Instructor: John Bolander, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Description: The course involves the study of common construction materials and how material type can affect the sustainability of our built environment. Classroom discussions will center on designing concrete materials to reduce the impact of constructed facilities (e.g. commercial buildings, bridges, home dwellings) on the environment. In addition to background information from class discussions, handouts and reading materials, the course will provide hands-on laboratory experience in producing modern concrete materials and fabricating lab-scale structural components. The laboratory experience provides an appreciation for various practical constraints and how material design can profoundly affect structural performance. Although concrete is often regarded as a low-tech material, it is the most extensively used construction material in the world. Improvements in material design can therefore have major positive impacts on the life-cycle performance of constructed facilities and associated impacts on the environment. This course aims to give students a fuller awareness of how material design can affect structural performance and environmental friendliness. The several laboratory sessions will complement classroom discussions, providing an appreciation for practical constraints related to material processing and how specific performance measures (e.g. strength, toughness, thermal efficiency) are related to material design.
Format: The seminar will meet one hour each week. The meeting times will be divided into classroom lecture, multi-media presentations, discussions, and laboratory sessions involving specimen production and testing. Reading and short homework assignments; report on a pre-approved, relevant topic of the student’s choosing. Grading: Students will be given a letter grade based on three short assignments (30%), participation in classroom discussions and laboratory sessions (40%), and a report on a pre-approved, relevant topic of their choosing (30%).
About the Instructor: John Bolander is an Associate Professor within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His teaching and research interests center on the effective use of both traditional and new materials within the civil infrastructure, with particular emphasis on cement-based composites. He is using computer models to quantitatively link micro-mechanical actions to performance measures defined at the structural scale. These efforts include the simulation of life-cycle performance based on durability mechanics.