Dryver Roy Huston

University of Vermont | UVM · Department of Mechanical Engineering

This presentation describes a framework for human building interaction for home and interior structural maintenance through the use of smart technologies including networked sensors, robots, machine learning and augmented reality. Sensing and assessment for repair and maintenance of indoor infrastructure requires direct interaction between building...

Real-time monitoring of water quality parameters using optical sensors has become widespread. However, the price of commercial sensors and the ability to integrate them into customized sensing networks can limit their application in research and monitoring programs. This study introduces the design, verification, and validation of an innovative, lo...

Sensing and cognition by homeowners and technicians for home maintenance are prime examples of human-building interaction. Damage, decay, and pest infestation present signals that humans interpret and then act upon to remedy and mitigate. The maintenance cognition process has direct effects on sustainability and economic vitality, as well as the he...

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) frequently occur in coastal and inland water bodies, resulting in detrimental health and economic consequences. In freshwater, HABs are often dominated by cyanobacteria (CyanoHABs or cHABs), which produce a suite of secondary metabolites ranging from taste and odor compounds to liver and neurological toxins. Recently, Un...

Microrobots are effective for monitoring infrastructure in narrow spaces. However, they have limited computing power, and most of them are not wireless and stable enough for accessing infrastructure in difficult-to-reach areas. In this paper, we describe the fabrication of a microrobot with bristle-bot locomotion using a novel centrifugal yaw-steer...

In GPR B-scan images, ground surface clutter is the main source of interference, often obscuring or distorting subsurface target signals. We propose a deep autoencoder-based method to mitigate rough surface clutter in GPR images by treating it as an anomaly detection problem. Firstly, the rough surface region in a B-scan image is partitioned into s...

Mobile robots can access regions and collect data in structural locations not easily reached by humans. This includes confined spaces, such as inside walls, and underground pipes; and remote spaces, such as the underside of bridge decks. Robot access provides the opportunity to sense in these difficult to access spaces with robot mounted sensors,...

Despite advancements in sensing technology for smart infrastructure, monitoring dynamic components such as pipelines, industrial equipment, and transportation systems remains challenging. In this paper, a network of micro-robots equipped with Wi-Fi-compatible cameras is deployed to conduct visual structure inspection in poorly accessible environ...

Water is often referred to as our most precious resource, and for a good reason – drinking water and wastewater services sustain core functions of the critical infrastructure, communities, and human life itself. Our water systems are threatened by aging infrastructure, floods, drought, storms, earthquakes, sea level rise, population growth, cyber-s...

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) encounter a substantial challenge when it comes to energy conservation. As sensor nodes rely on battery power to operate in unattended environments, and it can be inconvenient to recharge the batteries. So, maximizing the network’s operational lifetime by minimizing energy consumption is crucial for improving the qua...

Interfaces between nacreous tablets are crucial to the outstanding mechanical properties of nacre in natural shells. Excellent research has been conducted to probe the effect of interfaces on strength and toughness of nacre, providing critical guidelines for the design of human-made laminated composites. This article reviews recent studies on inter...

Radar and millimeter wave methods provide a means of remote and noncontacting examination of structures through controlled electromagnetic (EM) interactions. Metallic and nonmetallic structures reflect and scatter EM waves impinging at the outer surfaces. Nonmetallic, i.e., dielectric, materials allow for EM waves to penetrate the surface, and scat...

This paper studies signal calibration, frequency response estimation and noise reduction for a Software Defined Radio (SDRadio) based ground penetrating radar (GPR). The radar signal generation utilizes stepped frequency continuous wave (SFCW) method. The signal calibration takes advantage of the dual-channel structure of the SDRadio and solves the...

Stress-time avalanches of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber-reinforced concrete during flexure were investigated based on high temporal resolution signals in this study. Stress drops were extracted based on measurements collected at 100 kHz and modeled as avalanches using the mean field model. Two types of avalanches were observed dur...

Proper inspection of small culverts can prevent roadway failures, traffic disturbances, and save tens of thousands of dollars on costly repairs. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) has adopted a policy that requires all culverts to be inspected every 5 years. Because of this, approximately 9,600 small culverts must be inspected annually....

A vibrating magnet antenna shows promise as an efficient, compact source for ultra low frequency (ULF) electromagnetic waves. ULF signals are able to penetrate through earthen materials, making this regime desirable for subterranean communication and detection of subterranean features. Oscillating a permanent magnet back-and-forth across a novel so...

Ground penetrating radars (GPRs) carried by mobile platforms, such as vehicles and drones, have been applied in various applications, for instance, subsurface utility detection, structural health inspection, and autonomous driving. However, existing GPR systems are not able to operate autonomously and adaptively due to several challenges, including...

In this work, we studied stress variations of loading histories on polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete beams during flexure. A new experimental system was created to collect the stress-time curves at 100 kHz sampling rate to reveal temporal profiles of stress drops in high resolution. Concrete beams prepared at the early age of seven days with...

In this work, we studied stress variations occurring during flexure of early-age steel fiber reinforced concrete beams. By preparing beams with different fiber volume ratios, four-point bending tests were performed to evaluate the specimens at different loading rates. A new experimental system was created to collect the stress-time curves collected...

In this work, stress variations during flexure of early age basalt fiber reinforced concrete beams were studied using high resolution temporal measurements. An experimental system was created to collect stress-time curves at 100 kHz sampling rate so that temporal profiles of stress variations were analyzed in detail. Stress drops were modeled as av...

With the advances of computational science and technology, developing ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data processing algorithms that can automate structural defects detection and identification have become an active research subject. This paper focuses on detecting and identifying three major defects in concrete structure, including delamination, a...

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a useful instrument for smarter infrastructure applications, in particular, for the localization and mapping of underground infrastructure and other subsurface assets, due to its ability to sense metallic and nonmetallic buried objects. For instance, air-coupled, multistatic GPR could potentially be employed to qui...

In this study, an integrated synchronous data acquisition subsystem for high‐speed dual‐channel ultra‐wideband ground penetrating radar (GPR) system is designed and tested. Factors that could cause data missing and asynchronisation are analyzed. According to timing sequence, a field‐programmable gate array‐based onboard digital control module is in...

Structural alterations to bridges may result in unintended consequences up- or downstream, such as changes in discharge, velocity, stream power, and water levels. This work presents a framework and methodology to analyze interconnected bridge-stream interactions under flood conditions. Such analysis may help prioritize limited resources available f...

Prefabricated and prestressed beams are integral to accelerated bridge construction (ABC) and other construction projects, but concerns exist regarding the development of cracks during curing, form removal, detensioning, transport, installation, and operation. Acoustic emission (AE) sensing techniques have the potential for detecting and locating c...

This paper describes an innovative through-thickness fiber reinforcement technology that employs in situ shrinking fibers to provide supplemental strength-enhancing interlaminar prestresses for fiber-reinforced polymeric laminate structures. Interlaminar stitched fibers shrink and provide prestress. The shrinkage is heat-activated and timed to coin...

The premise that building codes have become too complex has been discussed, commented on, and documented by practicing engineers; however, there is little quantitative evidence that codes are more complex today than in previous editions. Many aspects of building codes are complicated, and this reflects a combination of the inherent complexity of bu...

This book represents the author’s views and impressions of structural sensing, health monitoring, and prognosis. These were derived from the vast body of work developed over the past couple of decades by highly creative and productive researchers. Although some of the citation lists are lengthy, no attempt has been made to be comprehensive in the l...

Allogeneic lung transplant is limited both by the shortage of available donor lungs and by the lack of suitable long-term lung assist devices to bridge patients to lung transplantation. Avian lungs have different structure and mechanics resulting in more efficient gas exchange than mammalian lungs. Decellularized avian lungs, recellularized with hu...

Controls for immunohistological staining. (A) No primary antibody control on native chicken and emu lung tissue for the respective antibodies indicated above each image. (B) Antibody positive controls with and without primary antibody using human gall bladder, kidney, liver, small bowel, and tonsil tissue. Collagen I, IV, laminin, fibronectin, elas...

Total peptide counts for positively identified proteins in individual chicken bird lung samples, C = chicken. (PDF)

DNA gels demonstrate minimal residual DNA in decellularized chicken and emu bird lungs compared to native controls. A) DNA ladder (M) and salmon sperm DNA (ssD, positive control) are shown for comparison. Nat = native, Representative gel and also quantitation of the DNA content in respective representative native and decellularized chicken (6) and...

Silicone injection molds reveal the chicken anatomy. Two silicone injection molds of chicken airways and airs sacs were cast. The first mold with air sacs attached is shown dorsally (I) and ventrally (II). The second mold without air sacs is shown from the same views (III and IV respectively), with a highly magnified ventral view of the parabronchi...

Semi-quantification of immunohistological staining. The fluorescence intensity of collagen I, collagen IV and elastin normalized to control values in (A) chicken and (B) emu, respectively. Values are presented as mean ± SD. (TIF)

Minimal residual anionic detergent (SDC) is detected in effluents from either chicken or elungs at the conclusion of the decellularization protocol. SDC concentration was calculated using a SDC standard curve, n = 7 for chicken (A) and n = 1 for emu (B). (TIF)

Total peptide counts for positively identified proteins in individual emu bird lung samples. (PDF)

This study reports on the theory of operation, design principles, and results from laboratory and field tests of a magnetic telemetry system for communication with underground infrastructure sensors using rotating permanent magnets as the sources and compact magnetometers as the receivers. Many cities seek ways to monitor underground water pipes wi...

The development of modern cities heavily relies on the availability and quality of underground utilities that provide drinking water, sewage, electric power, and telecommunication services to sustain its growing population. However, the information of localization and condition of subterranean infrastructures is generally not readily available, esp...

Failure of civil infrastructure, such as, bridges and pipelines, can cause large public safety and economic consequences. Structural health monitoring (SHM) plays a significant role in preventing and mitigating the course of structural damage. In this work, a multi-scale SHM framework based on Hadoop Ecosystem (MS-SHM-Hadoop) to monitor and evaluat...

Nacre, a composite made from biogenic aragonite and proteins, exhibits excellent strength and toughness. Here, we show that nacreous sections can exhibit complete brittle fracture along the tablet interfaces at the proportional limit under pure shear stresses of torsion. We quantitatively separate the initial tablet sliding primarily resisted by na...

This paper examines pressure-sinkage and shearing behavior via bevameter testing of a light-weight, granular simulant called Fillite in support of laboratory modeling of rover mobility in high-sinkage, high-slip environments typically found on Mars, the Moon, and other planetary bodies. Normal bevameter test results helped to determine parameters f...

The 2011 Tropical Storm Irene deposited 100–200 mm of rain in Vermont with a rainfall recurrence interval for a 12-hour storm exceeding 500 years in some areas. This single hurricane-related event damaged over 300 bridges. The wide range of damage prompted a networkwide analysis of flood, scour, stream and structural conditions. A first step was th...

This paper describes an innovative fiber reinforcement technology for cementitious composite structures that employs in situ shrinking microfibers to provide supplemental strength-enhancing compressive stresses. Reinforced concrete is one of the most commonly used structural materials in construction industry, primarily due to its cost, durability,...

On August 28, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene hit the state of Vermont with a severity that deposited 100-200 mm (4-8 in.) of rain across the state and resulted in damage or failure of over 300 bridges. The analysis of available data sets helped identify a set of 313 bridges (with a span greater than 6 m) damaged in a single state from a single extreme...

A method for integrating, processing and analysis of sensing data from vehicle-mounted sensors for intelligent forecasting and decision-making is introduced. This Dead Reckoning with Dynamic Errors (DRWDE) is for a large-scale integration of distributed resources and sensing data inter-vehicle collision avoidance system. This sensor fusion algorith...

In this paper, an object characterization method based on neural networks is developed for GPR subsurface imaging. Currently, most existing studies demonstrate detecting and imaging objects of cylindrical shapes. While in this paper, no restriction is imposed on the object shape. Three neural network algorithms are exploited to characterize differe...

Earthbound testing of the mobility of lunar, Martian, and other extraterrestrial rovers benefits from the use of suitable soil simulants. To this end, a granular material called Fillite was selected as a simulant for modeling high-sinkage, high-slip situations that could be encountered by rovers, such as the one encountered by the Spirit rover on M...

This paper investigates whether the smartphones' built-in sensors can accurately predict future trajectories for a possible implementation in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) system. If smartphones could be used, vehicles without the V2V/V2I technology could use them to tap into the V2V/V2I infrastructure and help to p...

This letter presents a new transverse electromagnetic flared horn antenna for the demanding requirement of an air-coupled impulse ground-penetrating radar. Structure anatomy is performed focusing on achieving good impedance matching throughout the wide frequency band. The design procedure starts with constructing an analytic model to evaluate the p...

NETCR 94-2, July 1, 2002 The goal of this project was to examine the critical issues related to the use of GPR in the inspection of concrete bridge deck roadways. The research included: 1. The state of the assessment of GPR inspection of concrete roadways. 2. Numerical modeling of GPR interactions with concrete. 3. Laboratory tests of GPR interacti...

Mechanical properties, such as strength and stiffness, of every Lunar or Martian soil simulant are greatly affected by Earth’s gravitational field. The stronger gravitational pull has made it difficult to simulate effectively high sinkage scenarios in any laboratory environment. Researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center developed a large test b...

In this paper, a method using the instantaneous phase information of the reflection ground penetrating radar (GPR) signal to detect the variation of sand moisture is developed. The moisture changes the permittivity of the medium, which results in different speed when the GPR electromagnetic (EM) wave propagates in the medium. In accordance to this...

This paper will discuss some recent developments in the use of electromagnetic nondestructive assessment of concrete structures with phased arrays, nonlinear methods and waveform sampling techniques for the assessment of concrete structures. The basis of this work is that continued advances in the performance versus cost of microwave signal generat...

In order to investigate the safety issues of a fiber composite wrapped tank for automobile hydrogen on-board storage during the operation process, the modal tests of 0.074 m3 fiber composite wrapped tanks are carried out. Using the dynamic parameters of the intact, slightly damaged, and fatigue-cracked tanks caused by repeated hydrogen filling, the...

Tropical Storm Irene swept through Vermont with 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) of rain, causing intensive flooding in the Southern and Central regions. Over 300 bridges suffered damage or failed as a result of heavy rains. Resources from the Vermont Agency of Transportation, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and Vermont Regional Planning Commission wer...