Structural Engineering Commons^™

3d Microwave Camera For Concrete Delamination And Steel Corrosion Detection, R. Zoughi

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Corrosion of embedded steel reinforcement in concrete leads to concrete cracking and delamination, followed by increased salt and moisture permeation and further damage. Invisibility of the embedded rebar in combination with physical inaccessibility in elevated bridges presents a challenge in the assessment of RC bridge elements. Wideband (3D) microwave synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging techniques that can be integrated into a UAV offer a practical solution to overcome this challenge.

This project aims to develop and optimize a 3D microwave camera for bridge inspection on a UAV platform, quantify its performance for steel corrosion evaluation and concrete delamination detection in …

Autonomous Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement By A Magnet-Wheeled Robot, Yang Wang

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

A wireless sensing device recently developed by PI Wang’s group has demonstrated various structural sensing capabilities for bridge applications. In the meantime, a latest robot platform developed by Dr. La’s group at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) demonstrates promising performance navigating on steel bridge members. Marrying the two state-of-the-art developments, this project will produce a magnet-wheeled robot capable of autonomous nondestructive measurement on steel bridge structures. Both laboratory and field validations will be performed.

This project will integrate advanced wireless sensing technologies to the UNR robot platform. At first, the functionality of ultrasonic thickness measurement will be developed on …

2020 Technical Program, Inspire - University Transportation Center

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

INSPIRE University Transportation Center 2020 Annual Meeting
August 3-4, 2020

Improved Ballistic Limit Equations For High-Speed Non-Aluminum Projectiles Impacting Aluminum Dual-Wall Spacecraft Systems, William P. Schonberg

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

One of the major design considerations of earth-orbiting spacecraft is the damage that might occur from an impact by a micrometeoroid or orbital debris particle. Ballistic limit equations (BLEs), which predict the response of spacecraft components under impact, are one of the key components of any micrometeoroid / orbital debris risk assessment calculation. However, given that a limited number of BLEs have been developed, analysts will sometimes use a BLE to assess the impact projectile made of a material that was not used in the development of that BLE. This paper presents the results of a two-part study that focused …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Free-Stand Graphene/Silver Nanowire/Graphene Nano Composite As Transparent Conductive Film With Enhanced Stiffness, Chuanrui Guo, Yanxiao Li, Yanping Zhu, Chenglin Wu, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As-grown graphene via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has potential defects, cracks, and disordered grain boundaries induced by the synthesis and transfer process. Graphene/silver nanowire/graphene (Gr/AgNW/Gr) sandwich composite has been proposed to overcome these drawbacks significantly as the AgNW network can provide extra connections on graphene layers to enhance the stiffness and electrical conductivity. However, the existing substrate (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), glass, silicon, and so on) for composite production limits its application and mechanics behavior study. In this work, a vacuum annealing method is proposed and validated to synthesize the free-stand Gr/AgNW/Gr nanocomposite film on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids. AgNW …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Free-Stand Graphene/Silver Nanowire/Graphene Nano Composite As Transparent Conductive Film With Enhanced Stiffness, Chuanrui Guo, Yanxiao Li, Yanping Zhu, Chenglin Wu, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As-grown graphene via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has potential defects, cracks, and disordered grain boundaries induced by the synthesis and transfer process. Graphene/silver nanowire/graphene (Gr/AgNW/Gr) sandwich composite has been proposed to overcome these drawbacks significantly as the AgNW network can provide extra connections on graphene layers to enhance the stiffness and electrical conductivity. However, the existing substrate (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), glass, silicon, and so on) for composite production limits its application and mechanics behavior study. In this work, a vacuum annealing method is proposed and validated to synthesize the free-stand Gr/AgNW/Gr nanocomposite film on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids. AgNW …

Final Report - Bridge Resilience Assessment With Inspire Data, Iris Tien, Yijian Zhang

Project RR-1

This project proposed a methodology to assess the impact of corrosion on the performance of bridges. The combined analytical and numerical modeling of shear-critical and lap-spliced columns is detailed, and outcomes are verified with previous experimental test data. The impact of corrosion on risk is assessed through conducting fragility analyses. Results quantify the increase in failure probabilities of these structures, measured by increasing probabilities of exceeding defined damage states, with increasing levels of corrosion. Corrosion is found to have a larger impact on increasing probabilities of exceeding more severe damage states. Twenty percent mass loss of reinforcement increases the probability …

Mobile Manipulating Drones, Paul Oh

INSPIRE Archived Webinars

In the past few years, robotic limbs have been attached to rotorcraft drones to perform aerial manipulation. Unlike simple object pick-and-place, such mobile-manipulating drones are dexterous to perform tasks like valve-turning, hatch-opening, and tool-handling. This is a paradigm shift where such drones actively interact with their environment rather than just passively surveil. Aerial manipulation is challenging because such interaction yields reaction forces and torques that destabilize the drone. This talk will provide an overview of aerial manipulation and showcase examples that could serve in infrastructure inspection, maintenance, and repair.

Experimental And Numerical Comparison Of Flexural Capacity Of Light Gage Cold Formed Steel Roof Deck, Christopher H. Raeel, Dawid Gwozdz

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

This paper presents an analysis of experimental data and compares it to two numerical analysis methods of light gage cold formed steel roof deck. The flexural capacity was determined upon the first failure mode of the light gage cold formed steel roof deck. A comparison of the experimental data was made to both the effective width method and the direct strength method. The objective of the comparison was to have a physical test provide the actual behavior of the light gage cold formed steel roof deck and grade how well the numerical analysis, effective width and direct strength methods, compare …

Final Report - In-Line Long Period Grating And Brillouin Scattering Fiber Optic Sensors For Strain, Temperature, Chloride Concentration, And Steel Mass Loss Measurement In Bridge Applications, Genda Chen, Chuanrai Guo

Project SN-3

This project developed an in-line grating and scattering fiber optic sensing system for strain, temperature, and steel mass loss measurement in bridge applications. Long period fiber gratings (LPFG) sensors are responsive to thermal and mechanical deformation, and the refractive index change of their surrounding medium. Brillouin scattering sensors are responsive to temperature and strain along an optical fiber. A CO2 laser aided fiber grating system was assembled for LPFG fabrication. To enable mass loss measurement, a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) system was built to synthesize a graphene/silver nanowire composite film as flexible transparent electrode for the electroplating of …

Final Report - Uav-Enabled Measurement For Spatial Magnetic Field Of Smart Rocks In Bridge Scour Monitoring, Genda Chen, Haibin Zhang, Zhaochao Li

Project SN-1

This project proposed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based method to measure the change in magnetic field as a result of the movement of a smart rock to monitor the maximum depth of bridge scour. A high resolution 3-axis magnetometer and global positioning system (GPS) unit were installed on the UAV to obtain the magnetic field intensity and its corresponding coordinate. The optimization algorithm for the localization of smart rock was demonstrated and adopted. The impact factors on accurate smart rock positioning were experimentally investigated. Utilizing finite element method, the influence of steel reinforcing bars on the distribution of ambient magnetic …

The Challenge Of Calculating U-Factors For Cold-Formed Steel C-Shape Wall Assemblies Using Framing Factors, American Iron And Steel Institute

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

No abstract provided.

Development Of A U-Factor Calculation Procedure For Cold-Formed Steel C-Shaped Clear Wall Assemblies, American Iron And Steel Institute

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

No abstract provided.

Correction To: Recommendations Of Rilem Tc 260-Rsc For Using Superabsorbent Polymers (Sap) For Improving Freeze–Thaw Resistance Of Cement-Based Materials (Materials And Structures, (2019), 52, 4, (75), 10.1617/S11527-019-1375-4), Viktor Mechtcherine, Christof Schröfl, Michaela Reichardt, Agnieszka J. Klemm, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Agnieszka J. Klemm is affiliated to Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.

Using Scrap Tires As An Aggregate In Chip Seal - Phase Ii, Alireza Pourhassan, Ahmed Gheni, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Technical Reports

Chip seals are one of the most cost and performance effective pavement preservation treatments commonly used in the United States. An eco-friendly chip seal pavement, in which the natural aggregate was replaced by crumb rubber obtained from scrap tires, was recently developed by the research team at Missouri S&T, creating rubberized chip seal. This project investigated and optimized the performance of rubberized chip seal under different scenarios. During this project, laboratory chip seal specimens with different sizes were prepared and tested under simulated traffic loads with different loading parameters and environmental conditions. Also, the feasibility of the implementation and performance …

Final Report - Quantitative Bridge Inspection Ratings Using Autonomous Robotic Systems, Anil K. Agrawal, Jizhong Xiao

Project IM-2

Impact sounding has been recognized as an effective technique to detect delamination in concrete structures, such as concrete decks. An enormous amount of sounding data can be generated/collected by the autonomous inspection systems equipped with impactors and microphones. However, the main challenge in the practical application of this technology is the development of advanced data analysis approaches for identifying defects from impact sounding data. In this study, the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) analysis and power-spectral density (PSD) analysis are combined to extract useful features of sounding data generated by the impact hammer. It has been found that the EMD method …

Final Report - Mobile-Manipulating Uavs For Sensor Installation, Bridge Inspection And Maintenance, Paul Oh, Blake Hament, Dongbin Kim

Project AS-1

A parallel mechanism and smart gripper were designed and mounted on a rotorcraft drone to act as a robotic arm and hand. This empowers the drone to perform aerial manipulation and execute bridge maintenance. Hosing, drilling, and epoxying serve as case studies to test-and-evaluation and verify-and-validate the design. The approach, tasks, and findings are presented and show that the case studies are realizable. Conclusions and recommendations point to employing haptics-based human-in-the-loop approaches that can increase the scope of repair work involved in bridge maintenance

Non-Contact Air-Coupled Sensing For Rapid Evaluation Of Bridge Decks, Jinying Zhu

INSPIRE Archived Webinars

Elastic wave-based non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are commonly used for evaluation of civil engineering infrastructure, including bridges, dams and buildings. However, most of these methods require coupling (direct contact) between sensors and the test surface, which significantly restricts the testing speed and consistency, especially for large scale concrete structures in civil engineering. The air-coupled sensing technology was developed by Dr. Jinying Zhu as a solution for rapid scanning of concrete infrastructure. In this webinar, Dr. Zhu will review the development of air-coupled sensing technique for civil engineering applications, including fundamental theory and field application of air-coupled sensing on concrete structures. …

Interfacial Shear Bond Strength Between Steel H-Piles And Polymer Concrete Jackets, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Kyle Brown, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Steel H-piles have been used widely in bridge construction throughout the U.S. because of their relatively large load-carrying capacity while occupying a small area. However, many H-piles suffer from corrosion, which may lead to abrupt collapse. A cost-effective repair technique, including encasing the corroded region of the steel pile into a concrete jacket, which acts as an alternative load path for the applied axial load, has been used by several state Departments of Transportation. Methyl methacrylate polymer concrete (MMA-PC) is a type of concrete that is commonly used as a repair material. However, there is limited research on the assessment …

Corrosion-Induced Mass Loss Measurement Under Strain Conditions Through Gr/Agnw-Based, Fe-C Coated Lpfg Sensors, Chuanrui Guo, Liang Fan, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, graphene/silver nanowire (Gr/AgNW)-based, Fe-C coated long period fiber gratings (LPFG) sensors were tested up to 72 hours in 3.5 w.t% NaCl solution for corrosion-induced mass loss measurement under four strain levels: 0, 500, 1000 and 1500 µ∈. The crack and interfacial bonding behaviors of laminate Fe-C and Gr/AgNW layer structures were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and electrical resistance measurement. Both optical transmission spectra and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data were simultaneously measured from each sensor. Under increasing strains, transverse cracks appeared first and were followed by longitudinal cracks on the laminate layer structures. The spacing …

Inspire Newsletter Fall 2020, Missouri University Of Science And Technology. Inspire - University Transportation Center

INSPIRE Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Inspire Newsletter Spring 2020, Missouri University Of Science And Technology. Inspire - University Transportation Center

INSPIRE Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Final Report - A Training Framework Of Robotic Operation And Image Analysis For Decision-Making In Bridge Inspection And Preservation, Ruwen Qin, Genda Chen, Zhaozheng Yin, Muhammad Monjurul Karim, Tianyi Zhao, Suzanna Long, Sushil J. Louis

Project WD-1

This project aims to create a framework of training engineers and policy makers on robotic operation and image analysis for the inspection and preservation of transportation infrastructure. This framework includes a method for camera-based bridge inspection data collection, algorithms for data processing and pattern recognitions, and tools for inspection and preservation decision-making. Specifically, a Siamese Neural Network was developed to support bridge engineers in analyzing big video data. The network was initially trained by one-shot learning and fine-tuned iteratively with human in the loop. The neural network algorithm retrieved all related regions from the video based on the regions of …

Final Report - Microwave Camera For Concrete Delamination And Steel Corrosion Detection, Chao Liu, Mohammad T. Al Qaseer, Reza Zoughi

Project SN-4

This project studied the capability of microwave methods to detect thickness of induced corrosion byproduct on rebars embedded into concrete, and also similarly embedded delamination. Three microwave methods used or investigated included microwave synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging method, microwave resonance method, and microwave nonlinear measurement. Wideband, low-frequency antennas including a double-ridged horn and a Vivaldi antenna were designed for achieving reasonable spatial resolution while being able to penetrate lossy concrete. Simulations and experiments were conducted for all of these investigations. For the rebar samples use, the results showed that the corrosion thickness was very small (~50 m) which seemed …

A Training Framework Of Robotic Operation And Image Analysis For Decision-Making In Bridge Inspection And Preservation, Ruwen Qin, Genda Chen, Suzanna Long, Zhaozheng Yin, Sushil Louis, Muhammad Monjurul Karim, Tianyi Zhao

Project WD-1

This project aims to create a framework of training engineers and policy makers on robotic operation and image analysis for the inspection and preservation of transportation infrastructure. Specifically, it develops the method for collecting camera-based bridge inspection data and the algorithms for data processing and pattern recognitions; and it creates tools for assisting users on visually analyzing the processed image data and recognized patterns for inspection and preservation decision-making.

The project first developed a Siamese Neural Network to support bridge engineers in analyzing big video data. The network was initially trained by one-shot learning and is fine-tuned iteratively with human …

Bridge Resilience Assessment With Inspire Data, Iris Tien, Yijian Zhang

Project RR-1

This project proposed a methodology to assess the impact of corrosion on the performance of bridges. The combined analytical and numerical modeling of shear-critical and lap-spliced columns is detailed, and outcomes are verified with previous experimental test data. The impact of corrosion on risk is assessed through conducting fragility analyses. Results quantify the increase in failure probabilities of these structures, measured by increasing probabilities of exceeding defined damage states, with increasing levels of corrosion. Corrosion is found to have a larger impact on increasing probabilities of exceeding more severe damage states. Twenty percent mass loss of reinforcement increases the probability …

Final Report - Battery-Free Antenna Sensors For Strain And Crack Monitoring Of Bridge Structures, Yang Wang, Dan Li

Project SN-2

This project studies a wireless patch antenna as a novel strain/crack sensing technique for structural health monitoring (SHM). The strain/crack induced resonance frequency shift of the antenna can be wirelessly detected and utilized to estimate the surface strain and crack propagation. However, temperature fluctuation can generate some unwanted changes in resonance frequency and introduce significant noises in measurement. This project studies a thermally stable patch antenna sensor through both numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. Using a substrate material with a steady dielectric constant, a patch antenna sensor is designed to perform reliably under temperature fluctuations. In addition, a dual-mode patch …

Semi-Annual Progress Report #6, Missouri University Of Science And Technology. Inspire - University Transportation Center

Semi-Annual Progress Reports

No abstract provided.

3d Printing Reinforced Concrete Structures, Bryce Tyler Tafolla

Masters Theses

"This study aims to investigate a 3D printing method to directly incorporate continuous reinforcement into concrete structures. The ability to design and produce complex structures with optimized topographical configuration can be used to reduce potential material waste while maintaining the required structural strength. Furthermore, the ability to actively incorporate reinforcement into printed members substantially reduces potential labor requirements and eliminates the need to set up formwork.

The study began its initial approach with a manual extrusion process containing reinforcement to observe the necessary constraints required to achieve a printing system with this functionality. The second stage of development was designing …

Behavior Of Negative Stiffness Metamaterial Systems In Structural Engineering Applications, Yasser Darwish

Doctoral Dissertations

“Metamaterial systems with negative stiffness behavior became a point of interest in many energy dissipation applications due to their ability to dissipate high levels of energy. Negative stiffness metamaterial elements can dissipate energy through non-linear elastic behavior when transferred from one stable mode of buckling to another. Hence, the ability of such elements to be reusable for multiple loading cycles exists. Such unique properties made the metamaterial systems a perfect candidate for structural applications such as impact protection of bridges against collision. This research provides innovative metamaterial shell structure that can exhibit negative stiffness behavior by deforming from one shape …