The Transportation Infrastructure Precast Innovation Center (TRANS-IPIC) is thrilled to be funding cutting edge research conducted by Dr. Chengcheng Tao at Purdue University that will transform precast concrete (PC) by optimizing its mechanical strength, impact, and economic efficiency. This knowledge will help pave the way for a smarter and stronger infrastructure!
This research is needed because PC is made of different constituent materials with very different properties that complement each other. It is critical to design high-performance, sustainable, and cost-effective reinforced precast concrete to extend the life of PC transportation infrastructure. Physical testing with trial-and-error approaches on reinforced PC components requires substantial time, labor, and material resources to achieve the optimal design for superior material properties, and ecological and economic sustainability. The research’s framework can provide performance-based optimal solutions based on user requirements by exploring massive design spaces. A physics-informed database of reinforced PC will be established from physical testing and multivariant numerical modeling. Multi-objective metaheuristic optimization algorithms will be implemented to achieve optimal trade-off solutions based on the user’s requirements such as strength, environmental impact, and cost of the materials.