STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

REHABILITATION OF WESTHAM ISLAND AND ALEXANDRA BRIDGE

Speaker: Dr. Jason Dowling, P.Eng., and Arman Shahnaz, P.Eng.

This session includes presentations on the rehabilitation of two notable bridges in British Columbia: The 110-year-old Westham Island Bridge in Delta and the iconic Alexandra Bridge in the Fraser Canyon.

CASE STUDIES OF INFRASTRUCTURE MONITORING USING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVs)

Speaker: Dr. Rishi Gupta, P.Eng., FEC

This presentation will outline some of the recent disruptive developments in use of drones/ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) in monitoring infrastructure. Examples will include use of drones for condition assessment of long span railway bridges and heritage structures in India. This presentation will also shed some light on the benefits and limitations of drones/UAVs.

PRIORITIZED POST-EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE

Speaker: Dr. Martin Turek, P.Eng.

This session will discuss Prioritized Post-Earthquake Response (PPR), a novel concept to assist communities in earthquake response planning and recovery. PPR applies advanced structural analysis to establish expected performance of all buildings in a community and integrates the results with a specialized sensor network that measures the shaking level. These measurements are correlated with the pre-established damage threshold for each building to provide information on its safety, and recommended occupancy. To date a pilot project is underway with PPR applied to government buildings, schools, emergency response and private residences on Vancouver Island.

HERITAGE STRUCTURES: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Speaker: Dennis Gam, P.Eng., Donald Luxton, and Judith Mosley

Historic buildings and sites offer rich opportunities for communities to connect with the past while enriching the built environment. Retaining, rehabilitating and reusing existing structures offers cultural, social, environmental and economic benefits and can contribute greatly to a sustainable and vibrant future. This session will highlight the case study of the landmark St. Andrew’s-Wesley Church in downtown Vancouver, designed and constructed 1930-33. A two-year project to implement a full seismic upgrade and restoration is currently underway. Key principles and tools of heritage conservation best practices and their application in the project will be outlined, along with details of the program of structural interventions for improving seismic resilience.

PRESENTER BIOS