On Thursday, May 2, 2024, an undergraduate research project is now a implemented project on our campus (after 2 years in the making) at the University of Delaware! This construction project on The Green in front of DuPont Hall is the first of its kind to test out composite pavers and their response to various weather conditions. The concrete pavers consist of recycled materials that are engineered into a suitable construction material so that we are reducing the amount of sand, which is a dwindling resource.
There are more than 1000 lbs of recycled waste products in these pavers that would otherwise have been placed in landfills! This project was selected and partially funded by the University of Delaware Office of Sustainability (thanks, Chris Williams (formerly Sustainability Council) as a 2022 Green Grant award recipient. Professors Monique Head (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering) and Suresh Advani (Department of Mechanical Engineering and Center for Composite Materials) have been advising KJ Olsen, EIT and supporting the project efforts. KJ is now pursuing his master’s degree!
These efforts were made possible Gary Wenczel, Structures & Geotechnical Lab Manager, Jack Puleo (Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering Chair), who connected us to Steven Losin, PE, Commercial Project Manager and his team from Interlock Paving, Inc. for installing the pavers with excellence! This is a work-in-progress, which will also include a sign and output from our sensors to compare the weather conditions within the pavers to the natural environment and more! More to come so stay tuned!
