Live Field Laboratory for CAE 115 Students
One of the research focuses of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAE) at the University of Miami (UM) College of Engineering (CoE) is to provide innovative, resilient and sustainable solutions for helping engineers face the challenges of an ever-changing environment. The Structures and Materials Lab (SML) relies on the active contribution of the student body to successfully achieve such a goal while participating in building a better and more sustainable campus.
The award-winning Innovation Bridge, serving the UM community since 2016, proves the effectiveness of this synergistic approach. The research team led by Dr. Antonio Nanni, professor and chair of CAE, played a major role in the design and construction of this concrete bridge, entirely reinforced with fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP). Monitoring the structure is critical to ensuring the effectiveness of the innovative technology deployed and would not be possible without the direct involvement of Alejandro Javier Motta, a lecturer in CAE, and students from the CAE 115 surveying class.
Under the supervision of PhD student Marco Rossini, students from CAE 115 are requested to periodically monitor the mechanical performances of the structure using professional surveying equipment. The effort is fully integrated within course activities; guidance is given to help the students elaborate on the data gathered so that the reports produced can help assess the mechanical performances of the structure.
One year after its construction, the Innovation Bridge is a live field laboratory; it allows students to apply skills learned during class time to a real-case structure, to contribute to the research developed within the CAE department and to come in contact with state-of-the-art, innovative non-corrosive materials.
To read more about the Innovation Bridge and related research efforts, please click here.
Marco Rossini, Alejandro J. Motta
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami
1251 Memorial Dr., Coral Gables, FL 33146
(mxr1465@miami.edu) (ajm182@miami.edu)