NEWS

The Louisiana Tech University Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) has received a $200,000 grant from the National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) for the 2018-19 academic year. The grant will support the Trenchless Technology Center’s work by funding a comprehensive study of the emissions from steam cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) projects.

The TTC will partner with the U.S. Army Engineers’ Research Development Center (ERDC) to study the release of organic chemicals in the steam exhaust. The project will measure styrene and other organic compound emissions at six installation sites. Four of the sites will be located in Shreveport, while other sites in different climates and at various altitudes are also being planned.

“This project provides a unique opportunity for our faculty in construction and civil engineering to work with chemistry faculty at Louisiana Tech and environmental chemists at the ERDC,” Dr. Elizabeth Matthews, assistant professor of civil engineering and construction engineering and principle investigator on the grant said. “We are looking forward to working as a team on what is a very important study.”

“This is an important project for the trenchless industry and the outcomes will be highly publicized,” Dr. John Matthews, director of the TTC added. “We are very happy that NASSCO chose the TTC to take on such an important project.”

The Trenchless Technology Center at Louisiana Tech University is a cooperative research center that brings together academia, government and industry. In addition to research, the Center provides municipal forums in cities around the United States and training for industrial and government professionals in underground construction around the world.