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Center for the Integration of Composites Into Infrastructure (CICI)

Center Overview

The Center for the Integration of Composites Into Infrastructure (CICI) improves, in cost and quality, the process of building and fixing civil and military structures through the use of composites. CICI carries out its work by coordinating efforts between universities and the composites and construction industries. Education is a cornerstone of CICI, as students and practicing engineers in infrastructure require new skills to take advantage of composites.

The mission of CICI is to accelerate the adoption of polymer composites and innovated construction material into infrastructure and transportation applications through collaborative research.

Efficient infrastructure systems such as highways, bridges, buildings, pipelines, flood control systems, and utilities are necessary for a healthy economy and comfortable standard of living. Concrete, steel, and timber are the backbones of physical infrastructure. High-strength polymer composites have been used in aerospace technologies for about five decades and their use in civil infrastructure spans about 20 years. The widespread use of polymer composites in infrastructure allows for longer service lives and reduced maintenance costs.

CICI's research focuses on ways to synergize different fibers and polymers, including natural materials and those with biological components, to create new application areas and rehabilitation techniques, thus expanding market potential.

Universities

North Carolina State University
University of Miami
West Virginia University
Texas A&M University

View Center Website

Center Personnel

Antonio Nanni
Center Staff
+1 305 284 3924
nanni@miami.edu

Hota GangaRao
Center Staff
+1 304 293 3998
Hota.Gangarao@mail.wvu.edu

Ray Liang
Managing Director
+1 304 293 9348
rliang@wvu.edu

Anand Puppala
Center Staff
+1 979 862 6777
anandp@tamu.edu

Research Focus

Research is carried out on scientific topics fundamental to polymer composites, including:

Aging phenomenon.
Fatigue response.
Fire and blast protection.
Smart structure development.
Nondestructive testing.
Strength and service life predictions.

CICI also develops products that can be made through a wide variety of manufacturing processes and that offer numerous market opportunities. Those research projects can be grouped into the following four topic areas:

Codes, specifications, and guidance.
Design implementation and evaluation.
Durability and aging.
Materials development, characterization, manufacturing, and recycling.

Awards

2017796

Phase III IUCRC at TAMU College Station: Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI)

The Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI) is a NSF I/UCRC that utilizes the expertise of West Virginia University, North Carolina State University, the University of Miami, and Texas A & M University/University of Texas at Arlington with an objective of accelerating the adoption of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites and geosynthetics into infrastructure applications by utilizing industry wide cooperation. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. infrastructure a grade of D+, with a 10 year funding gap of $1.44 trillion, leading to losses of $3.9 trillion to the U.S. GDP and 2.5 million fewer jobs. FRP composites and geosythentics are gaining acceptance for infrastructure due to their corrosion resistance, ease of installation, and proof-of-concept from field demonstrations in service for up to four decades. The biggest advantage to composite materials is durability, as they do not corrode or rot allowing for an extended service life thus extending taxpayer dollars. With the support of NSF, CICI currently consists of a consortium of four universities and 31 industry members, bringing together faculty, students, practitioners, manufacturers, trade organizations and government agencies to overcome the obstacles to widespread deployment of composites, forging lasting partnerships, and educating students, engineers and contractors. CICI focuses on four research thrusts. First, research on material development, manufacturing, and characterization allows for the development of new composite materials and recycling of discarded polymer composites with a clear understanding of the physico-chemical and mechanical properties. Second, the durability and aging of composites is evaluated under accelerated aging and by examining existing structures to ensure that composites can have long service lives under harsh environmental conditions. Third, design, implementation and evaluation of composites in new construction and rehabilitation of existing structures.. Fourth, CICI contributes to the development of standards, specifications, and guide documents required for the deployment of new technologies into commercial practice. The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) will continue to examine the utilization of composites, including geosynthetics, polymeric materials including geopolymers, and other geocomposites in subsurface infrastructure including pavements, runways, embankments, retaining structures, earth dams and levees. Both life cycle cost analysis and sustainable utilization of composites will be addressed in these studies. The UTA CICI site has a strong research background in soil-structure interactions, and will work with the partner universities on materials, structural retrofits and offshore soil treatment including geosynthetics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. Read More >

1916677

Phase III IUCRC at West Virginia University: Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI)

The Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI) is a NSF I/UCRC that utilizes the expertise of West Virginia University, North Carolina State University, the University of Miami, and Texas A & M University/University of Texas at Arlington with an objective of accelerating the adoption of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites and geosynthetics into infrastructure applications by utilizing industry wide cooperation. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. infrastructure a grade of D+, with a 10 year funding gap of $1.44 trillion, leading to losses of $3.9 trillion to the U.S. GDP and 2.5 million fewer jobs. FRP composites and geosythentics are gaining acceptance for infrastructure due to their corrosion resistance, ease of installation, and proof-of-concept from field demonstrations in service for up to four decades. The biggest advantage to composite materials is durability, as they do not corrode or rot allowing for an extended service life thus extending taxpayer dollars. With the support of NSF, CICI currently consists of a consortium of four universities and 31 industry members, bringing together faculty, students, practitioners, manufacturers, trade organizations and government agencies to overcome the obstacles to widespread deployment of composites, forging lasting partnerships, and educating students, engineers and contractors. CICI focuses on four research thrusts. First, research on material development, manufacturing, and characterization allows for the development of new composite materials and recycling of discarded polymer composites with a clear understanding of the physico-chemical and mechanical properties. Second, the durability and aging of composites is evaluated under accelerated aging and by examining existing structures to ensure that composites can have long service lives under harsh environmental conditions. Third, design, implementation and evaluation of composites in new construction and rehabilitation of existing structures.. Fourth, CICI contributes to the development of standards, specifications, and guide documents required for the deployment of new technologies into commercial practice. West Virginia University conducts research including characterization of pultruded composites resulting in design guides; collaborative efforts on the evaluation of existing field applications; and, rehabilitation of bridges the WV Department of Highways and US Army Corps of Engineers at a fraction of the cost of traditional repair. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. Read More >

1916342

Phase III IUCRC at University of Miami: Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI)

The Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI) is a NSF I/UCRC that utilizes the expertise of West Virginia University, North Carolina State University, the University of Miami, and Texas A & M University/University of Texas at Arlington with an objective of accelerating the adoption of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites and geosynthetics into infrastructure applications by utilizing industry wide cooperation. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. infrastructure a grade of D+, with a 10 year funding gap of $1.44 trillion, leading to losses of $3.9 trillion to the U.S. GDP and 2.5 million fewer jobs. FRP composites and geosythentics are gaining acceptance for infrastructure due to their corrosion resistance, ease of installation, and proof-of-concept from field demonstrations in service for up to four decades. The biggest advantage to composite materials is durability, as they do not corrode or rot allowing for an extended service life thus extending taxpayer dollars. With the support of NSF, CICI currently consists of a consortium of four universities and 31 industry members, bringing together faculty, students, practitioners, manufacturers, trade organizations and government agencies to overcome the obstacles to widespread deployment of composites, forging lasting partnerships, and educating students, engineers and contractors. CICI focuses on four research thrusts. First, research on material development, manufacturing, and characterization allows for the development of new composite materials and recycling of discarded polymer composites with a clear understanding of the physico-chemical and mechanical properties. Second, the durability and aging of composites is evaluated under accelerated aging and by examining existing structures to ensure that composites can have long service lives under harsh environmental conditions. Third, design, implementation and evaluation of composites in new construction and rehabilitation of existing structures.. Fourth, CICI contributes to the development of standards, specifications, and guide documents required for the deployment of new technologies into commercial practice. The University of Miami focuses on FRP reinforcement for concrete structures engaging public and private sectors in experimentation, technology transfer and development of standards as well as field projects where conventional steel reinforcement has been totally replaced by composites. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. Read More >

1916768

Phase III IUCRC at North Carolina State University: Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI)

The Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI) is a NSF I/UCRC that utilizes the expertise of West Virginia University, North Carolina State University, the University of Miami, and Texas A & M University/University of Texas at Arlington with an objective of accelerating the adoption of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites and geosynthetics into infrastructure applications by utilizing industry wide cooperation. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. infrastructure a grade of D+, with a 10 year funding gap of $1.44 trillion, leading to losses of $3.9 trillion to the U.S. GDP and 2.5 million fewer jobs. FRP composites and geosythentics are gaining acceptance for infrastructure due to their corrosion resistance, ease of installation, and proof-of-concept from field demonstrations in service for up to four decades. The biggest advantage to composite materials is durability, as they do not corrode or rot allowing for an extended service life thus extending taxpayer dollars. With the support of NSF, CICI currently consists of a consortium of four universities and 31 industry members, bringing together faculty, students, practitioners, manufacturers, trade organizations and government agencies to overcome the obstacles to widespread deployment of composites, forging lasting partnerships, and educating students, engineers and contractors. CICI focuses on four research thrusts. First, research on material development, manufacturing, and characterization allows for the development of new composite materials and recycling of discarded polymer composites with a clear understanding of the physico-chemical and mechanical properties. Second, the durability and aging of composites is evaluated under accelerated aging and by examining existing structures to ensure that composites can have long service lives under harsh environmental conditions. Third, design, implementation and evaluation of composites in new construction and rehabilitation of existing structures.. Fourth, CICI contributes to the development of standards, specifications, and guide documents required for the deployment of new technologies into commercial practice. North Carolina State University provides the capability of testing and validating FRP systems on full-scale members of critical infrastructure to facilitate acceptance and technology transfer. Fundamental material level research is also possible to quantify the durability of composite materials, the development of new multi-functional composites, and structural health monitoring. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. Read More >

Member Organizations

IUCRC affiliated member organizations are displayed as submitted by the Center. Non-federal organizations are not selected, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Altus Group
Arkema
Army Corp of Engineers
Basalt Engineering
Basanite Industries
Bedford Reinforced Plastics
Bluegrass Composites
Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE)
Cooling Towers
Creative Pultrusions
Electric Power Research Institute
Galen Panamerica
HVJ
IFI
Kerakoll
Knife River, Corp.
Liteform Technologies
Louisiana Transportation Research Center
Miller & Long Company
Owens Corning Infrastructure
QuakeWrap
Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics, Inc.
Simpson Strong Tie
Structural RS
Structural Technologies
Teijin Frontier Co.
TenCate/Solmax
ThermaFoam
Tokyo Rope
Toray Composites
TUF-N-LITE
US Department of Agriculture
US Department of Transportation
Warstone Innovations

The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the Center author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.