To recognize outstanding, PCI Journal-published research, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) bestows four awards each year on authors whose
To recognize outstanding, PCI Journal-published research, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) bestows four awards each year on authors whose papers are selected by the Journal Awards Committee. PCI President James Toscas announced winners of each award, presented during the 2009 PCI Convention and Exposition & National Bridge Conference in San Antonio. Complete information on the Journal Awards program can be obtained by contacting PCI’s Brian Miller at 312/360-3216; or e-mail: [email protected].
MARTIN P. KORN AWARD
For the paper offering the greatest contribution to advancement of precast and prestressed concrete design and research this year Û Preliminary Results of the Shake-Table Testing for the Development of a Diaphragm Seismic Design Methodology, published in the PCI Journal Winter 2009 issue Û the Martin P. Korn Award was given to Matthew Schoettler, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla; Andrea Belleri, a graduate student researcher for the Department of Design and Technology at the University of Bergamo, Italy; Dichuan Zhang, a graduate student in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Arizona, Tucson; Jose Restrepo, Ph.D., professor for the Department of Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego; and, Robert Fleischman, Ph.D., associate professor for the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Arizona.
The paper detailed the design and construction of a three-story, half-scale precast structure tested on an outdoor shake table at the University of California, San Diego. Designed to be diaphragm-sensitive in flexure with a floor aspect ratio of 3.5, the test structure was subjected to significant-input ground motions, and sensors recorded damage limit states in various elements and connections. A primary objective was to validate nonlinear finite-element and structural-analysis computer models.
GEORGE D. NASSER AWARD
As contributors to Preliminary Results of the Shake-Table Testing for the Development of a Diaphragm Seismic Design Methodology, Mathew Schoettler, Andrea Belleri, and Dichuan Zhang also received the George D. Nasser Award for a paper most worthy of special commendation for its merit on the design, research, production, or construction of precast/prestressed concrete structures by authors 40 years of age or younger.
ROBERT J. LYMAN AWARD
Tower of America, which appeared in the PCI Journal November-December 2008 issue, was deemed the paper contributing most significantly this year to the advancement of plant production, site erection, or general construction using precast and prestressed concrete. Accordingly, the Robert J. Lyman Award was presented to John Tinker, formerly a project structural engineer with Palanisami & Associates, Minneapolis, Minn.
The paper reported on design and construction challenges overcome in building the Tower of America, overlooking the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, N.J. Constructed almost entirely of precast, including stacked interior bearing walls, hollow-core floor slabs, and stacked exterior architectural wall panels, the 34-story Tower of America West won an ACI Innovative Design Award in 1998 and remains one of the tallest buildings of its structural type in the U.S.
CHARLES C. ZOLLMAN AWARD
Established in 1981 as the State-of-the-Art Award, the Charles C. Zollman Award (renamed in honor of PCI’s first Technical Activities Committee chair) this year recognized authors of a two-part paper Û Precast Concrete Double-Tee Connections, Part 1: Tension Behavior, in the PCI Journal Winter 2009 issue, and Precast Concrete Double-Tee Connections, Part 2: Shear Behavior, in Spring 2009 Û for advancement of the general knowledge of precast, prestressed concrete by bringing together all available information on a specific topic in a single report. Award recipients include Clay Naito, Ph.D., associate professor for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.; Liling Cao, Ph.D., senior engineer, Thornton Tomasetti, Philadelphia, Pa.; and, Wesley Peter, SK&A Consulting Structural Engineers, Washington, D.C., who contributed to Part 1.
The two-part paper discusses a research program to develop a seismic design methodology for precast diaphragms. The program categorizes the strength and deformation capacity of common double-tee web and chord connections subjected to in-plane shear or tension loading. Part 1, covering tension behavior, showed that flange connections in topped diaphragm systems provide a high initial tensile resistance, but provide the same response as an untopped system once the topping reinforcement fails. Simplified models were developed to more accurately assess deformation capacity and strength. Part 2, covering shear behavior, presented recommendations on connector detailing to improve connection strength and deformability.