April 12, 2016 | Eli Freund - School of Engineering

UConn Researchers Say Super-Strong Concrete Could Be a Fix for Nation’s Bridge Problems

Standing in a laboratory packed with various scientific instruments, University of Connecticut engineering professor Arash Zaghi gestured to three steel beams, modest in appearance where they sit under the large and brightly-painted hydraulic-powered machine capable of applying weights of up to 275 tons.

The College of Engineering's Castleman Building.

The College of Engineering's Castleman Building. (UConn Photo/Sean Flynn)

By Ryan Caron King

Standing in a laboratory packed with various scientific instruments, University of Connecticut engineering professor Arash Zaghi gestured to three steel beams, modest in appearance where they sit under the large and brightly-painted hydraulic-powered machine capable of applying weights of up to 275 tons.

Engineers refer to these beams as girders, a key component in bridge support. These three girders, modeled after a bridge in the Hartford area, were pressed under the lab’s hydraulic load machine until their point of failure.

To read the rest of the story on NPR, click here.