Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Session 1526

NDT and Instrumentation In an Undergraduate Concrete Lab

Amir Mirmiran University of Central Florida

ABSTRACT The first year implementation of an NSF-ILI project for enhancing the concrete lab with NDT and instrumentation modules is discussed. A two-semester laboratory is developed to parallel the lectures in the two concrete courses; namely, Reinforced Concrete Structures and Concrete Design project. The new laboratory has significantly increased students’ interest in, and learning from, the courses.

INTRODUCTION University of Central Florida is a member of the Florida State University System, offering over 100 degree programs to a student body of over 28,000. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees to about 600 undergraduates and 135 graduates. The structural program includes Statics, Mechanics of Materials, Structural Analysis I & II, Structural Lab, Steel Structures, Steel Design, Reinforced Concrete Structures, and Concrete Design. All civil engineering students have to take either steel or concrete in their curriculum. While those interested in structures take both courses, other students have traditionally favored concrete among the two. Feedback from the alumni and local industry had indicated a need for comprehensive concrete lab and field experience. Previously, concrete tests were limited, and combined with other materials in a one-credit Structural Lab. Most students take this course with Structural Analysis I, at least one semester prior to their first exposure to concrete materials. Although, this arrangement made for a good coordination with Structural Analysis, there was no such correspondence between the concrete tests and its subsequent lectures. This project had two objectives; (a) enhancement of existing concrete lab and coordination between experiments and lectures, and (b) incorporating Non- Destructive Testing (NDT) and instrumentation techniques in concrete lab.

BACKGROUND NDT methods have undergone significant advances in the last two decades. The main driving force is the need for evaluating damages and characterizing the integrity of existing structures in general, and infrastructure in particular [5]. Construction industry has adopted new inspection programs with several NDT techniques, many of which initiated in the research units of universities, and were then transferred to the industry for use and further development. However, in most cases, they did not infiltrate the classrooms. As a result, engineering graduates are not properly trained to utilize NDT equipments. Other countries have placed a greater emphasis on NDT in their education system [6]. Similar efforts exist in the U.S., but are rare. Collins and Alexander [1] indicate that proficiency in NDT is best learned hands-on, as industry has found, where all the variables become apparent, and the role of judgement is as important as equipment and techniques. Civil engineers need to fully understand both the capabilities and the limitations of NDT techniques, if they are going to undertake the important task of inspection and rehabilitation of the nation's aging infrastructure [2].

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Mirmiran, A. (1998, June), Ndt And Instrumentation In An Undergraduate Concrete Lab Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--7305