Materials and Infrastructure

Group Leader: Jennifer Bridge, Ph.D.

Jennifer Bridge, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Civil & Coastal Engineering. Bridge’s research interests are in the area of structural dynamics with an emphasis on structural health monitoring, wireless smart sensor networks, wind hazard mitigation, and full-scale bridge assessment. She strives to improve infrastructure monitoring strategies by utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to the development and application of novel sensors and sensing systems.

Mission

To conduct research, education and service activities in the field of infrastructures and related materials. As well as promote sustainable practices in infrastructure engineering, enhance understanding of distress mechanisms and failure modes, develop testing and conditioning procedures to improve material characterization, and develop design approaches for pavement systems and foundations that optimize performance.

Projects

Project Title	PI	Funding Source	Status
CAREER: Loading on Coastal Bridges in Windstorms Using Rapidly Deployable Sensor Network	Jennifer Bridge, Ph.D.	National Science Foundation	Active
Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAV) for Structural Inspection	Jennifer Bridge, Ph.D.	Florida Department of Transportation	Completed 2018
Wind Effects on Mast Arms	Jennifer Bridge, Ph.D.	Florida Department of Transportation	Completed 2018
Sunshine Skyway Bridge Monitoring Phase II: System Deployment	Jennifer Bridge, Ph.D.	Florida Department of Transportation	Active
Monster Jam Load Study	Jennifer Bridge, Ph.D.	Feld Entertainment	Completed 2019
Elements: Cyberinfrastructure Service for IoT-Based Construction Research and Applications	Aaron Costin, Ph.D.	National Science Foundation	Active
Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Bridges and Structures	Aaron Costin, Ph.D.	Transportation Pooled Fund Program	Active
Cognition-driven Display for Navigation Activities (Cog-DNA): Personalized Spatial Information System Based on Information Personality of Firefighters	Eric Jing Du, Ph.D.	National Institute of Standards and Technology	Active
Convergence Accelerator Phase I (RAISE): Learning Environments with Advanced Robotics for Next-Generation Emergency Responders (LEARNER)	Eric Jing Du, Ph.D.	National Science Foundation	Active
HDBE: Collaborative Research: Personalized Systems for Wayfinding for First Responders	Eric Jing Du, Ph.D.	National Science Foundation	Active
Rating Concrete Water Permeability Based on Resistivity Measurements	Chris Ferraro, Ph.D.	Transportation Research Board/NCHRP 18-19	Active
Boron Concrete For Active Formation of Lithium As Mitigation of Neutron-Induced Expansion and Passive Neutron Absorption	Chris Ferraro, Ph.D.	Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy U.S. Department of Energy	Active
Predictive, Model-Assisted Guided Wave Structural Health Monitoring	Joel B. Harley, Ph.D.	Air Force Office of Scientific Research	Active
Durability Evaluation of Ternary Mix Designs for Extremely Aggressive Exposures Phase II	Kyle Riding, Ph.D.	Florida Department of Transportation Research Center	Active
Phase II: Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) Use in Florida Structural Applications	Kyle Riding, Ph.D.	Florida Department of Transportation Research Center	Active
Track Structure Modification to Reduce Track Pressure and Settlement at Transition Areas	Kyle Riding, Ph.D.	US Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration	Active
Enhanced Characterization of RAP for Cracking Performance	Reynaldo Roque, Ph.D.	Florida Department of Transportation	Completed 2020
In-service Assessment of Road Sinkholes with 2D Ambient Noise Tomography	Khiem Tran, Ph.D.	Florida Department of Transportation	Active
Investigation of the Impact of Milling and Construction on the Bond Strength of Remaining Thin (Scab) Layers	Reynaldo Roque, Ph.D. & Jian Zou, Ph.D.	Florida Department of Transportation	Active
Collaborative Research: 3D Ambient Noise Tomography (3D ANT) for Natural Hazards Engineering	Khiem Tran, Ph.D.	National Science Foundation	Active
Geotechnical Site Characterization with 3-D Full Seismic Waveform Tomography	Khiem Tran, Ph.D.	National Science Foundation	Active

Participants

Facilities

Weil Hall Structures and Materials Laboratory

The Weil Hall Structures and Materials Laboratory (affectionately known as “The Pit”) is a fully equipped civil engineering materials preparation and testing laboratory. The Laboratory specializes in concrete design and testing as well as small to large scale structural experiment testing.

Powell Family Structures & Materials Laboratory

The Powell Family Structures and Materials Laboratory is located on the East Campus of the University of Florida and is part of the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The facility consists of a 6000 square foot lab space with a 30-foot high ceiling and 4-foot thick concrete strong floor, a 2000 square foot machine shop with a 12-foot ceiling, a 5000 square foot general lab space with a 16-foot high ceiling, a 120 linear foot wind tunnel, a 220 square foot instrumentation room, and several offices & storage rooms. Research in this facility is primarily directed at earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, and blast/impact in the context of structural damage mitigation and human intervention.