Titan America Structures and Construction Testing Laboratory
Lab opening (for more information,
see Florida Concrete)
Lab Dedication (for more
information, see FIU
News)
Early days………………………………………….and now! [also
see http://www.cee.fiu.edu/structures-and-construction-laboratory/]
To provide
hands-on educational experience for students; to support research and
development of innovative hurricane-resistant and durable construction
materials, structural systems and components; to serve the construction
industry; to contribute to the engineering community in South Florida, and to
advance the safety, durability, and economy of our civil infrastructure.
Need Statement
FIU has grown
into a large urban public research university with over 38,000 students. Enrollment in the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering has greatly increased to 300 undergraduate students,
75 MS and 55 PhD students. The department is committed to providing superior
teaching, academic excellence and pioneering research. The Structures and
Construction Testing Laboratory is critical to reaching the next level of
educational distinction.
Teaching
students real-world and cutting-edge research in a laboratory setting is
essential to their academic and professional development.
The new lab
will play a critical role in attracting new government and private industry
funds for pioneering research.
As the largest
structures testing facility in
Type of Services
Applied and fundamental research:
Construction
materials, manufactured systems, structural components, pavements, geotechnical
materials, and geo-environmental systems
Product development and testing for code compliance:
ICC
(formerly ICBO) accreditation, evaluation of existing products, feasibility
assessment for new materials and systems, and durability and reliability
studies
Expert engineering and scientific support:
Forensic
and failure investigation, structural diagnoses and field monitoring,
rehabilitation recommendations, and non-destructive testing and evaluations
Training and professional development:
Workshops and seminars for CTQP certificates, ACI technician certificates, bridge and wind engineering, and OSHA-authorized training for safety
Laboratory Description
The new
Structures and Construction Laboratory is in the east half of the existing 22 ft high, 85 ft x 75 ft high-bay facility adjacent to the engineering building.
The lab
consists of a 35 ft x 62 ft
strong floor with 4 ft thickness, and 100-kip
capacity tie-downs on a 3 ft x 6 ft
pattern.
To move
specimens and equipment around the lab, a 20-ton 40-ft span double girder
overhead crane will be furnished with two 60 ft long
runways supported on steel columns at 20 ft spacing.
A forklift provides additional mobility for lab activities.
One four-legged
14-ft high steel test frame with 400-kip capacity and one 10-ft high
slant-legged steel reaction frame with 100-kip lateral capacity will allow
simultaneous loading of various structural components and subassemblies in two
directions.
The lab will be
served with a central 60-gpm hydraulic pump; 400-kip and 100-kip
tension/compression servo controlled fatigue-rated hydraulic actuators with
12-in stroke; computerized controller for simultaneous use of two actuators;
load-control single- and double-acting hydraulic jacks from 100-kip to 300-kip
with an independent hydraulic pump; one 42-channel and one 25-channel
high-speed data acquisition systems; 64-channel data-logger; and comprehensive
array of sensors to allow static and dynamic loading of large to full-scale
structural components and systems.
Additionally, an environmental
chamber will be built to allow for the loading of scaled models of structures
under accelerated environmental exposure with a full range of temperatures,
rain, and humidity levels.
FIU machine
shops will be utilized for the fabrication of specimens and test fixtures.
New Structures
and Construction Testing Laboratory
Students
gaining valuable research experience
Large-scale
composite columns ready for testing
Students
casting concrete specimens in the lab
Testing of concrete beam strengthened with carbon materials