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Three Decades of Practical Collaboration by U.S. and Japanese
Building Design Professionals:  A Retrospective
by

Christopher Rojahn, Director Emeritus
Applied Technology Council
Redwood City, California  USA

Summary.  This paper provides an overview of the format, participants, and outcomes of a series of fifteen bi-lateral US-Japan workshops conducted since March 1984 by the Applied Technology Council of the United States and the Japan Structural Consultants Association to provide a forum for the rapid exchange of ideas and information for the advancement of structural engineering practice.  Participants have included leading design practitioners and academic researchers from Japan, the United States, and other Pacific Rim countries.  Of the 378 papers presented in the workshop series, 87% addressed topics related to earthquake engineering of buildings, including the seismic design of new buildings, seismic protection systems, pre-earthquake seismic evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings, and assessment and repair of earthquake-damaged buildings; the remaining 13% covered other topics in structural engineering, including non-technical issues such as engineering education, qualification, responsibilities, and licensing. The author played a key role in organizing all fifteen workshops.

Introduction.  Since March 1984, the Applied Technology Council (ATC) of the United States and the Japan Structural Consultants Association (JSCA) have carried out a cooperative United States-Japan program for the improvement of structural design and construction practices.  To date (January 2016), the program has consisted of a series of fifteen U.S.-Japan workshops, held at 2-to-3-year intervals, at locations convenient to participants from both countries. Workshop locations have included Tokyo, Kobe, San Francisco, San Diego, Hawaii, and Victoria, British Columbia.  The primary purpose of the program has been to provide a forum for the rapid exchange of ideas and information for the advancement of structural engineering practice.  Participants have included leading design practitioners and academic researchers from Japan, the United States, and other Pacific Rim countries.

The workshops have been sponsored and organized by the Applied Technology Council, a nonprofit California Corporation, founded in 1973, that aims to develop and promote engineering resources and applications to mitigate the impacts of earthquakes and other natural and manmade hazards on the built environment.  ATC activities include the planning and conduct of seminars, conferences, workshops, webinars, and other meetings to document the state of structural engineering practice and to identify research needs.  The U.S.-Japan program discussed in this paper is ATC’s longest running workshop series.  From December 1981 to May 2015, this author[1] served as ATC’s Executive Director, with lead responsibility of organizing and managing the U.S. half of the U.S.-Japan workshop series.  

The concept for the program was suggested in the early 1980s by Roland L. Sharp, a consulting Structural Engineer from California, and Masakau Ozaki, and a Professor within the Architectural Engineering Department of Chiba University in Japan.  In the early years of the workshop series, C. Rojahn and R. Sharpe served as Workshop Co-Chairs, and in recent years, these roles have been carried out by C. Rojahn and Kit Miyamoto, a practicing Structural Engineer from Sacramento, California. 

Workshop Participants and Programs.  To date, the average attendance of a typical workshop has been 42 people, with participants presenting an average of 25 technical papers (see Table 1).  The workshop programs have typically followed the same pattern:  two days of technical presentations by workshop participants in plenary sessions, followed by a half day of “working group” discussions on topics of special interest to workshop participants.  In a few instances, such as in Tokyo in 1988, the plenary sessions were opened to the profession at large.  Program topics for each workshop have been selected by Joint U.S.-Japan Steering Committees (appointed for each workshop), followed by a “Call for Abstracts” issued to JSCA members, ATC Subscribers, individuals identified by the Steering Committee, and organizations known to be interested in the mitigation of impacts from earthquakes and other natural and man-made hazards, including organizations in other Pacific Rim countries.  The objective of the calls has always been to broaden participation as much as possible.  Papers presented at each workshop have been selected from submitted abstracts, and written versions of the papers have been published in workshop preprints distributed at the outset of each workshop.  With the exception of a small number of travel grants provided by ATC to U.S. participants to attend workshops held in Japan, participants, or their employers, have paid their own travel and hotel expenses, as well as a workshop registration fee to cover the costs of meeting room accommodations, meals, refreshments, and workshop handouts (e.g., workshop preprints). 

Technical Paper Topics.  To date, 378 technical papers have been presented at the workshops and printed in the Workshop Preprints/Workshop Proceedings.  Of these, 328 papers (87%) have addressed various topics associated with earthquake engineering of buildings, including seismic design of new buildings, innovative use of seismic isolation, passive energy dissipation, and active control (collectively known as seismic protection systems), pre-earthquake seismic evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings, postearthquake assessment and repair of damaged buildings, and other related topics (see Figure 1).  The remaining papers (13%) have addressed a wide variety of topics in structural engineering, including (1) engineering education, qualification, responsibilities, and licensing, (2) wind engineering, (3) design and performance of buildings impacted by tsunami, (4) design and performance of buildings impacted by explosion, (5) resiliency and rapid recovery after disasters, (6) seismic design and performance of nuclear reactors, and (7) risk and reliability analysis.

Lasting Contributions and Future Considerations.  The technical presentations and working group discussions at the fifteen U.S.-Japan workshops held to date have yielded high-caliber, state-of-the-art technical information and insights to workshop participants and others who have sought available information on the ATC website (preprints of recent workshop papers) and in ATC-published reports, including published Proceedings for the first six workshops.  The technical presentations and discussions authored by workshop members have identified topics and issues which have drawn attention and heightened scrutiny by the profession.  One prominent example is a paper by Lawrence D. Reaveley and Guy J. P. Nordenson in the 4th workshop in 1990  entitled, “Acceptable Damage in Low and Moderate Seismicity Areas,” that underscored the importance of addressing large, in-frequent earthquakes in places like the intermountain region of the United States (e.g., Utah) and heralded the decision in the United States to consider a much longer return period (2475 years, which corresponds to ground motions having a 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years, instead of 475 years, which corresponds to a 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years) in seismic criteria for the retrofit of existing buildings (and later the design of new buildings).  This contribution was monumental.

In the future, workshop participants and design professionals in Japan and the United States will likely benefit from technical papers which explore the differences between Japanese and American seismic design practice,  including the reasoning behind the use of larger shear coefficients in Japan (as documented in early workshop case studies), updates to those criteria, and current code criteria in Japan regarding the estimation of damping in real structures -- a largely ignored parameter in U.S. design practice.

Selected Previous Workshops
Project No. Title Location
ATC-15-16 17th U.S.-Japan-New Zealand Workshop on the improvement of Structural Engineering and Resilience Queenstown, New Zealand
ATC-15-15 16th U.S.-Japan-New Zealand Workshop on the improvement of Structural Engineering and Resiliency Nara, Japan
ATC-15-14 15th U.S.-Japan Workshop on the improvement of Structural Engineering and Resiliency Kohala Coast, Hawaii
ATC-15-13 14th U.S.-Japan Workshop on the improvement of Structural Engineering and Resiliency Maui, Hawaii

[1] Christopher Rojahn holds an Engineer’s Degree and a Masters Degree in Civil (Structural) Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University.  Prior to joining ATC, he served for three years in the Officer Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and for 10 years as a Research Civil Engineer at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Menlo Park, California.  During his 34-year tenure as ATC’s Executive Director, he served as Principal Investigator/Project Executive/Project Manager on more than 50 major ATC projects.  His career also includes memberships and officer positions in various professional associations, including the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (Board Secretary), California Earthquake Safety Foundation (Board Chair), and Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (Honorary Member).  Mr. Rojahn has testified before the U. S. Congress and advised the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on issues relating to earthquake hazard mitigation.  He has also served on oversight panels of various federally sponsored earthquake engineering research programs, including nine years on the Board of Directors/Governance Board of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Program (most recently as Board Chair).  

 

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ATC-126, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE OF LIFELINE SYSTEMS

 

Client: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Status: Completed on March 29, 2016

PROJECT BACKGROUND

In 2014, ATC completed the ATC-102 project funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  This project resulted in NIST GCR 14-917-33 Report, Earthquake Resilient Lifelines: NEHRP Research, Development, and Implementation Roadmap, which identified the need for assessing societal expectations of acceptable lifeline performance levels and restoration times at the community level as a high-priority research and development topic.

In response to this high-priority need, the NIST-funded ATC-126 Project was initiated in September 2014 to assess current societal expectations of acceptable lifeline performance levels and restoration timeframes that are informed by the phases of response and recovery, determining those that are hazard-independent and those that are specific for seismic (including tsunami), wind (including hurricane and tornado), flood, snow/ice, and wildfire hazard events.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The ATC-126 project team developed the NIST CGR 16-917-39 report, Critical Assessment of Lifeline System Performance: Understanding Societal Needs in Disaster Recovery, which focuses on overarching critical societal considerations and system interdependencies of the following key lifelines: electric power, natural gas and liquid fuel, telecommunications, transportation, and water and wastewater systems. The report discusses the social institutions and societal needs that should drive lifeline system performance levels and recovery timeframes. The report identifies important gaps between expected lifeline system performance and societal needs through the evaluation of performance and impacts during past events, as well as an assessment of key guidelines, standards, and performance criteria that govern and shape the design, construction, operation, and management of lifeline systems. Recommendations particular to lifeline standards, research, modeling, and lifeline system operations are included in the report.

The ATC-126 project is part of a larger effort to help transition from current utility-specific crisis management practices to a more integrated and consistent approach to interdependent lifeline systems performance and community resilience enhancement. The findings from this report are intended to inform other resilience efforts.


PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

NIST
Therese (Terri) P. McAllister, NIST Technical Point of Contact
Steven L. McCabe, Contracting Officer’s Representative

ATC Management
Jon A. Heintz, Program Manager
Christopher Rojahn, Project Manager
Veronica Cedillos, Associate Project Manager

Project Technical Committee
Laurie Johnson, Project Director and Lead Editor
Thomas D. O’Rourke, Project Co-Director
Stephanie Chang
Craig A. Davis
Leonardo Dueñas-Osorio
Ian N. Robertson
Henning Schulzrinne
Kathleen Tierney 

Project Review Panel
Bruce Ellingwood
Timothy J. Lomax
Douglas J. Nyman
Dennis Ostrom
Jon M. Peha
Kent Yu (ATC Board Representative)

 

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ATC Project No. Project Title Funding Agency
ATC-15-13

14th U.S.-Japan Workshop on the Improvement of Structural Design and Construction Practices

Applied Technology Council (ATC)
ATC-15-14

15th U.S.-Japan Workshop on the Improvement of Structural Engineering and Resiliency

Applied Technology Council (ATC)
ATC-15-15 16th U.S.-Japan-New Zealand Workshop on the Improvement of Structural Engineering and Resiliency Applied Technology Council (ATC)
ATC-15-16 17th U.S.-Japan-New Zealand Workshop on the Improvement of Structural Engineering and Resiliency Applied Technology Council, Japan Structural Consultants Association, New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence (QuakeCoRE), and New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering
ATC-20

Procedures for Postearthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings

Applied Technology Council (ATC)
ATC-20-1
Bhutan
Development of Field Manual: Postearthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings, Bhutan Edition World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)
ATC-45

Field Manual: Safety Evaluation of Buildings After Wind Storms and Floods

Applied Technology Council (ATC)
ATC-52-2
(CAPSS)

Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS) Project

San Francisco Department of Building Inspection
ATC-58 Series Development of Next Generation Performance-Based Seismic Design Procedures for New and Existing Buildings Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-60

SEAW Commentary on Wind Code Provisions

Structural Engineers Association of Washington
ATC-63-1

Quantification of Building System Performance and Response Parameters - Development and Beta Testing of Component Equivalency Methodology

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-64

Development of Design and Construction Guidance for Special Facilities for Vertical Evacuation from Tsunamis

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-66 Series NETAP (National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program) Training Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-67-4

Rapid Observation of Vulnerability and Estimation of Risk

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-69 Series

Development of FEMA E-74, Reducing the Risks of Nonstructural Earthquake Damage - A Practical Guide

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-71

Update Seismic Rehabilitation Guidance Program Definition and Guidance Development

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-71-1

Development of FEMA P-807, Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Multi-Unit Wood-Frame Buildings With Weak First Stories

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-71-2

Planning and Conduct of an Earthquake Building Performance Rating System Workshop

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-75

Development of Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) for Structural components

Charles Pankow Foundation
ATC-76-1 Quantification of Building System Performance and Response Parameters. This task has been completed and produced the NIST GCR 10-917-8 report, Evaluation of the FEMA P-695 Methodology for Quantification of Building Seismic Performance Factors. National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-76-5 Integration of Collapse Risk Mitigation Standards and Guidelines for Older Reinforced Concrete Buildings into National Standards - Phase I. This task has been completed and produced the NIST GCR 10-917-7 report, Program Plan for the Development of Collapse Assessment and Mitigation Strategies for Existing Reinforced Concrete Buildings. National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-76-6 Improved Nonlinear Static Seismic Analysis Procedures - Multiple-Degree-of-Freedom Modeling. This task has been completed and produced the NIST GCR reports, 10-917-9, Applicability of Nonlinear Multiple-Degree-of-Freedom Modeling for Design, and Supporting Documentation. National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-78 Series Identification and Mitigation of Nonductile Concrete Buildings Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-79/79-1

Technical Assistance and Documentation of Case Studies, FEMA Guidelines for the Design of Structures for Vertical Evacuation From Tsunamis

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-81

Development of Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) for Structural Concrete Components - Strategic Plan

ACI Foundation
ATC-86

Environmental Benefits of Retrofitting

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-99

Methodology to Assess and Verify the Seismic Capacity of Low-Rise Buildings

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-99-1

Methodology to Assess and Verify the Seismic Capacity of Low-Rise Buildings

Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-102 Development of an Earthquake-Resilient Lifelines: NEHRP Research and Implementation Roadmap National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-103 Development of Technical Brief on Structural Design Issues – Seismic Design of Steel Special Concentrically Braced Frame Systems. This task has been completed and produced the NIST GCR 13-917-24 report, Technical Brief No. 8, Seismic Design of Steel Special Concentrically Braced Frame Systems: A Guide for Practicing Engineers. National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-106-1 Seismic Behavior and Design of Deep, Slender Wide-Flange Structural Steel Beam-Column Members: Phase 2 Experimental Evaluation National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-109 Building Safety Evaluation after the February 22, 2011 Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake: Observations by the ATC Reconnaissance Team Applied Technology Council (ATC) and
ATC Endowment Fund
ATC-110
(CEA 5/CEA 6)
Delivery of FEMA P-50/P-50-1 Training for the California Earthquake Authority California Earthquake Authority
ATC-111 Development of Technical Brief on Structural Design Issues – Special Reinforced Masonry Shear Walls. This task has been completed and produced the NIST GCR 14-917-31 report, Technical Brief No. 9, Seismic Design of Special Reinforced Masonry Shear Walls: A Guide for Practicing Engineers National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-112 Development of Technical Brief on Structural Design Issues – Wood Light-Frame Structural Diaphragm Systems. This task has been completed and produced the NIST GCR 14-917-32 report, Technical Brief No. 10, Seismic Design of Wood Light-Frame Structural Diaphragm Systems: A Guide for Practicing Engineers National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-114 Development of Accurate Models and Efficient Simulation Capabilities for Collapse Analysis to Support Implementation of Performance Based Seismic Engineering. This task has been completed and produced four reports: NIST GCR 17-917-45, NIST GCR 17-917-46v1, NIST GCR 17-917-46v2, and NIST GCR 17-917-46v3 National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-115 Development of a Roadmap for the use of high-strength reinforcement in reinforced concrete design. This task has been completed and produced the ATC-115 report, Roadmap for the Use of High-Strength Reinforcement in Reinforced Concrete Design. Charles Pankow Foundation
ATC-116 Series Solutions to the Issues of Short-Period Building Seismic Performance Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-118 Development of a Emergency Power for Critical Facilities Guidance Publication. This task has been completed and produced the FEMA P-1019 report, Emergency Power for Critical Facilities: A Best Practices Approach to Improving Reliability. Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-119 Series Seismic Safety and Engineering Consulting Services for the Earthquake Safety Implementation Program (ESIP) City and County of San Francisco City and County of San Francisco
ATC-120 Series Seismic Analysis and Design of Nonstructural Components and Systems National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-121 Development of Technical Brief on Structural Design Issues – Steel Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames. This task has been completed and produced the NIST GCR 15-917-34 report, Technical Brief No. 11, Structural Design Issues: Seismic Design of Steel Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames, A Guide for Practicing Engineers National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-122 Series Reducing the Risk to our Schools from Natural Hazards and Improving the Safety of Our Children. This task has been completed and produced the report, FEMA P-1000, Safer, Stronger, Smarter: A Guide to Improving School Natural Hazard Safety Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-123 Series Improving Seismic Design of New Buildings Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-124 Series Update of Seismic Retrofitting Guidance Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-125 Recovery Advisories for the South Napa Earthquake Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-126 ATC Project, Community Resilience of Lifeline Systems, produced the NIST CGR 16-917-39 report, Critical Assessment of Lifeline System Performance: Understanding Societal Needs in Disaster Recovery National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-127 User-Needs Workshop for the National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project U.S. Geological Survey
ATC-128 Proceedings of Forum on Performance-Based Structural-Fire Engineering: Examples of Current Practice and Discussion on Future Directions Applied Technology Council (ATC) and
ATC Endowment Fund
ATC-129 Development of Updated Standards of Seismic Safety for Existing Federally Owned and Leased Buildings National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-130 Updates of NEHRP Seismic Design Technical Briefs 1-3 National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-131 Development of Technical Brief on Structural Design Issues: Seismic Design of Cold-Formed Steel Lateral Load Resisting Systems National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-132 Practical Guidelines and Training for Ensuring Seismic Safety of Schools in the Republic of Armenia (Report available in English and Armenian) World Bank, Global Program for Safer Schools
ATC-133 Development of Technical Brief on Structural Design Issues: Seismic Design of Precast Concrete Diaphragms produced the NIST GCR 17-917-47 report, NEHRP Seismic Design Technical Brief No. 13, Seismic Design of Precast Concrete Diaphragms, A Guide for Practicing Engineers National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-135 Improving the Alternate Rigid-Wall Flexible-Diaphragm Building Design Procedure Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-137-2 Summit on Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Utah Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-139 Investigation of Project 17 Duration Effects ATC Endowment Fund
ATC-141 Reconnaissance Following the September 19, 2017 Puebla Earthquake in Mexico City ATC Endowment Fund
ATC-142 Seismic Performance-Based Assessment of School Infrastructure in the Kyrgyz Republic World Bank
ATC-143 Update of General Guidelines for the Assessment and Repair of Earthquake Damage in Residential Woodframe Buildings and Development of Additional Engineering Guidelines California Earthquake Authority
ATC-144 Soil Structure Interaction Design Guide Federal Emergency Management Agency
ATC-146 Steel Buildings in the Central and Eastern United States Designed for Controlling Wind Loads to Evaluate their Seismic Performance National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-147 Computational Models for Large Outdoor Fires Roadmap Workshop National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATC-148 Building Technical Capacity in Central Asia to Design Risk-Informed Public Infrastructure Investments at Scale World Bank
Websites for
Geographic
Based Design
Load Parameters
Websites for Geographic Based Design Load Parameters: Ground Snow Loads and Windspeed. Applied Technology Council (ATC) and
ATC Endowment Fund

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ATC-127 PROJECT

ATC/USGS Seismic Hazard User-Needs Workshop

On September 21-22, 2015, in Menlo Park, California, the Applied Technology Council (ATC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) convened the ATC/USGS Seismic Hazard User-Needs Workshop. Like the ATC-35/USGS National Earthquake Ground Motion Mapping Workshops, which were held in 1995, 2001, and 2006, this User-Needs Workshop provided an opportunity for individuals and groups that use the National Seismic Hazard Maps to provide feedback on existing and planned hazard information and products from the USGS National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project.

Agenda.  The Workshop Agenda is available here.

Presentations.

Workshop Program.‎ The ATC/USGS Seismic Hazard User-Needs Workshop was organized to (1) elicit feedback from users of seismic hazard information and products, (2) provide a forum for the wider earthquake engineering community to discuss the transfer of seismic hazard results into engineering practice, seismic risk analysis, and public policy, and (3) make practical recommendations to the USGS National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project.

The User-Needs Workshop included presentations from invited speakers and workshop attendees:
▪ Representatives of the National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project described the changes in the 2014 update of the National Seismic Hazard Maps, including changes to the hazard model input, the calculation of hazard, and the resulting differences in hazard values. The representatives also provided an overview of seismic hazard information and products currently available at the Project website.
▪ Representatives of user groups described how they use hazard information from the National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project. Users also provided feedback on the hazard products that they currently use and ideas about development of additional products or the consolidation of existing products.

Location. William Rambo Auditorium, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California.  

Steering Committee.

Anna H. Olsen, (co-chair), Applied Technology Council, Redwood City, California
Nicolas Luco (co-chair), U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado
Norman Abrahamson, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Francisco, California
C.B. Crouse, AECOM, Seattle, Washington
Rod Diridon, Sr., Mineta Transportation Institute, San Jose, California
Arthur D. Frankel, U.S. Geological Survey, Seattle, Washington
Keith Knudsen, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California
Janiele Maffei, California Earthquake Authority, Sacramento, California
Robert B. Paullus, Jr. (ATC Board Contact), Applied Technology Council, Olive Branch, Mississippi
Sue Perry, U.S. Geological Survey, Pasadena, California
Mark D. Petersen (ex officio), U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado
Chris D. Poland, Consulting Engineer, Canyon Lake, California
Sanaz Rezaeian, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado
Christopher Rojahn (ex officio), Applied Technology Council, Redwood City, California
Tom Shantz, California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, California
Nilesh Shome, Risk Management Solutions, Newark, California

Sponsoring Organizations.

Applied Technology Council
Redwood City, California
www.ATCouncil.org

U.S. Geological Survey
Reston, Virginia
www.usgs.gov

Co-Sponsoring Organizations.

Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission
Consortium of Organizations for Strong-Motion Observation Systems
Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
International Code Council
MAE Center
MCEER
Mineta Transportation Institute
National Council of Structural Engineers Associations
Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder
National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Southern California Earthquake Center
Seismological Society of America
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Seismic Committee
Western States Seismic Policy Council

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ATC-125 PROJECT

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project Title: Recovery Advisories for the South Napa Earthquake

Project Status: Report Published

Client: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

PROJECT SUMMARY

Soon after some natural disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) develops Recovery Advisories—short (5 to 10 page) documents providing guidance on how to repair or mitigate specific issues identified in a particular disaster. The FEMA Building Science Branch often works with the Joint Field Office and uses the findings from Mitigation Assessment Team reports to inform the development of FEMA Recovery Advisories.

After the August 24, 2014, magnitude 6.0 South Napa earthquake, FEMA contracted the Applied Technology Council (ATC) to develop two FEMA Recovery Advisories related to: (1) masonry fireplace chimneys, and (2) cripple walls in residential structures. Although these Recovery Advisories were developed following the 2014 South Napa earthquake, the technical content is not specific to this earthquake: the Recovery Advisories may be used to aid the recovery process after future earthquakes and for pre-earthquake hazard mitigation.

These two FEMA South Napa Earthquake Recovery Advisories are also included in the appendices of FEMA P-1024, Performance of Buildings and Nonstructural Components in the 2014 South Napa Earthquake. FEMA P-1024 provides an assessment of the performance of a select number of buildings impacted by the earthquake and corresponding recommendations to further improve mitigation.

Repair of Earthquake-Damaged Masonry Fireplace Chimneys

This FEMA Recovery Advisory recommends best practices for the reconstruction of earthquake-damaged masonry chimneys in one- or two-family dwellings to minimize risk of damage in future earthquakes. The best practices detailed in this advisory are also recommended for retrofit of masonry chimneys. The information included in the Recovery Advisory is intended to be used by homeowners to compare and contrast the various options for reconstruction and retrofit, as well as by contractors to understand details and applicable building code requirements associated with the implementation of these options. Readers should note that this Recovery Advisory does not fully detail construction requirements; a homeowner or contractor will still need to obtain a building permit to perform the work described in this advisory.

Earthquake Strengthening of Cripple Walls in Wood-Frame Dwellings

The South Napa earthquake damaged many cripple walls in residential structures, and many of the damaged cripple walls were taller than four feet. This FEMA Recovery Advisory addresses the earthquake strengthening of cripple walls and foundation anchorage in one- or two- family residential structures, supported by elevated concrete foundation systems and cripple walls not taller than approximately seven feet. In its first part, the Recovery Advisory describes the issue of earthquake strengthening of cripple walls and foundation anchorage for a typical homeowner. The second part is an accompanying Plan Set, which provides a pre-engineered retrofit solution and step-by-step instructions for use by knowledgeable contractors or skilled homeowners in customizing the work for the conditions in a specific dwelling. The contractor or homeowner must still obtain a building permit to perform the work described in this advisory.

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 Welcome to the ATC Team!

Valley Mike crop As a former Principal at Magnusson Klemencic Associates in Seattle, Mike comes to ATC with more than 30 years of structural engineering experience in new design, evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings, applied research, and codes and standards development. Mike’s design experience includes the landmark Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, and his research and development experience includes the FEMA 356 Prestandard and Commentary for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings, FEMA P-2012 Assessing Seismic Performance of Buildings with Configuration Irregularities (ATC-123 Project), and NIST GCR 10-917-9 Applicability of Nonlinear Multiple-Degree-of-Freedom Modeling for Design (ATC-76-6 Project).

Mike also has extensive experience as an ATC consultant serving as a reviewer, a technical contributor, and Project Director on multiple ATC projects. We look forward to how Mike’s unique experiences as a successful team member will contribute to ATC projects in the future.

Mahoney Mike crop

Retired from federal service as a Senior Geophysicist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mike comes to ATC with more than 30 years of experience in hazard mitigation program management and policy development, post-disaster response and recovery, and problem-focused research and development in support of FEMA’s efforts under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). He has led FEMA’s earthquake-related work with the International Code Council and has been involved with the development of national model codes and standards since 1984.

In his career at FEMA, Mike has led the development of countless major FEMA publications, including: FEMA 350 Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment-Frame Buildings and its series of companion reports (ATC-41 Project series), FEMA P-58 Seismic Performance Assessment of Buildings, Methodology and Implementation (ATC-58 Project series), FEMA P-695 Quantification of Building Seismic Performance Factors (ATC-63 Project), FEMA P-2018 Seismic Evaluation of Older Concrete Buildings for Collapse Potential (ATC-78 Project), and FEMA P-2090/NIST SP-1254 Recommended Options for Improving the Built Environment for Post-Earthquake Reoccupancy and Functional Recovery Time (ATC-137 Project). With Mike’s extensive knowledge of federal government programs, and past collaboration with state and local agencies, hazard mitigation partners, and code development organizations, we look forward to how his unique experiences will help serve ATC’s client needs and objectives in the future.