Abstract:

Underground structures are surrounded by geomaterials and affected by ground movements, which include transient and permanent ground movements. This presentation uses earthquake induced transient ground movements and tunneling induced permanent ground movements as examples to demonstrate their effects on jointed underground structures and underground utility pipelines, respectively. Both simplified and finite element models are developed to characterize the ground movement effects on underground structures. The model procedures are described, and some design charts are presented to facilitate assessments of the effects.

Biography:

Dr Yu Wang is a postdoctoral associate at School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in January 2006. He obtained his bachelor degree in Civil Engineering from mainland China and was awarded by the China Civil Engineering Society as one of the fourteen Outstanding College Graduate in 1998. He has a master degree in Civil Engineering from Hong Kong and has significant research experience on deformation properties of the weathered soils in Hong Kong. He is a member of American Society of Civil Engineers, and he served as the vice president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Student Chapter at Cornell University from 2004 to 2005.