SME experts in geotechnical, environmental, building materials, pavements, and construction testing and engineering know the earth, what’s happening beneath it, and how to successfully build, revitalize and maintain the structures on top of it as well as or better than anyone in the industry.

That’s why leading trade publications and thought leadership organizations regularly ask SME team members to contribute our knowledge and findings to inform their efforts. For a deeper dive into the natural and built environment, explore the latest technical reports from SME. And discover the most innovative techniques and methods for building and revitalizing our world.

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9/6/2018  Rohan W. Perera, PhD, PE

Inertial Profiler Certification for Evaluation on International Roughness Index

The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has published a synthesis on “Inertial Profiler Certification for Evaluation on International Roughness Index” that was authored by SME's Rohan W. Perera, PhD, PE. A survey was performed on State Department of Transportations in all states to gather information for this synthesis. This project was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences.

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TAGS: Pavement, Transportation
12/5/2017  Rohan W. Perera, PhD, PE

Investigating Environmental Factors Contributing to Pavement Roughness

The goal of this study was to evaluate the changes in roughness as measured by the International Roughness Index (IRI) along the center of the lane sections over time and identify environmental and subgrade parameters that contribute to the increase of roughness. This information can be used to improve pavement design procedures and further develop models for predicting the change in roughness due to environmental conditions.

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TAGS: Pavement, Transportation
10/1/2015  Cheryl A. Kehres-Dietrich, CGWP, Paul D. Roberts

An Evaluation of Soil and Gas Results from Three States

How well do soil and groundwater screening levels indicate soil gas impacts? You might be surprised. This poster presentation prepared for the Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation's 31st Annual Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water and Energy presents SME’s research and findings.

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TAGS: Environmental
8/1/2013  James M. Harless, PhD, CHMM

A Brownfield Success Story

When a team of entrepreneurs wanted to start Ventower Industries to manufacture the large towers that support wind turbines, they knew they needed a location near major highways, rail service, and water for shipping raw materials and finished products. They found the ideal location at the Port of Monroe in Monroe, Michigan.

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TAGS: Brownfield Redevelopment, Environmental
6/19/2013  Eric A. Murrell, RA, CCS, BECxP, CxA+BE

Architects Can Design for Greater Productivity

Part of the beauty of a masonry wall is that it is made by hand. Each brick is set in place one at a time. Brick is, therefore, a unit of labor requiring a finite number of motions performed and a finite amount of time. Within any given wall, all you need to do is count the brick to get a sense of the amount of labor needed to complete it.

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TAGS: Building Enclosures, Masonry
4/4/2013  Rohan W. Perera, PhD, PE

Ride Quality and Structural Adequacy for Pavement Rehabilitation

As the highway community transitions to a performance-based approach to managing investments in pavement infrastructure, it is vitally important that potential performance measures and inter-relationships among performance measures be thoroughly examined to assess their applicability to the challenges of managing for performance.

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TAGS: Pavement, Transportation
8/1/2011  Christopher R. Byrum, PhD, PE

Joint Load Transfer in Concrete Airfield Pavements: Summary Report

This summary report is an abridged version of the full report developed for the Innovative Pavement Research Foundation (IPRF) study in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and highlights the key findings and recommendations of the research team. The project initiated in the fall of 2007 and was completed in the summer of 2011.

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TAGS: Concrete, Pavement, Transportation
4/1/2011  James M. Harless, PhD, CHMM

Where Brownfield Reclamation Meets Historic Preservation

A Michigan community benefits from the recovery of a historic battlefield and early American settlement. The Frenchtown Settlement/River Raisin Battlefield site is considered by local and state experts to be one of the most important historic and archeological sites in Michigan.

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TAGS: Brownfield, Environmental
1/1/2011  Christopher R. Byrum, PhD, PE

Experimental Short-Wavelength Surface Textures in Fresh Concrete for Highway Pavements

Results from a cooperative research effort performed by the United States Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Canada’s Ministry of Transportation for Ontario (MTO) regarding experimental texturing of Portland cement concrete pavement.

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TAGS: Concrete, Pavement, Transportation
10/1/2010  Rohan W. Perera, PhD, PE

Achieving a High Level of Smoothness in Concrete Pavements Without Sacrificing Long-Term Performance

This report contains guidance on how highway agencies and contractors can achieve smooth, long-lasting portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements. It should be of interest to those involved in the design and construction of concrete pavements.

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TAGS: Concrete, Pavement, Transportation