Doctoral Dissertation Research Project:

As a graduate research assistant at Michigan State University, Dr. Dusseau’s doctoral dissertation research was funded by the National Science Foundation and Michigan State University. As part of this project, a FORTRAN finite-element computer program was developed for non-uniform time-history seismic analyses of steel deck arch bridges. To verify this program, two existing bridges were analyzed: the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge near Santa Barbara, California; and the world's longest steel deck arch bridge, the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayette County, West Virginia. Both bridges were analyzed under static loads to verify the computer program and both bridges were then subjected to simulated earthquake ground acceleration histories to determine the parametric responses of each bridge to the maximum expected seismic loads at each bridge site.

Masters Thesis Research Project:

As a graduate research assistant at Michigan State University, Dr. Dusseau’s masters thesis research was funded by the National Science Foundation and Michigan State University. For this project, finite-element computer models were developed for two steel deck arch bridges: the South Street Bridge in Middlebury, Connecticut; and the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge near Santa Barbara, California. Both modal and response spectrum seismic analyses were performed on each bridge model to determine the parametric responses of the bridges under maximum expected earthquake motion at each bridge site.

Dusseau, R.A. and Wen, R.K., ASeismic Responses of Deck-Type Arch Bridges,@ Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, The Journal of the International Association for Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 18, No. 5, July 1989, pp. 701-715, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester, Sussex, England.

Dusseau, R.A. and Wen, R.K., AResponses of a Long Span Arch Bridge to Differential Abutment Motions,@ Proceedings of the Third U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering,

Sponsored by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Charleston, South Carolina, August 24-27, 1986, Vol. III, pp. 2049-2060.

Dusseau, R.A. and Wen, R.K., ASeismic Responses of Two Deck Arch Bridges,@ ASCE Preprint No. 82-010, ASCE National Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 26-30, 1982.