A pipeline that lasts a century
University of Texas at Arlington
Picture: Ali Abolmaali View more
The Dean of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington has been awarded a $653,000 contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to test the strength and durability of more durable polypropylene fiber-embedded concrete pipes sex.
The team led by Professor Zeng Huang, Ali Abolmaali, will monitor and evaluate the performance of these pipes through internal inspections of the robot, and will scan the samples with an electron microscope to test their chemical composition.
"Professor Abolmaali's research on synthetic fiber concrete pipes has been at the forefront of research in this field, and has led to the formulation of new international standards and the recognition of the American Concrete Piping Association," said Vistasp Karbhari, President of UTA. "The new research project will undoubtedly go one step further through performance evaluation in this field-and further consolidate Professor Abolmaali's reputation as a leading international researcher and the department's position as a leader in pipeline research. The United States. I serve him and others. The faculty and staff are very proud of the way they have not only created new innovations, but also quickly translated these innovations into industrial applications. This is a real example of influential university research."
Abolmaali is an internationally recognized authority on synthetic fiber reinforced concrete pipes. He wrote a global standard in 2015—ASTM C1818 Specification for Synthetic Fiber Concrete Culverts, Stormwater Drains, and Sewer Pipes, which describes a technically robust reinforcement option that can be used for underground pipelines. The long-term performance of these pipes reinforced with polypropylene synthetic coarse fibers was observed in tests in Florida.
ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services.
"We are the first researchers in the world to test and develop synthetic fiber concrete pipes, and we are also the first time that we have established a global standard," Abolmaali said. "We hope that our cooperation with TxDOT will show that these pipelines are sustainable and have a service life of more than 100 years."
Abolmaali said that previous tests have shown that synthetic fiber reinforced concrete pipes have a service life of 375 years, which is much longer than reinforced concrete pipes.
Abolmaali's work is an example of a sustainable urban community, and it is one of the four themes of UTA's 2020 strategic plan. It also reflects the great challenge of the National Academy of Engineering in restoring and improving urban infrastructure, which points out that good design and advanced materials can improve transportation and energy, water and waste systems, and create a more sustainable urban environment.
“Dr. Abolmaali has long been one of the world’s experts in the design and finite element analysis of sustainable structural concrete pipes. His work to write standards for these pipes is an important part of ensuring that concrete pipes are designed, constructed and used in a highly sustainable manner. Part of the method," said Peter Crouch, dean of the School of Engineering. "These tests can save Texas taxpayers a lot of money and ensure that the state's infrastructure remains strong in the coming years."
In addition to his work at TxDOT, Abolmaali has previously received funding from the Tarrant Regional Water District and Water Research Foundation to simulate the behavior of large-diameter water pipelines in different types of soil in order to establish standards that the industry can use in the future Infrastructure projects.
He also leads a team of the UTA School of Civil Engineering, which is conducting an academic review of the City of Fort Worth's infrastructure policies, practice manuals, and guidelines.
UTA has been an important partner of TxDOT to assess and improve the state’s highway infrastructure. Its scope of projects includes a wide range of projects, including the development of the workforce of concrete paving specialists and studies that examine the safety, durability, and environmental impact of roads and bridges in the state. A project that better monitors and predicts weak points of soil that may cause slope collapse on state highways was recognized by the Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials as one of the top 16 high-value research projects in the country in 2019.
U.S. News and World Report's 2020 "Best Graduate School" list, the School of Engineering ranked 82nd in the United States, and the UTA Civil Engineering Graduate Program ranked 89th. In addition, SR Education Group ranks 9th in UTA in its "Best Graduate School" list. The best online universities offering a master's degree in civil engineering in 2019".
——Written by Jeremy Agor, School of Engineering
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Herb Booth hbooth@uta.edu Office: 817-272-7075
University of Texas at Arlington
Copyright © 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Copyright © 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)