BRUCE D. WESTERMO
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

email: bwesterm@mail.sdsu.edu

EDUCATION

Ph.D. California Institute of Technology; Applied Mechanics with minor in Theoretical Geophysics, 1978.
M.S. California Institute of Technology; Applied Mechanics, 1975.
B.S. Illinois Institute of Technology; Mechanics, Mechanical, and Aerospace Engineering, 1974.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Strong ground motion characterization for structural response estimation (1974+);

Hydrodynamic interaction of elastic structures (1975-1979);

Effects of topography on wave propagation (1975+):

Nonlinear difference equations associated with numerical analysis (1976-1980);

Dynamic response of base isolation and aseismic connection systems (1978+);

Critical excitation and response methods for dynamic analysis (1983+);

Seismic pounding of structures (1987);

Strain measurement systems under dynamic loads, Damage assessment systems for structures (1989+).

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute

Seismological Society of America

American Academy of Mechanics

Instrument Society of America

Society for Experimental Mechanics

RECENT AWARDS

1997 Charles Pankow Award from the Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF) for Innovation

1998 NOVA Award from the Construction Innovation Forum

BIBLIOGRAPHY

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Westermo, B.D. (1989). The Dynamics of Interstructural Connection to Prevent Pounding. Journal of Earthquake Eng'g and Structural Dynamics, V.18, 687-699.

Westermo, B.D. (1992). The Synthesis of Strong Ground Motion From Existing Records. Jl of Earthquake Eng'g and Structural Dynamics, V. 21, 743-756.

Westermo, B.D. and L. Thompson (1994), Smart Structural Monitoring: A New Technology, Int’l Journal of Sensors, 15-18, November.

Westermo, B.D. and L. Thompson (1991). Applications of Strain and Deflection Monitoring Systems for Post-Earthquake Safety and Usability of Lifelines. 3rd U.S. National Conference on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering, Los Angeles, CA, August.

Westermo, B.D. and L. Thompson (1992). Instrumentation Systems for Earthquake Damage Warning and Assessment in Lifelines. Proceedings, ASME Pressure Vessel and Piping Conference, New Orleans, LA, June, PVP Vol 227, 115-118.

Thompson, L. and B.D. Westermo, (1992). The Utilization of Peak-Strain-Indicating (PSI) Materials in Critical Lifeline Engineering Applications. Proceedings, ASME Pressure Vessel and Piping Conference, New Orleans, LA, June, PVP Vol 227, 97-106.

Westermo, B.D. and L. Thompson (1992). A Magnetic Strain Measurement Methodology for Structural Damage Assessment and Monitoring. Proceedings, Instrument Society of America Conference, Houston, Oct, 1295-1303.

Thompson, L and B Westermo (1993). A New Testing and Evaluation Technology for Damage Assessment and Residual Life Estimation in Aircraft Structures. Proceedings 14th Aerospace Testing Seminar, Manhattan Beach, CA, March, 5-10.

Westermo, B. and L. Thompson (1994). A New Strain Measurement Technology for Material Damage Assessment, Proceedings of Smart Structures and Materials 1994, SPIE, V. 2191, Orlando, FL, Feb., 380-391.

L. Thompson and B. Westermo (1994). Applications of a New Solid-State Structural Health Monitoring Technology, 2nd European Conf. on SMART Structures and Materials, Glasgow, Scotland, Oct.

B.D. Westermo and L. D. Thompson (1995). Passive Monitoring Systems for Structural Damage Assessment, presented at the 1995 North American Conf. on Smart Structures and Materials, San Diego, CA, Mar.

B.D. Westermo and L. D. Thompson (1995). Design and Evaluation of Passive and Active Structural Health Monitoring Systems for Bridges and Buildings, presented at the 1995 North American Conf. on Smart Structures and Materials, San Diego, CA, March.

B. Westermo and L. D. Thompson (1995). A New Approach to Structural Health Monitoring for Bridges and Buildings, Sensors Expo, Boston, MA, May.

B.D. Westermo (1995). A Passive Sensor Technology for Assessment of the Structural Condition of Bridges, First North American Workshop on Instrumentation and Vibration Analysis of Highway Bridges, Cincinnati, OH, July.

B. Westermo (1996). A Passive Structural Health Monitoring System for Bridges, Structural Materials Technology Conference Proceedings, pp 198-203, San Diego, CA, Feb.

B. Westermo, L. Thompson, and R. Waldbusser (1996). Smart Materials Based Structural Health Monitoring Systems Development for Aerospace Applications, Instrument Society of America, International Instrumentation Symposium, San Diego, CA, May.

L. Thompson and B. Westermo (1996). Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Materials in Civil Engineering Applications, US-Japan Workshop on Smart Structures Technology: Application to Large Civil Structures, University of Maryland, Nov.

L. Thompson, B. Westermo, W. Law, R. Trombi, and R. Waldbusser (1997). Development of Passive, Smart Structural Attachment Fixtures , 1997 North American Conf. on Smart Structures and Materials, San Diego, CA, Mar.

L. Thompson and B. Westermo (1997). "Applications of an Innovative Structural Damage Detection and Monitoring Methodology." Presented at the Mouchel Conference on Innovation in Civil & Structural Engineering, Cambridge, England, Aug.

B. Westermo and L. Thompson (1997). "A Peak Strain Sensor for Damage Assessment and Health Monitoring." Presented at the Int’l Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, 515-526, Stanford, CA, Sept.

B. Westermo (1998). "Applications of a New Structural Damage Detection and Monitoring Technology." Presented at Winter Test and Measurements Conference, Proceedings of the western Regional Strain Gage Committee, San Diego, CA, Feb.

L. Thompson and B. Westermo (1998). "Damage Detection and Monitoring in Composite Materials Using Metastable Alloy and Mechatronic Sensors." Presented at the 1998 QNDE Conference, Snowbird, UT, July.

RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

National Science Foundation SBIR Project

"Instrumentation System for Earthquake Damage Assessment"

The project entailed the installation and evaluation of peak strain monitoring systems for bridges and buildings. A monitoring system has been installed into a private residence in Berkeley, California. As part of this project, systems were installed onto three bridges in California, five private residences, and a baseball/football stadium building. Each system consists of an array of sensors and a microprocessor/cellular phone interface. Output from the sensor systems are available on the web.

U.S. Air Force

"Development of a passive structural sensor for the Hercules C-130 cargo plane"

Developed and performed trial tests on a sensor configuration for the detection of crack presence in the engine mount truss. The sensor can be rapidly interrogated while the craft is on the ground and can detect the presence of crack growth in the component.

Advanced Research Projects Agency SBIR Phase I Project

"Development of Sensor Systems for Monitoring the Structural Safety of Bridges"

Designed an automatic structural monitoring system for bridges. Performed the preliminary design and development work for nine potential bridge system installations.

Federal Highway Administration

"Development and Testing of a Peak Strain Gauge for Highway Bridge Applications."

Development of sensor configurations specifically for bridge monitoring applications. The sensor will be tested on several existing bridge monitoring platforms that are maintained by the Ohio DOT and the Cincinnati Infrastructure Institute.

Georgia Dept. of Transportation

"Development and Evaluation of Bridge Monitoring Systems"

Developed and installed digital sensor arrays onto four bridges in Georgia. The four bridges were chosen because they all have exhibited some signs of structural distress. Three of the sites will have cellular telephones for outside communication, the four will use a radio modem to download its data as the receiver unit drives along the bridge.

Army Phase I & II SBIR Project

"Development of Wireless, Structural Health Assessment Systems"

Developed a sensor interface module for wireless structural monitoring. The device is powered by long-life batteries or solar panels, interfaces with a variety of structural sensors, and communicates its data with a local master unit.