Engineering Commons^™

Hillman Composite Beam (Hcb®), Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

The Hillman-Composite Beam (HCB®), is an innovative structural member for use in highway and railroad bridges as well as marine facilities. The HCB is essentially a lightweight reinforced concrete beam strengthened and protected by a corrosion-resistant and resilient Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) shell.

The beam is comprised of three main components, a concrete arch (compression reinforcement), an FRP bottom flange encapsulating steel strands tying the ends of the arch together (tension reinforcement) and the FRP shell. Galvanized Rebar “shear connectors” are used to make the beam composite with the concrete deck in the same manner as pre-stressed concrete beams.

The …

Alternative Material Dowel Bars For Rigid Pavement Joints, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

Over the last thirty to forty years, dowel support of the joint in Rigid Joint Pavement (RJP) has been widely used. The problem of deterioration of concrete pavement joints has resulted in the search for alternate solutions. Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) and stainless steel represent corrosion resistant alternatives to conventional galvanized steel in this application. The recently study by the FHWA of Alternative Materials for Highway Construction demonstrated that even with extended wet-dry cycles of exposure to fluids of high chloride content, at various temperatures and PH levels, stainless steel had corrosion resistance hundreds and in many cases thousands of times …

Production Of Construction Materials Using Advanced Recycling Technologies, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

Waste reduction, material reuse, and use of recycle-content products can be focused on the management system somewhat. In contrast, material recycling is the technical issue how to create new materials using wastes. Thus, three advanced recycling technologies; 1) Synthetic Lightweight Aggregate technology (SLA), 2) Clean Coal Technology (CCT), and 3) RP-1 Polymer Identification System are introduced.

Modular Frp Composite Bridge Deck, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

The bridge infrastructure of the United States is in constant need of repair and rehabilitation. It is reported that 43% of the bridges in the USA have been identified as being structurally deficient or functionally obsolete due to corrosion. SuperdeckTM, a non-corrosive fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite bridge deck. The Deck is designed and engineered into a lightweight, strong and rigid structure that will not corrode. The deck sections, composed of hexagon and double-trapezoid profiles, are bonded with a high-strength adhesive under controlled conditions in the manufacturing plant.

Asbestos Removal System (Envirosystem), Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

A new asbestos removal system called EnviroSystem(TM) has been developed by CUPS Systems, Inc., and GRI (Gas Research Institute). It basically comprises a portable line traveling system that is composed of a high-pressure water jet coating removal device, called HydroKleaner, a vacuum pump, a side boom, a pump sled, a process sled, and a 20 cu.yd. disposal container. The system is operated by workers wearing protective gear and clothing.