1. Assistant Professor, Universidade de Passo Fundo—RS, Brazil; Visiting Scholar at Texas A&M Univ., Zachry Dept. of Civil Engineering, 3136 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843.
2. Project Manager, Entech Civil Engineers, Inc., Houston, TX 77084 (corresponding author).
3. Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX 77843-3136.