9521686 Pyrak-Nolte The Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame is ideally suited for developing a unique program to investigate the geomechanical and structural components for the nation's infrastructure because of its interdisciplinary nature. The acquisition of a state-of-the art test facility will amplify the thrust of our effort in an integrated manner. The objective of this proposal is to acquire a servo-controlled bi-axial hydraulic test system with both static and dynamic loading capabilities to create a system that can be used to test: () structural components subjected to cyclic and dynamic loads; and (2) the response of rocks and soils subjected simulated shallow crustal stresses, i.e. stresses encountered at engineering sites or at mining or waste isolation depths. Earthquake conditions on engineering structural components will be simulated with dynamic actuators that can apply horizontal displacements while the components are subjected to normal loads from the vertical actuator. ***
