Abdelrahman Abdallah is earning his Ph.D. in Construction Engineering and Management, a collaborative program between the Colorado State University Departments of Construction Management and Civil and Environmental Engineering. This year, Abdallah won second place in the Great Minds in Research award for his research topic at the Graduate Student Showcase.
Abdallah worked with Rebecca Atadero, Ph.D., and Mehmet Ozbek, Ph.D., on research regarding the inspection of bridges in the U.S., as part of his Ph.D. studies. The title of his research is “An Integrated Uncertainty-Based Bridge Inspection Decision Framework.” The main goal of Abdallah’s research is to provide a framework that will help improve bridge inspection practices in the U.S.
The Graduate Student Showcase is an annual one-day conference for graduate students to present their research work and progress. This helps graduate students to connect with fellow graduate students and faculty at CSU and to learn about various disciplines, as well as enhance their communication and presentation skills. This year’s showcase was packed with interesting research ideas and knowledge from different departments at CSU. In addition to the wonderful experience, all participants will also be entered to win a range of scholarships with a total value of $15,000 sponsored by the Graduate School and the Vice President for Research.
Bridge inspection in the U.S.
Since 1971, bridge inspection in the U.S. is conducted every two years using visual inspection, regardless of the age or type of bridge. Visual inspections are mostly limited to the flaws and defects on the surface and are associated with a lot of subjectivity and uncertainty. However, new technology may allow for longer inspection intervals, so inspection resources can be more efficiently used.
The purpose of this research is to develop a rational approach for establishing the timing of bridge inspections and determining the appropriate inspection techniques by integrating several sources of information about bridge conditions using prediction models and non-destructive evaluation techniques (NDE). Accordingly, inspections are to be conducted when there is too much uncertainty about the current condition of the bridge to allow for effective decision making. The framework leverages the information from multiple sources, including deterioration models and different NDE techniques, and integrates the information through Bayesian updating.
Congratulations to Abdallah on this impressive research and securing the second place win.
The Department of Construction Management is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
