Tag: research: Page 3

Roadbuilding

NDSU to receive $2.5 million federal grant for infrastructure preservation study

Researchers from five states—North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado—hope to develop new ways to preserve and improve transportation infrastructure through a newly-awarded federal grant in the amount of $2.5 million over the next five years, Inforum reports. The research will be headed up by North Dakota State University’s Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. Tom […]

January 9, 2017

Roadbuilding

MIT research finds road maintenance can lower CO2 emissions

If Congress and drivers need another reason to invest money in road maintenance, reducing greenhouse gas emissions may be it. According to a report from MIT News, a paper published in the Journal of Cleaner Production by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) researchers—Arghavan Louhghalam and Mehdi Akbarian, plus CSHub faculty director Professor Franz-Josef Ulm—offers […]

September 9, 2016

Roadbuilding

Carbon nanotube ‘smart skin’ may identify bridge issues before a collapse

Before a bridge collapses, there can be subtle warning signs, but they can be hard to detect. A new study in the Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation focuses on a carbon nanotube sensor that may be able to identify bridge issues before a collapse occurs. According to a press release from the University of Delaware, several years ago, Erik Thostenson and […]

July 25, 2016

Roadbuilding

Indestructible bridges could be possible with ‘form-finding’ design process

A new generation of indestructible bridges could be possible, thanks to research being done at the University of Warwick. According to a news release posted to Science Daily, Emeritus Professor Wanda Lewis in the School of Engineering is using a design process called ‘form-finding’ to design rigid structures that follow a strong natural form sustained by a force of […]

July 18, 2016

Roadbuilding

USDOT offers up to $377.5 million for the University Transportation Centers Program

The United States Department of Transportation is offering up to $377.5 million over the next five years for the University Transportation Centers Program. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a release that the department is offering up to $72.5 million for 2016. This year marks the first time two-year colleges have been eligible to apply for […]

March 3, 2016

Roadbuilding

Stronger, longer bridge girders the aim of research collaboration between University of Alabama, ALDOT

More durable and longer bridge girders could spell cheaper construction costs among other benefits, and a few engineering researchers at the University of Alabama are trying to make that a reality. According to a UA news release, researchers are testing longer, stronger giant concrete bridge girders in a lab at the University of Alabama. The […]

September 18, 2015

Roadbuilding

Illinois Tollway to launch first ever technology test site

The Illinois Tollway is set to build a “living laboratory” which will serve as a unique test site to improve existing products and study technology advancements.  The test site will immediately focus on smartphone tolling applications and I-Pass transponders to instantly confirm toll payments. “This project will help us fine tune current technologies to improve […]

July 18, 2014

Roadbuilding

Pre-fabricated bridge design could resist earthquake damage

A new framework design could make bridges more resistant to earthquakes while speeding construction, Science Daily reports. The design, which aims to improve the performance of the columns and beams that support bridges, is based on research findings that will be presented in Alaska later this month at a summit focusing on earthquakes. Researchers are […]

July 2, 2014

Construction Equipment

The Original Ice Road Truckers: 15th-century Chinese workers used frozen paths to move 100-ton stones

Get the History channel on the phone because we’ve got a great idea for their next reality series. A new engineering study delves into the mammoth task Chinese workers in the 15th Century faced in building the Forbidden City and the findings shed light on a brilliant tactic. The city was built with massive stones, […]

November 18, 2013

Construction Equipment

Buildings, heavy equipment and more could one day be built from these robotic, self-assembling building blocks

Any time the words “like…in the movie ‘Terminator II’” are uttered in a news article, we tend to take notice. Worries of a post-apocalyptic future where the machines have taken control, this bit of news out of MIT is still pretty cool. A team of researchers there have built self-assembling robots that could be the […]

October 14, 2013

Safety

Va. Tech researchers develop hard hat sensor to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning

Each year about one or two American workers die of suffocation from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Typically, these deaths are the result of operating gasoline-powered tools in confined spaces. Researchers at Virginia Tech want to reduce that number to 0. So, this team developed a clever sensor that attaches to a hard hats that acts […]

August 26, 2013

Equipment

Opinion: Why I write about Global Warming on a construction equipment site

A reader from Europe recently asked why I spend a lot of time blogging about global warming and other such environmental topics, as this is a website primarily dedicated to heavy equipment and construction. Since his was a reasonable and well written letter, I did not immediately trash it as one has to with most […]

July 17, 2013