Bassem Andrawes serves as Principal Investigator on four ICT projects that serve to improve Illinois’ bridge technology. A study he is due to finish this summer (ICT 27-56) will have major implications for reducing the time and costs associated with bridge construction in Illinois.
Bassem is testing full-scale bridge girders cast with self-consolidating concrete (SCC). He explains, “SCC is characterized by high flow-ability which allows it to flow under its self weight filling forms with irregular shape and with highly congested steel reinforcement. Typically in such situations, the concrete would need to be compacted using mechanical vibration which consumes time and require significant labor. Using SCC will reduce the time and costs associated with concrete compaction, thus accelerating the construction of bridges in Illinois.”
In another ICT project, 27-82, Bassem is investigating bridges supported on wood piles. “These are typically old bridges that we can see throughout Illinois (especially in rural areas). The problem with these bridges is the rapid deterioration of the wood piles especially in bridges which were constructed more than 25 years ago. Piles deterioration increases the risk of bridge sudden collapse. Replacing the deteriorated piles or replacing the entire bridge is a costly solution. Therefore, in this project we are trying to establish powerful and cost-effective pile retrofitting methods with the aim of extending the life of these bridges.”
The investigation of wood piles was inspired by a sudden bridge collapse in DeKalb County in August 2008. As part of ICT project 27-SP-12, Bassem and his co-investigators (Jerome Hajjar and Scott Olson) provided DeKalb County with the information necessary to determine the likely cause of, and potentially the responsibility for, the collapse of this structure which was supported on timber piles. As a result of this study, IDOT now recommends that local agencies not allow overweight permit loads on structures supported by timber pile piers, within certain parameters and characteristics, without a full analysis. Additionally, IDOT will incorporate procedures from the investigation’s final report (posted on ICT Publications Page), such as the effects of eccentric loading on timber piles, into its future timber pile capacity analyses.
When he is not studying or teaching the structural behavior of bridges, Bassem enjoys traveling to new places, soccer, bowling, and spending time with his wife, Marguerite, his little son David (4 years) and his 10 month-old-twins, Rachel and Jonathan.
Bassem Andrawes holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Ain Shams University (1996), M.Sc. in Civil Engineering (Structures) from Iowa State University (2001), and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Structures) from Georgia Institute of Technology (2005). He has been on the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois since the fall of 2006. Prior to joining the University of Illinois, Professor Andrawes worked as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California Irvine and a Design Engineer at Englekirk Partners Consulting Structural Engineers in Santa Ana, California.