Facilities
Rougeou Hall and Madison Hall are outfitted for our students so they can access the laboratories, classrooms, and offices they need to conduct research and earn the experience they need to be successful in the workforce.
Safety is stressed in all laboratories and each lab has safety rules, which are posted, in place. The laboratory instructor is responsible for presenting the safety rules of the class as part of the class instruction. Students are not allowed to use automated equipment unless they are fully checked by the department technician or faculty.
Student Lounge
Madison Hall, Room 154 is dedicated for use of the students. The student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers manages it. It includes a large conference table and smaller table, plus a few lockers for storage and a refrigerator for food items.
Computer Laboratory
Location: Madison Hall, Room 131.
The computer lab is a classroom for the computer graphics course CIVE 142.
Equipment includes:
• 30 computers
• Plotter
• Scanner
• Large-format color printer
The lab is used for individualized instruction on graphics and word processing applications, and is open for all student assignments. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with possible openings during evenings and weekends.
Environmental Laboratories
Location: Madison Hall, Rooms 143, 145, and 147.
Each environmental lab has ample space for both teaching and research. Room 143 is primarily used for research and sample preparation and includes an atomic absorportion spectrophometer with graphite furnace.
Rooms 145 and 147 have eight work stations equipped with safety glasses, aprons, glassware, pipettes, crucibles, pH meters, and DO meters to facilitate lab groups. The lab also includes multiple ovens and a furnace for drying samples. A vent hood is available for handling chemicals and samples with fumes.
Geotechnical Laboratory
Location: Madison Hall, Room 150A.
The geotechnical lab is for undergraduate instruction, where our students learn the fundamentals of geotechnical engineering tests. It's equipped for testing the physical and engineering properties of soil specimens.
Equipment includes:
• Triaxial apparatus
• Direct shear apparatus
• Unconfined compression apparatus
• Consolidation test equipment
Students can also use the equipment to determine Atterberg limits, specific gravity, sieve and hydrometer analysis, proctor, and CBR compaction limits. The lab is typically open only during class time.
Hydraulics Laboratory
Location: Madison Hall, Room 150C.
The hydraulics lab equipment includes:
• Universal flow benches
• Hydraulic jump apparatus
• Stormier viscosity measuring device
• Open tanks
• Platform weighing scale
• Flow visualization apparatus
• Broad crested Weir and multi-opening culvert flume
• Pipe-fitting apparatus
• Impact of jet apparatus
• Friction losses in a pipe system apparatus
Materials Testing Laboratory
Location: Madison Hall, Room 136.
The Materials Testing Laboratory is used for both undergraduate instruction and research purposes. The uniaxial load frames are designed for compression and tension testing for and materials such as concrete cylinders, steel specimens, and asphalt testing.
Equipment includes:
• Two MTS Uniaxial Load Frames - 220K load capacity and 22K load capacity
• Environmental chamber
• Displacement transducers
• Fixtures
• Platens
• Digital Image Correlation System
• Data Aquisition System
Structural Engineering Laboratory
Location: 311 East Lewis Street - Girad Park Circle Parking Tower & Stokes Hall
The Structural Engineering Lab recently moved to the new, larger location that allows for larger research projects and now undergraduate participation. Graduate students have full access, and the lab is open for undergraduate students to conduct experiments related to their coursework for CIVE 426 and CIVE 427.
Equipment includes:
• Two concrete mixers
• Concrete compression tester
• Slump test equipment
• Air entrainment equipment
• Four hoppers for storing aggregates
• A 5,000-lb scale
• Overhead crane
• Concrete bucket with release chute
• Table saw
• Mitre saw
• Aggregate gradation testing equipment
• Molds for cylinders and beams
Undergraduate students have full access to a concrete lab is Madison Hall, Room 151, for structural engineering coursework. The lab is primarily for preparing concrete specimens for curing and testing, as well as provide space for small design projects.
Survey Laboratory
The surveying lab is for teaching the basic surveying course, CIVE 225.
Lab equipment includes:
• Traditional transits and levels
• Electronic distance-measuring devices
Transportation Materials Laboratory
Location: Madison Hall, Room 152.
The transportation materials lab is an integrated facility for asphalt geotechnical and materials testing.
Equipment includes:
• Viscometer
• Penetrometer
• Marshall Test device
• Ovens
• NCAT ignition furnace
• Computer-controlled Universal Compression Machine
• Masonry Saw
• Rheometer
• Gyratory Compactor
• Scale
• Freezer
• Sieves