Precast Solutions

Concrete Testing on a Grand Scale

Construction for a Texas-sized engineering research facility is underway.

By Evan Gurley and Ron Hyink

At 84,000 square feet, the Center for Structural Engineering Research (CSER) at the University of Texas at Arlington will be the largest structural/materials testing facility in the United States – and possibly the world. The mammoth facility, now under construction, will edge out Purdue University’s 66,000-square-foot Bowen Laboratory.

The testing facility will likely attract top engineering researchers to UTA largely for the opportunity to carry out full-scale investigations. This is something that very few facilities in the world can offer.

Engineers as well as the university will benefit from the testing facility in numerous ways. Engineers will be a step ahead of the field when analyzing full-scale structures, since analyzing small-scale structural models does not always reflect precise data on how the full-scale version will perform in real-world applications. The university itself is expected to gain national and international recognition, increased scholastic ratings and the ability to prepare a larger number of civil engineering students to meet increasing demand for a highly trained workforce.

The Center is expected to be completed by 2009 at a projected cost of $34 million. Hanson Pipe & Precast donated more than three acres of land at the corner of Interstate 30 and MacArthur Boulevard in Dallas County valued at more than $700,000. Hanson has also agreed to donate concrete and other materials for construction, which will be maximized in the construction of the facility.

Benefits

The facility will allow testing for all full-scale precast concrete elements and systems. Since precast producers have not had extensive research performed on a full scale, they must design their products conservatively by using additional steel, higher-strength concrete, etc., to ensure the products can meet current safety and structural standards. “This new facility will help optimize the design of precast elements,” said Dr. Ali Abolmaali, associate professor of UTA Civil & Environmental Engineering division and director of the CSER. “This will be true for all precast elements.”

The sheer size of the building will allow full-scale dynamic and static testing on bridge segments and other structural members. The facility will also simulate earthquakes, blast testing and harsh weather conditions, which will provide new insights to joint/connection behavior and help producers design for earthquake, storm and blast resistant elements.

“Through the research performed at the CSER facility, precasters will have the information to design a product that is both safe and economical,” said Abolmaali. “This research will help precasters optimize production in all aspects.”

The facility will have several multimillion dollar hydraulic actuators and other control devices, some as big as 200 tons, which will convert hydraulic power into useful linear, rotary or oscillatory mechanical motion. The actuators will exhibit high-force capability, high power-per-unit weight and volume, good mechanical stiffness and high dynamic response. It will include more than 50,000 square feet of reaction floor and research space, and more than 30,000 square feet of office, conference, classroom and support space. Also included will be office space for faculty, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

As a premier facility, the design calls for an iconic and expressive structural presence. The exterior appearance provides a unique signature for the facility. The vaulted thin-shell roof, cast-in-place vertical columns and projecting floor slabs express the structural properties of concrete in the design. The wall panels, the roof, and the vertical and horizontal shading devices will all be made of precast concrete.

The building is designed to respond to the harsh Texas climate and to be energy efficient. Since the reaction floor will be heated and ventilated, and not fully air-conditioned, sustainable design is especially critical. The dramatic roof form opens to the north to admit indirect natural light and reduce lighting energy consumption while sloping downward to the south to prevent direct solar heat gain. The south-facing offices will incorporate horizontal overhangs in the form of projecting floor slabs to limit heat gain. To prevent heat gain from the rising sun, the east side of the building will not have glazing. To limit heat gain from the setting sun, a series of large vertical louvers will be placed in front of the office windows.

Anticipated impact

The CSER facility likely will be a nationally and internationally recognized research and education facility for structural engineering. It will be one of the few facilities in the world that supports fundamental and innovative research and educational programs that focus on achieving significant advances derived from large-scale structural testing of real structural components comprising concrete, steel, masonry, stone, timber and synthetic materials. Some specific programs will focus on how these structural materials can provide new earthquake and storm resistant structures; structures to resist terrorist attacks; and intelligent infrastructure systems that assess time-dependent performance (smart structures that provide early warning to potential failures). This latter point is especially important, as much of America’s infrastructure is aging and on the brink of failure.

With a facility of this magnitude, opportunities for attracting federal and private industry funding for researching these structures will be significantly expanded. The identification of new materials for use in structural systems subjected to hazardous and extreme loading conditions has been at the forefront of research agendas for federal funding agencies. For example, the Department of Homeland Security has been supporting an abundance of research projects for critical infrastructures subjected to loads such as blasts, impact and fire. Other funding agencies that support this type of research activity include: National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Highway Administration, Korea Science Foundation and the Texas Department of Transportation.

Owing to its size and unique capabilities, the Center is expected to attract research funds exceeding $10 million per year.