of naphthalene in situ with aging. Results were analyzed using a lumped mass transfer coefficient calculated after various aging periods. Experimental data suggested that adding increasing amounts of asphaltenes to gasoline resulted in a marked increase in the lumped mass transfer coefficient with time during aging periods of up to 12 days. Over a 60-day aging period, amended gasolines were found to show net decreases in the lumped mass transfer coefficients, while non-amended gasolines showed a rather constant lumped mass transfer coefficient over the entire aging process. / Finally, residual saturation centrifuge tests were conducted to determine if the presence of asphaltene in petroleum liquids affected the wettability of a subsurface system contaminated with gasolines containing various concentrations of asphaltenes. Observation of the systems after centrifuging suggested that as the asphaltene content in gasoline was increased, oil recovery from the porous media decreased.

The behaviour of dapped ends with high-performance concrete and headed bars, together with the effects of fibres added to the concrete was investigated. Two full-scale dapped end beams with four dapped ends were constructed in this experimental programme. One half of each beam was cast without fibres while the other half was constructed with concrete containing either steel fibres or polypropylene fibres. The beams had a design concrete compressive strength of 60 MPa. Strut-and-tie models were used to predict the capacity of the dapped end beams. Headed bars were used as the horizontal tension ties, and closed stirrups provided the vertical tension ties. / From the comparisons between the testing results and the strut-and-tie model predictions, and the comparisons of the behaviour between the end regions with and without fibres, it was concluded that: the strut-and-tie models can be used as practical tools to predict the capacities of members with disturbed regions; the presence of fibres significantly increased the shear capacity and improved the ductility and crack control; the headed bars provided excellent anchorage and confinement of the nodal zones.

This dissertation describes the process of building a detailed traffic assignment model for the Greater Montreal region using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Although deterministic user-equilibrium traffic models are widely used in planning practice, most contemporary research into transportation models attempts to deal with the numerous theoretical shortcomings of the static modeling framework through dynamic methods while the potential for improvements on conventional algorithms remains largely unexplored. GIS offer a powerful mechanism for achieving such improvements. This research demonstrates how GIS can be profitably applied in the construction of a traffic assignment model with a very fine spatial resolution. The time savings incurred through the application of GIS permit the construction of a very detailed metropolitan street network comprising approximately 245,000 directional links and a corresponding system of 981 traffic analysis zones.

Collapse of transmission towers can occur due to accidental loads such as conductor breakages, failures of insulators or other components, either under every day conditions (components with marginal strengths) or under extreme conditions such as ice storms, thunderstorms, tornadoes, fires, explosions, heavy mass impacts, etc. Furthermore, the trigger of one tower collapse may cause a catastrophic cascading failure of the whole transmission line section as was observed in the 1998 ice storm in Quebec, Canada. Knowledge of the post-elastic capacity of towers is necessary to mitigate the risk of cascading failures in overhead lines. / The thesis presents a detailed study of the post-elastic response of latticed towers combining advanced (highly nonlinear) finite element analysis and full-scale dynamic testing of four tower section prototypes. The lattice towers are modeled with special three-node beam elements that include nonlinear material constitutive models for post-elastic response and the geometric stiffness matrices for elements are progressively updated to account for the second order effects. The numerical models also include the effects of connection eccentricities between diagonal members and the main leg members. The numerical models have been used to plan the physical tests and for re-analysis of the models with the experimental loads as measured during the physical tests. Four full-scale transmission tower model sections were built and tested under different load scenarios to verify the results from the numerical analysis. The salient conclusions of the research as follows: / The research demonstrates that it is possible to use post-elastic analysis to accurately predict the reserve strength of bolted lattice towers provided connection eccentricities are properly modeled at peaks or cross arms loading points and in diagonals connected only on one leg. / Both the numerical model and experimental results indicate significant post-elastic reserve strength of the tower section. In the tower prototypes tested in this research, the post-elastic reserve strength was 1.22 for flexure-torsion (i.e. tower under longitudinal loading) governed by diagonals, and 1.37 for bending (i.e. tower in transverse loading) governed by inelastic buckling of the main legs. / Diagonal members affect the failure modes of transmission towers and their connection design may be a weak link in the development of their post-elastic capacity. Diagonal members connected on one leg only are subject to biaxial bending, they cannot develop the full strength of their cross section since the unconnected leg takes much less stress on its entire length. / Accurate pushover post-elastic analysis is an essential design tool to ensure that the tower capacity is adequate and that failure modes are safe, i.e. not leading to progressive collapse. With appropriate training, such analysis is feasible in a design office. / Observations from physical tests, confirmed by numerical simulations, suggest that failure modes under pushover static and dynamic pulse loading are similar. / The ultimate loads sustained by the prototypes in the dynamic tests are higher than their static counterparts (162kN vs. 126kN in bending, and 57kN vs. 51.2kN in flexure-torsion); this can be explained by the strain rate effects, which were particularly large in the bending test due to a mass dropping height of 6 m. / Les effondrements de pylônes de lignes de transport à haute tension peuvent se produire sous charges accidentelles de causes varies: ruptures de conducteurs, rupture de chaînes d'isolateurs ou autres accessoires ou pièces d'attache des conducteurs au pylône, sous des conditions d'utilisation journalière normale (bris de composants dont la résistance st marginale) ou sous des conditions extrêmes (tempête de verglas, tornade, incendie, explosion, impact d'objets lourds, etc. De plus, comme nous l'avons observé lors du Grand Verglas de janvier 1998 au Québec, un bris localisé peut déclencher une ruine en cascade de plusieurs supports. / Il est nécessaire de connaître la réserve de résistance post-élastique des pylônes afin de pouvoir concevoir efficacement des systèmes capables de résister aux effondrements progressifs en cascade. fr / Dans cette thèse, l'auteur présente une étude détaillée de la réponse post-élastique des pylônes à treillis en acier. L'étude combine les techniques avancées d'analyse non linéaire par éléments finis et la réalisation d'essais destructifs sur quatre prototypes de sections de pylônes à treillis en pleine grandeur. Les modèles sont basés sur l'utilisation d'un élément fini de cadre à trois nœuds qui inclut les non linéarités dues au comportement inélastique du matériau ainsi que les non linéarités géométriques. Les modèles incluent également les effets des excentricités de connexions des membrures diagonales aux membrures principales. L'auteur a utilisé les modèles numériques détaillés des prototypes d'essais pour faire la planification détaillée des essais. Les modèles ont ensuite été ré-analysés en utilisant les charges mesurées lors des essais. fr / Quatre prototypes d'essais ont été construits et testés sous différents cas de charges afin de vérifier les résultats des analyses par éléments finis. Voici les principales conclusions de cette recherche : fr / Il est possible d'utiliser des analyses post-élastiques pour prédire avec précision la réserve de résistance des pylônes à treillis à condition d'inclure les excentricités de connexion des membrures des cornières des membrures diagonales connectées sur une seule aile ainsi qu'aux points de chargement au pylône en bout de console. fr / Les modèles numériques et les résultats d'essais révèlent une réserve de résistance importante, de 1.22, pour les prototypes testés en flexion-torsion et gouvernés par les membrures diagonales, et de 1.37 dans le cas de flexion, gouverné par le flambage inélastique des montants. fr / Les membrures diagonales des pylônes à treillis ont un rôle important dans leur mode de rupture et la résistance de leurs connexions peut s'avérer un maillon faible dans le développement de leur résistance post-élastique. Les diagonales connectées sur une seule aile sont incapables de développer la résistance maximale de leur section puisque l'aile non connectée n'est pratiquement pas sollicitée. fr / L'analyse post-élastique de type pushover est un outil indispensable pour évaluer la résistance post-élastique des pylônes et vérifier que leur mode de rupture est sécuritaire, i.e. qu'il n'y a pas de risque d'effondrement progressif. Ce type d'analyse est accessible aux ingénieurs des bureaux d'étude et spécialistes en conception de lignes, avec une formation d'appoint. fr

Petroleum contamination of several hundred sites in the northern arctic and sub-arctic regions of Canada has occurred as a result of petroleum oil exploration and use of petroleum fuels for heating, transportation and electricity generation. Petroleum contamination can persist in the ground for long periods of time and be a source of long-term environmental contamination. Bioremediation is a non-disruptive and often cost-effective technology for remediation of petroleum-contaminated sites that involves the microbial degradation of hydrocarbon compounds. Biopiles allow for rapid ex-situ treatment of petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated soils. Two pilot scale biopiles (300 kg soil each) were construct using soils contaminated with approximately 1 500 mg/kg total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) from Norman Wells, North West Territories. Both systems were supplied with oxygen to stimulate aerobic conditions, and monitored in an enclosed room maintained at a temperature of 15oC, the ambient summer temperature in Norman Wells. One biopile was amended with ammonium nitrate at a ratio of 100:5:1 (C:N:P) to determine the effects of nutrients on TPH biodegradation. The research showed that biodegradation occurred within both biopile systems. Analysis of the hydrocarbon fractions, TPH chromatograms, and oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production supported biodegradation versus volatilization. However, an absolute confirmation of whether these loses were due to biodegradation (or to what extent) are not possible to be reported here. Analysis of the inorganic nitrogen and aggregation of the soils helped provide insight into the process of biodegradation in both biopile systems. Overall 42% of the total petroleum hydrocarbons were removed from the nutrient amended biopile and 38 % in the control biopile. For the F2 (>C10-16) fraction, both systems had less than 200 mg/kg soil and for the F3 (>C16-34) fraction around 700 mg/kg soil. / La contamination de pétrole de plusieurs cent sites dans les régions du nord, arctiques et subarctiques de Canada est arrivée à la suite de l'exploration de pétrole de pétrole et à la suite de l'usage de carburants de pétrole pour le chauffage, la génération de transport et électricité. La contamination de pétrole peut persister dans le sol pour les périodes longues de temps et est une source de contamination écologique à long terme. Bioremediation est une technologie non-perturbateur et souvent rentable pour le redressement de sites pétrole-contaminé qui impliquent la dégradation microbienne de composés d'hydrocarbure. Les biopiles tiennent au compte du traitement d'ex-situ rapide de pétrole-hydrocarbure a contaminé des sols. Deux biopiles à l'échelle pilote (300 sol de kg chacun) étaient les sols d'utilisation de construction contaminé avec approximativement 1 500 mg/kg hydrocarbures de pétrole totaux (TPH) desNorman Wells, le Nord Territoires d'Ouest. Les deux systèmes ont été fournis avec l'oxygène pour stimuler des conditions aérobiques, et contrôlé dans une pièce enclose maintenue à une température de 15oC, la température d'été ambiante dans Norman Wells. Une biopile a été modifiée avec le nitrate d'ammonium à une proportion de 100:5:1 (C:N:P) déterminer les effets de nutriments sur TPH biodegradation. La recherche a montré à ce biodegradation est arrivé dans les deux systèmes de biopile. L'analyse des fractions d'hydrocarbure, de chromatogrammes de TPH, et de consommation d'oxygène et de production de dioxyde de carbone a soutenu biodegradation contre volatilization. Toutefois, une confirmation absolue de savoir si ces pertes étaient dues à la biodégradation (ou dans quelle mesure) ne sont pas possible d'être rapportée ici.L'analyse de l'azote et l'agrégation inorganique des sols aidés fournit la perspicacité dans le processus de biodegradation dans les deux systèmes de biopile. Général 42% des h

Telecommunication infrastructure is a fundamental component of communication and post-disaster networks and its preservation in the case of a severe earthquake is essential. Telecommunication masts are typically tall structures whose function is to support elevated antennas for radio and television broadcasting, telecommunication, and two-way radio systems. Therefore, immediate serviceability or even continuous function of first-aid-station infrastructure is of critically high priority in the case of a disaster. The current research deals with the dynamic behaviour of tall guyed masts under seismic loads and builds upon the previous research done at McGill University since 1993. Engineering literature of this field reports that the design of tall guyed telecommunication masts is usually governed by serviceability criteria under severe wind conditions, typically combined with icing in cold climates. However, there is a need for seismic design checks of guyed masts constructed in zones with moderate to high seismicity. The nonlinear dynamic behaviour of tall multi-support telecommunication masts is extremely complex. Presently reliable seismic design of telecommunication masts requires nonlinear time domain analysis based on detailed finite element models. Such effort is certainly justified for especially tall and important structures located in active seismic zones. However, it may not be absolutely necessary for many tall structures whose design is likely governed by climatic load effects. The degree of complexity and sophistication of these numerical simulation procedures far exceeds common engineering practice in the trade. There exists a need for simplified procedures for earthquake-resistant design checks of tall guyed telecommunication masts; such procedures are currently available for self-supporting lattice towers but are still lacking for guyed masts.The first step in this research was to study the dynamic properties and characteristics of guy clusters in detail based on rational cable mechanics, with a view to develop a simplified procedure that would yield these properties for guyed telecommunication mast analysis. Detailed numerical simulations and analytical studies involving 57 guy cables from eight existing towers with varying heights of 150 to 607 m were used in this section. A mathematical frequency domain procedure was further developed to replace the nonlinear time-variant cable stiffness with an equivalent linear frequency-dependent spring/mass system, based on the response spectrum of individual guy cables and the frequency content of the input seismic excitation. The effects of substituting guy cable clusters with their equivalent linearized springs on the tower structural characteristics and their interaction with the mast stiffness were studied next. Finally, a condensed model of the guyed mast was created where the individual horizontal stiffness elements were evaluated at each cluster level and the structures' mass/stiffness matrices were developed to perform seismic analysis. The proposed procedure has been tested with nine case studies of real telecommunication masts subjected to five different seismic inputs. Another mast has been added to the first eight considered since in situ measurements of natural frequencies and cable tensions are planned on this structure in the near future.In order to further validate the proposed method, two selected telecommunication masts were studied under the effects eighty-one recorded Californian earthquakes. It is to be noted that the research was originally motivated by the need to provide sound scientific background for approximate seismic design procedures of tall masts in a future revised edition of the Canadian Standards CAN/CSA-S37-01: Antennas, Towers and Antenna-Supporting Structures. Appendix M of this document is dedicated to earthquake-resistant design procedures and does not provide any guidance for approximate analysis methods for guyed masts. / Les infrastructures de télécommunication sont des composants essentiels de communication dans le réseau d'installations post-critiques. Leur préservation en cas de séisme sévère est essentielle et exige une vigilance particulière dans toutes les régions sismiquement actives du monde. Cette recherche traite du comportement dynamique des grands mâts de télécommunication sous charges sismiques. La littérature scientifique indique que la conception des mâts de télécommunication est souvent régie par des critères de fonctionnalité sous des conditions de vents violents. Cependant, il est requis de vérifier la bonne tenue parasismique des mâts de télécommunication construits dans les zones de sismicité modérée à élevée. Le comportement dynamique non-linéaire des grands pylônes de télécommunication haubanés est extrêmement complexe. À l'heure actuelle, la seule façon de vérifier la tenue parasismique de ces structures est de procéder à des analyses dynamiques non-linéaires dans le domaine temporel basées sur des modèles détaillés utilisant des éléments finis. Un tel effort est justifiable dans le cas de structures très hautes et importantes en zone d'activité sismique intense. Toutefois, pour les structures usuelles habituellement conçues en fonction des effets des charges climatiques, le degré de complexité de ces méthodes dépasse la pratique professionnelle habituelle dans ce secteur du génie. Il existe donc un besoin pratique de disposer de procédures simplifiées pour vérifier la tenue parasismique des pylônes haubanés de télécommunication de grande taille. De telles procédures sont disponibles pour les tours de télécommunication autoportantes, mais aucune méthode rationnelle n'a été proposée à date pour les mâts haubanés. En premier lieu, cette recherche a étudié les caractéristiques dynamiques des groupes de haubans en se basant sur les principes mécaniques connus décrivant le comportement des câbles structuraux. Des simulations numériques détaillées et des études analytiques ont été faites pour un total de 57 haubans faisant partie de huit mâts de télécommunications existants avec des hauteurs variant de 150 à 607 m. Une procédure mathématique basée sur l'analyse spectrale a été développée pour remplacer les rigidités de câbles non-linéaires variant dans le temps, par un modèle simplifié équivalent. Ce modèle est fonction de la fréquence naturelle du câble, sa masse et son élasticité, ainsi que du contenu fréquentiel de l'excitation sismique. Il tient également compte de l'interaction avec la rigidité du mât. La justification du développement de ce modèle est que chaque groupe de haubans ancrés au même niveau du mât peut ensuite être étudié à partir d'un modèle équivalent unique du type masse-ressort. Par la suite, des modèles condensés des pylônes haubanés de l'étude ont été créés où les éléments individuels de rigidité horizontale ont été introduits à chaque niveau d'attache au mât. Des matrices de masse et de rigidité équivalente des structures ont été développées à des fins d'analyse sismique et la fiabilité de l'approche simplifiée a été testée avec neuf cas réels de mâts de télécommunication soumis à cinq excitations sismiques. Une neuvième structure s'est ajoutée aux huit premières car des mesures in situ de fréquences naturelles et de tensions dans les haubans sont prévues.En guise de validation supplémentaire, la méthode développée a été vérifiée pour deux pylônes haubanés sélectionnés parmi les neuf cas sous l'effet de quatre-vingt-un enregistrements de tremblements de terre californiens. Il est à noter que cette recherche a été élaborée pour soutenir le développement scientifique de la norme canadienne CAN/CSA-S37 dédiée à la conception des antennes, mâts et supports d'antennes. L'appendice M qui porte sur la conception parasismique des structures de télécommunication ne comporte actuellement aucune méthode simplifiée rationnelle pour les pylônes haubanés.