INTERVIEW: OSU s Armin Stuedlein Talks Earthquake Preparedness corvallisadvocate.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from corvallisadvocate.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Researchers help prepare Portland International Airport for when The Big One hits
Researchers at Oregon State University just saved the Portland International Airport more than $30 million by blowing up the ground around it. Author: Keely Chalmers (KGW) Updated: 10:16 PM PDT July 8, 2021
The phenomenon is called liquefaction.
It happens when sandy soil with shallow groundwater shakes in an earthquake and behaves like liquid. And it s a danger the Pacific Northwest could face in the coming years.
The Portland International Airport (PDX) is in an area at high risk for liquefaction. We have to have a runway. And since both runways are highly susceptible to liquefaction, we re working towards that, said Tom Wharton, a project engineer with the Port of Portland.
Jul 7, 2021
Photo: Oregon State University
Research by the Oregon State University College of Engineering will help the Port of Portland save as much as $35 million on work to ensure a Portland International Airport runway can survive an expected magnitude 8.0 to 9.0 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake.
Armin Stuedlein led the project, which involved three days of test detonations at the airport in 40- and 90-foot-deep blast casings. By studying the series of controlled blasts, researchers could determine how the sand and silt soils underlying the airport would respond to a “megathrust earthquake” and what ground improvements are needed to prevent liquefaction and keep the runway intact.
Jul 7, 2021
Photo: Oregon State University
Research by the Oregon State University College of Engineering will help the Port of Portland save as much as $35 million on work to ensure a Portland International Airport runway can survive an expected magnitude 8.0 to 9.0 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake.
Armin Stuedlein led the project, which involved three days of test detonations at the airport in 40- and 90-foot-deep blast casings. By studying the series of controlled blasts, researchers could determine how the sand and silt soils underlying the airport would respond to a “megathrust earthquake” and what ground improvements are needed to prevent liquefaction and keep the runway intact.