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The Hillman-Composite Beam (HCB®), is an innovative structural member for use in highway and railroad bridges as well as marine facilities. The HCB is essentially a lightweight reinforced concrete beam strengthened and protected by a corrosion-resistant and resilient Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) shell. The beam is comprised of three main components, a concrete arch (compression reinforcement), an FRP bottom flange encapsulating steel strands tying the ends of the arch together (tension reinforcement) and the FRP shell. Galvanized Rebar “shear connectors” are used to make the beam composite with the concrete deck in the same manner as pre-stressed concrete beams. The HCB has been deployed throughout North America and is currently being sought out by transportation agencies worldwide: projects using the HCB over the last 10 years, several State DOTs, Class 1 Railroads, the US Army Corps of Engineers among others have successfully completed projects using HCB. In all cases, the owner received a low-maintenance, high performance beam with a minimum 100-year service life.

Fourth Quarter 2016 This is a quarterly report from the Purdue ECT.

The reliability of concrete infrastructure is vital to ensuring daily life, as well as commerce, can progress without interruption. From the pavement of interstate highways to the driveways and sidewalks in a local neighborhood, concrete is expensive to install and often even more expensive, and intrusive, when it needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, to maintain functionality in winter climates concrete is heavily exposed to deicing salts. This not only affects the roads, driveways, and sidewalks where salt is applied directly, but many other areas such as parking and residential garages where vehicles (and people) will track salt along with water or melting snow that transports dissolved salt into the concrete. Fluid iSoylator™ is a hydrophobic sealant that is sprayed onto the concrete’s surface and is absorbed into the pores, creating a barrier to block water and salt. Since this barrier is created within the concrete, it is not susceptible to mechanical abrasion or other damage at the surface like most sealing methods. Not only does Fluid iSoylator offer a durable, lasting protection, it is very easy to apply, handle, and store. Made from soybean oil, Fluid iSoylator is a USDA Certified Biobased product as part of the USDA Biopreffered® program. Fluid iSoylator contains (93%) USDA certified biobased content. Application is performed with a backpack sprayer in most instances, but can also be done with brush/roller or with a pull behind trailer depending on size and shape of the application area. Fluid iSoylator remains fluid in the concrete’s pores. This property minimizes the effect of a stress crack in a treated area. With reactive film sealants, a crack (caused by traffic, etc.) creates an entry point for water/salt to pass through the film. With Fluid iSoylator the pores surrounding a crack are still sealed, so the concrete in that area remains protected.

By developing Pipe Express® Herrenknecht AG has set new standards for installing pipelines. With this system, no groundwater lowering is necessary and, in comparison with the open construction method, routes can be considerably narrower. This has a positive effect on construction costs. Because it is highly ecological and cost-efficient procedure, the development of this new system is being subsidized by the German Environment Ministry. The Pipe Express® technology combines the advantages of trenchless installations and open-cut solutions. Pipe Express® can be used in any kind of soft to medium formations. However, the technology exhibits its major benefits mainly in unstable soils such as sand and gravel as well as in soil with water-bearing layers. As the pipeline is quickly installed in one step and fewer construction machines are required, emissions of exhaust gases and noise can be decreased by using Pipe Express®considerably.