MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS DEFENSE BY: Steven Brown
When: Monday,
November 7, 2016
12:00 PM
-
2:00 PM
Where: Textiles Building 101E
Cost: free
Description: TOPIC: MEASURING DEFLECTION OF A ROAD SURFACE
LOCATION: Lester W. Cory Conference Room, Science & Engineering Building (Group II), Room 213A
ABSTRACT:
Due to an event known as the frost-thaw cycle, roadways in colder climates are susceptible to damage caused by heavy vehicles driving on asphalt supported by soft, water-logged soil. The soft road underbed is unable to properly support the asphalt, and cracks may form leading to further road damage. Civil engineers attempt to prevent this damage by implementing Seasonal Load Restrictions (SLRs) on heavy trafficked roads when weather conditions predict that the soil may become too soft under roads. To assist civil engineers in assessing the accuracy of weather-impacted predictions, a sensor system designed to measure the temperature gradient underneath roadways was developed by a team of graduate students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, under a federal Department of Transportation grant awarded to Dr. Paul Fortier of the College of Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. During the development stage of this project, the desire arose to directly measure the impact heavy vehicles have on vulnerable roadways.
It is to this end that the development of a sensor capable of measuring roadway deflection was commissioned. By directly measuring the movement of asphalt when a vehicle passes over it, the efficacy of an SLR could be quantified, leading to refinements of the methods used in determining the conditions necessary to warrant an SLR, which can have impact on local travel and commerce. Utilizing micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) components and low-power microcontrollers allows integration of a deflection sensor into the existing temperature-measuring system with little need for reconfiguration of the prebuilt systems.
NOTE: All ECE Graduate Students are ENCOURAGED to attend.
All interested parties are invited to attend. Open to the public.
Advisor: Dr. Paul Fortier
Committee Members: Dr. Hong Liu and Dr. Honggang Wang, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Dr. Heather J. Miller, Department of Civil Engineering
*For further information, please contact Dr. Paul J. Fortier at 508.999.8544, or via email at pfortier@umassd.edu.
LOCATION: Lester W. Cory Conference Room, Science & Engineering Building (Group II), Room 213A
ABSTRACT:
Due to an event known as the frost-thaw cycle, roadways in colder climates are susceptible to damage caused by heavy vehicles driving on asphalt supported by soft, water-logged soil. The soft road underbed is unable to properly support the asphalt, and cracks may form leading to further road damage. Civil engineers attempt to prevent this damage by implementing Seasonal Load Restrictions (SLRs) on heavy trafficked roads when weather conditions predict that the soil may become too soft under roads. To assist civil engineers in assessing the accuracy of weather-impacted predictions, a sensor system designed to measure the temperature gradient underneath roadways was developed by a team of graduate students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, under a federal Department of Transportation grant awarded to Dr. Paul Fortier of the College of Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. During the development stage of this project, the desire arose to directly measure the impact heavy vehicles have on vulnerable roadways.
It is to this end that the development of a sensor capable of measuring roadway deflection was commissioned. By directly measuring the movement of asphalt when a vehicle passes over it, the efficacy of an SLR could be quantified, leading to refinements of the methods used in determining the conditions necessary to warrant an SLR, which can have impact on local travel and commerce. Utilizing micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) components and low-power microcontrollers allows integration of a deflection sensor into the existing temperature-measuring system with little need for reconfiguration of the prebuilt systems.
NOTE: All ECE Graduate Students are ENCOURAGED to attend.
All interested parties are invited to attend. Open to the public.
Advisor: Dr. Paul Fortier
Committee Members: Dr. Hong Liu and Dr. Honggang Wang, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Dr. Heather J. Miller, Department of Civil Engineering
*For further information, please contact Dr. Paul J. Fortier at 508.999.8544, or via email at pfortier@umassd.edu.
Contact:
ECE: Electrical & Computer Engineering Department 508.999.9164 http://www.umassd.edu/engineering/ece/
Topical Areas: General Public, University Community, College of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering