Acquistion of Advanced Test Equipment for Infrastructure Materials Reliability, Risk Assessment and Performance Enhancement

这项建议是为了获得先进的物理和化学测试设备，以表征当前和新兴基础设施材料的结构性能。所要求的设备将有助于获取关于新材料的性能数据和发展对导致失效的物理和化学过程之间关系的机械理解。国家基础设施面临的实际挑战来自以下几个方面：(1)老化导致的老化；(2)恶意或恐怖行动带来的安全威胁；(3)提高容量和安全性的需求。例子包括桥梁和道路结构，天然气、石油、化学品和水的管道输送，飞机和航空航天结构，汽车结构以及核材料和废物的管理。在所有这些例子中，共同的是需要提高对环境条件下结构破坏的机理理解、现场监测、预测和预防。这些系统必须减轻的常见慢性压力包括负荷、热循环和化学环境反应，其中许多可能同时发生，目前尚未明确协同效应。急性压力包括突然撞击和高温。根据国家基础设施面临的挑战，我们研究的重点是波特兰水泥混凝土系统，该系统用于高速公路和建筑施工，也用作处理核废料的基础。这还包括用于建筑和运输结构以及结构修复的复合材料和增强聚合物层压板。所要求的设备将促进材料性能的非破坏性评估，以及当地无机和有机成分测试，以评估材料化学变化（例如，在热应力，化学侵蚀期间）引起的腐蚀和其他失效机制。所要求的具体设备包括：(i)用于现有电感耦合等离子体质谱仪的激光烧蚀单元，以促进材料的元素和同位素分析；（ii）热重分析仪体质谱仪系统，以确定有机成分作为环境应力的函数；（iii）超声波非破坏性分析仪，用于在测试过程中评估内部裂缝形成。研究小组成员包括土木与环境工程系、化学系、化学工程系、电子工程系和物理系的教师。所要求的设备将支持和加强目前每年赞助的约1000万美元的研究和培训，包括风险和可靠性工程与管理的NSF IGERT项目。与桑迪亚国家实验室和橡树岭国家实验室、美国能源部、哈里伯顿公司和田纳西州交通部提供免费的合作联系。范德比尔特大学为NSF要求的141,000美元提供了130,000美元的配套资金，项目总成本为271,000美元。

This proposal is for the acquisition of advanced physical and chemical testing equipment to characterize structural performance of current and emerging infrastructure materials. The equipment requested would facilitate both acquisition of performance data on new materials and development of a mechanistic understanding of the relationships between physical and chemical processes that lead to failure. Physical challenges to the nation's infrastructure are being presented by several forces: (i) deterioration due to aging, (ii) security threats by malicious or terrorist actions, and (iii) demands for increased capacity and safety. Examples include bridge and roadway structures, pipeline conveyance of gas, petroleum, chemicals and water, aircraft and aerospace structures, automotive structures and, management of nuclear materials and wastes. Common amongst all of these examples are the needs for improved mechanistic understanding, in-situ monitoring, prediction and prevention of structural failure under environmental conditions. Common chronic stresses to these systems that must be mitigated include loading, thermal cycling and chemical environmental reaction, many of which may occur simultaneously and have currently poorly characterized synergistic effects. Acute stresses include sudden impact and high temperatures. The set of materials that has been the focus of our research, based on national infrastructure challenges are Portland cement concrete systems used for highway and building construction and also used as the basis for treatment of nuclear wastes. This also includes composites and reinforced polymer laminates used in building and transportation structures and structural rehabilitation. The equipment requested will facilitate non-destructive evaluation of material performance, and local inorganic and organic compositional testing to assess corrosion and other failure mechanisms that result from chemical changes in materials (e.g., during thermal stresses, chemical attack). The specific equipment requested includes (i) laser ablation unit for an existing inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer to facilitate elemental and isotopic profiling in materials, (ii) a thermogravimetric analyzer mass spectrometer system to determine organic composition as a function of environmental stresses, and (iii) an ultrasonic non-destructive analyzer to assess internal fracture formation during testing.The project team includes participation of faculty from the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Physics. The requested equipment will support and enhance ca. $10 million dollars per year of current sponsored research and training, including an NSF IGERT program in Risk and Reliability Engineering and Management. Complimentary collaborative linkages are provided with Sandia and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, DOE, Halliburton, and Tennessee Department of Transportation. $130,000 in matching funds are provided by Vanderbilt University for the $141,000 requested from NSF with a total project cost of $271,000.