{"675689":{"#nid":"675689","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by John A. Huntoon","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPh.D. Thesis Defense Announcement\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDESIGN, INSTALLATION, AND EVALUATION OF GEOSTRUCTURAL PLANT ROOT INSPIRED GROUND ANCHORS\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBy\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EJohn A. Huntoon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdvisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. J. David Frost (CEE)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Rick Deschamps (Nicholson Construction)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Michael E. Helms (ME)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Jorge Macedo (CEE)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Valerie Thomas (ISyE)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDate and Time:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;August 15th, 2025. 12:00 pm EST\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELocation:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;SEB 122 \u0026amp; Microsoft Teams - ID: 252 013 528 937; Passcode: KX2m3Q\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EComplete announcement, with abstract, is attached.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Root-Inspired Ground Anchor (RIGA) is a novel ground anchoring technology\u003Cbr\u003Ewhich leverages the pullout anchoring efficiency of fibrous plant roots into a round anchor for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Einfrastructure applications. Potential reductions in material onsumption, ground anchor\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Einstallation time, and spatial footprint are ypothesized and examined in this thesis. Existing\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Eunderstanding of the relevant nchoring mechanisms of plant roots proposes that such an anchor may\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Ehave the ypothesized benefits but does not provide means for practicing engineers to onstruct or\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Edesign geostructural systems using a RIGA. The present thesis describes a proposed mechanism and technique by which RIGAS may be installed\u003Cbr\u003Eand an engineering design procedure for selecting anchors to meet capacity performance and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Ereliability criteria. Laboratory and half-scale field trials provide insights into mechanism design\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Eand relevant installation effects. Drawing on these insights, novel analytical installation and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Epullout performance models form the basis of an engineering design procedure. Design value\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Erecommendations for deterministic and probabilistic engineering analysis are provided with\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Econsideration toward the information available to practitioners designing geostructural anchoring\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Esystems. Additional discussion of the technology\u0027s long\u00ad term corrosion resilience, its life-cycle\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Esustainability metrics relative to existing approaches, and its potential economic impacts is also\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Eprovided.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDESIGN, INSTALLATION, AND EVALUATION OF GEOSTRUCTURAL PLANT ROOT INSPIRED GROUND ANCHORS\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"DESIGN, INSTALLATION, AND EVALUATION OF GEOSTRUCTURAL PLANT ROOT INSPIRED GROUND ANCHORS"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2024-07-30 16:53:34","changed_gmt":"2024-07-30 17:27:52","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2024-08-15T12:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2024-08-15T14:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2024-08-15T14:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2024-08-15 16:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2024-08-15 18:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2024-08-15 18:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"SEB 122 \u0026 Microsoft Teams ","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}