Abstract: On February 27, 2010 a magnitude (Mw) 8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of South-Central Chile. It was the largest ground motion event in Chile since the magnitude 9.5 earthquake of 1960 and is listed by USGS as the fifth largest tectonic event ever recorded (as of February 27, 2010). The Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) dispatched a reconnaissance mission to the affected zone with the intent of gathering information useful to code development. Several teams were formed, each consisting of three or more members tasked with a particular structure type or design issue. The presentation will describe the observed performance of buildings, nonbuilding structures similar to buildings, and nonbuilding structures not similar to buildings in the seismic event. Changes to ASCE 7 and ACI 318 due to the observed performance of structures in the Chile earthquake will be discussed.
Biography: J. G. (Greg) Soules, P.E., S.E., P.Eng., SECB is the Technical Authority for Seismic and Wind Engineering for McDermott International in Houston, Texas. He supervises design engineers, manages the engineering for large projects worldwide, and develops McDermott Engineering Standards on aboveground storage tanks and on the application of wind loads, seismic loads, and building codes to industrial projects. He serves as Chair of the Energy Division of ASCE, Vice Chair of the ASCE 7-16 Main Committee, and Vice Chair of the ASCE 7-16 Seismic Subcommittee. Mr. Soules earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech University and an MBA from the University of Houston. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a Fellow of the Structural Engineering Institute, a Licensed Professional Engineer in 22 jurisdictions and a Licensed Structural Engineer in 8 jurisdictions. Mr. Soules was named a Distinguished Engineer by Texas Tech University in 2009 and was presented the Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. Energy Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2010. He joined McDermott International (formerly CB&I) in 1980.