2009 CEAT Summer Internship Program
CEAT Summer Minority Internship Program
FAA Sponsored
June 1 - July 31, 2009
from left to right: Breon Williams, Nathan Kebede, Behzad Behnia (RA), Prof. Lange, John Zeman (RA), Edgardo Santana-Santiago, Hasan Ozer (RA), Abenezer Nida, Anthony Jaganaught
Summer 2009 Interns
Anthony Jaganaught| Nathan Kebede| Abenezer Nida| Edgardo Santana-Santiago| Breon Williams| David Gimeno
Anthony Jaganaught
North Carolina A&T State University
Civil Engineering
Anthony worked with a CEAT FAA Project. The title of his final report was: Properties of Recycled Aggregate Concrete. The introduction to his paper follows:
For my research at Center for Excellence in Airport Technology (CEAT), I was teamed with Dr. Jeff Roesler and research assistant Andres Salas. They are currently undergoing a research project. The objective of this project is to examine the influence of recycled coarse aggregates on fresh and hardened concrete properties when used as direct replacement for natural coarse aggregates in recycled concrete aggregate(RCA). During my internship, I spent majority of my time assisting Andres Salas within the Concrete Lab at the Newmark Civil Engineering Building to carry out this study.
Most of the research that has been done on recycled concrete focuses on using the recycled coarse aggregates as a base material to pavements. This study however aims to assess the viability of replacing virgin coarse aggregates with recycled concrete aggregates on airfield rigid pavements. Different concrete mixtures with different percentages of RCA were prepared in order to determine their fresh and hardened properties. The concrete mixtures were batched and mixed following the procedure suggested by Tam et al. (2008) referred to as the Two-Stage Mixing Approach (TSMA).
The experimental work I carried out for this research included the following:
1. Crushing material as well as the separation of the crushed material by sizes through sieving of the crushed concrete material.
2. Exploration of the Two-Stage Mixing Approach (TSMA) for RCA in order to maintain similar fresh and hardened properties as virgin aggregate concrete.
3. Testing fresh properties of each concrete mixture (air content, unit weight, and workability).
4. Preparation of specimens for testing at various ages with the same curing conditions.
Nathan Kebede
Jackson State University
Civil Engineering
Nathan is a senior this Fall '09 at Jackson State University in Jackson, MS majoring in Civil Engineering. He participated in the CEAT Summer Internship Program funded by the Center's FAA Minority Internship Project. Professor Bill Buttlar was his advisor for the summer. Nathan spent his time working on research at the Advanced Transportation Research Engineering Lab (ATREL) in Rantoul, IL. Graduate Student Behzad Behnia worked with Nathan to make his experience a success.
Nathan worked with a CEAT FAA Project. The title of Nathan's final report was: Investigation of Effects of Antioxidant on Asphalt Binder Performance. The introduction to his paper follows:
One of the major pavement distresses in colder climate regions of North America is low-temperature cracking, also known as thermal cracking, of asphalt pavements. Thermal cracking occurs when the stiffness of binder in pavements is too high for the given low temperature climate of the location. Increased asphalt stiffness is usually caused by oxidative hardening that occurs during mixture of asphalt and during the lifecycle of the pavement.
Many studies conducted suggest that aging of asphalt can be controlled with the use of AOXs. The study done on the effects of AOX in asphalt binder by Apeagyei et al showed that treatment with AOX tended to lower stiffness of binder at low temperatures and increase binder stiffness at high temperatures compared to the untreated binder.
The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the effect of AOX treatment on two types of binders. The previous AOX study done by Apeagyei et al considered asphalt binder, while this study focuses on the effects of using AOX (a polymer modified binder). The other objective of this study is to use the acoustic emissions method to estimate the exact critical low temperature. Acoustic emissions method is currently under development. A prototype of this method was used to evaluate and validate cracking temperatures determined from BBR testing.
Abenezer Nida
Jackson State University
Civil Engineering
Abenezer is junior this Fall ’09 at the Jackson State Universitys in Jackson, MS majoring in Civil Engineering. He participated in the CEAT Summer Internship Program funded by the Center’s FAA Minority Internship Project. Professor Imad Al-Qadi was his advisor for the summer. Abenezer worked on a CEAT project at the ATREL in Rantoul, IL. Graduate Students Hasan Ozer, Zhen Leng and Qazi Aurangzeb worked with Abenezer to make his experience a success.
Abenezer worked on a CEAT FAA research project, Non-destructive Testing and Evaluation (NDTE) Technologies for Airport Pavement Acceptance and Quality Assurance Activities. The introduction from Abenezer's final paper is in the paragraphs to follow.
In the summer of 2009, the CEAT summer internship program has enabled me to mingle in a scholarly environment. I was able to assess partially what a research environment looks like. I understood of the procedures that need to be taken to practice research, how much determination and accuracy it requires, and how communication is key in doing such activities.
Under the guidance of Professor Al-Qadi and graduate students Hasan Ozer, Zhen Leng, and Qazi Aurangzeb many concepts have been introduced. Having participated in two projects for the summer, I was able to acquire sufficient amount of information regarding asphalt material engineering. I was able to have learnt basic information regarding mixtures: aggregate packing, densities, gradation, etc.
The project that I have been assigned to participate in is HMA (Hot Mix Asphalt) density estimation using GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) measurements. Moreover, I had also taken a liking towards another project that was at its initial stages: the use of RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement) in HMA. My participation in both projects has enabled me to kill two birds with one stone.
From Project I - GPR measurement to estimate density project I was able to have participated in helping collect data, participating in the Gmm test measurements, helping locate the core extraction points, and preparing the samples for the Gmm test. It is to my understanding that in order to effectively assess condition, and to monitor performance, density measurement for airport pavements prove vital. Hot mix asphalt (HMA) density is one of the most important parameters to monitor. This project, which I had participated with graduate student Zhen Leng, introduces an innovative approach of using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to measure in-place HMA density accurately, continuously, and rapidly.
Project II - Use of RAP in HMA pavements is a project that I have found very intriguing. Since it was at its initial stages, I was able to follow up on the procedures from the jumpstart. I was able to have helped in preparing materials by fractionation. This is process is a time taking procedure; therefore, I had spent the bulk of my time here in helping prepare these materials for trial blends. It needs to be shunned some light on; however, on the fact that this project due to its practicality has been the source of my primary edification, partly due to the amount of time I had spent.
Even though I have not participated in many of the practical aspects – considering the volume of time each project takes, my time here is only a stunted fraction - of both projects, I was able to have sufficient information on how the procedures are undertaken or have been undertaken prior to my arrival here, UIUC.
Edgardo Santana-Santiago
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
Civil Engineering
Edgardo is a junior this fall '09 at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez majoring in Civil Engineering. He participated in the CEAT Summer Internship Program funded the University of Illinois Graduate College's Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) and by the Center's FAA Minority Internship Project. Professor David Lange was his advisor for the summer. Edgardo worked on a research project in the Newmark Civil Engineering Lab pertaining to concrete ties on railways. Graduate Student John Zeman worked with Edgardo the during his internship.
Through the SROP internship program, Edgardo received an award for "Outstanding Scholorship" which is often referred to as the the "best researcher" award.. As a SROP intern he participated in many activities hosted by this group, including presentations, writing and testing skills. The title of Edgardo's final paper was Characterizing the Dynamic Water Pressure in a Concrete Tie Rail Seat. In the paragraph below, Edgardo gives an abstract to his summer research work:
A survey of North American railroads and transit authorities indicated that rail seat deterioration (RSD), is the most critical problem with concrete railroad ties. Among the mechanisms that can lead to RSD, hydraulic pressure cracking, and cavitation erosion are the two tested in this project. This project challenges the existing theories that associate hydraulic pressure cracking and cavitation erosion with RSD. The project involves both manually driven tests and mechanically driven tests. With the manually driven tests, we want to see whether the conditions for these mechanisms exist. The manual tests will provide an expectation of the water pressure behavior between the tie pad and the rail seat. The mechanically driven test will provide water pressure readings and signs of deterioration, if any occurs. This paper will focus its study on the manually driven tests. Therefore, the objective of this project is to provide a solid idea of what types of results to expect from the mechanically driven tests.
Breon Williams
Alabama A&M University
Mechanical Engineering
Breon is junior this fall '09 at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, AL. He participated in the CEAT Summer Internship Program funded by the Center’s FAA Minority Internship Project. Professor Ed Herricks was his advisor for the summer. Breon assistedon research projects with the CEAT FAA Wildlife Safety Program at the Newmark Civil Engineering Lab. Graduate Student Peter Lazar worked with Breon to make his experience a success.
Since Breon worked with the CEAT FAA Wildlife Safety Program, he had the opportunity to travel with the group for on-site work at the O'Hare International Airport with the Avian Radar project. The title of Breon's final report was: Foreign Object Debris (FOD) and Avian Radar Research. The introduction to his paper follows:
Foreign Object Debris (FOD) is any loose article that can cause either a vehicle or system to not function properly. FOD that is referred in an aviation aspect is any object that has or can potentially cause damage to an aircraft and its cargo. FOD contributes to $1.55 billion dollars each year in direct cost, and ten times that amount in indirect cost. The research conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign Center of Excellent for Airport Technology (CEAT) is aimed at evaluating commercial FOD Detection Systems and Avian Radar Systems. The FOD Detection System currently being evaluated out of several other systems is Stratech’s IFerret FOD Detection System. The IFerret uses cameras with “Intelligent Vision” software that allows it to see objects 300 yards away.
The Avian Radar Research is used to help reduce bird or wildlife strikes. FAA regulation (14 CFR Part 139), requires airports that have had either wildlife hazards or bird strikes to conduct a wildlife hazard assessment. Bird strikes results for $1.2 billion in damage to commercial and military aviation each year, which averages to 8,000 bird strikes. Bird strikes cause serious threats to aircraft crew and passengers, and have results in 400 fatalities worldwide.
Purpose:
The purpose of this research is to evaluate FOD detection systems for the Federal Aviation Administration, so that airports have the ability to incorporate these systems in FOD removal. The FAA can take this research to set guidelines for airports on procedures to remove FOD therefore making air travel safer.
Chicago White Sox Game
On July 22, 2009, the CEAT graduate students and summer interns took a break from their research work to attend a Chicago White Sox game. This was a team building activity for the summer interns and the graduate student mentors. CEAT Director, Professor Lange, also attended the game with the students. The White Sox played the Tampa Bay Rays.
CEAT Summer Internship Program Kick-off Picnic
As the CEAT Summer Internship Program began, the Center hosted a cookout at Hessel Park in Champaign on June 25, 2009. All of the CEAT interns, CEAT graduate students and CEAT faculty were invited to attend.