Anthony J. Lamanna
Anthony
J. Lamanna is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr.
Lamanna received his B.C.E. degree summa cum-laude from The Catholic University
of America in Washington, DC in 1997, and his M.S.C.E. degree from Purdue
University in West Lafayette, IN in 1998. He received his M.S. degree in
Engineering Mechanics in 2001 and his Ph.D. in Structures in 2002 from the
University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has held employment with Clark
Construction Inc. in Bethesda, MD (1994-1995) and with Tek-Art Holding, A.Ş. in
Antalya, Turkey (1996). Dr. Lamanna’s research focus is on the mechanics and
design of concrete and composite structures with an emphasis on bridge
applications. He has participated in research for the Indiana Department of
Transportation, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the US Army Corps of
Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center, and the US Navy.
Dr. Lamanna has previously conducted research for the US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). His Ph.D. research was funded by ERDC, which involved the development of a strengthening method for reinforced concrete flexural members. Dr. Lamanna has just recently begun an investigation into the shear behavior of powder actuated fasteners embedded in concrete, a two year project funded by the Louisiana Board of Regents, which will further develop the strengthening method created his Ph.D. research. Since arriving at Tulane, he has been involved in ERDC research into assessment of foreign bridge standards and construction techniques, and has recently received another grant to examine the feasibility of strengthening timber bridge structures.
Dr. Lamanna has conducted research examining better concrete mix designs for durable concrete grade railroad crossing panels during his time at Purdue University. He has developed a course titled “Advanced Concrete Materials,” a three credit graduate level course covering such things as cement chemistry, microstructure, properties, durability, and repair of concrete. He has taught the course at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and will be teaching it at Tulane University in the fall of 2003.
Dr. Lamanna is a full voting member of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 355, which covers anchorage to concrete. This committee is responsible for the document “Evaluating the Performance of Post-Installed Mechanical Anchors in Concrete (ACI 355.2-01) and Commentary (ACI 355.2R-01)” and Appendix D – Anchoring to Concrete in the ACI 318 building code. Dr. Lamanna is also a full voting member of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) committee E 06 Performance of Buildings, and is an active member of subcommittees E.06.13 Structural Performance of Connections in Building Construction and E.06.55 Exterior Building Wall Systems.
Bridge Structure Rehabilitation
The current method of bonding FRP strengthening strips to concrete structures requires extensive time and skilled labor. An alternative method is to use a commercial off-the-shelf powder actuated fastening system to attach composite strips to concrete. Such tools are readily available, do not require sophisticated training to operate, and are inexpensive. Such a technique could meet requirements for rapid strengthening in situations where time is critical. This presentation presents an overview of this novel procedure for rapidly strengthening reinforced concrete beams. Selected results from small scale and large scale tests are presented to demonstrate the potential of the proposed method.