Interest in MATECH's EFS system has been spurred by the recent $286 billion Federal Transportation Bill, which allocated $5 million to help states evaluate nondestructive methods such as EFS to test growing fatigue cracks in steel bridges. The nation's aging bridge infrastructure system is a major cause for concern, with more than 100,000 of the 200,000 steel bridges in the U.S. classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
"The Transportation Equity Act set aside funds for the FHWA to test devices capable of finding growing cracks in bridges as small as 0.010 inches in length and also under the surface. Our EFS solution is the only nondestructive testing device able to find growing cracks that small," said MATECH CEO, Robert M. Bernstein. "There has been a great deal of interest in our system among structural engineers and federal and state agencies and we are very pleased to be invited to showcase EFS for them at these major industry events."
In June the EFS system will be highlighted at the 23rd International Bridge Conference held in Pittsburgh, PA. During the presentation Dr. Phares, who is MATECH's Marketing Director, will discuss the fundamentals of the EFS system and illustrate its applicability by presenting previous inspection results and comparisons with other techniques. This conference will be attended by both state DOT bridge engineers and consulting engineers who provide bridge inspection services.
Dr. Phares has been selected to present the EFS system at the International Conference on Fatigue and Fracture of Infrastructure in Philadelphia, PA in early August. This unique conference will bring together the world's experts in the mechanics, detection, and remediation of fatigue-related damage to bridges.
In late August Dr. Phares will discuss the EFS system at the American Society of Nondestructive Testing Conference on Civil Engineering in St. Louis, MO. This conference, which is attended by bridge engineers representing nearly every state, will offer a unique opportunity to discuss the technology with those most in need of better inspection information.
About Material Technologies, Inc.
MATECH develops leading edge metal fatigue detection, measurement and monitoring solutions to test the integrity of metal structures and equipment including bridges, airplanes, ships, cranes, power plants, mining equipment, piping systems and heavy iron. MATECH has developed and tested patented, pioneering non-destructive testing technology (NDT) to accurately analyze growing metal fatigue cracks. MTNA owns the only NDT system able to find growing cracks as minute as 0.010 inches--critical information that allows structural engineers to isolate and fix the more than one hundred thousand bridges in the U.S. alone that are in dire need of repair.