CIVIL, CONSTRUCTION & ENVIRONMENTAL
Structural Testing Laboratory
Physical facilities
The Structural Testing Laboratory houses both data acquisition and hydraulic testing systems that are used in both undergraduate instruction and in faculty/graduate research. The laboratory has a strong floor with threaded insert tie-down points, which enables the construction of structural steel "purpose-built" test frames.
Specialized equipment
The laboratory is equipped with a two-ton overhead crane to be used in erecting the steel testing frames and positioning specimens, a Riehle 60,000-pound-capacity tension/compression machine and high-accuracy extensometers, measuring potentiometers and LVDTs.
Educational applications
The structural testing laboratory is used in two undergraduate courses:
- CEEN 3320 — behavior and properties of engineering materials; students use the laboratory to conduct tension, compression and shear testing of specimens composed of a variety of materials.
- CEEN 3440 — reinforced concrete design; students use the laboratory to test reinforced concrete beams. These experiments are geared to demonstrate flexural failure and shear failure of reinforced concrete members.
Research applications
The Structural Testing Laboratory has had a long history of graduate research and consulting within the department. Although the laboratory is not as large as those at other research universities, the department faculty manage to keep a relatively constant flow of experimental work in the lab.
Current projects using the Structural Testing Laboratory include:
Perpetual Pavement Instrumentation for the Marquette Interchange Project under the direction of Dr. James Crovetti. This projects entails the installation of several types of sensors both within and under the asphalt concrete pavement structure of the northbound lane of I-43. The laboratory facilities are being used in a variety of ways to calibrate and set up the instrumentation package prior to installation.
In-Situ Monitoring and Testing of IBRC Bridges in Wisconsin under the direction of Dr. Christopher Foley. A group of six highway bridges were constructed in Wisconsin using innovative materials and construction techniques. The Structural Testing Laboratory was used to develop and calibrate removable strain sensors for use in the effort. The impact of freeze-thaw cycles and moisture on a bridge deck system used in these structures was also evaluated us the laboratory facilities.
There have been many other experimental studies undertaken by faculty and students in the laboratory. The laboratory has allowed many graduate students to conduct research related to their theses (both masters and doctoral). The following listing should give the reader an excellent flavor for the wide range of work carried out:
- Mass transit seat specification testing
- Mechanical property of multiple joints with over-driven nails
- Wood I-joist Web hole cut study
- An experimental study on the effects that partial embedment truss plates have on wood joint strength
- Mechanical properties of multiple nail joints
- Development of resistance models for slab form-work systems
- Experimental study of the structural properties of reused plywood form-work
- Experimental study of Ellis Shores
- An investigation of structural properties of used wood form-work stringers
- Influence of rotational restraint on double angle and structural tee sections connected by means of bolted gusset plate connections
- Fiber-reinforced beam column joints undergoing stress reversals
- Bond strength of mild steel reinforcement in high-strength concrete
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