MCEER and partners present at 23rd International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology

MCEER and its partners were prominently featured at the 23rd International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMIRT23) held in Manchester, England, in August 2015.

Papers were presented on a broad range of nuclear-energy-related topics, including missile impact on reinforced concrete targets, hybrid simulation in a geotechnical laminar box, soil-structure-interaction analysis, seismic protective systems, reinforced concrete and steel-plate-concrete composite walls, treatment of correlated fragility functions in seismic risk assessment, and development of risk-informed standards for design of safety-related nuclear structures. MCEER faculty members with papers at SMiRT23 were Amjad Aref, Michael Constantinou, M. Sivaselvan, Anthony Tessari, and Andrew Whittaker. Graduate students or recently graduated students participating at the conference included Chandu Bolisetti, Siamak Epackachi, Manish Kumar, Bismark Luna, Katerina Stefanaki, and Brian Terranova. MCEER partners at the conference included Yin-Nan Huang from NTU, Taiwan, Amit Varma from Purdue, Justin Coleman and Robert Spears from the Idaho National Laboratory, Michael Salmon from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Robert Budnitz from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Len Schwer from Schwer Engineering. Copies of the papers can be obtained by writing Andrew Whittaker at awhittak@buffalo.edu.

MCEER organized and moderated two special sessions at the conference: 1) Developments in seismic isolation, and 2) Linear and nonlinear SSI analysis: how, when and where. The isolation special session focused on recent developments in the US, Europe, and Asia and discussed application of isolation to a global nuclear power plant market. The special session on linear and nonlinear SSI analysis presented recent developments in the field, introduced plans to validate site response and soil-structure-interaction tools and methods, and addressed the advantages and challenges associated with each analysis method. Both sessions were well attended.

MCEER is delighted to announce that SMiRT25 will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2019. MCEER will aid in the organization and execution of this international conference. Information on the conference will be posted, as it becomes available, at the MCEER website.