Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for March
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Wenchuan Earthquake Damage to Infrastructural Facilities
Thu, Mar 05, 2009 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Depei Zhou,
Chairman and Professor of Geotechnical Engineering Department, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaAbstract:The 5.12.2008 Wenchuan earthquake caused widespread damage to infrastructural facilities in the affected areas. Based on results of the post-earthquake emergency investigation and inspection, Professor Zhou will describe the damage to road engineering systems, retaining structures, highway bridges, and railways systems. The main focus will be on the geological hazards caused by the Wenchuan earthquake. Professor Zhou will also discuss the lessons learnt from this devastating earthquake regarding design and construction of infrastructural facilities in earthquake active areas. Moreover, the current status of reconstruction in the earthquake affected areas will be presented and the international collaboration in geotechnical earthquake engineering will be outlined. During the presentation, many slides of photos will be shown.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Phononic Characteristics of Lattice Structures: ....
Wed, Mar 25, 2009 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
..From Theoretical and Computational Aspects to Applications
in Smart Multifunctional DevicesDr. Stefano Gonella,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern UniversityAbstract:
Within the family of periodic solids, lattice structures and cellular materials have been the object of special scientific interest as a result of their unique mechanical and thermal properties and their excellent strength-to-weight ratio, which make them ideal for automotive and aerospace engineering applications. One well-known example is represented by hexagonal and auxetic honeycomb structures, which are used in conventional sandwich plates as well as in "truss-core" composite beams. Analysis of the wave propagation characteristics of these structures reveals a whole new set of peculiar mechanical properties, which suggests applications in novel smart structures and metamaterials. The phenomenon of phononic bandgaps, for instance, can be exploited to design tunable vibration isolation devices and mechanical filters. The directionality of the elastic wavefields for specific frequencies of excitation suggests the possibility to design frequency-controlled waveguides and directional actuators and sensors. Finally, the interplay between phononic characteristics and piezoelectric microstuctures can be used to envision a new class of multifunctional devices for energy generation and conversion.In this presentation, a finite-element-based homogenization technique is
introduced to extract the equivalent dynamic properties of lattices with arbitrary internal geometry. A computational unit cell approach is then used to investigate the in-plane phononic characteristics of hexa-chiral lattice structures. Finally, a novel concept is presented for piezoelectric microstructured devices combining vibration isolation and
energy harvesting capabilities.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes