Acknowledgements 1UMEbb
This work would not have been possible without the help, dedication, and y3efie {J
support of Professor Ellen M. Rathje. It is a great fortune for me to work for her (dg,w*t'
and I will be forever grateful. #N][-i
During the research process, Professor K. H. Stokoe has been very
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generous and is great help to us. He also provides many precious opinions and Tb]7# v
useful suggestions in the instrumentation designs and data interpretations. I really T6/P54S
appreciate his assistances in this research. Also, I am very thankful to my >#h,q|B
committee members, Professor Wilson, Professor Williamson, and Professor lat5n&RP Y
Wright for their constructive opinions and valuable time. 0Z2XVq~T$
In addition, I am very grateful many faculty members at UT-Austin. The oXZWg~&l^
list includes: Professor Olson, Professor Gilbert, Professor Rauch, and Professor o(tJc}Mh+(
Wright. I have learned so much from all of you, and I appreciate all you have vv)q&,<c
done to prepare me for the future. z?DCQ
Mostly, I would like to thank my wife Pei-Shan and daughter Alison for #x.v)S
their tremendous patient during my preparation of this dissertation. My wife in +
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particular has had to carry more than her fair share of the duties taking care of our ndFVP;q
daughter. Also, to my incredible parents, I am so lucky to have you. &<><4MQ
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I am indebted to many former and current graduate students in X+Sqw5rH
geotechnical engineering group at UT-Austin. They had been help me preparing \:@6(e Bh
the specimen, conducting field and laboratory tests, encouraging me in bad days, ]WNY"B>+
and sharing joys in good days. GbLHzw
I would also like to thank all the people at Capitol Aggregates for N_92,xI#
providing a test site and concrete both essential to this work.