{"id":3162,"date":"2024-09-05T14:09:03","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T14:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/?p=3162"},"modified":"2024-09-05T16:08:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T16:08:22","slug":"st-researcher-patents-sensor-that-tracks-movements-in-buildings-and-bridges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/2024\/09\/05\/st-researcher-patents-sensor-that-tracks-movements-in-buildings-and-bridges\/","title":{"rendered":"S&T researcher patents sensor that tracks movements in buildings and bridges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo: <\/strong>Dr. Genda Chen. Photo by Blaine Falkena\/Missouri S&T.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

ROLLA, Mo. \u2013 The smallest movements in building or bridge materials can cause big problems.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nA researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology has been awarded a patent for a sensor he says can track if composite building materials have even the tiniest of movements and help prevent structures from collapsing or having less integrity. \u00a0
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cThe most common example of composite materials in construction\u00a0is\u00a0beams made from both steel and concrete, but the\u00a0main idea\u00a0is to have two different materials bonded together to enhance the strength of a structure,\u201d says Dr. Genda Chen, S&T\u2019s Robert W. Abbett Distinguished Chair in Civil Engineering and director of the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure<\/a> and the INSPIRE University Transportation Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese materials should\u00a0have zero movement. If they separate for whatever reason, this can lead to some significant problems with the structure and its safety.\u201d\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nTo monitor movements that could be as small as one micrometer \u2014\u202for one-thousandth of a millimeter \u2014 Chen has patented a device that uses a mirror connected to a fiber-optic cable about as thick as a human hair follicle.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nThis sensor can be connected directly onto a structure\u2019s steel and concrete composites and is designed so that the mirror, which has a microscopic pattern on it, can use light and reflections in multiple ways to measure any displacement, or change in positions, between the materials.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cWhat is exciting is this technology can be a non-destructive testing method when the sensor is installed during construction, and there is a serious need for this,\u201d Chen says. \u201cMovements will be detected much sooner, and then engineers can work to re-bond the materials.\u201d\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nChen says the sensor is likely still several years away from being commercialized and available on a large scale, but he is excited to be awarded the patent and begin taking the next steps toward it eventually being used by structural engineers.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cWorking to develop technology that is so directly applicable to real life is dear to my heart,\u201d he says. \u201cAs I have advanced in my career over the past three decades, my research has increasingly focused on concepts that could more quickly make a tangible, real difference for society.\u201d\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nOther inventors on the patent with Chen include Drs. Jie Gao, a former S&T faculty member, and Chuanrui Guo, an S&T alumnus who earned a Ph.D. in civil engineering under Chen\u2019s supervision.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nFor more information about S&T\u2019s civil engineering programs, visit care.mst.edu<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About Missouri S&T<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation\u2019s top public universities for salary impact, according to the\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/em>. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The post S&T researcher patents sensor that tracks movements in buildings and bridges<\/a> first appeared on Informed Infrastructure<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: Dr. Genda Chen. Photo by Blaine Falkena\/Missouri S&T.\u00a0 \u00a0 ROLLA, Mo. \u2013 The smallest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3162"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3162"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3163,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3162\/revisions\/3163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}