Program:

Inspection and nondestructive evaluation of highway bridges have received significant focus since the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, MN in 2007. However, the safety inspection of highway bridges has been ongoing since the early 1970’s, when a national inspection program was initiated in response to another catastrophic bridge collapse that occurred in 1967, the Silver Bridge collapse. This presentation will discuss the current state of the practice for assessing the quality of this bridge inspection program, and different quality models used to assess consistency in the inspection program across the US. Assessment of the reliability of the existing inspection program that led to the development of these quality programs will also presented. The development of improved inspection technologies will also be described, such as the application of thermal imaging for the routine inspection of highway bridges, new sensors for evaluation of certain concrete elements, and targeted health monitoring for highway bridges.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Washer has expertise in a wide variety of NDE technologies for the condition assessment of highway bridges, including ultrasonics, thermography, ground penetrating radar, and the visual inspection of bridges and quality control/quality assurance for highway bridge inspections. He has published more than 70 conference and journal papers on the development of NDE technologies and their application bridge condition assessment. In 2007, he testified in Congress on the application of NDE for highway bridge inspection in the wake of the I35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, MN.
Dr. Washer is an active leader in the technical community, chairing several committees including the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Committee on Field Testing and Nondestructive Evaluation of Transportation Structures, and past chair of the ASCE committee on Bridge Management, Inspection and Rehabilitation. Dr. Washer received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) at the Johns Hopkins University in 2001. He received a Masters degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1996 and his Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1990.

Location:

                 Pickens Technical College
                 500 Airport Rd, Aurora, CO 80011
                 [The Welding Department is on the South-East Corner of the building]
                 (See Map)

Directions:
                 FROM THE NORTH:
                 I-225 -to- 6th Ave
                 6th Ave -West to- Airport Rd
                 Airport Rd -South to- 500 Airport Rd

FROM THE SOUTH:
                 I-25 -to- I-225
                 I-225 -to- 6th Ave
                 6th Ave -West to- Airport Rd
                 Airport Rd -South to- 500 Airport Rd

Dinner: $15 for AWS & ASNT members and guests ($5 for students)

               RSVP: Ward Rummel

(See attached PDF for a colorful version of this announcement)