Grant Schmitz, eyes inches from a 6.5-by-12-foot panel of
ultra-high performance concrete, studied the smooth surface for tiny cracks. He
and other research engineers carefully marked every one with black markers.
Schmitz, an Iowa State graduate student of civil,
construction and environmental engineering, and Sri Sritharan, Iowa State’s
Wilson Engineering Professor and leader of the ’s College of Engineering's Wind
Energy Initiative, were trying to answer some basic questions about using
concrete panels and columns to build wind turbine towers using prefabricated,
easily transportable components.