Point Cloud Data Collection and Processing of Robber's Cave in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lidar scanning to digitally map the interior of Robber's Cave for supporting documentation for a National Park Service (NPS)/National Register of Historic Places (National Register) nomination. Performed in collaboration with History Nebraska. Role: PI. Status: Funded- Project Completed. Funding agency: History Nebraska.
Applications of LiDAR for DOT Applications
Prepare specifications for implementation and integration into existing workflows for structural, transportation, and geotechnical applications. Role: PI. Collaborators: Chung R. Song (co-PI) and Yong-Rak Kim (co-PI). Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: South Dakota Department of Transportation (includes funds provided by the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA).
Improvement of Low Traffic Volume Gravel Roads in Nebraska
Provide recommendations for surface gravel road specifications using native materials through material characterization and field assessment. Role: PI. Collaborator: Yong-Rak Kim (co-PI). Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation (includes funds provided by the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA).
Repair Practices for Damaged Precast/Prestressed Concrete Girders
Prepare best practices and recommendations for repair and retrofit of concrete girders following incidental loading. Role: co-PI. Collaborators: George Morcous (PI). Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation (includes funds provided by the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA).
Experimental Verification of Fencing Systems under Later Loads
Lab verification of fencing system, no further details (proprietary). Role: PI. Status: Funded- Project Completed.
Experimental Verification of Agricultural Support System
Proprietary-no details are available. Industry and Nebraska Department of Economic Development Sponsored (NDED). Role: PI. Collaborators: Christine E. Wittich (co-PI). Status: Funded- Project Completed.
Performance Evaluation of Inverted Tee (IT) Bridge System
Assess in-place inverted tee bridge systems for efficiency, durability, and cost-effectiveness. The project includes field assessment and numerical modeling techniques. Role: PI. Collaborator: George Morcous (co-PI). Status: Funded - Project Funded, Supplemented - Project Closed. Funding agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation (includes funds provided by the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA).
Post-Fire Damage Assessment of a Highway Bridge
Quantify and characterize damage current health state following vehicular file using ground-based lidar. Role: PI. Collaborators: Christine E. Wittich (co-PI). Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation (prime), HDR Inc. (indirect).
Autonomous Structural Health Monitoring of Critical Infrastructure Using Intelligent Multi-UAS
Seed research grant in the application of UAS and UAS swarms for structural health monitoring. Role: PI. Collaborators: Raj Dasgupta (UNO Computer Science, co-PI) and Robin Gandhi (UNO School of Interdisciplinary Informatics, co-PI). Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: University of Nebraska System Science Initiative.
Protocol to Evaluate and Load Rate Existing Bridges (part 2)
Part two of outlining field test evaluation procedures for older marginal bridges to verify their extended performance and capacity forthcoming. Role: co-PI. Collaborators: Daniel G. Linzell (PI), Joshua S. Steelman (co-PI), Saeed Yashar Eftekhar Azam (co-PI). Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation (includes funds provided by the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA).
RAPID/Collaborative Research: Multi-Platform 3-D Data Preservation of Tornado Damage to Engineered Structures in Texas during November 16-17, 2015
Digital data collection using ground-based LiDAR and tethered unmanned aerial vehicles for wind structure and wind speed estimations at the Halliburton Oilfield Services facility near Pampa, TX. Role: PI. Collaborative Partners: J. Arn Womble (West Texas A&M) and Douglas A. Smith (Texas Tech). Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: NSF Award No. CMMI-1623542.
Condition Assessment of Bridge Decks with Asphalt Overlay
Demonstrate example nondestructive testing techniques to quantify concrete bridge decks underneath thin asphalt overlays. Role: co-PI. Collaborators: Jinying Zhu (PI). Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation (includes funds provided by the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA), formerly Nebraska Department of Roads.
Structural Damage Detection from Three-Dimensional Point Clouds
Detect surface anomalies from large training point cloud sets. Role: PI. Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: University of Nebraska Foundation via a Layman Seed Grant.
Protocol to Evaluate and Load Rate Existing Bridges (part 1)
Outline field test evaluation procedures for older marginal bridges to verify their extended performance and capacity. Role: co-PI. Collaborators: Maria Szerszen (PI), Joshua Steelman (co-PI). Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation (includes funds provided by the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA), formerly Nebraska Department of Roads.
Design Procedures of Retrofitted Bridge Rail
Feasibility study to determine the capacity of shallow embedded anchorage for bridge rail within 3R (resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation) projects. Role: PI. Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation (includes funds provided by the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA), formerly Nebraska Department of Roads.
Lifting Capacity of Hollow Core Planks
Experimental verification, no details (proprietary). Role: PI. Status: Funded - Project Complete. Funding agency: Concrete Industries.
Previous Research Projects (conducted at other institutions):
Nonstructural Support Systems under Seismic Loads
Experimental and analytical characterization of trapeze nonstructural component assemblies under seismic (earthquake) loads. Project includes field assessment, nonlinear model development, and component tests in the experimental facilities at UCSD and a private laboratory. Funding agency: Hilti Corporation, conducted as a postdoctoral research fellow at UCSD.
Characterization of Cultural Heritage Structures with IGERT-TEECH
Characterized the sensitivity of nonstructural systems in cultural heritage structures using diagnostic imaging techniques. Assessment of the cracked frescoes in the Sala degli Elementi within Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio using lidar (and other data including photogrammetry, infrared imaging, and ground-penetrating radar). Funding agency: National Science Foundation (NSF), conducted as a Ph.D. student and postdoctoral research scholar at UCSD.
NEES-Nonstructural
Developed a design-oriented lumped partition wall model simulating its hysteretic behavior from experimental results (as collaboratively tested at SUNY Buffalo). This model allowed for the study of additional wall configurations, the inclusion of realistic earthquakes, and sensitivity studies through its inclusion in the nonlinear analyses of a building system. Funding agency: National Science Foundation (NSF), conducted as a Ph.D. student at UCSD.
Hilti Seismic
Characterized the anticipated demands on anchored nonstructural components, namely seismic cyclic crack and load protocols, as input for component tests conducted in experimental facilities at UCSD and Universität Stuttgart. Funding agency: Hilti Corporation, conducted as a Ph.D. student at UCSD.
Five-Story Building and Nonstructural Component and Systems Experiment
Worked as a damage inspector for nonstructural components subjected to a suite of motions at the outdoor shake table at UCSD. Provided damage characterization and guidance for documentation. Also conducted lidar scans of the building to document its geometry and post-event damage states. Funding agency: National Science Foundation (NSF), conducted as a Ph.D. student at UCSD.
Nonstructural Component Simulator
Worked focused on preliminary numerical modeling (in the Simulink environment) and laboratory assistant as related to the SUNY Buffalo's Nonstructural Component Simulator (UB-NCS). Funding agency: National Science Foundation (NSF), conducted as a Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Student at UB.
