UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 9, Page 1
October 28, 1993
Composites center a part of $21M research program

     The University's Center for Composite Materials (CCM) is part of a
consortium that has been awarded $21 million for a research program to
investigate advanced composites for bridge infrastructure renewal.
     Vistasp M. Karbhari, associate scientist at CCM and research assistant
professor of civil engineering, is the University's principal investigator
for the project.
     The grant was awarded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
through its Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP), a program aimed at
stimulating the transition to a national industrial capability that
provides advanced, affordable military systems and competitive commercial
projects.
     The goal of the proposed work is to demonstrate that advanced
polymer-matrix composites and fabrication technologies-developed largely by
and for the defense industry-can be converted and applied in a
cost-effective manner to solve critical civil infrastructure problems. The
approach is part of an overall "dual-use" strategy whereby defense
technologies are deployed in commercial ventures and vice versa, and new
technologies are developed that have potential applications in both
sectors.
     Composites-materials that combine a resin matrix with reinforcing
fibers-are strong and lightweight. Specific advantages of applying them to
new bridge systems and bridge retrofit/repair include reduced construction
and maintenance costs, faster erection, corrosion resistance, extended
service life, and increased seismic resistance.
     Composites also enable structures to be erected more rapidly and with
less disruption to existing traffic patterns. Finally, they can be tailored
to control heat expansion and vibration, and they can be designed to be
non-magnetic and non-conductive.
     "This program offers the potential for major breakthroughs in a new
composites application area," said CCM Director R. L. McCullough. "We had
the vision to see infrastructure rehabilitation as an area with high
potential several years ago, and we selected it as a new research
initiative in 1991. Under Dr. Karbhari's leadership, we now have several
projects underway addressing various facets of this topic.
     "We're also very fortunate to have (associate professor of civil
engineering) Dennis Mertz, a renowned designer of steel bridges, on our
faculty. He is lending his expertise to complement our experience in
composites manufacturing as we pursue this new initiative."
     CCM research has addressed composites manufacturing since 1985, when
the National Science Foundation established an Engineering Research Center
for manufacturing science at the University. Since then, CCM has been
awarded two successive five-year grants from the Army Research Office
University Research Initiative (ARO/URI) program for work in the same
general area. Manufacturing science is viewed as key to the wider
acceptance and use of composites, whose development has been slowed by the
lack of low-cost, rapid, automated fabrication technologies.
     The researchers on the bridge project will be working closely with the
state departments of transportation (DelDOT and CalTrans) to ensure that
the work addresses their needs.
     "We're entering a new era of materials science," said Chao Hu,
assistant highway director for design at DelDOT. "I believe we're going to
change the way we've been doing things in infrastructure repair and
rehabilitation. DelDOT is eager to participate, and we plan to conduct some
experiments with advanced composites on some of our future highway
projects."
     "Once again, the University of Delaware's Center for Composite
Materials has been recognized as one of the leaders in the rapidly
expanding field of composites technology," said Delaware Sen. Joseph R.
Biden Jr. "The reputation it is gaining offers tremendous opportunity for
Delaware as this technology is used in ever-greater numbers of commercial
applications. This grant award is especially good news in light of the
seven other major research and development grants for which the center is
being considered."
     The bridge project will be conducted under the aegis of the Advanced
Composites Technology Transfer (ACTT) consortium, with the University of
California at San Diego (UCSD) serving as the host institution for the
consortium.
     Also contributing are nine companies, including three with a major
presence in the state of Delaware-Hercules, DuPont and Hardcore Composites.
Hercules brings to the project 30 years of design, fabrication and
testingexpertise with advanced composite materials and large fabricated
structures.
     The company also expects to supply composite materials for the actual
construction. DuPont and Hardcore Composites will contribute a proprietary
infusion molding process for low-cost large composite structures. DuPont
will also supply high-performance fibers such as Kevlar(r) that are used
for ropes and cables.
     "One critical aspect of this problem is close cooperation between the
University of Delaware and UCSD," said Gilbert A. Hegemier, principal
investigator for UCSD. "On the one hand, the Center for Composite Materials
at Delaware has a lot of capabilities in processing and fabrication of
composites. And, on the other, UCSD has extensive experience in civil
structures and large-scale testing.
     "The marriage of the two is absolutely essential in addressing this
problem."
     The bridge project proposal was one of almost 3,000 submitted to the
TRP in July. A total of almost $500 million is being distributed under the
program.
                                                  -Diane S. Kukich