Civil infrastructure integrity and testing experts available

August 03, 2007

• PNNL Media Contacts, (509) 375-3776

RICHLAND, Wash. – The collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis has brought new urgency to the need to answer a longstanding question: How do we know a structure is safe?

For more than 35 years, scientists and engineers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been assessing, developing and deploying sensor technology for evaluating material degradation associated with failure in steel, concrete, composite and other structures.

A major focus of current research is identification of the subtle microstructural changes in materials (changes at the microscopic level) that are precursors to crack formation and propagation.

Locating defects in materials prior to failure is important because, by the time some cracks are large enough to be detected visually or with conventional sensors, they may propagate very rapidly, resulting in unexpected failure.

Reporters and editors are invited to speak with PNNL civil infrastructure experts in the following areas:

• Diagnostics and prognostics
• Inspection procedure development
• System performance evaluation
• Advanced R&D for civil infrastructure, utilities and manufacturing
• Materials and structures characterization
• Process monitoring, measurement and control

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Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. PNNL employs 4,500 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion, and has been managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by Ohio-based Battelle since the laboratory's inception in 1965. For more information, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.