1. What is your essential question and answers? What is your
best answer and why?
EQ: How can a structural engineer
best design a building for earthquake resistance?
1st Answer: Creating a better foundation, using SMRF with
isolators.
2nd Answer: Through performing different types of seismic analyses
on buildings can contribute in designing
a building for earthquake resistance.
3rd Answer: Following all the details in the ASCE 7 code will help
provide a basic model in designing earthquake resistance buildings.
Best Answer:
Through performing different types of seismic analyses on buildings can
contribute in designing a building for earthquake resistance is the best
answer.
This is my best answer because according to Mark
Austin, from the department of civil engineering, University of Maryland ,
from 0 to 2 sec., the column's displacement changed from 0 cm to about 0.65cm
because of time history analysis (ESA). My second answer primarily focuses on
seismic analyses, and with the development of exponential growth in technology,
these analyses will improve every year giving better and more accurate results.
Seismic analysis isn't just an engineer inspection of a building to check for
specifics on how a buildings needs to improve when a potential earthquake hits.
According to "Time history analysis as a method of implementing
performance based design." by Bill Tremayne a professional structural
engineer from the NZSEE, analysis can carry earthquake simulations ran by
engineering software calculating solutions on how a building will function
before the building is built, I was considering my answer 3 to be my best
answer, because it lists all earthquake resistant guidelines of a building.
However, according to USGS , US Geological Survey, and the Nisee Conference in
Berkeley ,
engineers constantly debate whether to change certain guidelines, specifically
earthquake resistant standards of ASCE 7 building code. In fact, as I
researched ASCE.org (American Society of Civil Engineers),
there are different versions of ASCE 7 code, ASCE 7-05 (year 2005) and ASCE
7-10 (year 2010). My answer 1, also could not be a candidate as the best answer
because it was solely based on foundation (the structure of the building, not
foundation for my presentation). Throughout my research in International Journal
of Physical Sciences, there are more specific structures that are affected by
earthquakes in a building than just the foundation. For example, my answer
specifically states SMRF and isolators which includes a structure with beams
and columns. Throughout my research in a novel written and published by
structural engineers from New York ,
The Vertical Building Structure, beams and
columns are structures that contain most of axial load, vertical load, and
horizontal load coming from a building. Beams and columns are placed everywhere
within a building, so although a foundations building is important, it's in the
best interest of a structural engineer to design a building that also focuses
on smaller details like beam and columns.
2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
As I was researching my first answer, I would type specifically on Google search, best earthquake resistant structures. I would never be given a specific structure such as the one in my answer 1, SMRF (Special Moment Restraint Frame System, which I found by talking to my mentor professional structural engineer, TJ Wu), but I would always find terms that include word analysis, specifically time history analysis and equivalent static analysis. I knew this would be a crucial and important factor in formulating my next answer, so I decided to research more building seismic analyses. Reading from International Journal of Physical Sciences and Structure Magazine usually written by Susan Dowty, I understood that most of these analyses were used to simulate buildings with earthquakes to prepare for potential earthquakes, but at the time I needed to attain more knowledge on seismic analyses. It wasn't until during my third interview with professional structural engineer from South Pasadena, Casey Piedra, responded my question, "How does a design for earthquake resistance make a building safer?" with an explanation how time history analysis can measure a building's area during an earthquake loads impact on computer software that I understood the impact of time history analysis. This is when I decided to use analysis as a second answer to my EQ. As I researched more on specific types of analysis: ground motion maps, time history analysis, and equivalent static analysis, for my next interview I started to formulate answers based on the how effective these analyses were. So during my fourth interview, I asked questions such as, "How do you incorporate earthquake time history analysis in the buildings you have designed? or Can you give me an example of how equivalent dynamic analysis has benefited a building in earthquake resistance?" According to my interviewee, my mentor's ex-co worker and structural engineer, Vinh Dao, from Orange County, his response that because each of these analyses measured earthquake loads: accelerations, moments, displacement, etc., comparing with a building's mass, the results of these analyses are beneficial for buildings.
3. What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?
Most of my problems during my
senior project came from driving to my mentorship and understanding my senior
topic. My mentorship is located in my mentor's workplace in South
Pasadena and I live in Rancho Cucamonga .
Most of my mentorship days were on Wednesday, since I always have more time
during this day. Still the driving would consume lots of my time and I
basically go home when my dad is off of work. To resolve this issue, I asked my
mentor, if I could grab copy of the AutoCAD software and download it to my
computer. My mentorship mostly consisted of me designing structures, so by
downloading AutoCAD onto my computer I can do my mentorship also at home.
My other problem was understanding
the material of my senior project. Most of my research included engineering
with physics and math procedures that were above my level of education. To
resolve this, I would ask questions about the purpose and the procedure of how
a structure works, not in terms of math and physics, to my mentor or during my
interviews. For example, during my fourth interview one of my questions was, "Can you give me an example of how equivalent dynamic
analysis has benefited a building in earthquake resistance?"
4. What are the two most significant sources you used to
answer your essential question and why?
My two most significant sources in
answering my essential question are my mentor and a book called The Vertical Building Structure by Wolfgang Schueller.
My mentor has over 20 years of experience in the structural engineering
industry and is currently placed as an associate at his firm, Kanda and Tso
Consulting Structural Engineers. My mentor is always helpful in my research or
at mentorship when I have to design a structure in explaining it with simple
terms. The book called The Vertical Building Structure by Wolfgang Schueller,
is significant in answering my EQ because it shows pictures of specific
structures are shaped, such as bolts and steel frames. The book also focuses on
mid to high rise buildings, so much of the content is based on earthquake loads
and how does the shape and ductility of a building resist these loads, since
mid to high rise buildings are more vulnerable to earthquakes.