Assessing Deteriorated Concrete Structures

In today’s society, concrete structures are deteriorating for a variety of reasons. In order to properly repair these structures, it is important to completely understand the root cause of each type of deterioration. Over the years, engineers have developed methods for identifying the causes of concrete failure. This paper recognizes the different forms of concrete deterioration, identifies the test methods which have been developed to locate these concrete defects (both non-destructive and destructive), reviews different case studies which have been performed on concrete parking structures implementing these test methods and draws conclusions from surveys which were conducted of professionals in the rehabilitation engineering field. Additionally, this research project develops a strategy which is meant to aid with the selection of concrete test methods to be used in diverse concrete deterioration situations.

Assessing Deteriorated Concrete Structures

In today’s society, concrete structures are deteriorating for a variety of reasons. In order to properly repair these structures, it is important to completely understand the root cause of each type of deterioration. Over the years, engineers have developed methods for identifying the causes of concrete failure. This paper recognizes the different forms of concrete deterioration, identifies the test methods which have been developed to locate these concrete defects (both non-destructive and destructive), reviews different case studies which have been performed on concrete parking structures implementing these test methods and draws conclusions from surveys which were conducted of professionals in the rehabilitation engineering field. Additionally, this research project develops a strategy which is meant to aid with the selection of concrete test methods to be used in diverse concrete deterioration situations.

Our child’s TBI: a rehabilitation engineer’s personal experience, technological approach, and lessons learned

I (JS) am currently a faculty member at The University of Texas at Austin in Mechanical Engineering. My primary research focus is rehabilitation engineering. In May 2020, a week before her fourth birthday, our daughter suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The purpose of this article is to describe the current state of pediatric neurorehabilitation from technologically-adept parents’ first-person perspectives in order to inform and motivate rehabilitation engineering researchers. We describe the medical and personal challenges faced during the aftermath of the accident, the technological approaches to her recovery that my wife (LKS) and I have examined, some of which may be considered beyond standard practice, and the lessons we have absorbed during this period regarding both the state of rehabilitation research and the clinical uptake of rehabilitation technologies. We introduce a set of questions for designers to consider as they create and evaluate new technologies for pediatric rehabilitation.

Digitale Anwendungen und Technologien in der neurologischen Rehabilitation

Dr. Oliver Stoller baut seit Anfang 2020 zusammen mit einem Team an der ETH Zürich ein Kompetenzzentrum für „Rehabilitation Engineering and Science“ auf und leistet damit einen wichtigen Beitrag für die Weiterentwicklung der Rehabilitation. Im Interview gibt er Auskunft zu digitalen Anwendungen und neuen Technologien in der Neuroreha.