PI: Prof. Jeff Baur and Dr. Logesh Shanmugam Students from the Aerospace Engineering department visited NSEL to test their composite bridge specimens for a chance to enter the International SAMPE Competition during the annual conference.
Category: Testing Projects
Digital Image Correlation on Split Tensile RCC Discs
PI: Prof. Jeffery R. Rosler and Prof. Oscar Lopez-Pamies Digital image correlation was performed while loading roller-compacted concrete (RCC) discs in indirect tension (split tensile). Load frame compliance was measured for various load levels by subtracting the DIC displacements from the total actuator displacements. Colored strain mapping was superposed over the specimen surface, to evaluate […]
Mechanical Proving Ring Calibration
A 2 kN (450 lbf) mechanical proving ring was recently calibrated for Prof. Tim Stark, in the preparation of the laboratory section of CEE 483 – Soil Mechanics and Behavior.
Large-Scale Testing of a Concrete-Embedded Miter Gate Anchorage and Implications for Infrastructure Monitoring
“The results confirmed the finite element modeling – the stress deep in the embedded components is sufficiently low that fatigue is not a concern and USACE can likely reduce the scope of their anchorage replacement efforts, potentially saving millions of dollars.”
Pressure Distribution in Railroad Track Structure
PIs: Marcus Dersch, P.E. | Arthur Lima Experiments were conducted in a loading frame filled with ~24 inches of ballast material. A track panel (half-crossties and rail) were placed on top of the ballast and vertical loads were applied to the rail at the center crosstie using a manual hydraulic jack reacting off of the […]
Canadian National (CN) Splice Bending Test
PI: Prof. Bill Spencer, Prof. James Phillips, and Prof. German Gurfinkel
Automated Indoor Navigation and Reality Capture using a Ground Robot
PI: M. Golparvar-Fard/ Student: A. Ibrahim This research explores new path planning and navigation methods for autonomous robotic platforms that support reality capture on construction sites. New methods and metrics are developed that guarantee accuracy and completeness of reality mapping for construction progress and quality monitoring applications. Lab testing is used to validate the performance […]
Testing of Bridge Timber Piles under Eccentric Loads
PI: B. Andrawes/Student: K.E. Kim Bridges with various timber structural components make up a large portion of the transportation infrastructure in the US. Bridges supported on timber pile substructure, simply referred to as timber pile bridges, are particularly common. Many timber pile bridges still in service today were constructed in the 1950’s and 60’s using […]
Application of SMA-FRP Bars in Seismic Design of Concrete Structure
PI: B. Andrawes/Student: A. Zafar For many years, steel has been used as the primary reinforcing material for concrete structures. Despite requisite stiffness, strength, ductility and desired deflection properties, steel reinforcing bars have tendency to incur permanent plastic deformations under excessive loading. Recently, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcing bars have also been used in concrete […]
Prestressing System for Concrete Crossties using Shape Memory Alloys
PI: B. Andrawes/Student: M. Sung This project focused on developing an Adaptive Prestressing System (APS) for concrete crossties. The new prestressing system utilizes a unique characteristic of a class of smart materials known as Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs). Through heating, a SMA can recover its original shape after being excessively deformed beyond its elastic range. […]
Construction of Bridge Girders using Self Consolidating Concrete
PI: B. Andrawes/Student: A. Pozolo Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is a workable yet stable concrete which flows easily and consolidates under its own weight. Its unique properties can substantially reduce the labor required to pour complex or heavily reinforced structural members. Over the past decade, the American precast industry has taken significant strides to adopt SCC […]
Damage Repair of Girder End Regions using FRP
PI: B. Andrawes/Student: H. Zhao Concrete bridges play an important role in the transportation network. However, there are more than 56,000 bridges that have been identified as structurally deficient in the U.S., especially those bridges located in the Northern part of the U.S. where harsh climate inflicts severe damage to the structural integrity and durability […]
Application of Active Confinement using Shape Memory Alloys
PI: B. Andrawes/Students: M. Shin and Q. Chen This research focuses on examining the use of shape memory alloy (SMA) spirals in the seismic retrofitting and repair of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns. The thermally triggered recovery stress of pre-strained SMA spirals is utilized to apply large active confinement pressure at the column’s plastic hinge […]
Strain Response in Insulated Rail Joints
Post-Peak Behavior of Concrete
PI: J. Roesler / Student: A. Bordelon A series of bending tests were performed on concrete beams in 2007 by grad student Amanda Bordelon under the supervision of Prof. Jeffrey Roesler. Beams were tested in 3-point and 4-point bending configurations. Well defined post-peak behavior was achieved.
Performance of Concrete Column During Seismic Loading
A set of experiments were carried out with the objective to determine the behavior of concrete columns under seismic loads. A Load-Boundary Condition Box (LBCB) mounted to the reaction wall was used to apply both bending moment and normal force to the column. This set of experiments were sponsored by the Network of Earthquake Engineering […]
Monotonic Testing of Lifting Loops
This testing program was sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) in June 2008. There was an issue of ultimate strength of the lifting loops, which are built in to the concrete girders used on bridges and overpasses. The loops are made up of 7-wire strands, with a diameter of 0.5 in. Prof. D. […]
High-Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites
A series of tests were conducted on High-Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious composites using the Bi-Axial 100 kip testing frame. This project was sponsored by NEES under supervision from Prof. James LaFave; graduate student Raymond Foltz was the leading person in instrumentation, testing procedure, and data analysis. Specimens were subjected to bi-axial state of stress, and […]
Buckling Resistant Braces
A series of cyclic tests on Buckling-Resistant Braces were conducted in the NSEL in September 2007. using the 600-kip testing frame. This project was sponsored by Nippon Steel under supervision from Prof. Jerry Hajjar from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Prof. Toru Takeuchi from Tokyo University. Graduate student Ryota Matsui was the leading person […]
Seismic Performance of Brick Veneer on Wood Frame Construction
Principal Investigator: Prof. J. LaFave Research Assistant: Dziugas RENECKIS The effect of seismic activity on existing structures is inconclusive despite ongoing research. Brick veneer wall damage has been observed in recent years resulting from strong winds and moderate earthquakes. A study has been undertaken to evaluate the performance of brick masonry veneer wall systems over […]