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This is an online event.Failure of nonstructural components during an earthquake can lead to structure functionality loss, cause widespread property damage, and pose a life-safety threat to the occupants. Current code provisions aim to minimize the life safety threat by specifying lateral force demands and anchoring requirements. These code requirements are based on a simplified equation that does not fully consider the component attachment’s contribution to its overall dynamic response. Research suggests that the component attachment is an important parameter that determines its dynamic properties. This talk will present an experimental test program focused on the contribution of the nonstructural component’s attachment to the seismic force demand and the dynamic response. For the study, a nonstructural experimental model was attached via several connection designs to a concrete slab and tested on a shaking table to evaluate this contribution. The attachments were dimensioned based on a capacity design approach, such that they would be the weakest element in the force path while providing a yielding failure mechanism. The attachment designs provide different plastic mechanisms that control the displacement ductility in the response of the component. The experimental results suggest that the attachment properties govern the boundary conditions of the nonstructural component and that the use of attachments sustaining increased ductility during shaking does not necessarily result in reduced seismic loads.
Tali Feinstein Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering | University of California, Berkeley
Tali Feinstein is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Under the supervision of Prof. Jack Moehle, her research focus is seismic design of anchored floor-mounted nonstructural components, including experimental tests performed at the PEER shaking table located in Richmond, CA and at the NARlabs shaking table located in Tainan, Taiwan. Tali was the president of the UC Berkeley EERI chapter for two years and has been involved in various educational outreach programs for fourth grade to high school students. Tali earned her B.S. in structural engineering in 2014 and M.S. in Mechanical engineering in 2016 from Ben Gurion University in Israel. Her Master thesis topic focused on the assessment of pipe-soil interaction based on large deformation analysis. Tali has worked as a structural engineer designing bridges at Rokach & Ashkenazi Consulting Engineers, LTD. Prior to seeking a career in structural engineering, Tali has served as a research officer and team leader conducting technological research in the Israeli Intelligence force for five years.