Civil engineering undergraduates learn about reinforced concrete through mixing, bending rebar, creating molds, pouring and finally testing concrete beams of two different sizes using CIEST's bending load frame equipped with a 110-kip actuator. Failure modes of bending moment and shear are observed. 

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Project Title: Testing and Analysis of Pipeline Encapsulation Technologies

Funding Agency: DOE/ARPA-E: Rapid Encapsulation of Pipelines Avoiding Intensive Replacement (REPAIR)

Lead: Â鶹ĘÓƵ

Partners: University of Southern Queensland, Cornell University, Gas Technology Institute

Industry Partners: Sanexen Environmental Services Inc., Insituform Technologies, Inc. 

Primary Investigator: Prof. Brad Wham; co-PIs:  Prof. Shideh Dashti, Prof. Mija Hubler

CIEST Personnel: Patrick Dixon, John Hindman, Davis Holt,  Cory Ihnotic, Katherine O'Dell, Kent Polkinghorne, Dustin Quandt, Yao Wang;  Graduate Researchers: Jacob Klingaman, Sina Senji, Molly Sickler, Deeptesh Pawaskar;  Undergraduate Researchers: Jonah Cook, William Flood, Coen Hines, Alyssa McCarthy, Ketan Kamat, Daniel Mascarenas, Samuel Mohnacs 

Year: 2020-2024

Project Summary: Cast iron, wrought iron, and bare steel natural gas distribution pipes—legacy pipes—make up 3% of the nearly 2 million miles of utility pipes in use, but account for a disproportionate number of gas leaks and pipe failures compared to more recently replaced infrastructure. REPAIR seeks to reduce natural gas leaks from these pipes by developing a suite of technologies to enable the automated construction of new pipe inside existing pipe. The new pipe must meet utilities’ and regulatory agencies’ requirements, have a minimum life of 50 years, and have sufficient material properties to operate throughout its service life without reliance on the exterior pipe. REPAIR will advance the state of gas distribution pipelines by incorporating smart functionality into structural coating materials and developing new integrity/inspection tools. It will also create three-dimensional (3D) maps that integrate natural gas pipelines and adjacent underground infrastructure geospatial information with integrity, leak, and coating deposition data. The cost target is $0.5-1 million per mile, including gas service disruption costs.

The CIEST lab at the Â鶹ĘÓƵ is leading a multi-institutional team, including Cornell University, Gas Technology Institute, and University of Southern Queensland, to develop a data-driven framework of laboratory testing and modeling. This framework will enable the gas industry to better evaluate products to rehabilitate cast iron and steel natural gas pipes and enhance their performance and longevity. The objective is to validate a 50-year design life for innovative internal replacement pipe (IRP) systems by developing numerical, analytical, and physical testing protocols. The process will merge attributes of each approach to deliver a comprehensive framework for IRP technologies composed of a variety of materials and deposition methods. CU Boulder’s framework characterizes failure modes and establishes performance criteria for IRP rehabilitation technologies to support recommendations for PIP material properties suitable for acceptable design-life performance.

View ARPA-E's program description .

Project Deliverables & Reports: 

IRP Analyzer Application:  (free download)

Test Report: Service Life Assessment of Internal Replacement Pipe: External Load Testing of ALTRA-10^TM  

Test Report: Service Life Assessment of Internal Replacement Pipe: External Load Testing of I-Main^TM 

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Title: Engineers without borders & CIEST student concrete clinic

Year: 2024

Participants: Engineers without borders, CIEST

Summary:

In the spring of 2024 CIEST hosted a student tutorial for the non-profit, Engineers without Borders or EWB. The tutorial was aimed at giving students experience making concrete before a trip to Nepal. The following video contains some of this process . The non-profit, EWB, is an organization that goes to regions with limited access to building materials and creates infrastructure for underdeveloped towns and villages. We at CIEST were exited to be a part of Engineers without Border's mission, and would like to give special thanks to Rebecca Komarek, and Cayden Stratford for their help organizing the clinic.

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Project Title: Evaluation of Gate Valve Flanges: Serrated vs Non-Serrated Under External Loading

Industry Partners: Denver Water

CIEST Personnel: Cory Ihnotic and Jessica Ramos

Primary Investigator: Prof. Brad Wham

Year: 2024

The intent of this study is to investigate the difference between a serrated faced flange connection and a non-serrated faced flange connection; mainly to determine whether one would leak sooner than the other. To evaluate this, a series of four-point bending tests with applied axial load were conducted on Mueller Resilient Wedge Gate Valves. The tested specimens were commercially available 6 in. (150 mm) diameter ductile iron pipe conforming to AWWA C600 standards, which were provided by Denver Water. Each type of flange connection (serrated or non-serrated) received two tests, each with displacement applied at a rate of 1 in. (25 mm) per minute. For the conducted tests, several points of interest were located including the site of the first and second leaks, and their respective leak rates to determine which of the connections had a more substantial failure.

Appreciation is extended to John Daly and Katie Ross, along with all our pipe and coupling manufacturers, for their tremendous support.

Testing Report 

Link to testing report: /center/ciest/sites/default/files/2025-03/240820%20DW-Serrated%20vs%20Nonserrated__Final%20Draft_v2.pdf

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Project Title: Reinforced Concrete student project

Participants: Prof. Abbie Liel, CIEST

Year: 2024

Summary:

In this experiment, undergraduate students in Prof. Abbie Liel's class, analyze the failure modes of concrete. Using the biaxial frame, a hydraulic actuator capible of exerting a 110kip or 110,000lb of force vertically, the students investigated the failures of two reinforced concrete beams. This was illustrated with two beams, a 5.5"x8"x45'' block of concrete with 3/8" diameter rebar positioned parellel to the faces of the concrete block as well as 1/2" diameter rebar positioned axially,  and a 5.5"x8"x69'' concrete beam, with rebar placed in the same manner. According to several students, seeing both failures upclose solidified the notions of shear and moment/bend failures.

Video of one of the failures: .

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Project Title: Performance Assessment of iPVC Pipe and Coupling for Large Ground Movement 

Industry Partners: East Bay Municipal Utility District, Denver Water 

CIEST Personnel: Nicholas Berty, Cory Ihnotic, Katherine O’Dell, Jessica Ramos

Primary Investigator: Prof. Brad Wham 

Year: 2022 

Project Summary: The intent of this study is to define the seismic response of iPVC pipeline systems with couplings and to illustrate procedures for interpreting laboratory results to seismically classify pipeline system performance following developing ASCE seismic guidelines. Twenty large-scale tests were performed on 6-in. diameter DR14 (PC305) iPVC pipe (C900) with five different commercially available reinforced connections. Test specimens were subjected to tension, compression, cyclic, and four point bending tests, determining the ultimate load capacity for each system in both axial and transverse directions. This study provides the first seismic classification for plastic pipe systems with reinforced connections. 

Appreciation is extended to David Katzev and Katie Ross, along with all our pipe and coupling manufacturers, for their tremendous support. 

Link to Report

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Project Title: Hoop Tensile Test

Industry Partner: PSI Lab

CIEST Personnel Participants: John Hindman

Year: 2022

Project Summary:

The CIEST Laboratory successfully completed testing pipe liner samples for “apparent hoop tensile strength” as described in ASTM D2290. The method uses a split disk to apply tensile forces to a hoop or ring specimen cut from a pipe. Like a standard tensile test specimen, the hoop specimen also has an area of reduced width so that the failure should occur in a desired location. Load is applied at a constant rate of travel until a break occurs. The strength of the specimen is calculated based on the force at break and the cross-sectional area of the reduced area.

The test was performed on one of the CIEST Laboratory’s hydraulic-actuated test frames. We were glad to be able to perform these tests for an independent commercial laboratory. The size and strength of the particular samples tested required the use of a larger test machine, which we were able to provide. 

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Project Title:  Seismic Evaluation of Hazard-Resistant Lifelines: Fusible PVC Pipe and Fittings

Industry Partners: Aegion Corportation - Underground Solutions Inc. 

CIEST Personnel: Cory Ihnotic,  Jessica Ramos, D.K Anderson, David Balcells

Primary Investigator: Prof. Brad Wham 

Year: 2021

Project Summary: The intent of this study is to impose external loading conditions to test specimens that are representative of the significant deformations possible during earthquake-induced ground motions such as landsliding, fault rupture, and liquefaction-induced lateral spreading, characterizing the pipeline system capacity. This testing program seeks to define the seismic response of fusible PVC (fPVC) pipeline systems with both fused connections and external couplings, illustrating procedures and best practices for conducting full-scale tests and interpreting laboratory results. Thirteen large-scale tests were performed on 6-in. diameter DR18 (PC235) fusible PVC pipe (C900) with three different connection types. Test specimens were subjected to tension, compression, cyclic, and four point bending tests, determining the ultimate load capacity for each system in both axial and transverse directions. 

Link to report: /center/ciest/sites/default/files/attached-files/240724_ciest-ugs_fusible_report_to_be_published.pdf

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Full Project Title: Axial Capacity of C900 PVC Pipe with Reinforced Gasketed Joints

Year: 2019-20

Industry Partner: Denver Water

CIEST Personnel: Jessica Ramos, John Hindman, Brice Lucero, David Ballcells, Hayley Parnell, and Porter Hawkins

Primary Investigator: Prof. Brad Wham

Summary: The objective of this study was to impose externally applied axial loading to reinforced gasketed water pipeline joints to establish upper bound performance under worst case conditions of ground movement.  Test protocols included axial tension and cyclic (progressive tension and compression) loading on bell-spigot style C900 PVC pipe to simulate deformations possible during natural hazards such as earthquakes and landslides . The test specimens consisted of either RieberLok Gasketed or Diamond Lok-21 pipe with a restraining ring. Tests provided measures of axial displacement capacity, pipeline connection strength, and failure mechanism. The results indicated these systems as potentially viable solutions for regions prone to persistent soil movement and settlement. Tests were conducted in partnership with Denver Water.

Failed specimen after testing in tension.

View the full report here.

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Full Title:

Year: 2017-21

Participants: Mohammad Matar, Shane Frazier, Jorge Osio-Norgaard, Anastasia Aday, Nathan Deanda, El Delesky

Primary Investigator: Wil Srubar III

Summary: In this study the effects of biomimetic antifreeze polymers were investigated for their use as an alternative to traditional air entraining agents in concrete exposed to freeze-thaw conditions in accordance with ASTM C666. Compression testing according to ASTM C39 was conducted to examine the changes in strength of polymer-modified concrete as compared to concrete containing a commercial air entraining agent. Various molecular weights and concentrations were explored in concrete samples containing polymer modifications. Results indicate that biomimetic antifreeze polymers do not significantly affect the compressive strength of concrete and may provide an alternative to traditional air entraining agents at lower concentrations than their air entraining admixture counterparts.

Image at Right:

• Specimens with entrained air after freezing and thawing
• Test specimen undergoing compression test
• Specimens with biomimetic antifreeze polymer after freezing and thawing

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