Projects 
- Central Artery Underpinning Bents
- Rollins Road Bridge
- NSF Funded Research
- Tobin Bridge Monitoring
- UNH Shake Table
- Outreach
Central Artery Underpinning Bents
Design Verification Techniques using Nondestructive Test Data
Dr. Bell is currently working with a research team including bridge designers, contractors, owners and instrumentation specialists to develop a method to collect nondestructive test data for each component of the bridge structure during construction. This method would give the designers immediate feed back related to their design assumptions and methodologies as well as create a benchmark set of measurements for future use as part of a long-term condition assessment program for bridge maintenance. The research is in collaboration with Professors Brian Brenner and Masoud Sanayei at Tufts University
The research team is currently pursuing funding to test the Central Artery Viaduct in Boston , Massachusetts at the component level during its demolition. This research is focused on the innovative underpinning system, used to support the viaduct during the construction of the tunnel below.
Rollins Road Bridge
NSF Funded Research
Tobin Bridge Monitoring
Professor Erin Santini Bell of the Civil Engineering Department at the University of New Hampshire will be working on a collaborative team to create a structural model and design and implement an instrumentation plan for the Tobin Memorial Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts. This team is led by the Burlington-based firm, Fay, Spofford and Thorndike. Tufts University, Geocomp, INC and Keville Associates are also members of this team. More Information »
UNH Shake Table
The base is a 6-foot by 10-foot 2-inch steel plate anchored to the strong floor. There is a 5-foot square 3-inch thick aluminum sliding plate mounted to the steel plate with four Danaher Motion linear profile bearings. A TestLine 22-kip Linear Hydraulic Actuator with a 6-inch stroke is mounted to the steel plate. The actuator is powered by a 40 gpm hydraulic pump.
The system can be displacement-controlled through an LVDT or acceleration-controlled by an accelerometer.
UNH Shake Table (http://www.unh.edu/civil-engineering/shake-table)
Two-story structural model on shake table for dynamic load testing. |
Shake table apparatus in UNH Civil Engineering Structures Lab. |
Outreach
During the spring of 2008, Professor Bell along with graduate and undergraduate students brought “Bridge Thursdays” to the Epping, New Hampshire Recreation Center After-School Program. During these Thursday afternoons, the student learned how to building a cable-stayed bridge using drinking straws and string. They also "built" a model of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge in Portsmouth, New Hampshire with the help of undergraduate from the UNH Tau Beta Pi Chapter lead by Matthew Valle and Craig Schillaber.
Tau Beta Pi Students from UNH work with after-school students at the Epping Recreation Center. |
UNH undergraduates show elementary school student how to read drawings to construct the Long Bridge. |