Ongoing Projects

Sensing Textiles for Civil Infrastructure Monitoring, 2018~2019, funded by Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), 2018~2019, funded by Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA)

The goal of this project is to develop a civil infrastructure monitoring system that will allow monitoring of infrastructure in a proactive manner and enable damage detection to existing infrastructure in its early stages, thereby minimize maintenance costs, environmental impacts and disruptions to the population.  In addition, this system would also help to detect adverse impact to existing civil infrastructure (buildings, pipelines, bridges & tunnels, rail lines) that can occur during trenchless operations that occur underground during installation of new structures (pipelines, tunnels) needed to support economic growth. In this project, sensing textiles will be developed for use in strain monitoring and/or crack detection in civil infrastructure, geotechnical structures, and composites with the primary focus in year one being civil infrastructure applications such as bridges, pipelines and tunnels. Commercially available sensing optical fibers will be used with commercially available interrogation technology. The optical fibers will be converted into wide area sensing textiles using Saint Gobain ADFORS`s proprietary laminated laid scrim technology. Lab and in-field testing will be done at UMass Lowell and through application partners in the industry with whom close working relationship will be established to ensure that the solutions are validated by end customers from early stages of the development.

This research project is supported by Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA).

News about this project:

09/28/2017: Researchers to Develop Sensing Fabrics for Monitoring Civil Infrastructures

09/29/2017: 'Sensor-laden' textiles monitor infrastructure, Textile Evolution (T.EVO)

02/06/2018: Next Generation of Fabrics will Protect Public, EurekAlert / AAAS

02/12/2018: UMASS Lowell partners on buildings and bridges research, Advanced Textile Source

02/12/2018: GoLocal LIVE interview on the Sensing Textiles project (YouTube video), GoLocal TV

 

Tunable RF-responsive Core-Shell Organofullerenyl Magnetic Hybrid Dielectric Nanoparticles, 2015~2020, funded by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)

The objective of this project is to develop a new class of photoelastic dielectric coating with tunable reflectivity using C60 molecules. Extensive experimental investigation is planned to thoroughly understand the tunability of C60-based dielectric coating material under various controlled conditions in the microwave and optical spectra. Performance criteria of this new material are identified and defined by i) tunability, ii) stability, iii) controllability, and iv) ease in manufacturing. Contact and non-contact electromagnetic reflectivity measurement schemes are considered, including i) contact open-ended coaxial probe measurement (0.1GHz~4.5GHz), ii) non-contact horn antenna measurement (0.4GHz~26.5GHz), under the condition of ultraviolet (UV) and visual light exposures. These measurements, together with customized measurement apparatuses, will assist us to accurately determine the performance of the proposed new material, regarding its tunable reflectivity.

Completed Projects

 

Quantitative Sensing of Bridges, Railways, and Tunnels with Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, 2014~2016, funded by U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)

The objective of this project is to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle system that can be used to autonomously interrogate numerous areas on civil structures easily without requiring expensive, time consuming aerial lifts or inconsistent visual inspections.  The proposed sensing platform will include innovative continuous wave imaging radar, digital image correlation, and thermal imaging to monitor structures or quantify damage.  The sensing approach has already been demonstrated to provide accurate large area interrogation of bridges and will be built on a proven quad-rotor aircraft that is currently employed by the U.S. Army and manufactured by our team. The project will enable the next generation of rapid inspection and evaluation of bridges, railways, and tunnels.

Here is the link to project website.

 

Distributed Active Acoustic Sensing using a Single Optical Fiber for Interfacial Structural Health Monitoring of Reinforced Concrete Structures, 2014~2017, funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)

The project is to study the sensing mechanism at the interface between steel reinforcing bars (rebars) and concrete in reinforced concrete (RC) structures using distributed active acoustic sensing. The research goal will be achieved by i) investigating the active single-point probing/sensing problem in a circular geometry; and ii) creating a distributed active acoustic optical fiber sensor. The sensor will be attached to the surface of steel reinforcing bars burned inside concrete, capable of probing into the steel rebars and assessing structural health of the interface between steel and concrete.

Multiphysical Investigation of Concrete Containminated by Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) Gels, 2014~2015, funded by Department of Energy (DOE) / Graduate reseracher: Viet Le

The objective of this project is to use mechanical (ultrasonic testing) and electromagnetic (imaging radar) to quanitfy the containmination level of ASR gels inside concrete materials.

Multi-modal Remote Sensing System (MRSS) for Transportation Infrastructure Inspection and Monitoring Project, 2010~2013, funded by U.S. DOT

The objective of this project is to develop a multi-modal remote sensing system (MRSS) as the next generation of rapid, distant, inspection technology for bridge inspection. The proposed MRSS combines advantages of NDT (local inspection) and SHM (global, continuous monitoring), using innovative continuous wave imaging radar (CWIR), digital image correlation (DIC), and fiber optic sensors (FOS). MRSS represents a next-generation handheld inspection technology for efficient inspection, evaluation and rating of bridges.

VOTERS (Vehicle Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors) Project, 2009~2014, funded by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

A team of interdisciplinary researchers, practitioners, technology developers, and highway departments partner to develop VOTERS, an innovative sensing system using vehicles of opportunity for infrastructure inspection and cyber monitoring that is designed to transform the way we monitor and manage the built infrastructure.  Significant development and feasibility studies for the new VOTERS System is high–risk because significant new sensing technology is needed to operate at normal driving speeds and innovative techniques are required to process data rapidly.  Partnering academic institutions include Northeastern University, the University of Vermont, and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.  Practitioners, including Trilion Quality Systems, Infrasense Inc., Smart Structures, and several New England state area highway departments, bring vital field experience to the VOTERS System designed to ensure feasibility, accuracy and usability.  Technology developers with expertise in infrastructure monitoring and working closely with academic researchers will design first of its kind sensing hardware, innovative data acquisition technologies, intelligent information systems, and sensor communication strategies.  All activities include extensive feasibility studies and prototype development.  The intended result is an innovative and transformable technology with an initial focus for subsurface sensing that will save billions of US dollars in annual inspection costs and will serve as a platform for future network-based sensing systems for the purpose of maintenance, planning, and security.

Inspection and Monitoring Project of Parking Garages in Lowell, MA, 02/2013~06/2013, funded by MA Board of Higher Ed. through the Vision Grant

A team of interdisciplinary researchers, practitioners, technology developers, and highway departments partner to develop VOTERS, an innovative sensing system using vehicles of opportunity for infrastructure inspection and cyber monitoring that is designed to transform the way we monitor and manage the built infrastructure.  Significant development and feasibility studies for the new VOTERS System is high–risk because significant new sensing technology is needed to operate at normal driving speeds and innovative techniques

Consortium on Anytime-Anywhere-Anyway (AAA) Transportation Information, 2010~2011, funded by UMass Science & Technology Office

This project establishes a multi-campus multi-disciplinary research consortium in wireless sensor networking and secure multimedia communications, with applications focusing on surface transportation services and facilities, to demonstrate Anytime-Anywhere-Anyway Transportation Information: AAA-TI (pronounced as "Triple A-Tire"). Each member of the team brings in his/her expertise widely sought after in information technology/communications and surface transportation systems, and some have been collaborating on research projects including the prior President's S&T Initiative. By combining portfolios from several UMass campuses, we will develop a strong footage in national competitions for government funding and industry collaboration. Our immediate goal is to pursue five federal/state grants and to establish partnership with local industries of transportation and computing. The long-term mission includes establishing a center at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in Mobile Sensor Networking that revitalizes our information infrastructure with applications expanding to other fields such as intelligent power grid, ports/coastal zones surveillance, and ubiquitous healthcare systems.

Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of RF-responsive Fullerenyl Nanomaterials , 2010~2011, funded by AFRL

The objective of this project is to develop a new class of photoelastic dielectric coating with controllable electromagnetic response, using C60 molecules. Extensive experimental investigation is planned to thoroughly characterize the electromagnetic response of C60-based dielectric coating material under various controlled conditions in the microwave and optical spectra.

Measurement of Microwave-Frequency Responsive Fullerenyl Dielectric Metamaterials, 2011~2013, funded by AFRL

The objective of this project is the scale-up preparation and measurement of photoresponsive C₆₀-(antenna) nanostructure-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles. The characterization and purity of the bulk materials will be established by the following methods: (i) elemental analyses (C, H, N, I, Fe with optional O), (ii) FT-infrared spectroscopy, and (iii) proton and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.