CEE Seminar: Controlling Seismic-induced Higher-mode Responses in Buildings

McDonnell Douglas Engineering Auditorium (MDEA)
Georgios Tsampras

Assistant Professor
Department of Structural Engineering
University of California San Diego

 

Abstract: Buildings with seismic force resisting systems designed to develop flexural yielding base mechanism or rocking base mechanism during a design-level earthquake ground motion have limited first mode dynamic response. However, floor accelerations and force responses with large magnitude and variability may develop due to the contribution of the second and higher mode responses in the dynamic response of these buildings. Practical force-limiting deformable connections between the floor-diaphragms of a flexible gravity load resisting system and the stiff vertically oriented seismic force resisting systems with rocking or flexural yielding base mechanism have been developed to control the seismic-induced higher-mode responses in buildings. This seminar disseminates the development, design, manufacturing, numerical simulation and experimental characterization of force-limiting deformable connections.

Bio: Georgios Tsampras is an assistant professor in the Department of Structural Engineering at UC San Diego. His research, teaching and outreach activities focus on structural engineering and civil infrastructure systems. Prior to joining UC San Diego in 2020, Georgios was a Falcon vehicle structures engineer at SpaceX. His work at SpaceX focused on the damage tolerance analysis for the reuse certification of flight critical components in Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles. He also has experience as an engineering consultant in the Engineering Mechanics and Infrastructure Division at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc (SGH). His work at SGH focused on engineering mechanics, failure analyses of structural and nonstructural components, and structural evaluation of safety-related structures in a nuclear power plant. Tsampras earned his doctoral degree from Lehigh University in 2016. In 2023, he received the Outstanding ASCE Faculty Advisor award. In 2015, he was the recipient of the Excellent Presentation Award of the Japan Association for Earthquake Engineering in Tokyo. In 2014, he was named P.C. Rossin Doctoral Fellow by the Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science at Lehigh University.