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Research

Equipment

The Large-Scale Structural Engineering Testing Laboratory offers the following equipment:

  • Universal Testing Machine: Called “Big Baldwin,” the 2.4-million-pound capacity Universal Testing Machine (UTM) features a 32-inch displacement range and new servo controls for precise load and/or displacement control. Capable of testing specimens in tension on the top and compression on the bottom. Annually calibrated to NIST traceability standards.
  • Reaction Frame: A custom-built reaction frame for simultaneous application of lateral loads to specimens being compressed in the UTM.
  • Strong Floor: An 1,800 ft2 strong floor area with distributed high-capacity tie downs for mounting experiments and load frames.
  • Hydraulic Pumps and Delivery System: Hard plumbed circulated hydraulic oil system with hydraulic pressure supplied by two Paul Monroe Enertech pumps with 250 gpm flow capacity at 3,500 psi.
  • Reaction Wall: A 20-foot tall L-shaped reaction wall with 12 foot and 13 foot long legs.
  • Additional Features: Specimen and test setup fabrication areas; overhead cranes to access construction and test areas; an instrumentation room; and a machine shop to support fabrication of specimens and experimental setups.

Specialized Equipment for Large-Scale Experiments:

To support large-scale structural engineering experiments, the Structural Research Laboratory also offers the following equipment:

  • Panel Element Tester: The first machine of its kind to be available on the west coast of the United States. It is unique among similar testers for its flexibility in terms of stress states that it can generate. The tester is an advanced apparatus that can apply arbitrary combinations of in-plane stresses to thin membrane specimens. 
  • Additional Universal Testing Machines: Additional 300 kip and 110 kip UTMs are available, the latter capable of supporting cyclic loading and fatigue testing. Annually calibrated to NIST traceability standards.
  • Hydraulic Actuators: A range of servo-controlled hydraulic actuators with force capacities from 22 to 550 kips and displacement ranges from 2 to 20 inches.
  • Reaction blocks and frames: Relocatable reaction blocks and reaction frames
  • Rigs: For creep testing of concrete.
  • Shake table: With one degree of freedom, the 15 foot by 8 foot shake table has 30 kip payload capacity.
  • MTS FlexTest 60 controller: Offers multi-actuator and hybrid testing capabilities. 
  • MTS analog controllers: Several controllers available for single actuator control.
  • Northern Digital Instruments OptoTrak Certus 3D position measurement system: For precise tracking of 3D movement, with two position sensors and more than 100 position targets. 
  • Geokon vibrating wire strain gauge systems: For stable measurement of long terms strains.  
  • National Instruments Data Acquisition Systems with LabView software: Several DAQs available for acquiring a broad of data types.
  • High resolution digital cameras: For detailed documentation of experiments and specimen performance.
  • Additional features: Numerous load cells, potentiometers, linear variable differential transformers, accelerometers and other instrumentation.