Application of smart materials technology at the Savannah River Site

Large scale implementation of smart materials and smart technology to engineered structures in any particular location requires the demonstration of cost effective applicability to the construction, repairs/upgrades and in-service inspections required by that site. The potential for using smart materials/technology at the Savannah River Site (and within the DOE complex) can be demonstrated through the repair, upgrade and construction of two bridges. The design and construction philosophy for one of the bridges will incorporate smart materials and technologies while the other parallel bridge has already been constructed using standard construction practices. This demonstration of smart materials/technology at the Savannah River Site is still in the planning stage and will advance quickly as funding is acquired. The Savannah River Site (SRS) has an ideal test bed to test the implementation of smart materials/technology in a real but controlled setting. Two bridges were selected to serve as this test bed. Each bridge handles one way traffic on either side of a divided road. One of the bridges, 72G, was built in August of 1996, while the other 71G, was built in the 1950's and is in need of repair. The older bridge will be upgraded with advanced materials and smart technologies and then monitored for performance. After the effectiveness of the repair has been demonstrated, the repaired bridge will be demolished and replaced with a new, smart bridge. Smart technology will be used to monitor and evaluate the demolition process. The newer conventional bridge (720) may serve as a "control" structure to which the old bridge, the upgraded bridge, and the new, smart bridge may be compared. These comparisons will provide the technical basis to evaluate the use of advanced materials and smart technologies in facility upgrades and new construction at the Savannah River Site. This paper discusses the smart materials/technologies test bed at SRS and the development of an industry-university-laboratory team to support the SRS smart materials and technology demonstration.