HOUGHTON – While we?re able to enjoy timeless scenery as we travel in the United States, it?s important to realize that the soils and rocks forming the base of these transportation systems may not forever be stable.
In a new project led by Michigan Technological University, Thomas Oommen, assistant professor of geological and mining engineering and sciences, heads a team that is using advanced technology to develop a comprehensive management system to monitor our nation?s geotechnical assets?the ground that forms the base for the concrete, asphalt or steel that makes up our transportation system. Co-investigators include Colin Brooks, senior research scientist at the Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI); Pasi Lautala, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; Stan Vitton, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; and Keith Cunningham, a research professor from the University of Alaska?Fairbanks.
The one common theme for US transportation infrastructure is that it is supported by the ground, constructed over it, through it or next to it. Scientists call these natural bases geotechnical assets. The problem, however, is that we do not have a comprehensive program in the US to monitor the geotechnical assets of our transportation corridors. That is, until now.
?There are so many geotechnical assets in road, rail and pipeline transportation systems,? Oommen says. ?And the first question people ask is why there is no comprehensive monitoring of these assets. It is because the scale of the task is huge!?
The team has worked in a variety of locations, from Detroit?s highways to western railways to Alaskan pipelines. To date, studies have taken place in Michigan, Nevada and Alaska.
