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Christopher Swan
Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering
Faculty Fellow, University College of Citizenship and Public
Service
Background
Dr. Swan, Associate Professor and Chair of the Civil and
Environmental Engineering Department, has current interest
in the areas of waste reuse, recycling, geotechnical and
geoenvironmental engineering, and civic engagement in
engineering curriculum. He received a Doctor of Science
(ScD) degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MIT
in 1994 and both Bachelor (BS) and Master (MS) of Science
degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at
Austin in 1984 and 1986, respectively. Prior to obtaining
his ScD., Dr.Swan worked for GZA Geoenvironmental, Inc., a
national engineering consulting firm specializing in
geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering projects.
Teaching Interest
Dr. Swan has taught undergraduate courses on material
mechanics and geotechncial engineering, and graduate-level
courses in groundwater hydrology, environmental site
remediation, and laboratory and insitu measurement
techniques for the engineering properties of soils. He has
also presented a number of technical seminars and lectures
in the areas of site remediation techniques, solid waste
management, environmental soil and groundwater sampling and
screening techniques, and fundamental mechanics of
groundwater flow.
A initiator of introducing components of community-based
service learning into department curriculum, Dr. Swan
continues to champion the development and implementation of
Education for Active Citizenship (E4AC) in engineering
education.
Research Interest
Specific research projects include:
- Waste minimization and reuse of traditional waste
materials.
- Research on the reuse of fly ash from coal burning
facilities with waste plastics. This has lead to the
development of a new, innovative construction material
that can be used in place of traditional sand and
gravel.
- Engineering properties of thermally-remediated
sediments/sludge/soils.
- Behavior of frozen soils - Experimental and
theoretical studies on the stress-strain-strength
behavior of frozen media.
- Behavior of granular materials
Dr. Swan’s most significant research effort is in the
area of beneficial reuse of hazardous or non-hazardous waste
materials. Research efforts have covered a number of
research themes including waste minimization, resource
recovery, economics, and sustainable development. The
combination of these themes may best be described by the
term "industrial ecology" which considers the interactions
of manufacturing, consumption and waste management and their
influence on resource depletion and waste production (see
below figure). Currently, Dr. Swan is investigating the
reuse of coal-combustion fly ash and recovered waste
plastics to develop a synthetic aggregate for use in
construction. Additional work has looked at the technical
feasibility of using other waste materials in construction,
specifically environmentally-remediated soils and residues
from thermal processes, and waste glass and fly ash as
components in flowable fill.
Synthetic Aggregate
Dr. Swan has been involved in an on-going development
and evaluation of a new construction product composed of
commingled coal-combustion fly ash and waste plastics.
This research has lead to the development of a new,
innovative construction material (synthetic aggregates)
that has already been shown to have numerous
geotechnical and structural applications. To date,
physical and mechanical tests on the synthetic
aggregates, alone and as a component of asphalt and
concrete, show promise for large-scale application and
evaluation of the material. Future research will examine
technical issues, such as what changes in production may
lead to a more economically-feasible product, and
non-technical issues, such as what are the local and
global economic effects of finding a beneficial (and
profitable) reuse option for waste materials which may
have expensive disposal costs. A patent has been
recently granted on the aggregates.
Thermally Treated Soils
The engineering properties of thermally-treated soils
are not widely known or understood. This lack of
knowledge is due, in part, to the fact that most
contaminated soils, although treated to appropriate
clean-up levels, may still be considered waste materials
and are discarded in landfills. This research focuses on
the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of
soils treated via thermal desorption, incineration, or
vitrification. To date, laboratory tests indicate that
the physical properties of treated soils are equal to or
better than those of the original soil, which suggests
that the reuse of treated soils may be preferred over
use of the original soil in specific engineering
applications. Laboratory evaluations continue to be
performed on soils treated by thermal desorption and
vitrification.
These technical evaluations are complimented by an
evaluation of non-technical factors, such as economic
trade-offs, public acceptability, political and regulatory
impedances, etc. that influence the what, when, where and
how recyclable materials can be reused.
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