CIR
Center for Infrastructure Renewal

Texas A&M University

News

ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) Visits CIR

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Earlier this month, the Geotechnical and Unbound Materials Innovation Lab and the Advanced Infrastructure Materials and Manufacturing Lab at the CIR were visited by ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL). The visitors included the Branch Chief of the Geotechnical Division, Mr. Chris Price, Dr. Lucas Walshire (Geotechnical Engineer), Dr. Joe G. Tom (Research Civil Engineer), and Samantha Lucker (Research Geologist).

Research underway at the CIR, located at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus, encompasses all aspects of infrastructure, from concrete and asphalt to plastics and polymer additives. Dr. Puppala’s research group specializes in geomechanics and geotechnical aspects such as pavement and materials stabilization for infrastructure support and unsaturated and expansive soils characterization, and is part of the CIR’s Geotechnical and Unbound Materials Innovation Lab.

The GSL is dedicated to creating innovative solutions to support the nation’s security, defense, public safety, and infrastructure. This ranges from running the world’s most powerful centrifuge dedicated to engineering and scientific research to creating asphalt that quickly repairs remote airfields to developing rapidly deployable protection systems that shield buildings from damage.

ERDC GSL group photo at CIR ERDC GSL lab tour of CIR ERDC GSL lab tour of CIR

As part of their visit, the GSL team was invited to present a TEES Tech Talk, along with touring several geotechnical laboratories with the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR). These included Dr. Marcelo Sanchez and Dr. Jean-Louis Briaud’s labs.

Dr. Puppala thanked the ERDC GSL team for their visit and possible future collaborations between TEES and ERDC.

Dr. Hemanta Hazarika Presented Talk on “Earthquake Induced Fluidized Flow in Ground with Gentle Slopes”

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As part of the Center for Infrastructure Renewal’s Seminar Series, Dr. Hemanta Hazarika with Kyushu University, Japan, provided a talk on “Earthquake Induced Fluidized Flow in Ground with Gentle Slopes”. The 2018 Sulawesi (Indonesia) earthquake triggered long distance fluidized failure associated with the liquefaction of gentle slopes. Based on field reconnaissance, the topography, geology, and ground structure are quantitatively evaluated. Also, through laboratory soil tests, model experiments, and numerical simulations, the mechanism of slip vulnerability of low-gradient ground is clarified.

Group Photo with Hazarika Hazarika Seminar Presentation Hazarika Presenting Seminar

Dr. Hazarika is currently a professor in the Graduate School of Engineering and Department of Interdisciplinary Science and Innovation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. He obtained his Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, India in 1990. He obtained his master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering in 1993 from Nagoya University, Japan and Ph. D. from the same university in 1996. Currently, he is also adjunct professor of IIT Madras, India.

Dr. Hazarika’s research activities include disaster prevention and mitigation, soil-structure interaction, stability of soil-structures during earthquakes and tsunami, ground improvement, application of recycled waste and lightweight materials in constructions, stability of cut slopes, and landslides and their protection.

We were honored to have Dr. Hazarika provide his lecture to faculty, staff, and students at the CIR.

Krishneswar Ramineni Awarded GSI Fellowship

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Krishneswar Ramineni with the Geomechanics/Geotechnical Research Group under CIR Interim Director Dr. Anand Puppala was recently awarded a GSI Fellowship for his research proposal “Performance Evaluation of the Geosynthetic Reinforced Unpaved Pavement Sections Constructed over Weaker Subgrade Conditions based on Large-Scale Repeated Load Tests”.

Geosynthetic Institute LogoKrishneswar is a doctoral student at the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University. He completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad. After his bachelor’s, he worked as Graduate Engineer at Aarvee Associates, Hyderabad. Rk received his M.S in Civil Engineering degree with focus on pavement engineering from Texas A&M University.

His Professional interests include Geotechnical engineering, Pavement Engineering, Microstructural characterization of Construction materials, and Sustainable materials for Highway infrastructure.

Krishneswar Ramineni headshot

 

Dr. Puppala to Provide ASCE Sustainability Webinar on 10/05

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Join the American Society of Civil Engineers Sustainability Technical Committee and Geo-Institute of ASCE on Wednesday, October 5th at 12:00pm ET for a free, live webinar via the ASCE Continuing Education. The webinar, Sustainability Studies and Assessments of Ground Modification Works for Civil Infrastructure, will be presented by Bhaskar Chittoori and Anand Puppala.

Ground improvement design is key to the preparation of construction sites and roads. This webinar will discuss a novel framework that evaluates sustainable elements of various ground improvement studies for civil infrastructure. Studies dealing with ground improvement of slopes, embankments, and pavement infrastructure will be presented. The webinar will also touch on environmental, economic, and societal benefits of ground improvement.

FREE Registration: https://lnkd.in/eVV735Xq

ASCE webinar logo

NCMRL Advanced Manufacturing Articles

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Two fresh research papers on high entropy alloy (HEA) corrosion behavior have been published in the Corrosion Science and Journal of Alloys and Compounds. The two papers discuss the degradation mechanisms of a newly synthesized HEA, and are products of a recent collaborations between National Corrosion and Materials Reliability Laboratory (NCMRL) and the Ocean Engineering Department of Texas A&M University.

HEAs are advanced alloys that have been recently discovered that contain five or more principal elements in certain ratios. The wide ranges of compositions and microstructures make them exhibit certain exceptional mechanical properties. This makes them a key in shaping the future of material design and manufacturing. When designing a new HEA, one of the main considerations is whether it can work in various environments, or if it shows excellent corrosion resistance. However, it’s usually not that straightforward. In order to advance the understanding of the corrosion behavior of HEAs, researchers at Texas A&M University are collaborating to bring new insights to fully tackle those questions.

These two new papers are the most recent effort of NCMRL to improve the competitiveness of US in advanced manufacturing. Currently, NCMRL is also implementing new research in discerning the corrosion behavior of 3D-printed metals and developing new testing methods and standards for this novel manufacture approach.

Corrosion sample

For details, the papers can be downloaded via the links below. Please check out the NCMRL’s recent publications page for the latest publications.

  1. Development of a non-equimolar AlCrCuFeNi high-entropy alloy and its corrosive response to marine environment under different temperatures and chloride concentrations 
  2. The grain size effect on corrosion property of Al2Cr5Cu5Fe53Ni35 high-entropy alloy in marine environment
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