Success Stories by Department of Transportation

In a previous SBIR success story, we discussed the development of a cost competitive, easy-to-use and reliable tool for “in-the-ditch” characterization of mechanical damage (MD) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) for buried pipelines, as well as internal and external corrosion under insulation (CUI) through insulation and weather protection for exposed pipelines. Since that time, we have made significant developments on a specific challenge problem for CUI - defined by the DOT and the stakeholders in the industry – to detect external corrosion in pipelines through 2 in. insulation/coating and 0.016 in. – 0.040 in. aluminum (or stainless steel) weather protection. Note however that the JENTEK developed solution described below provides both internal and external corrosion through insulation and weather protection.

JENTEK’s Magnetoresistive Meandering Winding Magnetometer Array (MR-MWM-Array) uses low frequency eddy current methods to characterize corrosion in pipelines...

With support from FHWA and RITA, researchers are integrating the latest camera technology with traffic control to improve safety at intersections

In 2007, more than 4,600 pedestrians died in traffic crashes in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That same year, crashes injured about 70,000 pedestrians. Zeroing in on intersections, NHTSA reports that 984 pedestrians were killed and 31,000 injured in 2005. Although these figures are lower than in previous years, the statistics underscore the continuing need for safety improvements. For instance, children 14 years old and younger accounted for 20 percent of all pedestrian injuries and 7 percent of all pedestrian fatalities. For NHTSA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), even one fatality or injury is one too many. _____________________________________________________________________________________ For many systems and applications—such as connected...