Research and Teaching Laboratories

The Advanced Asphalt Materials Laboratory, located in 168 Town Engineering Building, contains equipment to test and develop Superpave. Superpave (superior performing asphalt pavements) is a process for designing and analyzing performance-based mixes.

The lab was equipped through donations from the Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa, moneys from Iowa State University, and asphalt contractors and suppliers.

Find out more about geotechnical/materials engineering at ISU CCEE.

Equipment

• Gyratory compactor
• Bending beam rheometer
• Dynamic shear rheometer
• Pressure aging vessel
• Rolling thin film oven
• NCAT ignition furnace
• Direct tension tester
• Rotational viscometer
• Nottingham Asphalt Tester (NAT)

Contact

For more information, please contact Paul Ledtje, laboratory manager, at paledtje@iastate.edu.

The Gerald and Audrey Olson Soil Mechanics Laboratory at Iowa State University was founded in 2002 through a grant from Gerald and Audrey Olson, who founded Terracon, Inc., in the 1960s. The lab is located in room 40 Town Engineering and provides support for advanced soil mechanics testing, including equipment for…

• Low-stress, conventional, and stress-path controlled triaxial testing
• Direct/residual shear testing
• Conventional and automated consolidation testing
• Rigid and flexible wall permeameters
• Soil index tests and engineering classification

Go here to learn about the geotechnical/materials engineering research at Iowa State.

Contact

For more information, contact Ted Huisman, lab supervisor, at thuisman@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-1918.

The Portland Cement Concrete Pavement and Materials Research Laboratory (PCC Lab) is funded by the Iowa Concrete Paving Association (ICPA) and Iowa State University.

The PCC Lab, housed in 138 Town Engineering Building, provides undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to study and conduct research related to PCC pavements and supports the State of Iowa’s national leadership role in PCC pavement research innovations.

This lab brings together key components of Iowa State’s National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP Tech Center) education, research and industry needs. Research focuses on current issues in chemistry, processing microstructure, mechanical property and durability of PCC materials.

The PCC Lab has four major components:

• Concrete processing/manufacturing
• Mechanical testing of hardened concrete
• Fresh concrete property measurement
• Durability-related experiments

With the PCC Lab, Iowa State has one of the few university laboratory facilities with an entire PCC research system under one roof.

Learn about the geotechnical/materials engineering research at Iowa State.

Contact

For more information, contact Bob Steffes, laboratory manager, at steffesr@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-7323.

In 164 Town, innovative researchers test bridge loads and research new methods for making structures safer and more cost-efficient.

The 6,900-square-foot structural engineering research laboratory provides:

• 80-by-50-foot main testing area
• 80-by-25-foot tie-down floor with a million-pound capacity
• 20-ton overhead crane
• Electronic and computer equipment for controlling experiments and data logging

Equipment

Major pieces of equipment include:

• Numerous hydraulic actuators with 5- to 200-ton capacities and strokes up to 18 inches
• Two MTS 55,000-pound capacity structural actuators controlled by an MTS TestStar IIm controller used for large specimen static and dynamic testing
• One 150,000-pound push and 110,000-pound pull actuator with a 24-inch stroke
• Four data acquisition systems with reading rates up to 250,000 samples per second
• Five remote monitoring systems that can be controlled by modem, cellular, or radio telemetry

Learn about structural engineering research at Iowa State.

Contact

For more information, please contact Doug Wood, senior engineering specialist and manager of structural engineering laboratories, at dwoody@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-3768.

The Wallace W. and Julia B. Sanders Structural Laboratory is located in room 130 of Town Engineering Building.

With almost as much space as the main testing area (164 Town), this lab is a great asset for structural engineering research at Iowa State University. It has an 80-by-24-foot reaction floor with 300,000-pound-capacity loading points on a three-foot grid. A 15-ton overhead crane accommodates placement of tall loads.

Currently, the lab is being used for several corrosion studies and is the work space for the American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter Steel Bridge Team.

Contact

For more information, please contact Doug Wood, senior engineering specialist and manager of structural engineering laboratories, at dwoody@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-3768.

Burns & McDonnell Teaching Laboratory

When people look at this teaching lab, the first thing that grabs their attention is the open ceiling tiles. Those tiles help teach hands-on construction engineering courses. Students can see the equipment, ductwork, piping and conduit taking up space inside Town Engineering Building. They can also switch out various light fixtures to experience how lighting performance varies. For more information, contact Larry Cormicle, senior lecturer in construction engineering, by emailing cormicle@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-8299.

Tom and Ro Jellinger Laboratory

On September 25, 2010, the CCEE department dedicated the Thomas and Ro Jellinger Laboratory for the benefit of departmental engineering students. Made possible in part through industry contributions, the lab provides virtual site tours, building information modeling, and a conducive learning environment for senior level design courses.

Contact

Learn more about the construction engineering research at Iowa State. For more information, contact Charles Jahren, professor-in-charge for the construction engineering program, by emailing cjahren@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-3829.

Highway Design Classroom

Primarily used for CE 453: Highway Design, undergraduate students collaborate on highway design projects using professional software in the Highway Design Laboratory. The laboratory is configured with seven cubicles lining the periphery of the room and a set of work tables in the center of the room to facilitate collaborative team activities on projects.

Contact

For more information, please contact Peter Savolainen, associate professor of transportation engineering, by emailing pts@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-3381.

Joseph C. and Elizabeth A. Anderlik Teaching Laboratory

Every civil engineering undergraduate student enrolled at Iowa State is required to take a beginning environmental engineering course in the Joseph C. and Elizabeth A. Anderlik Teaching Laboratory. It also houses several classes for students specializing in environmental engineering. The lab has specialized equipment to analyze air, water and wastewater. This equipment exposes students to current analytical methods for recognizing and solving environmental problems.

Contact

Learn about the environmental engineering research at Iowa State. For more information concerning this teaching laboratory, please contact Kendra Lee, laboratory manager, at kmlee@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-5639.

Geotechnical/Materials Teaching Laboratories

These laboratories, located in Town Engineering 142, 148 and 160, are utilized by every civil engineering undergraduate student during that student’s time at Iowa State. They host required classes like CE360 and CE382. In these laboratories, students can get hands-on experience with geotechnical and asphalt concrete testing equipment. Recent updates to the laboratories provide students with real-world research experience, right here on ISU’s campus.

Contact

Learn about the geotechnical/materials engineering research at Iowa State. For more information concerning these teaching laboratories, please contact Vern Schaefer, professor of geotechnical/materials engineering, at vern@iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-9540.