Above-Ground Infrastructure
The main focus of this area of research excellence will be on above-ground infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, buildings, etc. Later on, we will also include buried infrastructure such as water distribution networks, sewers, commuter tunnels, etc. Research efforts will be devoted to understanding and developing business economics of infrastructure rehabilitation and replacement, include lifecycle assessment and costing. Technological breakthroughs in terms of assessing remaining serviceable life of a structure as well as retrofitting and rehabilitation of aging infrastructure will be sought. Scientific explorations into the effects of environmental and user-controlled factors on various construction materials (e.g. concrete, steel, wood, masonry, etc.) will also be undertaken.
Professors involved and their research
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Dan Palermo
Dr. Palermo’s research focuses on developing damage-resilient concrete structures that provide enhanced behaviour in response to extreme events such as earthquakes. His research incorporates emerging materials, including Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) and Ultra High-Performance Fibre-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC), to promote self-centering and damage control.
Superelastic SMAs are characterized by significant strength, strain, ductility and energy dissipation capacities. The most appealing mechanical feature, and an advantage over traditional reinforcing steel reinforcement, is the capacity of the material to restore fully to its original shape after being subjected to strains approaching 8%. UHPFRC provides strain hardening in tension, whereby tensile resistance beyond cracking is provided. Other properties such as bond of the reinforcement to the surrounding concrete is also improved in the presence of UHPFRC. Combined together, SMAs and UHPFRC are envisioned to provide a self-centering phenomenon with negligible damage in response to significant lateral loading.
Learn More About Prof. Palermo
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Research Project Two
Dr. Palermo’s research investigates the application of near-surface mounted reinforcement in tall masonry walls to improve the response to out-of-plane loading. This research is in collaboration with Dr. Fariborz Hashemian.
Dr. Hashemian and Adrien Sparling (PhD Candidate, York University) previously developed the Surface Reinforced Concrete Masonry Unit (SRCMU) system. This system is stronger and stiffer than conventional reinforced concrete masonry. The SRCMU assemblies are reinforced using Near-Surface Mounted (NSM) reinforcement; this type of reinforcement has been used in retrofitting and strengthening applications. Conventional block walls can run into practical difficulties for very slender walls (h/t >30) due to their low out-of-plane flexural stiffness. This results in high levels of moment magnification due to combined axial and lateral loads leading to prohibitive reinforcement detailing requirements. By integrating vertical wall reinforcement near the surfaces, rather than along the centerline of the wall, both flexural strength and stiffness are increased. This research is currently being extended at York University through experimental testing of tall, slender block walls.
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