While after the Sept. 11 attacks many were learning how to cope with loss, engineers world-wide including KU’s civil and engineering professor Bai Yong, began research on efficient and fast city infrastructure reconstruction for future emergencies.
Yong and his team, which focused specifically on rapid bridge replacement, received a $36,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in mid-April to organize a workshop in China to do further research on the topic.
“Bringing in two mirror image groups to set up lines of communication is ideal,” said professor of civil engineering, Steven McCabe. “It is an opportunity for interaction.”
If a bridge were used to get to school or work each day or it was used to transport supplies, everyone would be asking the same questions, Yong said. “How long will it take for the bridge to be fixed, what technology will be used, what will it cost?”
The project gained even more importance after natural disasters like hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in South Asia.
“Bridges are key components in the economic life of communities and represent the key elements in moving emergency services following extreme events,” Yong said.
Workshop leads to discussions
The workshop will consist of seminars such as Chinese and US civil engineering education systems, development of multidisciplinary curriculums on rapid bridge replacement after extreme events and roundtable discussions in which both professors and students will contribute ideas.
Christine Atkins, Moorland senior will be the only undergraduate student of the 10 KU members to participate in the workshop.
“I am excited for the privilege to be a part of this,” Atkins said. “As an undergrad with a major in architectural engineering and in hopes of getting masters in structural engineering, I know that I will benefit from all of the information.”
China was chosen as the summit location because of its immense infrastructure system including hundreds of highways, bridges and railway systems.
“We are going to identify communication issues and problems that both countries face. We will then develop research agendas in areas that need to be reviewed,” McCabe said. “With on going collaboration between the two groups we will have an eye towards the future.”
An old project gains new interests
Yong began working on the rapid bridge replacement project as a student in Texas, but in 2004 when he came to teach at KU his research began to accelerate. Yong used the money he received from the new faculty general research fund toward his work.
His research included examining 26 case studies of damaged bridges and outlining needs for future improvements. The professor found that a lack of communication between parties involved in bridge replacement was a key issue. He also found that projects often ended up with an increase from the estimated price and scheduled time.
After using static methods for organize and analyzing the data of construction productivity and using specialized software packages to detected possible errors, Yong applied for received another grant from the KU Transportation Research Institute (KTRI).
Technology used for research
The professor and his team then began work on the wireless real-time productivity measurement system.
The system includes a video-camera, data processor, a laptop, antennas and an AC transformer. It is designed to be used by construction crews to measure efficiency and estimate the cost and amount of time it will take for the bridge to be replaced.
“[The system has] great promise to address communication and coordination issues, to control cost overruns, to improve construction schedule forecasts, and to increase emergency response capability after extreme events,” said KTRI director Robert Honea. “The idea is to eliminate any wasted steps in the total construction process and save money and time.”
The workshop, which will take place in the fall for a week and a half, is being organized by Yong and his team.
Aside from KU participants of the meeting will include Clemson, Iowa State, New Mexico and Hawaii universities as well as Tongji, Chongqing and Tsinghua universities in China, which will also serve as hosts of the workshop.
