9414007 Tsiatas, George This is an instrumentation award. The equipment will be used for infrastructure related research. Five projects that will make extensive use of this equipment are: a) Fatigue strength evaluation of deteriorated highway bridges. b) The use of "fatigue fuses" under variable amplitude loading develop predictive methodologies for the fatigue life of steel highway bridges. c) Acoustic non-destructive techniques for structural integrity monitoring d) Study of a new class of extremely high strength but brittle materials, emphasizing the use of new acoustics sensors to predict impending failure. e) Application of geosynthetic materials for use in local infrastructure rehabilitation. Support for the research will be provided from the Rhode Island of Transportation and local companies. The interaction with local industry provides a unique opportunity for expanding innovative technology to a variety of new areas through collaborative research efforts. A new state-of-the-art facility will be available soon to house the equipment in the new engineering building. ***
