Materials Engineering for Intelligent Infrastructure

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is used across industries to ensure product integrity and reliability; it is used in the aerospace, defense, oil and gas, and automotive sectors. In civil engineering, NDT is commonly used to detect flaws and defects in concrete elements and structures.

This course will equip students with necessary fundamental knowledge related to NDT. Topics covered include mechanical properties and linear fracture mechanics of materials; testing procedures of commonly used materials and structures; techniques such as elasticity, fracture mechanics, and wave propagation.

The course also includes case studies so students can apply the knowledge to field inspection or monitoring of civil materials and structures as a simulation of real-life NDT applications.

Wave-based NDT methods allow for reliable and rapid evaluation of civil engineering infrastructure. These methods are particularly useful in long-range inspection; for example, in pipelines, where the wave-based NDT can provide data on hundreds of meters of piping in a matter of seconds.

In this course, students will learn about wave-based NDT methods, including ultrasonic inspection, acoustic emission, resonant frequency testing, and electromechanical impedance testing. The topics include piezoelectric effect, basic principles of various wave-based NDT methods, and their associated data acquisition.

The course also includes case studies so students can apply the knowledge to field inspection or monitoring of materials and structures.

Given that concrete elements are used in critical elements of infrastructure, determining the extent of degradation plays a critical role in managing the long-term performance of the concrete and identifying when to repair or replace it.

In this course, students will learn about electrical-based NDT methods and emerging infrastructure sensing technologies. Topics covered include commonly used NDT methods for steel and concrete structures and advanced infrastructure sensing techniques, such as eddy currents, wireless sensing, fiber optics, and embedded sensor networks.

The course also includes case studies so students can apply the knowledge to field inspection or monitoring of materials and structures.

This course will introduce students to the field of nanotechnology with a special emphasis on nanomaterials synthesis, characterizations and their applications in civil and environmental engineering. The specific applications will include, but not limited to, tailoring mechanical property, durability, self-cleaning, self-sealing, self-sensing, energy harvesting and other multi-functionality. It integrates the fields of materials science, civil engineering and electrical engineering. The basic concepts will be discussed including nano-scale effect, process-structure-property relationship, nano- and micro-structure property characterizations, multi-functional materials, nano-device fabrication and their applications for energy harvesting, water infiltrations and environmental sensing. lab will be provided to students enrolled in the course to learn nano and micro-structure characterizations skills.

This course will introduce students to the field of nanotechnology with a special emphasis on nanomaterials synthesis, characterizations and their applications in civil and environmental engineering. The specific applications will include, but not limited to, tailoring mechanical property, durability, self-cleaning, self-sealing, self-sensing, energy harvesting and other multi-functionality. It integrates the fields of materials science, civil engineering and electrical engineering. The basic concepts will be discussed including nano-scale effect, process-structure-property relationship, nano- and micro-structure property characterizations, multi-functional materials, nano-device fabrication and their applications for energy harvesting, water infiltrations and environmental sensing. lab will be provided to students enrolled in the course to learn nano and micro-structure characterizations skills.