Structural, Geotechnical, Materials, and Construction Research

Photo by Ashlee Jarvis/BYU Photo

BYU Civil and Construction Engineering is home to specialized laboratories and computational resources that support cutting-edge research and hands-on learning in structural, geotechnical, materials, and construction engineering. The facilities foster excellence in research by providing access to advanced equipment, versatile testing environments, and high-performance computational tools. Capabilities include small-scale material characterization, large-scale and field-based structural testing, and advanced simulation in computational mechanics. Research extends across a wide range of materials—including concrete, asphalt, wood, steel, and composites—and supports studies in seismic, thermal, geotechnical, and hazard testing. Together, the resources strengthen the department’s ability to address pressing challenges in infrastructure performance.

Large-Scale and Field Testing

Large-scale and field testing facilities make it possible to study the behavior of structural systems and soil-structure interaction under realistic conditions. Equipped with a strong floor, high-capacity actuators, advanced instrumentation, and field-ready equipment, these resources support seismic simulation, dynamic loading, and geotechnical investigations. Applications range from structural performance and seismic resilience to foundation engineering, bridging laboratory testing with real-world practice.

• Structural Testing Resources:
  
  • Strong floor: 1,824 ft², 30 in thick, with 3 ft tie-down grid
  • Large steel reaction frame
  • Hydraulic actuators (ranging from 5 to 650 kips)
  • SilentFlo mobile hydraulic system (field testing)
  • 10-ton crane (23 ft clearance, full lab length)
  • Forklift
• Instrumentation & Measurement:
  
  • Digital Image Correlation (DIC) camera system
  • Polytec laser vibrometer
  • Tromino seismometer and dynamic vibration measurement tools
  • Thermal cameras
  • National Instruments, MTS, and BDI Wireless DAQ systems
  • Surveying equipment
  • 18" × 18" shake table
  • Nuclear density and moisture gauges
• Geotechnical Testing Resources:
  
  • Tri-axial shear apparatus
  • Cyclic shear apparatus
  • Soil friction testing equipment
  • Scales, weights, and sieves for soil/material characterization
• Field Testing Capabilities:
  
  • Pile testing
  • Retaining wall assessments
  • Liquefaction and seismic soil studies
  • UAVs for geotechnical data collection
• Workshop & Support:
  
  • Welding equipment and fabrication tools for custom test fixtures
  • Staffed by full-time lab manager, assistant manager, and undergraduate technicians trained in welding, fabrication, and test setup

Materials Testing

Materials testing resources provide the foundation for evaluating construction materials under a wide range of conditions. These facilities support assessment of strength, durability, and behavior in concrete, asphalt, steel, and composites, using both standard tests and advanced characterization methods. Capabilities extend from fresh concrete workability to long-term durability and mechanical performance, enabling innovative research on materials that underpin resilient infrastructure.

• Universal Testing Machines (UTMs) for tension and compression:
  
  • 300-kip Forney UTM
  • 300-kip Baldwin Tate Emery UTM
  • 110-kip MTS UTM
  • 22-kip MTS UTM (torsion-capable)
  • 22-kip UTM-100 with environmental chamber (static & cyclic testing)
  • 2.7-kip MTS UTM
  • Interchangeable jaws for MTS systems accommodate specimens from 0.25" to 1.67" in diameter
• Durability & Specialized Equipment:
  
  • Compaction machine
  • LA Abrasion machine
  • Freeze-thaw machine
  • Marshall CBR compression machine
  • Ion penetration apparatus
  • Asphalt burn-off oven
  • Sonometer
  • Specific gravity testing equipment
  • Marshall water bath
  • Rheometer
• Concrete & Cementitious Materials Tools:
  
  • WASP 3MT 3D concrete printer (1 m² x 1 m print volume)
  • Multiple concrete and grout mixers (up to 9 cu. ft.)
  • Slump cones, flow tests, unit weight and pressure meters, hardness devices
  • Fog room and environmental conditioning room (temperature & humidity control)
  • Ovens and curing tanks
  • State-of-the-art ventilation system for cementitious materials
• Mechanical Properties Testing:
  
  • Charpy impact tester
  • Rockwell surface hardness tester
• Advanced Characterization Resources:
  
  • Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
  • X-ray CT imaging for microstructural evaluation
• Additional Resources:
  
  • Wind tunnels, water tunnels, and furnaces across campus

Computational Analysis

Computational resources complement physical testing by enabling advanced simulation and modeling across structural, geotechnical, and materials engineering. High-performance computing power, combined with expertise in finite element analysis, computational mechanics, and fluid dynamics, supports the analysis of complex systems, design optimization, and the development of new computational methods. These capabilities extend the reach of laboratory experimentation and provide powerful tools for advancing civil and construction engineering research.

• Supercomputing Resources:
  
  • Access to 850+ servers
  • 38,000 processing cores (via BYU Office of Research Computing)
• Specializations:
  
  • Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
  • Computational mechanics
  • Computational geometry
  • Isogeometric analysis
  • Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
• Modeling & Software:
  
  • Abaqus, ANSYS, OpenSees, SAP2000, MATLAB, COMSOL, Revit, AutoCAD, SolidWorks
  • Advanced geometry modeling using smooth spline surfaces
  • Broad access to commercial and academic software for simulation and optimization