Structural Engineering

The Structures Program emphasizes the application of analytical and experimental approaches to the investigation of the effects of earthquakes and other extreme hazards on constructed facilities. Areas of specific interest include reliability of engineering systems, random vibration, passive, active and hybrid control of structural vibration, elastomeric and sliding base isolation systems, dynamic behavior of liquid storage tanks, seismic response of equipment and other secondary systems, liquefaction fragility of lifelines, the retrofitting of buildings and bridges, and stochastic fatigue, fracture and maintenance of structures.

The objectives of the program are to prepare graduates for responsible positions in industry and research institutions by providing an opportunity to become familiar with state-of- the-art methodologies applied to significant engineering problems. Part-time Masters students are encouraged, with many classes being offered early or late in the day for the convenience of those students that are employed full-time.

Coursework is tailored to the individual student in consultation with a faculty advisor. Students in the M.S. program are required to select between a Thesis Option or a Coursework Option. In either case, a minimum of 36 units (equivalent to 12 courses) is required, but this will include credit for research or project work. Students beginning study in a fall quarter should be able to earn their MS degree in three to four quarters, although completion of a thesis often adds an additional one to two quarters. The MS degree must be earned within four calendar years. There are no specific course requirements for the Ph.D. degree, which usually involves one year or more of coursework beyond the MS degree. A minimum two year residency is required for all Ph.D. students.

PLAN I — THESIS

The purpose of a thesis is to demonstrate critical judgment, intellectual synthesis, and skill in written communication. The level of creativity and originality is not as great as that required for a Ph.D. dissertation. Soon after arriving at UCI, the MS candidate must meet with the assigned faculty advisor to prepare a plan of study and select a thesis topic. The thesis plan requires step-by-step supervision and guidance by the faculty research advisor and a final approval by a thesis committee which includes three or more full-time faculty. Of the 36 required course units, at least 20 must be non-research graduate courses (numbered 200-289). No more than eight thesis research units may be counted toward the degree. In general, the thesis plan does not require an oral examination; however, the thesis committee may, at its option, administer an oral examination of the student upon completion of the thesis. All students are required to present a one-hour long public seminar covering their research findings. Students must also file a sewn, hardcover copy of their thesis with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (in addition to University thesis requirements).

PLAN II — COURSEWORK ONLY OPTION

For this option, the candidate and a faculty advisor select a coherent set of courses. Of the 36 required units, 30 units must be in non-research graduate courses (numbered 200-289). The remaining 6 units may be earned as individual research units (CE299) or upper division undergraduate courses.

CORE COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

CEE 242 Advanced Strength of Materials
CEE 247 Structural Dynamics
CEE 250 Finite Element Method in Structural Engineering
CEE 283 Mathematical Methods in Engineering Analysis
CEE 284 Engineering Decision and Risk Analysis

FACULTY

Alfredo H-S. Ang, Professor Emeritus, Registered Structural Engineer
Ph.D., University of Illinois
Reliability Engineering; Structural and Earthquake Engineering

Maria Q. Feng, Professor
Ph.D., University of Tokyo
Structural Engineering and Intelligent Control of Structural Systems

Medhat A. Haroun, Professor Emeritus, Registered Professional Engineer
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
Structural and Earthquake Engineering

Ayman Mosallam, Professor in Residence, Registered Professional Engineer
  Ph.D., Catholic University of America
  Structural and Earthquake Engineering
  Advance Composites

Gerard C. Pardoen, Professor Emeritus, Registered Professional Engineer
Ph.D., Stanford University
Structural Analysis, Experimental Structural Dynamics

Robin Shepherd, Professor Emeritus, Registered Professional Engineer
Ph.D., University of Canterbury; D.Sc. University of Leeds
Structural Dynamics; Earthquake Resistant Design

Masanobu Shinozuka, Distinguished Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Earthquake and Structural Engineering

Lizhi Sun, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Micro/nano-mechanics of Heterogeneous Composite Materials

Roberto Villaverde, Professor Emeritus, Registered Professional Engineer
 Ph.D., University of Illinois
 Structural and Earthquake Engineering

Jann N. Yang, Professor, Registered Professional Engineer
 D.Sc., Columbia University
 Control of Structural Systems; Stochastic Fatigue, Fracture and Maintainability

Farzin Zareian, Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Stanford University
Performance –based engineering, structural reliability, structural control

RESEARCH AREAS

• Seismic Retrofit of Bridges Using Advanced Composite Materials
• Advanced Sensors and Non-Destructive Evaluation of Civil Structures
• Robots for Post-Earthquake Search and Rescue
• Seismic Resistance of Timber Shear Panels
• Mechanics of Base Isolated Systems
• Capacity of Column Pins at Base of Elevated Roadway Structures
• Seismic Retrofit of Bridge Pier Walls
• A Seismic Hybrid Protective System for Tall Buildings
• A Seismic Passive and Hybrid Protective System for Bridges
• Active Control of Linear and Nonlinear Structures
• Development of Experimental Modal Analysis Techniques
• Quantification of Animal-Induced Vibrations on Space Structures
• Earthquake Damage Analysis of Ground-Based and Elevated Tanks
• Nonlinear Seismic Response of Liquid Storage Tanks with Soil-Structure Interaction
• Static and Dynamic Analysis of Pile-Soil-Pile Interations
• Dynamic Analysis of Nonlinear Two-Phase Porous Media
• Damping Augmentation of Bridges with Resonant Oscillators
• Reliability of Structural Systems
• Kernel Method of Importance Sampling in Monte Carlo
• Damage Assessment of Bridge Structures
• Seismic Reliability Analyses of Electric Power Transmission Systems in Earthquakes
• Stochastic Fatigue and Fracture
• Base Isolation and Energy Dissipation Systems for Bridges and Buildings
• Wind and Seismic Vibration Control of Tall Buildings

RESEARCH FACILITIES

Research laboratories provide for structural dynamics testing and a Structures Test Hall facility for large scale experiments. The Hall is 80 ft. by 50 ft. and houses a reaction floor 70 ft. by 50 ft. on plan, a reaction wall 60 ft. long by 22 ft. high, an overhead traveling crane and a MTS dynamic load system. It is also equipped with shaking equipment, accelerometers, seismometers, signal processors, Fourier analyzers, and on-line computers. Commencing July, 1994, the department will occupy new quarters in the 120,000 sq. ft. Engineering Gateway Building. Included in this new facility is a new lightweight structures vibration lab, a model structures lab, a geotechnical lab and a materials lab. A new multiaxis shake table capable of testing 20,000 lb. pay load and with 20 inch horizontal and 10 inch vertical strokes will be implemented in 1997.

Excellent computer-based mathematical modeling facilities are available, including a departmental graduate research P.C. Laboratory, a cluster of VAX minicomputers, and other campus computers such as a CONVEX-C240 mini-supercomputer and network connection to National Science Foundation supercomputer centers.

GRADUATE COURSES

Structures Courses offered include:

CEE 241 Control of Structures
CEE 242 Advanced Strength of Materials
CEE 243 Mechanics of Composite Materials
CEE 245 Experimental Modal Analysis
CEE 246 Structural Performance & Failure
CEE 247 Structural Dynamics
CEE 248 Wind Engineering
CEE 249 Earthquake Engineering
CEE 250 Finite Element Method in Structural Engineering
CEE 251 Dynamics of Fluid/Structure Systems
CEE 253 Plates & Shells
CEE 254 Advanced Concrete Design
CEE 255 Advanced Steel Design
CEE 257 Advanced Structural Analysis
CEE 258 Earthquake-Resistant Structural Design
CEE 259 Structural Stability

Other general courses of interest include:

CEE 231 Foundation Engineering
CEE 232 Soil Dynamics
CEE 280 Computational Methods and Software
CEE 281 Finite Element Method in Continuum Mechanics
CEE 283 Mathematical Methods in Engineering Analysis
CEE 284 Engineering Decision and Risk Analysis
CEE 285 Reliability of Engineering Systems I
CEE 286 Reliability of Engineering Systems II
CEE 287 Random Vibrations
CEE 288 Advanced Random Vibrations

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Research and teaching assistantships are available. In addition, a number of university, campus, and departmental fellowships are available to highly qualified students for support over and above the normal assistantship. Early application (by January 15) enhances the prospects for receiving these fellowship awards.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information on the structural engineering program, the faculty contact for this area is:

Dr. Farzin Zareian
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-2175
zareian@uci.edu
(949) 824-9866 (Phone)
(949) 824-2117 (Fax)

For a graduate application and financial aid information, please contact:

April Heath
Graduate Coordinator
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-2175
a.heath@uci.edu (Email)
(949) 824-0584 (Phone)
(949) 824-2117 (Fax)