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C & G Newspapers
December 19, 2007 |
Jennie Miller
Staff Writer |
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$1 million grant aids military testing at Lawrence Tech
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SOUTHFIELD — Lawrence Technological University’s Center for Innovative Materials Research got a financial boost when the federal government awarded it $1 million to further its cutting-edge efforts in military testing.
Opened in 2006, CIMR was envisioned to have four major research components, three of which are currently operational, the fourth to be made possible through this latest grant.
“The main objective of the center is to develop new innovative materials under different conditions,” said Nabil Grace, chair of the Civil Engineering Department at Lawrence Tech and director of CIMR.
Among the four components of the facility is a fire chamber.
“It’s about 25 feet long, 15 feet high and 10 feet wide, and has the capability of applying any kind of impact force and creating a fire up to 2,300 degrees (Fahrenheit),” Grace said. “Basically, I can simulate what happened on 9/11 on the Twin Towers.”
There is also a full-scale bridge-testing facility that is 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and can simulate up to 1 million pounds of traffic load to help develop “a new generation of highway bridges,” Grace explained.
“What we are doing is developing a new highway bridge system that will not be crumpling, will not experience corrosion, that will last 100 years with new materials,” he said.
The center also recently installed equipment for nanotechnology testing, completing the third research component of the facility.
The fourth component, made possible through the $1 million grant, will allow for the completion of an environmental chamber for testing vehicle components for military uses, which will bring to fruition all of the goals for CIMR.
The environmental chamber, made of insulated ceramic blocks, will be 12 feet long, 12 feet wide and 20 feet high. It will sit on an insulated foundation and have a steel superstructure to hold an actuator, a device built into the roof of the chamber that is capable of delivering impact blows with up to 150,000 pounds of force on components being tested, according to information released by Lawrence Tech.
“I can simulate Siberian weather, (or) Alaskan, here in Michigan,” Grace said. “I can simulate the effect of sulfur water … or UV lights to find any adverse effects on a windshield. There’s a variety of spectrum of environmental conditions (it can test).”
The grant was included in the $471 billion military appropriations bill recently signed into law by President George Bush. It was championed by Congressman Sander Levin and supported by Sen. Carl Levin and Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
“Innovative materials are playing a growing role in the development of military technologies that protect our troops in the field,” Rep. Levin said, in a statement released by Lawrence Tech. “It’s important to develop these cutting-edge technologies here in Michigan because of our strong roots in research and development.”
For Lawrence Tech to be awarded such a grant, it’s a win-win situation, Grace said.
“It’s a good thing for the university, my department, the students and the economy in the state,” Grace said. “The idea is to be more competitive, help our infrastructure, bring more business to the state and also help our troops.”
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