The impact of a PEER funded research project "Seismic Evaluation of the California High Speed Rail System" is highlighted below. The project Principal Investigator (PI) is John Stanton, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Washington. The Research Team includes Marc Eberhard, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Washington and Michelle Chang, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Washington.
Download the Research Project Highlight which includes the abstract (PDF)
Research Impact:
Highway bridges in California constitute one of the most important components of the transportation system. When construction of the High Speed Rail system resumes, it is expected to play a similar role. The capital cost of that infrastructure is much too high to accept the need for replacement after a severe earthquake, so the components, and especially those in locations that are hard to access and repair, must be designed to be both reliable and economical. This can only be achieved by developing a full understanding of the structural properties and behavior of those components. In reinforced concrete, “Disturbed Regions” such as connections and non-contact splices, are some of the least well understood elements. The research described here is expected to have a significant impact on the safety and reliability of drilled shafts and the associated columns.
