This project uses a closed-loop, servohydraulic system to enhance the quality of laboratory instruction in three required undergraduate courses in the School of Civil Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology: Materials of Construction, Physical Properties of Soils and Rocks, and Experimental Structural Analysis. The equipment provides these classes with a state-of-the-art, computer controlled system capable of applying cyclic loads, and allows the students to perform critical and innovative experiments on conventional and emerging materials. The new experiments emphasize tests involving fatigue and cyclic behavior of conventional and new engineering materials such as plastics and high-strength fiber-reinforced composites. Repair and rehabilitation methods and the testing of connections are included in the experimental program. Students are also exposed to techniques for field testing of soils that are important to geotechnical site assessments. The system is similar to state-of-the-art equipment that students will most likely encounter in industry after graduation.
