The University of Texas at Austin, founded in 1883,

Steel Beam-Column Test at the Ferguson Laboratory

is the academic flagship of the University of Texas System’s fifteen component institutions. The annual enrollment at the University of Texas at Austin is approximately 50,000 students, making it the largest single-institution campus in the country. In addition, UT Austin has the distinction of awarding the largest number of doctorate degrees of any university in the nation.

Currently, approximately 4800 undergraduate students and 1800 graduate students are enrolled in the College of Engineering. Degrees are offered in aerospace engineering, architectural engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical and computer engineering, geosystems engineering and hydrogeology, mechanical engineering, and petroleum engineering.

For the last three decades, investigators in the Department of Civil Engineering have conducted research to study the response of soils and structural systems during earthquakes. The research related to earthquake engineering is based in two research centers: the Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory and the Geotechnical Engineering Center. Both centers are integrated research and teaching facilities.

Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory

Researchers at the Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory (FSEL) have studied the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete, steel, and masonry structures for more than 30 years. Many of the results of this research have been translated into changes in the building codes to improve structural response in future earthquakes.

In the mid 1970’s, it was apparent that there was very little information available regarding the bi-directional lateral response of structural elements. An NSF-sponsored project was undertaken to study the performance of columns under varying axial loads and cyclic lateral loads in two directions. Part of the project involved construction of the first strong floor/wall system in the US for three-dimensional testing. The design has been replicated in a number of other laboratories around the world. The system is now the centerpiece of the Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory and is in constant use for all types of static or cyclic test regimes.

In the mid 1980’s, a program of rehabilitation research was initiated at FSEL sponsored by NSF and conducted in cooperation with Degenkolb Engineers of San Francisco. After the Mexico City and Loma Prieta Earthquakes, the need for research to support rehabilitation design became evident and NSF initiated a five-year program for such research. The initiative management was headquartered at FSEL. The support received permitted testing only elements of structures. Nonetheless, the program provided data that was instrumental in establishing the performance-based design guidelines that have been issued by the California Seismic Safety Commission and by FEMA.

In the 1990’s, the Northridge Earthquake resulted in a reevaluation of the design of steel frame welded connections. Much of the initial research that eventually resulted in an extensive national (and international following the Kobe earthquake) research effort was conducted at FSEL. This research has led to changes in design and construction practice for welded beam-column connections.

Ongoing projects at FSEL related to earthquake engineering include an evaluation of the response of precast construction in Turkey during the 1999 earthquakes; examining the correlation of energy-based descriptors of ground motion with the observed spatial distribution of damage during the 1999 earthquakes in Turkey; development of a passive, wireless sensor to detect cracks in welded steel connections after an earthquake; development of safe and economical link-to-column connections for use in steel eccentrically braced frames; and development of design procedures for masonry walls constructed from autoclaved-aerated concrete blocks.

Geotechnical Engineering Center

Research at the Geotechnical Engineering Center (GEC) covers a wide range of geotechnical engineering topics, from earthquake response to seafloor hazards to pavement materials. In the category of earthquake engineering, the GEC has the only soil dynamics laboratory that is QA-1 rated in the US. Dynamic material properties have been evaluated using combined resonant column and torsional shear equipment (RCTS) at sites throughout the US, including the ROSRINE Consortium, the Savannah River Site, and the Yucca Mountain Project. Additionally, the GEC operates a hydraulic-controlled cyclic triaxial apparatus and a hydraulic-controlled cyclic simple shear apparatus.

Researchers at the GEC have been actively conducting field research with a large-scale, one-dimensional, mobile shaker for the past decade. This shaker has been used to profile airport and highway pavements, to perform super-accelerated tests on pavements, and to determine nonlinear soil properties in situ. This equipment is the prototype for the new, three-dimensional, large-scale field testing equipment that was funded in September 2000 by the National Science Foundation as part of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES).

Ongoing projects in the GEC related to earthquake engineering include determining shear wave velocity profiles at various sites throughout the epicentral region of the 1999 Turkey earthquakes and developing an in situ approach for evaluating liquefaction characteristics of soil deposits.

Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES)

University of Texas at Austin received a National Science Foundation NEES award to significantly upgrade the facility for seismic experimentation.

Educational Programs

The Department of Civil Engineering offers graduate degrees in the following areas of specialization: construction engineering and project management, environmental engineering and water resources, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, and transportation engineering. The M.S. programs require between 30 and 36 hours of course work and research beyond the undergraduate degree. Most students complete the degree in three or four semesters. There are no course work requirements for the Ph.D. degree, but most students take at least three semesters of classes beyond the M.S. degree.

Additional Information

College of Engineering: www.engr.utexas.edu
Department of Civil Engineering: www.ce.utexas.edu
Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory: www.utexas.edu/research/fsel
Geotechnical Engineering Center:
www.ce.utexas.edu/dept/area/geotech/geotechnicalEngr.htm