Individual Research Groups

The Advanced Infrastructure Materials Lab supports research for FHWA, NCDOT, FAA and a range of other private/public clients, and focuses on the characterization of mechanical properties, thermal properties, and durability performance of construction materials, primarily concrete and cementitious materials.

The laboratory facilities include all typical equipment for basic preparation and characterization of aggregates and fresh and cured concrete materials. Specialized equipment includes: two concrete mixers (5 cf and 12 cf capacities), 500-kip compression machine, high frequency data acquisition equipment, servo-hydraulic materials testing machine with an integral environmental control chamber capable of low and high temperatures, and two 50-kip MTS materials testers with laser measurement system. Conditioning and environmental simulation equipment include two freeze-thaw cabinets, three GSX rapid cycling units, one walk-in environmental chamber, and a 49 ft3 programmable environmental chamber. Equipment to support mortar preparation and testing includes two stand mixers, mortar bar and cube molds, flow table, and storage/conditioning equipment for sulfate attack, alkali-silica reactivity, autogenous shrinkage, and drying shrinkage tests. Equipment to support fresh concrete testing includes apparatus to perform unit weight, temperature, slump, and air content by pressure, volumetric, or Super Air Meter (SAM) methods. A Box test apparatus is also available to test workability. Equipment to support hardened concrete tests for mechanical properties and durability performance include two surface resistivity meters with bulk conductivity attachments, an automated coefficient of thermal expansion test machine, a Fox50 apparatus capable of measuring heat capacity and thermal conductivity, chloride content testing using chemical methods as well as micro-XRF, ASTM C1202 rapid chloride permeability test apparatus, and a range of other test setups including the Torrent permeability device. A digital microscope (20x to 2000x capabilities) and two stereo microscopes with digital image analysis systems are available, as well as an automated air analysis system based on the scanner method and sample preparation equipment for cutting, grinding, and polishing. NDE equipment available to support this research includes acoustic emission equipment (with a waveform capture system), ultrasonic pulse velocity equipment, maturity meters, and surface resistivity meters. An EDAX Orbis micro-XRF that has elemental analysis capabilities. AIM also has on-campus access to SEM, EDX, XRF, and XRD and analytical capabilities including thermal analysis (thermal conductivity, heat capacity) rheology, and microcalorimetry.

Lead Faculty: Tara Cavalline

Location: 134 Smith

Explore innovative research advancing fire safety, occupational health and workplace safety. Projects address real-world challenges including firefighter health, wildfire risks, chemical exposures, food truck safety and environmental hazards—equipping students and industry professionals with practical knowledge to create safer, healthier workplaces and communities.

Faculty Contact: Michael Benjamin, Ph.D., GSP

Location: Smith 248A

The Smart Infrastructure Asset Management (SIAM) is a multidisciplinary research lab specializing in human-centered simulation, sensing and reality capture technologies. We employ simulators to study behavior and safety, and use EEG, eye-tracking and wearable sensors to examine physiological and cognitive responses, and explore human-technology interactions. This lab also uses drones, LiDAR and thermal imaging to capture and analyze data on the built environment, advancing both teaching and research.

Lead Faculty: Omidreza Shoghli

Location: 323 Smith