A new actuator and frame in the civil and environmental engineering structures lab is helping faculty and students conduct research on civil infrastructure rehabilitation.
A
recent
celebration
in
the
lab
recognized
the
four
industry
donors
–
Walters
Group,
Salit
Steel,
MTE
Consultants
Inc.
and
R.M.
Schuster
Structural
Engineering
–
who
contributed
materials,
fabrication,
and
design
calculations
for
the
new
portal
frame
that
supports
the
actuator
acquired
through
a
Canada
Foundation
for
Innovation
grant.
”It is now the biggest frame in our lab and we expect that it will have a significant impact on our research capabilities for many years to come,” says Scott Walbridge, the CEE Structures Lab faculty coordinator. “With this equipment, we will be able to bring close to full-scale structural components such as steel or concrete bridge girder or building column specimens into the structures lab and test them until failure.”
The equipment is officially known as the Professor Khaled Soudki Structural Testing Frame named in memory of the civil and environmental engineering professor who died last year.