PFI: Sustainable Highway Bridges with Novel Materials and Deconstructible Components

内华达大学雷诺分校(UNR)的这一创新伙伴关系(PFI)项目有两个主要目标：开发新型预制混凝土桥梁构件，在不损坏的情况下抵抗地震、飓风等荷载；开发可拆卸和可回收的连接件和柱产品。实现这些目标将为新的范式“生命之路(HFL)”提供必要的要素，这是联邦公路管理局为美国公路行业创造的一个表达，旨在通过创新推动长期公路的发展。在这项研究中，将采用通过PI和四家知识增强合作伙伴(KEP)小企业过去的研究证明具有潜力的新材料。将开发几种模块化元件，包括镍钛形状记忆合金、内置弹性垫、工程水泥复合材料和纤维增强聚合物结构构件。将建立和测试大型结构模型，以评估在大变形下的性能，并确定改进和改进连接的措施。拟议的研究将是协作性的；通过在主要调查员和KEP业务成员之间定期安排面对面或网络辅助会议，实现广泛的思想、信息和知识交流。联合国资源研究所技术转让办公室保护私人投资机构和小企业合作伙伴知识产权的现有机制将用于促进该项目。由州和联邦公路机构的代表组成的项目顾问委员会将审查拟议的设计并提供反馈，以最大限度地提高桥梁建设中连接的验收概率。这项研究的更广泛影响是新的连接和立柱产品在美国和其他国家具有潜在的新市场，特别是对参与该项目的知识增强合作伙伴小企业来说。对出行的公众来说，潜在的好处是没有损坏的桥梁，即使在飓风和地震等灾难性事件发生后，也可以保持正常运行。救护车和消防车等应急车辆将能够继续使用高速公路系统，并提供急需的服务，而不会延误。对普通公众的影响是更有效地利用材料和能源，减少污染，因为可持续和可回收的桥梁节省了大量能源。该项目的直接教育影响是，包括研究生和本科生在内的UNR团队和小企业合作伙伴将通过密切合作获得知识。该项目的目的是让本科生参与到具有挑战性和目的性的研究背景中，以激励他们继续研究生教育。新材料的测试将通过网络直播，测试时间表将广泛公布，以最大限度地增加在线访问量。这项研究的结果将在项目网站上公布。此外，还将向不同的技术小组进行介绍，并将该项目的亮点纳入两门高级结构工程课程。为了最大限度地提高代表性不足群体参与的可能性，PI将与UNR McNair计划(该计划旨在增加来自代表性不足群体的博士生数量)合作，并寻求帮助寻找有潜力的本科生和博士生参与该项目。该项目开始时的合作伙伴是知识增强伙伴关系(KEP)单位，该单位由内华达大学雷诺分校(土木工程和环境工程部和技术转移办公室的结构工程项目)和四家小企业组成：动态隔离系统(DIS)公司(内华达州麦卡伦)、光纤矩阵公司(内华达州斯帕克斯)、Hexel Fyfe有限公司(加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥)和Nitinol技术公司(加利福尼亚州帕洛阿尔托)。其他合作伙伴是公共部门组织：联邦公路管理局、加利福尼亚州交通部、南卡罗来纳州交通部和华盛顿州交通部。

This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project from the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) has two primary objectives: to develop novel precast concrete bridge elements to resist loads such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc., without being damaged and to develop connection and column products that can be disassembled and recycled. Meeting these objectives will provide essential elements for a new paradigm, "Highway for Life (HFL)," an expression created by the Federal Highway Administration for the U.S. highway industry to capture the idea of advancing long lasting highways through innovation. In this study, novel materials with demonstrated potential through past studies by the PI and four knowledge-enhancement partner (KEP) small businesses will be adopted. Several modular elements will be developed consisting of Nickel-Titanium shape memory alloys, built-in elastomeric pads, engineered cementitious composites, and fiber-reinforced polymer structural members. Large-scale structural models will be built and tested to evaluate performance under large deformations and to identify measures to improve and refine the connections. The proposed research will be collaborative; involving an extensive exchange of ideas, information, and knowledge enabled by using regularly scheduled face-to-face or cyber-assisted meetings among the principal investigator and KEP business members. The existing mechanisms at UNR Technology Transfer Office to protect intellectual property of the PIs and of the small business partners will be used to facilitate the project. A project advisory board consisting of representatives from state and federal highway agencies will review the proposed designs and provide feedback to maximize the probability of acceptance of the connections in bridge construction.The broader impacts of this research are new connection and column products with potential new markets in the U.S. and other countries, especially for the knowledge enhancement partner small businesses involved in this project. The potential benefits to the travelling public are damage-free bridges that could remain functional even after disastrous events such as hurricanes and earthquakes. Emergency response vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks will be able to continue to use the highway system and provide the much needed service without delays. The impact on the general public is a more efficient use of materials and energy and less pollution because sustainable and recyclable bridges save tremendous amounts of energy. The direct educational impact of the project is the knowledge that the UNR team, including graduate and undergraduate students, and the small business partners will gain by closely working with each other. It is the intent of the project to engage undergraduate students in a research context which is both challenging and purposeful, so as to motivate them to pursue graduate education. The tests of the novel materials will be webcast with the testing schedule widely announced to maximize the number of online visitors. The findings from this study will be posted on the project website. Furthermore, presentations to various technical groups will be made and the highlights of the project will be incorporated in two advanced structural engineering courses. To maximize the probability of involvement of underrepresented groups, the PI will work with the UNR McNair program (a program aimed at increasing the number of doctoral students from underrepresented groups) and seek assistance in identifying potential talented students at the undergraduate and PhD level who could work on the project. Partners at the inception of the project are the Knowledge-Enhancement Partnership (KEP) unit, consisting of the University of Nevada Reno (the structural engineering program of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and the Technology Transfer Office) and four small businesses: Dynamic Isolation Systems (DIS), Inc. (McCarran, NV), FiberMatrix, Inc. (Sparks, NV), Hexel Fyfe Co. LLC (San Diego, CA) and Nitinol Technology, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA). Other partners are public sector organizations: Federal Highway Administration, California Department of Transportation, South Carolina Department of Transportation, and State of Washington Department of Transportation.