Biography

Floriana Petrone is a structural engineer broadly interested in the nonlinear seismic analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) and hybrid systems. Dr. Petrone’s doctorate research at Sapienza University of Rome focused on the analysis of shear resisting mechanisms of RC and composite structures, conducted through advanced numerical models and experimental tests. The work produced an analytical model for the design and the optimization of reinforced-concrete hybrid systems in shear.

Dr. Petrone’s research interests span form the nonlinear large deformation analysis of reinforced concrete and hybrid systems for defining local robustness evaluation methods to the advanced analytical modeling of seismic isolation systems and probabilistic methodologies for structural safety assessment.

Dr. Petrone’s work at LBNL relates to soil-structure interaction analysis. The ongoing research aims at developing advanced numerical tools for the seismic nonlinear analysis of Department of Energy nuclear facilities. This will translate into the availability of a robust nonlinear time-domain simulation tool that can accurately model the nonlinearities of coupled soil-structure systems. The project is in collaboration with UC Davis and University of Nevada, Reno. Another project currently in development with PG&E concerns the design of a regional scale data system for enhanced earthquake and risk assessment of electrical and gas systems.