Civil engineering researchers win Best Paper Award
Published: Mar 6, 2018 1:00 PM
By Carol Nelson
Aravind Tankasala, a recent doctoral graduate in the Department of Civil Engineering, and co-authors Anton Schindler and Kyle Riding earned a Best Paper Award from the Concrete Materials Section of the Transportation Research Board.
The award was announced at the 2018 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting held in January in Washington, D.C. Tankasala also received the 2017 Best Student Paper Award from the board’s Standing Committee on Basic Research and Emerging Technologies Related to Concrete last year.
Tankasala’s paper, titled “Risk of Thermal Cracking from use of Lightweight Aggregate in Mass Concrete,” focuses on concrete made with lightweight aggregate that was tested in unique testing frames, allowing researchers to simulate and assess the concrete’s performance in massive concrete elements.
“The findings of this paper reveal that the use of lightweight aggregate will enhance the performance of concrete placed in these massive elements, which will allow engineers to design better performing transportation infrastructure,” said Anton Schindler, Tankasala’s advisor.
Schindler said that research conducted through the Highway Research Center at Auburn focuses on improving the sustainability and performance of massive concrete elements built for transportation and building infrastructure.
Tankasala came to Auburn in 2013 after completing his master’s degree at Purdue University and his bachelor’s degree at the National Institute of Technology Calicut in India. He graduated from Auburn with his doctorate in December 2017.
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