Contact: Jim Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A technology developed at Mississippi State will be in action on the University Drive bridge Wednesday [Aug. 10] as engineers from Techvation Inc. use the device to analyze the condition of the concrete structure, which is located just west of the Hunter Henry Center.
Known as the automatic chain drag system, the portable, three-wheeled, walk-behind unit uses sound waves to test the structural integrity of things made of concrete. It is designed to reduce the time it takes to inspect bridges and to enhance the accuracy of the inspections.
Data collection will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday, and is expected to last for approximately three hours. Bridge traffic will be limited to one lane during the test with the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) managing traffic flow, according to Chase Kasper of the land-grant institution's Office of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer.
Huntsville, Ala.-based Techvation Inc. recently signed a licensing agreement with the university for the technology. This week's test is one of the initial steps the company is taking as it moves the device into the marketplace.
Techvation executives Ivy Pinion and Gary Boudreaux, both Mississippi State graduates, will be on hand for the testing, as well as engineers from MDOT's bridge division.
For additional information, contact Kasper at ckasper@otc.msstate.edu or 662-325-1939.