Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1966. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves leaf 61). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-80). Also available via the Internet.

Floods are considered to be among of the deadliest, costliest and most common natural disasters. Rapid onset, catastrophic floods inundate the shore quickly and manifest as deep water with high velocities. The deep water and high velocities caused by these floods inflict great pressures and forces on the built and natural environments and pose a threat to human safety. Recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in the Southern United States and the Sumatra tsunami in the Indian Ocean have revealed that communities at risk require improved preparations for these types of dangerous events. Current building codes, design practices and disaster planning methods account for potential earthquake and wind loads on simple wood frame buildings typical of North American residential construction, however, flood impacts have not been considered in the same level of depth. The objectives of this research are to develop a theoretical model that describes flood impacts on wood frame residential buildings and relates building response to physical flood properties such as depth and velocity. This thesis provides a brief synopsis of previous approaches used to describe building response to flooding. An overview of the major loads caused by rapid onset flooding, along with a description of the structural system utilized in wood design to resist these forces is provided. The failure mechanisms considered and the model logic are described and applied to assess the response of a typical Canadian wood frame home to flood conditions that might be experienced in a rapid onset flood event like a tsunami. Building response results are discussed along with recommendations for future analysis and applications.

Floods are considered to be among of the deadliest, costliest and most common natural disasters. Rapid onset, catastrophic floods inundate the shore quickly and manifest as deep water with high velocities. The deep water and high velocities caused by these floods inflict great pressures and forces on the built and natural environments and pose a threat to human safety. Recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in the Southern United States and the Sumatra tsunami in the Indian Ocean have revealed that communities at risk require improved preparations for these types of dangerous events. Current building codes, design practices and disaster planning methods account for potential earthquake and wind loads on simple wood frame buildings typical of North American residential construction, however, flood impacts have not been considered in the same level of depth. The objectives of this research are to develop a theoretical model that describes flood impacts on wood frame residential buildings and relates building response to physical flood properties such as depth and velocity. This thesis provides a brief synopsis of previous approaches used to describe building response to flooding. An overview of the major loads caused by rapid onset flooding, along with a description of the structural system utilized in wood design to resist these forces is provided. The failure mechanisms considered and the model logic are described and applied to assess the response of a typical Canadian wood frame home to flood conditions that might be experienced in a rapid onset flood event like a tsunami. Building response results are discussed along with recommendations for future analysis and applications.

Floods are considered to be among of the deadliest, costliest and most common natural disasters. Rapid onset, catastrophic floods inundate the shore quickly and manifest as deep water with high velocities. The deep water and high velocities caused by these floods inflict great pressures and forces on the built and natural environments and pose a threat to human safety. Recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in the Southern United States and the Sumatra tsunami in the Indian Ocean have revealed that communities at risk require improved preparations for these types of dangerous events. Current building codes, design practices and disaster planning methods account for potential earthquake and wind loads on simple wood frame buildings typical of North American residential construction, however, flood impacts have not been considered in the same level of depth. The objectives of this research are to develop a theoretical model that describes flood impacts on wood frame residential buildings and relates building response to physical flood properties such as depth and velocity. This thesis provides a brief synopsis of previous approaches used to describe building response to flooding. An overview of the major loads caused by rapid onset flooding, along with a description of the structural system utilized in wood design to resist these forces is provided. The failure mechanisms considered and the model logic are described and applied to assess the response of a typical Canadian wood frame home to flood conditions that might be experienced in a rapid onset flood event like a tsunami. Building response results are discussed along with recommendations for future analysis and applications. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-230). Also available via the Internet.

<p>In this thesis, we theoretically and experimentally investigate the linear and nonlinear dynamic behavior of a frame structure, which frequently occurs in engineering applications. The structure consists of three continuous steel beams that are connected by two brass hinges. Experimental modal analysis indicates that the obtained natural frequencies are highly sensitive to changes in the oscillation amplitude, even for small motions. Thus, the amplitude range where linear responses can be expected is, in practice, very small. Instead, a strong nonlinear behavior is exhibited by the experimentally obtained backbone curves for small vibrations. Furthermore, the experimentally obtained frequency-response curves exhibit jump phenomena.</p> <p> We investigated experimentally whether the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the structure are the result of modal interactions, such as internal and combination resonances. We were unable to activate any of these resonances. Next, we investigated whether these characteristics are due to geometric, inertia, material, or damping nonlinearities. The answer is again negative. Finally, we examined the nonideal dynamic characteristics of the hinges. We found that stiffness degradation hysteretic damping in the hinges is the best model that explains the observed nonlinear dynamic behavior. A multilinear stiffness degradation model was used to describe the overall hysteretic load-displacement relation. An approximate analytical approach was used to compute the steady-state response of the structure to a harmonic excitation. A good qualitative agreement between the computations and the experimental results was obtained.</p> / Master of Science

The principal objective of th1s thesis has been accomplished. The technique for the analysis of a space frame has been developed and described. A computer program has been wr1tten and presented. A test frame was constructed, analyzed and tested and the results for deflections and rotations compared. / Master of Science

This research quantifies the seismic vulnerability of older reinforced concrete frame structures located in Mid-America. After designing a representative three-story gravity load designed reinforced concrete frame structure, a nonlinear analytical representation was used evaluate inter-story drift demands from simulated earthquake time histories that were representative for the region. Limit state story drift capacities were identified for FEMA 273 guidelines, nonlinear pushover analyses, and incremental dynamic analyses. Integrating these two quantities allowed for the creation of fragility curves which relates the probability of exceeding a particular limit state given an imposed spectral acceleration at the fundamental building period. These curves were then used to evaluate the seismic vulnerability of the representatively designed structure. The structure as originally designed was found to be inadequate to resist large lateral loading that would be typical for the Memphis area. So structural retrofit performed by increasing the column-to-beam strength ratio was evaluated by increasing the strength of the column members in the analytical model. The first retrofit raised the column-to-beam strength ratio to 1.2, which is currently required by the ACI code provisions. The second retrofit raised the column-to-beam strength ratio to 1.8, as suggested in previous studies. The story capacity, demand, and fragility curves were once again created for these retrofitted structures. Comparison of these fragility curves is discussed in relation to the retrofit strategy of column strengthening for older reinforced concrete frame structures in Mid-America.

published_or_final_version / Civil and Structural Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy