CE Lab Facilities

• Concrete Lab
• Mechanical Testing Lab
• Asphalt Labs
• Transportation Labs
• Highway Design Lab
• Traffic Controller Lab
• Geotechnical Labs
• Soil Mechanics Labs

Concrete Lab (BEL 132)
Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) is considered a major construction material that is used in almost every civil engineering structure. The design of a PCC mix depends on factors such as function of the structure, exposure of the concrete to the environment, and the type and mode of loads expected for the structure. The design engineer takes into consideration all of these factors in proportioning the concrete mix. In the Concrete Lab located in BEL 132, students practice the concrete design process from the design stage to the full fabrication and testing of samples. Students start by testing and analyzing the aggregates, then they design the required mix in accordance to specific standards. Upon determining the proper proportions of the mix, it is then prepared in the lab. Fabricated samples are cured in a humid control room, and at the end of the curing process, they are tested in order to determine the mechanical properties of the concrete mix. Testing is generally performed in the Mechanical Testing Lab.

Mechanical Testing Lab (BEL 125)
In the Mechanical Testing Lab located in BEL 125, students investigate material behavior through mechanical testing. Static and dynamic load tests are performed, and material strengths are tested and determined in this lab. Stress-strain relationships are established, and elasticity and toughness are determined. These parameters will indicate the ability of the material to resist loads and determine how the material is going to perform under the actual loading. In dynamic load tests, the design engineer can predict the performance of a certain facility in service life. For example, if a pavement is to be constructed of PCC mix, the mix has to be tested to determine its fatigue life in order to estimate how long this pavement will last. Static and dynamic testing equipment available in this lab are used to conduct some of these performance tests.

Asphalt Labs (BEL 119/122)
In the Asphalt Labs located in BEL 119 and 122, asphalt binders and mixes are tested and prepared in accordance to specified procedures. One method involves aggregate mixing with asphalt either as hot mix or at ambient temperature for cold mixes. A new way to design asphalt mixes that produce superior performance is the Superpave Asphalt Mix Design System. The new Superpave Gyratory Compactor in the Asphalt Lab is a key piece of equipment used to make and test Superpave samples. It was procured with funds from the Idaho Transportation Department as part of a NIATT research project on the Implementation and Evaluation of the Superpave system in the State of Idaho. Superpave is a relatively new mix design system developed under the Strategic Highway Research Program. The Asphalt Labs also offer a new set of equipment for students to characterize Performance Grade asphalts. With the rotational viscometer, students determine the viscosity of various grades of asphalt at different temperatures. Other tests that students perform for asphalt mixtures include volumetric analysis, stability, modulus of resilience, fatigue and rutting tests. Most of these tests are performed to predict the mixture’s behavior under traffic loads. Our Asphalt Lab facilities also provide limited study of the effect of certain environmental factors, such as temperature and moisture variation and freezing and thawing on the long-term performance of pavement materials.

Transportation Labs
In addition to student use, the Highway Design and Traffic Controller Labs have been used in the Traffic Signal Summer Camp hosted by the Department of Civil Engineering and NIATT. The camp offers instruction and hands-on experience in traffic signal design, maintenance and operation. Campers program real traffic controllers, use the latest version of NIATT’s Controller Interface Device, state-of-the-art video detection equipment and magnetic loop detectors, and work with the latest software, including MicroStation, CORSIM and TRANSYT.

Highway Design Lab (BEL 117)
The recently upgraded Highway Design Lab located in BEL 117 is equipped with 13 AMD-Athlon computers and 19-inch monitors, which run AutoCAD2000 and MicroStation, plus many more civil engineering programs. The lab also has a new LCD projector.

Traffic Controller Lab (EPB 108)
The newly equipped Traffic Controller Lab located in EPB 108 houses six workstations, each accommodating two students. The workstations include a computer, LMD8000 Traffic Controller, video detection system, videotape player, Sony monitor and NIATT Controller Interface Device.

Geotechnical Labs
Facilities available for graduate research on campus include the soil mechanics laboratories in the Department of Civil Engineering, rock mechanics laboratories in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, and analytical laboratories of the Idaho Geological Survey. These laboratories contain equipment for static and dynamic load tests on soil and rock, including a closed-loop servo-controlled load system. Equipment for mineralogical and chemical analysis includes an x-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, microprobe and atomic absorption instruments.

Soil Mechanics Labs
The three soil mechanics laboratories located in the Buchanan Engineering building provide space and equipment for receiving, processing, compacting and testing soils and geosynthetics. In addition to identification and classification tests for soils, engineering property test capabilities include one-dimensional compression and consolidation, permeability, and direct shear tests. Static and dynamic triaxial compression tests can be performed on test specimens up to four inches in diameter. Tests performed on geosynthetics include tension and flow tests.