About:
The University of Canterbury offers a range of post-graduate level courses which can be taken as part of a degree programme, post-graduate certificate, or as a standalone course. These courses are taught in “block-mode,” where participants will receive on-campus teaching in two blocks of 2-3 teaching days, while completing additional course activities in the time period between the blocks.
We would like to draw members’ attention towards two courses in “Soil Structure Interaction” and “Engineering Management for Resilient Infrastructure” which are scheduled to begin this quarter. These courses are “special topics” (meaning they are not offered every year) and will be led by Professors Jonathan Stewart of UCLA, and Tom O’Rourke of Cornell University.
Enquiries related to these courses and how to enrol can be directed to the Post-graduate administrator at postgrad-enquiries@civil.canterbury.ac.nz.
Course Descriptions and teaching days:
ENEQ629: Soil Structure Interaction (Prof. Jonathan Stewart, UCLA)
Block 1: 27-29 January 2020
Block 2: 12-14 February 2020
The objective of this course is to provide graduate students and practicing engineers with the fundamental concepts and theory of seismic soil structure interaction (SSI), with special focus on the analytical and numerical tools currently available to model such problems in earthquake engineering practice. Although the course touches upon all aspects of the theory and the modeling for seismic problems, emphasis will be on the basic concepts, including elements of vibration theory, wave propagation in the ground and wave interaction with foundations and structures, and the interaction of small and large-scale foundations and buildings erected on compliant soil. Both linear and non-linear aspects of modeling will be covered. Topics: 1. Inertial interaction (system behaviour, impedance functions) 2. Kinematic interaction (slab averaging, embedment effects, piles foundations, use of transfer functions) 3. Applications (force-based methods, displacement based methods, response history analysis) Embedded structures (retaining walls, tunnels and culverts)
ENCI610: Infrastructure Systems: Criticality and Lifelines (Prof. Tom O’Rourke, Cornell)
Block 1: 17-18 February 2020
Block 2: 16-17 March 2020
Infrastructure Systems – Criticality and Lifelines introduces graduate students and engineering professionals to key concepts and analytical skills necessary for understanding hazards to and vulnerabilities of infrastructure systems, wider societal impacts from infrastructure failure, and managing these risks in the context of environmental change and socio-economic-political factors. Impacts of natural hazard-caused disasters and technological disasters on infrastructure lifelines will be explored through case studies to highlight issues of criticality, resilience, interdependencies and cascading effects. The course will provide students and engineering professionals: a background in how infrastructure development in Aotearoa/New Zealand and internationally has exposed these systems to hazards; how to assess infrastructure lifelines vulnerability, resilience, and cascading effects when failure occurs; how to conduct disaster impact and loss assessments for infrastructure systems.
