ICT Director and Student Visit Incheon Bridge, Give Lectures in Korea

ICT Director Imad Al-Qadi and his student, Mr. Jongeun Baek, visited Korea on September 24-27, 2009. At Choong-Ang University, Professor Al-Qadi gave a lecture on ground-penetrating radar, including the methods to identify pavement layers, estimate their thicknesses, and detect fouls in railroad ballast materials. He also presented an overview of the ICT and the University of Illinois and its civil engineering and transportation engineering programs.

During the trip, Professor Al-Qadi and Mr. Baek visited the ready-to-open Incheon Bridge, which is currently the sixth longest bridge (around 7.6 miles) in the world. Their visit occurred on the last day of bridge deck overly construction. Guss asphalt pavement was being paved on its steel bridge deck. The pair walked through the paving section with the president of Guss Asphalt Construction in Korea as well as Professor Namho of Korea University of Technology and Education and Dr. Yoo of the Korean Institute of Construction Technology (KICT). Guss asphalt is used as an impermeable layer underneath a hot-mix asphalt wearing surface layer. For more information on the Incheon Bridge project, visit http://eng.incheon-bridge.com.

The next day, Prof. Al-Qadi and Mr. Baek gave two presentations during a workshop on interlayer systems that was coordinated by Dr. Pyeong Jun Yoo, a senior researcher at KICT and U of I alumnus. Prof. Al-Qadi gave a presentation to Korean researchers about the major achievements of ICT and UIUC on tack coat application and interlayer systems to control reflective cracking. Mr. Baek discussed the modeling that simulates the behavior of interface, cracks, and interlayer systems in the composite pavement. During the visit Professor Al-Qadi and Mr. Baek met Dr. Yoong Choo Cho, the president of the KICT and several other researchers including Dr. Lee, also a U of I alumnus.


Photos: (top) Al-Qadi and Nam-Ho Kim from Korea University of Technology and Education on Incheon Bridge; (bottom) Baek, Pyeong Jun-Yoo from KITC, Al-Qadi, and Kim also on Incheon Bridge.