Seismic Pile Design – Australia

Rob May

Earthquakes in Australia?  Do we need to consider their effects on piled foundations and if so how can it be done?  The presentation will provide an overview of earthquakes in Australia.  The current code requirements will be considered with respect to earthquake assessments with a focus on piled foundations.  While the codes require the effects of earthquakes to be considered, they provide limited guidance to the design engineer on appropriate procedures.  Some practical options for undertaking seismic analysis of piles will be examined using practical examples.

About the speaker

Rob May Golder

Dr Robert May has 40 years’ world-wide experience in geotechnics since graduating as a civil engineer from King’s College London in 1979. In addition to infrastructure, buildings and oil and gas projects, his career has included extensive seismic geotechnical work. This included several major nuclear projects in the UK including site investigation and geotechnical design for the Hinkley Point B power station. Rob works for Golder Associates and is now based in Melbourne. Recent work has included the seismic assessment of foundations for a major cable stayed bridge in Central America.

Before coming to Australia in 2014, Rob was a committee member of the Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics (SECED) and chaired a European Conference on Earthquake Engineering. He was part of the EEFIT mission to Turkey after the Kocaeli earthquake in 1999 and is passionate about the need to take earthquakes seriously and design appropriately.

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