John Matthews
Louisiana Tech University, LA·Engineering
Bridges, buried pipes, buildings and machine parts wear out over time, and knowing when they will fail matters for public safety and the economy. The Center for Innovations in Structural Integrity Assurance (CISIA) is an industry–university cooperative research center shared by Louisiana State University and Louisiana Tech University.
- Fields
Engineering
Materials Science
- Topics
structural integrity
structural health monitoring
non-destructive evaluation
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2028
What they work on
- Develop methods for installation, inspection, structural health assessment and in-place rehabilitation of underground utility systems such as buried pipes, using above- and below-ground test facilities.
- Create non-destructive evaluation methods, which assess structures without damaging them, for above-ground civil infrastructure, testing metal, composite and concrete beams, slabs and pipes.
- Formulate geopolymeric materials from fly ash and steel slag and characterize their tunable structural and mechanical properties.
- Link material properties, manufacturing processes and service histories to structural reliability by combining validated diagnostics, machine learning and data-driven decision making.
More about the research
Its aim is to connect the properties of materials to how real structures and mechanical components perform over their service lives, and to translate those links into predictions of reliability for sectors such as energy, aerospace, construction and manufacturing.
Why it matters
Better inspection and in-place repair of aging pipes, beams and slabs could help utilities and cities detect damage early and extend infrastructure life, supporting public safety and economic development. Geopolymers made from fly ash and steel slag could turn industrial byproducts into tunable structural materials. Industry members could gain improved predictions of component life under high-stress, high-cycle contact.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Ehsan Dehghan-Niri
Arizona State University Campus Immersion, AZ·Engineering·Early-career
Test whether the shape of the aye-aye's pinnae, ear canals and head enhances near-field acoustic sensing by reducing noise and sharpening acoustic beam resolution, using experimental measurements of reflected tapping sound.
Burkan Isgor
Oregon State University, OR·Materials Science
Develop laser-based additive manufacturing settings for functionally graded austenitic and duplex stainless steel claddings on curved carbon steel, using both wire and powder feedstocks.
Yanfei Gao
University of Tennessee-Knoxville, TN·Materials Science
Examine how materials and manufacturing processes affect the mechanical, functional and environmental performance of welded or 3D-printed metal parts, to improve reliability and extend the service life of critical infrastructure.
The school
Louisiana Tech University: 2 labs on PI Pages, $31M a year on research, 31 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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