Organized by the University of Houston’s Center for Innovative
Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT), and Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, "Infrastructure, Energy, Geotechnical, Flooding
and Sustainable Issues Related to Houston and Other Major Cities" was held
March 1, at the University of Houston-University Hilton.
More than 300 participants and 14 invited speakers attended the 29th
annual conference and exhibition, representing owners, consulting engineers,
material suppliers, contractors and academia.
Professor C. Vipulanandan, director of CIGMAT and the Texas
Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology (THC-IT) delivered the welcome
remarks on the need for such a conference to highlight the experiences in major
cities from rapid growth in the population, development and application of new
technologies and economic activities, with changing conditions and regulations.
Houston is the likely location because it’s the energy capital of
the United States and has the largest medical center in the world with ever-increasing
need for expanding the infrastructures, meeting the energy demand and
integrating the advances in technologies to meet the population growth and
industrial expansion, plus the impact of natural disasters like hurricanes,
tornadoes, extreme temperatures and flooding.
General session
The general session focused on expanding highway transportation
infrastructures and controlling traffic congestion, innovative solutions for
public works, and offshore energy production around the world over the next few
decades.
Michael Ereti, director of Capital Projects, city of Houston Public Works,
discussed recent updates on the construction management programs, debris
management and challenges after flooding; and new plans for continuing various
Houston operations with the growing population.
Brenda Bustillos, project manager of ConnectSmart Applications at the Texas
Department of Transportation-Houston District, discussed some of the major
challenges on highways related to traffic congestion and integrating the many
variables into the ConnectSmart phone application to minimize the losses. She
also discussed many safety issues during driving and accidents.
Brent Seifert, engineering manager, Shell International-Exploration
and Production, talked about the delivery of oil and gas from offshore using
alternative energy, including wind. He also covered the importance and
challenges in construction and maintenance of deep subsea pipeline
infrastructures for the transport of oil, gas, and other products across vast
distances beneath the ocean. These pipelines are critical components of the
global energy supply chain, enabling safe and efficient movement of resources
from offshore production facilities to onshore processing facilities or
distribution points.
Technical sessions
Four technical sessions were held on various topics to highlight
the growth, challenges and changes happening in and around major cities.
The first panel discussion, on "Flooding, Construction and
Maintenance Issues,” was moderated by Rafael
Ortega, of Aurora Technical Services, Houston.
Jonathan Holley, from Environmental Services-Harris County Flood Control, discussed “Nature-Based Solutions to
Flood Control in Harris County.” This included planning, designing,
implementing and maintaining an extensive system of drainage and flood control
infrastructure, encompassing 2,500 miles of channels and over 200 stormwater
detention basins. Given the area’s terrain, climate and storm patterns, it’s
important that improvements to the flood control system are designed and
maintained to work, while having appropriate regard for community and natural
values.
Nature-based solutions leverage the nature and power of
healthy ecosystems to optimize infrastructure. Floodplain preservation,
natural stable channel design, wet bottom detention basins with stormwater
quality treatment wetlands, native tree planting, and avoidance and
preservation of sensitive habitats are a few of these solutions used by the
Flood Control District. Harris County provides more than just drainage,
but also creates valuable greenspace, wildlife habitat, and improved water
quality.
Kathlie Jeng-Bulloch, director of the Engineering
Department, at the city of Huntsville, discussed “CIP Programs and Lessons
Learned” in the rapidly growing city.
Huntsville has approximately 47,000 citizens, including the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and Sam Houston State University (SHSU).
The water system consists of approximately 290 miles of water lines ranging
from 0.75-inch to 30-inch diameter.
The five-year CIP Program includes $204 million in water, wastewater, streets,
drainage, sidewalks, aviation and general project categories. It consists of $54
million of city funds, and $61 million of revenue bonds. Remaining funding will
be the subject of future bond issues and/or grant applications. It includes 33
water projects, 49 wastewater projects and 11 drainage projects.
The proposed five-year TRA CIP Program is approximately $131 million,
including raw water intake, raw water transmission improvements, treatment
plant updates, and treated safe drinking water high-service transmission
improvements.
Nina Joshi, supervising engineer of Transportation
and Drainage Operations, city of Houston, discussed “Resilient Houston: Rehabilitation Projects and Green Stormwater
Infrastructure.”
Rehabilitation projects
are planned improvements to extend the life and effectiveness of existing
infrastructure delivered, as a whole, versus providing solutions to isolated
challenges. Projects may incorporate Green Stormwater Infrastructure, when
feasible and beneficial.
Local Drainage Program
(LDP) is one of the two major drainage rehabilitation programs within the Stormwater
Operations Branch of Houston Public Works (HPW). LDP leads the design and
construction of comprehensive rehabilitation projects that include upgrades to
transportation and drainage infrastructure. The program was established to
address drainage infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation that exceeds
internal maintenance capabilities. LDP is tasked with providing upgrades to
existing drainage systems to provide acceptable levels of service during normal
rain events.
Locations are primarily
nominated by maintenance sections when the scope of work exceeds maintenance
capabilities and/or high-level maintenance/rehabilitation is required. LDP
scope may include upgrades to enclosed and open drainage systems, curb and
gutter adjustments to reduce/eliminate ponding, pavement resurfacing, overlays,
installation and/or repair of sidewalks and other pedestrian and bicycle
facilities.
Additional
presentations
The second, parallel
session, “Infrastructures and Transportation Projects,” was moderated by Daniel Wong from Tolunay-Wong
Engineers, Houston.
Andy Meyers, commissioner of Fort Bend County, Sugar
Land, Texas, discussed the county’s “Critical
Infrastructure: Energy, Industry, Mobility, and Safety.” Fort Bend County is one
of the most diverse and fastest-growing counties in Texas and the U.S.
Also, topics related to
population growth, residential and commercial development, and priorities for
budget allocations were discussed, as well as critical infrastructures related
to mobility, water and sewer pipelines, drainage and flood mitigation, and
energy. In addition, Myers discussed the benefits and challenges in developing
nuclear energy.
The third session, on
“Water and Wastewater Issues,” was moderated by Mackrena Ramos from Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam Inc., Houston.
The first speaker was Jeff Haby, vice president of Production and
Treatment, San Antonio Water System (SAWS), one of the largest water utilities
in the United States, serving over 2.1 million people with almost 8,000 miles
of water main.
He highlighted that what
has always made San Antonio special is the abundance of water from the Edward’s
Aquifer. It has made robust life possible in a semi-arid region. It has also made San Antonio water concentric
and, therefore, has made the city’s path to water resiliency ever changing.
The first thing SAWS
did was implement an internationally renowned conservation program, followed by
the largest direct-use recycling system in the U.S. In 2004, the city started
up the Aquifer Storage and Recover Facility, which allows SAWS to store water,
when rainfall is abundant, for times of drought.
Over the next 20 years,
SAWS continued to diversify its Water Resource portfolio. Today, it has 14
water supply projects from eight different sources.
Of course, at a water
utility, the challenges are never done. The San Antonio-to-Austin mega region is
one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States, with a current
population of five million expected to grow to six million by 2030.
In February 2021, SAWS,
along with the rest of Texas, faced the challenges of Winter Storm Uri. As a result
of its impacts on the Texas Power grid and water utilities, the State Legislature
passed Senate Bill 3, which requires water utilities to maintain water pressure
during extended power outages. SAWS, in partnership with CPS Energy, the
electrical power provider for San Antonio, will be placing generators at many
of its facilities to ensure water service is provided during loss of power.
SAWS continues to plan
for new water supplies, considering the impact of climate change. It also plans
for resiliency by developing a Wastewater Facilities Master Plan and an Energy
Strategy Master Plan.
Securing water future
James A. Golab, manager
of Innovative Water Technologies (IWT), Texas Water Development Board (TWDB),
discussed TWDB’s mission of leading the state's efforts to ensure a secure
water future for Texas and its citizens.
To accomplish this goal,
TWDB provides water planning, data collection, financial assistance and
technical assistance services across the state. IWT was created in 2002 and is
focused on alternative water supplies, including aquifer storage and recovery,
aquifer recharge, desalination, and water reuse.
The primary goals of
IWT are to participate in research and demonstration projects, develop
publications and other educational material, and disseminate information to the
public through various outreach activities. IWT publishes a biennial report on
desalination in Texas for the state legislature and the ninth report in this
series was released in 2022.
JB Conant, coatings specialist at Warren Environmental, discussed some of
the recent Houston-area projects involving a high-build epoxy coating for
protecting and rehabilitating critical infrastructure assets. High-build epoxy
is ideally suited to provide structural renewal for deteriorated structures.
The product is typically specified in thickness between 125 mils and 250 mils,
and exhibits tremendous adhesion to various substrates including concrete,
brick, and steel.
Additional features of
the product include proven resistance to hydrogen-sulfide-induced corrosion
found in aggressive sewer environments and resistance to treatment chemicals,
like chlorine and ozone. High-build epoxy excels in protecting and rebuilding
concrete, brick, steel, and iron found in today’s collection, conveyance, and
treatment systems. The epoxy’s properties include structural enhancement,
superior adhesion results and high chemical resistance.
Spray-In-Place Pipe
(SIPP), using 100-percent solids epoxy, to reline existing pipelines is gaining
popularity in the water industry. SIPP combines computer-controlled, spin-cast
application with 100-percent solids, structurally enhancing epoxies to provide
a state-of-the-art rehabilitation technique. A host pipe is thoroughly prepped
(scraped and cleaned with high-pressure water blasting) and then relined with
an epoxy certified for potable water. SIPP brings several benefits to
rehabilitation projects, including cost and time savings, and a minimal
construction footprint.
Conant presented a
recent SIPP rehabilitation case study involving repair of 400 linear feet of
24-inch cast iron water pipe in the City of Houston’s congested downtown area.
The highly corroded and tuberculated pipe with cavitations was cleaned,
patched, and restored with 100-percent solids epoxy by an experienced SIPP
contractor. Despite challenges, water service was restored within four days.
The result was a plasticized, non-porous interior that prevents further
tuberculation or encrustation.
Tracy Brettmann, executive vice president, A.H. Beck Engineering,
delivered the 18th Mike O’Neill Lecture on “Lessons Learned from Mike O’Neill
and its Impact on Current Practice.” Brettmann worked with O’Neill on three
industry-related research projects involving deep foundations and has continued
to apply the lessons learned to his practical research during his entire
career.
This was followed by C. Vipulanandan’s presentation on “Characterizing Piezoresistive
Smart Cement Modified with Silicon Dioxide Nanoparticles Using Vipulanandan
Models for Multiple Applications.”
Cement has been used for multiple applications in the construction
and petroleum industries, and there is need for further enhancement of the
sensing properties and mechanical properties of the cement. In this study, highly sensing
chemo-thermo-piezoresistive “smart” cement was modified with up to 1 percent
silicon dioxide nanoparticles (Nano Silica -NanoSiO2) to evaluate
the effects, on the sensing properties
and also on the compressive stress-strain relationship, strength and modulus. The oilwell cement (class H) and cement modified with NanoSiO2
were characterized using the X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and thermal
gravimetric analysis (TGA).
Smart
cement was prepared by adding 0.1 percent carbon fibers (CF), based on the
cement weight and new Vipulanandan piezoresistive theory, to make the cement a piezoresistive but, still, a nonconductive material.
Testing evaluated the smart cement behavior with and without NanoSiO2,
in order to verify the sensitivity of electrical
resistivity changes with curing time and compressive loading. The addition of
0.5 percent and 1 percent NanoSiO2 increased the initial electrical
resistivity of the smart cement by 17 percent and 35 percent, respectively. Hence,
electrical resistivity is a material property that can be used as a quality
control parameter for mixing in the field.
The
Vipulanandan p-q curing model predicted the changes in
electrical resistivity with curing time very well. The smart cement
piezoresistive axial strain at failure with NanoSiO2 was over 500
times higher than the regular cement
depending on the curing time and NanoSiO2 content. But the
piezoresistive axial strain at failure for the smart cement reduced with the
addition of NanoSiO2.
The Vipulanandan p-q
stress-strain model and stress-piezoresistive strain model also predicted the
experimental results very well. For the smart cement modified with NanoSiO2,
the resistivity change at peak stress was over 1,250
times (125,000 percent) higher than the change in the compressive
strain. Also, a linear correlation was obtained between RI24hr and
the compressive strength of the NanoSiO2-modified
smart cement, based on the curing time.
Follow-up, path forward
A reception followed the technical sessions in the Exhibit area,
where posters were displayed on research activities at CIGMAT and in the
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Grouting, pipe manufacturing,
material suppliers, pipe condition monitoring, geotechnical engineering and wastewater
rehabilitation companies participated in the exhibition.
CIGMAT 2024 conference Proceedings was published and is posted on the CIGMAT website. The next CIGMAT conference (CIGMAT-2025) will be held on March 7, 2025, at the University of Houston-University Hilton. UI