Welcome to CUIRE News and Events!

 

 Najafi Honored with ASCE Award of Excellence

Civil Engineering’s Dr. Mohammad Najafi, an assistant professor and director of the Center for Underground Infrastructure Research and Education, received the 2010 Award of Excellence from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) during an August 31 ceremony. The award was presented in recognition of Dr. Najafi‘s many years of service to the pipeline profession and the ASCE Pipeline Division, as an ASCE journal editor and author, and his five-year term on the of the Pipeline Division’s executive committee. Dr. Najafi is the current editor in chief of the ASCE Journal of Pipelines Systems. He will also be the co-chair of the 2013 International Pipeline Conference, to be held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

 

CUIRE Provides Testing and Research Services on the Integrated Pipeline (IPL) Project

 The Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) recently awarded CUIRE a testing, evaluation and research services contract for the new large diameter (between 70-in. to 108 in.) and 157 mile long raw water transmission project. The initial planning for the project started last January and its completion is scheduled for 2020. The design and construction of this project is estimated to be more than 1.5 billion dollars.

 The Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) and the City of Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) own or hold water rights or contracts for a combined 14 surface water reservoirs and provide raw water transmission facilities for many cities and water agencies across North Central Texas. Additionally, Dallas supplies treated and raw water to wholesale customers in Dallas, Collin, Denton, Ellis, and Kaufman Counties. Through 58 wholesale water agencies and cities and the DWU retail water operations, TRWD and DWU provide drinking water to 4.4 million people, a population that is expected to double in the next 50 years.

 The scope of CUIRE and UT Arlington services includes:

  • Develop design alternatives to be explored and review them with the design/owner IPL team. 
  • Develop Material Characterization Based on Geologic Maps & Published Materials.
  • Screen Suitable Materials as Native Backfill/ Modified Backfill for each type of Pipe, and Identify Unsuitable Materials even with Modifications.
  • Include in the Analysis (beyond Physical Characteristics), Limitations that may make the System Unusable (as Quality Control Problems, Extreme Costs), etc.
  • Develop a Finite Element Analysis of Pipe/Soil Interaction for each Potential Pipe Type/Backfill to Determine the Feasibility of the System using a Single Live Load/Dead Load Scenario.
  • Evaluate design alternatives that would lead to a constructible design while minimizing hauling costs.
  • Evaluate the Systems for Differing Live Loads. From the alternatives that are structurally sound and constructible, examine the issues associated with constructing the next parallel pipeline in the same right-of–way. 
  • Perform Physical Testing and Determination of Soil/Pipe interactions to test the most viable systems.

 CUIRE is fortunate to be involved in this unique and challenging project and looks forward to work closely with TRWD and other project participants. For more information, contact Dr. Najafi at najafi@uta.edu.

CUIRE Holds Annual Board Meeting

Posted: Wed Jul 21 16:05:47 2010

 

In conjunction with 50th anniversary of UT Arlington College of Engineering, the Center for Underground Infrastructure Research and Education (CUIRE) held its annual board meeting on Thursday, May 26, 2010, at the Civil Engineering Laboratory Building (CELB). The agenda for the meeting included welcome by Dean Carol, introductions by board members, status of CUIRE research projects, recognition of board members, and discussion on short- and long-term plans. Before the lunch, board members had an opportunity to visit the lab facilities. Dr. Nur Yazdani, Chair of Civil Engineering presented each board member with a plaque of appreciation. The following board members were in attendance:

  • Mr. Sam Arnaout, Hanson Pressure Pipe
  • Mr. Robert Carpenter, Underground Construction Magazine
  • Dean Bill Carroll, UT Arlington
  • Mr. Craig Fisher, S & B Technical Products
  • Dr. Tom Iseley, IUPUI
  • Mr. John Morgan, Cantex, Inc.
  • Dr. Mohammad Najafi, UT Arlington/CUIRE
  • Mr. Gary Natwig, 3M Water Infrastructure
  • Mr. Lynn Osborn, Instituform Technologies
  • Dr. Mario Perez, 3M Water Infrastructure
  • Mr. Ellis Pope, UT Arlington
  • Mr. David Slawson, JM Eagle
  • Dr. Kris Sridhar, 3M Water Infrastructure
  • Dr. Nur Yazdani, UT Arlington

The meeting concluded at 3:00 PM. CUIRE was established in 2002 with the goal of promoting research, development and training in underground infrastructure construction and renewal technologies. The Primary goal of CUIRE is to provide leadership in research, outreach and education activities which enhances safety, cost-effectiveness, construction productivity, environmental improvement in renewal of the aging underground infrastructure. For more information, visit www.cuire.org.

NASTT Student Chapter Holds Second Meeting of the Year

Posted: Tue Apr 13 09:43:25 2010

 

The North American Society for Trenchless Technology Student Chapter at UT Arlington held a second meeting of the year on Thursday, March 11, in Room 203 of Nedderman Hall. More than 40 Civil Engineering students attended this meeting. The guest speaker was Mr. Craig Fisher, Vice President -- Technical & Municipal Services for S&B Technical Products.

Mr. Craig Fisher made a very interesting presentation on the Bulldog Restraint Joint System offered by S&B Technical Products. He had the students engrossed as he took them through the history of the product, its applications in trenchless technology, its manufacturing process, test at CUIRE labs, and its advantages. Many students, who were amazed by the technology, asked questions at the end of the presentation, and Mr. Fisher took extra time to answer all the questions.

The meeting concluded with Mr. Fisher being presented with a small memento to thank him for taking the time to speak to the members of the Chapter.