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High-resolution versions are available by contacting Lisa Merkl.
PAVING THE WAY: UH PROF’S
HIGHWAY DEVICE CUTS COSTS, SAVES TIME
C. Richard Liu’s Award-winning Engineering Innovation Recognized
by TxDOT
HOUSTON, Nov. 7, 2005 – One University of Houston professor
has developed a time-saving, cost-cutting roadway device to help
the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) ensure highways meet
proper construction standards for concrete thickness.
TxDOT has the responsibility to ensure every thoroughfare meets
these standards, requiring construction crews to pour concrete to
the designed thickness for highways. The problem lies in the difficulty
of how to check this thickness once a road is constructed. Traditionally,
checking the thickness of highway segments has been time-consuming
and costly, involving the drilling of a core sample every 1,000
feet that took from 30 minutes to an hour, at a cost of about $700
per core, said C. Richard Liu, UH professor of electrical and computer
engineering in the Cullen College of Engineering.
Earning a 2005 Most Innovative Research Award from TxDOT, Liu helped
alleviate these worries with his ground-penetrating radar (GPR)
device that measures the thickness of concrete non-destructively.
Offering TxDOT a non-invasive, less expensive way to test the quality
of Texas roads, Liu rolls his device down the freeway to read thickness
and other key facts, such as moisture level to help determine when
a section of highway is ready to sustain traffic. This allows TxDOT
to forgo the drilling process without as much as a scratch in the
road surface.
“There are many GPRs available, but our device can directly
measure the thickness automatically without human interference,”
Liu said. “TxDOT plans to use the new device in everyday operations
and only drill core samples when there are discrepancies. The equipment
costs less than $5,000 to manufacture and the cost of operating
the GPR is very minimal, while providing many times more data than
drilling.”
The entire device is made from original technology developed at
the Cullen College of Engineering, from beginning to end, including
hardware, software, high-frequency antennae and design. Now that
the GPR has been successfully developed and tested, the next stage
will require actually putting the new devices into service all across
Texas. The first GPR venture, a pilot project, was funded at about
$120,000, and the next phase will be to build more units for implementation,
funded with about $500,000.
“Every dollar spent on ensuring the safety of highways is
well spent, because they are such huge investments,” Liu said.
“Every lane mile of interstate highway is a $6 million project,
so monitoring the thickness used by contractors is very important.”
Liu received his B.S., M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in electrical engineering
from Jiaotong University, Xian, China, joining the Department of
Electrical Engineering at UH in 1988 as a post-doctoral research
associate and then joining the faculty in 1992. Liu, the director
of the UH Subsurface Sensing Lab and the UH Well Logging Lab, has
authored 38 technical papers in refereed journals, 35 papers in
conferences and two books. He is a member of TxDOT’s Research
Management Committee, as well as an active member of the Institute
of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Environmental and
Engineering Geophysics Society (EEGS) and Society of Professional
Well Logging Analysts (SPWLA).
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
About the Cullen College of Engineering
UH Cullen College of Engineering has produced five U.S. astronauts,
ten members of the National Academy of Engineering, and degree programs
that have ranked in the top ten nationally. With more than 2,600
students, the college offers accredited undergraduate and graduate
degrees in biomedical, chemical, civil and environmental, electrical
and computer, industrial, and mechanical engineering. It also offers
specialized programs in aerospace, materials, petroleum engineering
and telecommunications.
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For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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