Truss modeling techniques featured in Engineering Structures journal

The performance of certain reinforced concrete bridge columns under combined loadings is now easier to analyze following a study of modeling techniques detailed in an article  authored by Garver Transportation Project Engineer Ruili He, Ph.D., PE, and others and published in the December 2019 issue of Engineering Structures journal.

The study, authored by He and researchers from the University of Hartford, Missouri University of Science & Technology, the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Houston, set out to determine response behaviors by employing a truss modeling technique that simulated the response of reinforced concrete bridge columns subjected to constant axial compression and reversed cycle lateral loading, including torsion, the article states.

The study analyzed the results of three as-built reinforced concrete columns and two columns repaired with carbon fiber reinforced polymer jackets, which “showed both the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed modeling technique in terms of stiffness, strength, deformation, and energy dissipation,” the article states.

He, a structural engineer based in Garver’s Kansas City, Missouri office, specializes in seismic analysis and design, along with analysis and design of reinforced concrete and steel. She has helped Garver deliver designs for the U.S. 69 Missouri River Bridge near Kansas City, Gilcrease Expressway in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and others.

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