Doug Adams: Studying the Health of Materials, Machines & Structures
1,074 views · Published 25 February 2014 · 5:45 · Indexed 22 October 2026
Channel: Vanderbilt University · 2014 · Education
Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Doug Adams , an internationally recognized expert in structural health monitoring and the new chair of Vanderbilt's civil and environmental engineering department (www.cee.vanderbilt.edu), studies the science of risk. He came to Vanderbilt in July from Purdue University, joining some of engineering's top experts in aspects of risk to the built and natural environment. His new lab is called LASIR — Laboratory for Systems Integrity and Reliability. Vanderbilt offers a one-of-a-kind multidisciplinary option in reliability and risk engineering and management as part of its civil engineering doctoral program. Adams says he considers this the best group in the world studying risk. Vanderbilt engineers conduct pioneering work on the risks of failure in materials and civil infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, transportation systems and cyber-physical systems, as well as in the environmental risks of energy production and extreme weather events, using multidisciplinary and multiscale modeling approaches. Adams believes their strengths and his are complementary. He conducts full-scale dynamic experiments to discover which sensors and signatures are first to warn of impending failure in a variety of structures in the built environment, specifically aircraft, automobiles, military platforms and power machinery. The value of his work can be seen in a variety of areas, but none more critical perhaps than in national security. Military experts estimate that it takes billions of dollars to repair and replace Hummer on electrohydraulic test rigHumvees, tanks and helicopters after service in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. When aging but vital equipment can be evaluated and proactively maintained, it saves cost—and lives. Because Adams' work requires full-size structures, vehicles and equipment, his lab will soon be home to a 550-square-foot wind turbine test chamber, a military helicopter and a Hummer. Currently under construction, the 20,000-square-foot lab will hold more than $8 million in equipment, including electrohydraulic vehicle simulators, wind turbine dynamic test rigs, a 3-D laser velocimeter and systems for digital and infrared imaging that will allow Adams and his fellow researchers to assess how structural elements behave under real-world conditions. The high-bay facility will measure 27-feet from floor to ceiling and also include one-of-a-kind test beds for multimodal sensing of materials and machines. Adams says that Vanderbilt is the only university he knows of that will employ a one-megahertz 3-D scanning laser velocimeter. The velocimeter will allow the researchers to scan a 140-foot-long aircraft in minutes and find defects in the material that are less than 1-inch in diameter—even when those defects are deep beneath the surface. He'll also use it to search for defects in the material of a wind turbine blade as it oscillates up to 1 million times each second. Adams' research is supported by the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, and he partners with several large defense contractors and equipment manufacturers throughout the country. To learn more about Vanderbilt, visit http://www.vanderbilt.edu.
