| NSF Org: |
CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | June 13, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 13, 2013 |
| Award Number: | 1321489 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Bruce Hamilton
CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | June 15, 2013 |
| End Date: | May 31, 2016 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $143,138.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $143,138.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1600 HAMPTON ST COLUMBIA SC US 29208-3403 (803)777-7093 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
Sumter Street, Suite 510 Columbia SC US 29208-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | EnvS-Environmtl Sustainability |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
1321464 (Biles) and 1321489 (Matta). The objective of this EAGER research project is to: (1) understand social, cultural and economic barriers to the diffusion and adoption of locally developed sustainable and resilient building technologies for residential dwellings in the coastal region of the State of Yucatán, Mexico; and (2) examine how local and transnational networks for the conduct and dissemination of research can enable overcoming those barriers. The study area is ideal to implement the proposed bottom-up approach study barriers to the diffusion and adoption of "indigenous" technologies since: it is especially prone to the effects and escalating risk of natural hazards (e.g., high winds) and global climate change; local collaborating materials scientists have studied and prototyped two candidate building materials to be evaluated, one for new construction (wood-plastic composites) and one for retrofit/repair (low-cost cement-polymer mortar); and, local stakeholders have yet to embrace innovations. The project will investigate barriers to the diffusion and adoption of building technologies through the lens of recent conceptual and analytical social science perspectives, including social network analysis and science, and technology and society (STS) studies. Historically, the strongest technological, cultural and aspirational connections have run from the Global South to the Global North. Recently, transportation and communication innovations have made South-South interaction more viable and vibrant. Social science research, however, has not assessed the impact of more intense, multi-scalar South-South networks on the diffusion and adoption of new building technologies. By testing the proposed research hypothesis, new knowledge will be created to understand how to integrate social considerations influencing technology diffusion and adoption into the process of conceiving, researching and developing new building technologies, and shepherding them from the laboratory to the field. The project will provide opportunities for a diverse team of researchers (1 minority, 2 women, and 2 early-career) and students to participate in substantive international research. With respect to societal benefits, research will contribute to the mitigation of the impacts of disasters in the study area, with potential application to coastal regions of the US and elsewhere. The project will also promote bottom-up collaboration as an alternative means of improving quality of life and represents the first building block for a transnational network for the dissemination of knowledge in coastal regions of the Global South. This award is co-funded by the Global Venture Fund (GVF) of NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) and the CBET/ENG Environmental Sustainability program.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external
site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a
charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from
this site.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
A locally appropriate structural retrofit system for substandard concrete masonry walls was conceived. The system consists of a low-strength cement mortar overlay with an embedded reinforcement made of nylon fishing nets. The overlay is intended to address needs ranging from minimizing water penetration due to wind-driven rains, to preventing full or partial collapse due to high wind pressures and wind-borne debris impacts. These needs emerged from: (a) data collected from 628 household surveys that were made in 2014 in seven coastal communities in Yucatan (Celestun, Chelem, Chicxulub, Chuburna, Rio Lagartos, San Felipe, and Telchac); and (b) observations after the tragic events of May 25, 2015 in Ciudad Acuña, at the border between Texas and Mexico, where a EF-4 tornado resulted in numerous casualties and major damage to concrete masonry dwelling structures due to the impact of wind-borne debris.
The underlying hypothesis is that it is possible to retrofit masonry walls built with substandard concrete masonry units (common in Yucatan and also recognized from photos of the disaster area in Ciudad Acuña) by means of cement mortar overlay reinforced with locally available nylon fishing nets. This hypothesis is underpinned by experimental results obtained in this project, where it was found that: (a) the prototype mortar overlay provides excellent compatibility with substandard concrete masonry substrates, and effectively encapsulates nylon fishing nets; and (b) contrary to what one might expect, nylon fishing nets exhibit a tensile strength (per unit width) that is comparable to that of steel welded-wire meshes, in addition to a superior deformability, which is desirable for impact-resistant structures.
The outcomes of this project respond to the national need of devising affordable, sustainable and yet high-quality and hazard-resistant construction systems. Responding to this need is essential to tackle rising housing costs, create jobs, and provide safe shelter in hazard-prone areas, also including rural and remote areas where a significant and often underrepresented and underprivileged part of the population lives.
This project was leveraged towards outreach activities, raising awareness of the broader impacts, and fostering an appreciation for the role of engineering education and research in solving real-world problems while broadening participation. In particular, in 2015, 35 gifted minority high-school students participated in a half-day workshop, including research presentations followed by hands-on active-learning activities and live demonstrations at the USC civil engineering laboratories.
Last Modified: 08/30/2016
Modified by: Fabio Matta
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
