Award Data

This proposal responds to DOT topic 081-PH2 "Hazardous Materials (Using Handheld Devices to Assist in Emergency Response to Hazardous Materials Incidents)." The significant innovation in this project involves extending cutting edge tools developed to enhance situation awareness among first responders with appropriate hazmat and traffic information to create a framework for interperting traffic re ...

This proposal describes the application of a mature nanotechnology-based crack arrest / structural repair technology as a novel crack arrestor tool for high-strength pipelines. The crack arrestor would comprise a thin layer or sleeve of electrodeposited nanocrystalline material applied to the outside of the pipe either in the coating mill during fabrication or in-field during or following constru ...

This proposal describes the application of a mature nanotechnology-based crack arrest/structural repair technology as a novel in-field pipeline repair tool. The repair would be comprised of a thin layer or sleeve of electrodeposited nancrystalline material applied to the damaged region of the pipe in order to utilize the "crack filling" characteristic of the process. The concept proposed has alr ...

Laser Technology Inc. (LTI) proposes a Phase II SBIR research project to further develop a Compact Shearography System, Analysis Method and Software for micro-crack detection in concrete. There is an urgent need to detect and characterize fine cracks in concrete that form because of various damage mechanisms including alkali-silicate reaction, delayed ettringite formation or frost damage. Fine s ...

Individual differences in vulnerability to sleep loss and fatigue from extended work hours and night work are a substantial problem in transportation work schedule development, fatigue risk management strategies, and prediction of performance impairment in real-world operations. This project will deliver an individualized Fatigue Management Program (FMP) technology for trucking operations that in ...

Development of the basic EMAT based transverse rail defect detector has progressed toward finished form, as envisioned in the original solicitation. This modification is intended to produce a demonstratable version of a 2-rail detection system with automated signal interpertation. The objectives of this work are to: a. Further develop the system into a functioning 2-rail detection system, as ori ...

Fracture toughness is the material parameter that, along with applied loading and flaw geometry, dictates the critical crack size, and therefore controls the flaw size that must be detected during inspections. A major challenge facing pipeline operators is that many pipelines are old, making their structural integrity uncertain, and that material pedigree of the pipeline steel is unknown. Therefor ...

Restoration of coral reefs is dependent upon an ability to adhere young corals, grown in tanks, onto inorganic substrates within the seas. The epoxies in current use do not provide a viable path to restoration owing to poor adhesion underwater, lengthy mixing of components needed, clouds of toxic epoxy precursors released into the water, and extensive diver time needed to clean the underlying cora ...

Computer forecasts of weather and climate variability created by the U.S. and other nations on the subseasonal scale (weeks) and on the seasonal scale (months) are increasingly used by private and public activities to mitigate risk and seize opportunity. These forecasts are produced as ensembles of tens of individual computer forecasts and are most useful when calibrated by comparing histories of ...

This project investigates an innovative modular steel bridge deck system of a “sandwich” design for achieving the necessary stiffness in orthogonal directions employing two steel plates separated by a steel stiffening core.Such a layered composite deck could become an ideal solution for the next generation of bridge applications.With the appropriate choice of the core profile, the transverse s ...