Weidlinger researchers presented recent work on historic bridges, among other topics, at SAVIAC's 80th Shock and Vibration Symposium in San Diego from October 25-29, 2009. Jeffrey M. Thomsen received the Mel Baron Award, named for one of Weidlinger's founding partners.

New York, NY – Weidlinger Associates presented five papers at three sessions of the 80th Shock and Vibration Symposium which took place in San Diego, California, from October 25-29, 2009. The Symposium, sponsored by the Shock and Vibration Information Analysis Center (SAVIAC), is the country's "oldest continual forum dealing with the response of structures and materials to vibration and shock,” attended by members of the government and the technical community.

The Mel Baron Award, sponsored by Weidlinger and named for one of the firm’s founders, was presented to Mr. Jeffrey M. Thomsen of Applied Research Associates “for contributions to the understanding of ground shock and cratering phenomenology induced by nuclear weapons (and) pioneering work in the development and design of high-fidelity nuclear weapons effects simulators.” The nominating committee, chaired by Weidlinger president and CEO Dr. Raymond Daddazio, described Thomsen as “one of the community’s truly outstanding researchers.”

At a session on structural response, chaired by Weidlinger’s Ms. Margaret Tang, Weidlinger engineers presented a paper that concerned composite sacrificial cells on a structure’s surface, which protect the structure by absorbing the energy of explosions. Dr. Jeffrey Cipolla, who co-chaired a session related to U.S. Navy interests, discussed refinements of UNDEX in two papers. The software was developed by Weidlinger for the Navy to analyze the effects of underwater explosions on surface ships.

At a special session organized by the Engineer Research and Development Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Weidlinger presented a paper concerning the challenge of protecting large historic bridges. Significant or permanent changes to these structures are often prohibited by law. They are difficult to analyze because they were built with materials and methods that are now outdated or unknown. A second Weidlinger paper addressed the unique vulnerability of large cantilever truss bridges and the best strategies for retrofitting them.

Papers Presented
“Energy Absorbing Sacrificial Cells Exposed to Shock Waves” by Dr. Marcus Rutner, Mr. Joseph Wright, and Dr. Robert Smilowitz

“Issues Concerning the Analytical Modeling of Historic Bridges Subjected to Airblast” by Dr. Eric Hansen, Dr. Pawel Woelke, Mr. Darren Tennant, and Dr. Najib Abboud

“On the Vulnerability to Airblast and Protection of Cantilever Truss Bridges,” by Dr. Eric Hansen, Mr. Darren Tennant, and Dr. Najib Abboud

“Hydrostatic Waterline Equilibrium Computations for Surface Ships,” by Dr. Jeffrey Cipolla, Dr. Ka-Kin Chan, and Mr. Adam Hapij

“Surface and Domain-Based Approaches for Submarine UNDEX,” by Dr. Jeffrey Cipolla

The Mel Baron Award is named for one of Weidlinger’s founding principals, Dr. Melvin L. Baron, in recognition of his technical contributions and leadership in computational structural dynamics and shock- and vibration-related specialties. The award is given for unique contributions to the field as well as for lifetime achievement. Previous honorees are: Dr. Eugene Sevin (1998), Professor Ted Belytschko (1999), Professor Walter D. Pilkey (2000), Professor Thomas L. Geers (2001), Mr. George J. O’Hara (2002), Dr. Ivan S. Sandler (2003), Mr. David D. Smallwood (2004), and Professor Frank L. DiMaggio (2006), Dr. John A. DeRuntz, Jr. (2007), and Dr. Charles Needham (2008).

SAVIAC (www.saviac.org) is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and Department of Energy laboratories. It serves as an informational resource for U.S. government agencies, contractors, and academics concerned with structural dynamics design, analysis, testing, shock physics, and weapons effects. SAVIAC symposium panel discussions address topics such as new software developments or accelerometer isolation problems. Tutorials provide up-to-date technology overviews by leading specialists.