R&D Magazine Cites Bridges Made of Rutgers Plastic Lumber among Year’s Top 100 Technology Products

 

Bridges made of Rutgers-developed recycled plastic lumber are among this year’s top 100 technologically significant products, as cited by R&D Magazine.

The bridges that the magazine honored are now carrying tanks and trains across rivers at U.S. Army bases in North Carolina and Virginia. They are made from recycled milk and detergent bottles along with recycled plastic automobile bumpers, a formula that delivers surprising strength, durability, economy, and eco-friendliness.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center submitted the nomination and is sharing the prestigious award with Rutgers, inventor of the plastic technology; Axion International, which manufactures the plastic lumber; and the McLaren Engineering Group.

Army researchers worked with Rutgers to design beams and pilings that could withstand the weight of 70-ton Army M1 Abrams tanks and 120-ton railroad diesel locomotives. The plastic bridges replaced rotting wooden bridges at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia.

“These are ideal settings for using our durable and environmentally friendly material,” said Tom Nosker, principal investigator with Rutgers’ Advanced Polymer Center, affiliated with the university’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He noted that the new bridges will last longer than wooden bridges and will not leach harmful preservatives into the sensitive wetland environments at the bases. Building bridges with the innovative plastic components was also faster and less expensive than using steel and concrete.

The Rutgers-designed, Axion International-manufactured plastic lumber also has been used to make railroad ties used by transit systems and freight railroads around the country.

R&D Magazine, which serves researchers and laboratory managers, has been making its awards since 1963, citing technologies that in many cases went on to become familiar household names and workplace fixtures. Over the years, R&D 100 awards have been bestowed on the automated teller machine, the fax machine, liquid crystal displays, Taxol anticancer drug and high definition TV technology.