2007Seismic Design Competition

Structural Design Performance

Project Team

Construction

•Triangular framing system•Continuous members wherever possible•Many redundant connections – provides ductility•Utilizes a ultra stiff yet relatively lightweight exterior•Period predicted to be 0.06 seconds

•Unique exterior design that highlights structural system•29 Stories – maximum height• 3.0 m Total Rentable Floor Area

Architectural Design

Gross Floor Area 12”x14” = 168 inches squareLess corners, columns, interior stairwells/elevators = 7 inches squareNet Floor Area = 161 inches square per floor x 29 stories = 4669 in = 3.0 m

There is a lot of uncertainty in this project due to the nature of using balsa wood, the inexact modeling, and the methods used to approximate the seismic performance.

The following charts show our performance predictions:

Sarah Martin is a Junior in the Civil Engineering Program at Oregon State University. Currently she is a NCO in the Oregon Army National Guard with two years left of service. Next year she will be applying for Graduate School, either in Geotechnical or Structural engineering. When she retires she plans to teach math to elementary students.

Josh Lehr graduated from high school a semester early and joined the United States Marine Corps gaining experience, which will guide his future professional career. Josh is currently a Senior in the Civil Engineering department at Oregon State University. He has a special interest in soil-structure interaction, particularly during a seismic event. He enjoyed being a part of the 2006 PEER Scholars Course where he was introduced to cutting edge issues on the topic of seismic design. After graduation this year he hopes to stay in Portland, but is currently entertaining opportunities that would take him away from the Northwest.

Jeremy Mikkelsen is a Senior in Civil Engineering at Oregon State University. He has been involved in the structural design of this project in addition to being the team captain. He and his wife Carri will be staying in Oregon after he graduates and he will be working for a bridge and highway firm, Quincy Engineering, located in Salem. Outside of structural engineering he enjoys photography, computer related hobbies and helping out at his local church.

Joseph Henry is a Junior in Civil Engineering at Oregon State University. He has been involved in helping with the construction of this project. He will be interning this summer with Shimmick Construction in Southern California. Joe enjoys running, snowboarding, wakeboarding and other outdoor activities.

Josh & Sarah applying finishing touches. Nearly finished view from the bottom.

Josh, Sarah, and Beth installing corner braces.

Our 4 person construction team (Josh, Sarah, Beth, and Joe) finished the tower over 3 weekends.

Beth McNair is a Junior, double majoring in Civil and Forest Engineering at Oregon State University. She has been actively involved in Engineers Without Borders. She was in charge of the construction of our balsawood model for this project.

Update:Oregon State University Wins 2007 Seismic Design CompetitionOf the 14 competing student teams, Oregon State University took first place in the 4th Annual Seismic Design Competition for Undergraduates, jointly sponsored by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER), Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Mid-America Earthquake (MAE) Center and MCEER. The event, held during the EERI Annual Meeting, February 7-10, in Los Angeles, was an opportunity to demonstrate performance-based, cost-effective seismic design.

OSU Takes 1st Place Overall 1st Place Seismic Performance 1st Place Poster 3rd Place Architecture 4th Place Weight