MISSOURI SYSTEM, UNIVERSITY OF
Grant: $40,000 - National Science Foundation - Sep. 18, 2009
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Award Description: The research objective of this project is to evaluate pedestrian biomechanics of walking on pervious concrete, compared to traditional concrete pavement, in normal and adverse weather conditions. Pervious concrete is becoming a wide-spread stormwater management tool, especially in cold climates, for its ability to reduce stormwater volume and quantity of pollutants contained therein. Some large municipalities such as Minneapolis have begun installing entire pervious concrete roads to help manage flooding. Due to the high permeability of the pavement, melting snow and ice are much less likely to refreeze and form surface ice. This, coupled with its open surface texture, results in a much safer pavement under adverse winter conditions. Slipping and falling is a concern both for actual and perceived mobility for older adults. Pervious concrete may provide a safer pavement surface by reducing incidences of falling, thereby helping maintain the independence and mobility of older adults and lowering hospital and insurance costs for everyone. The PI (Kevern) has a great deal of experience with pervious concrete, specifically mixture proportioning and durability testing. That experience, combined with the co-PI's (King) expertise in musculoskeletal biomechanics, will allow characterization of pedestrian biomechanics and comparison between traditional and pervious concrete pavements. The project will include trials on four types of concrete pavements: a traditional concrete control pavement; and three pervious experimental concretes produced with different aggregate coarsenesses from very coarse to fine surface textures. The surface characteristics of the pavement types will first be characterized in the dry condition using the HBARL equipment before testing in, wet, icy, and snowy conditions. The research will determine how pervious concrete impacts pedestrians versus traditional pavement and will identify if different pervious concrete mixtures produce unique surface characteristics.
Project Description: The research objective of this project is to evaluate pedestrian biomechanics of walking on pervious concrete, compared to traditional concrete pavement, in normal and adverse weather conditions. Pervious concrete is becoming a wide-spread stormwater management tool, especially in cold climates, for its ability to reduce stormwater volume and quantity of pollutants contained therein. Some large municipalities such as Minneapolis have begun installing entire pervious concrete roads to help manage flooding. Due to the high permeability of the pavement, melting snow and ice are much less likely to refreeze and form surface ice. This, coupled with its open surface texture, results in a much safer pavement under adverse winter conditions. Slipping and falling is a concern both for actual and perceived mobility for older adults. Pervious concrete may provide a safer pavement surface by reducing incidences of falling, thereby helping maintain the independence and mobility of older adults and lowering hospital and insurance costs for everyone.
Jobs Summary: Award was setup in PeopleSoft on 9/18/2009; no salaries have hit this project to date. (Total jobs reported: 0)
Project Status: Less Than 50% Completed
This award's data was last updated on Sep. 18, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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