Large-Scale Geotechnical Testing Laboratory

The Large-Scale Geotechnical Testing Laboratory is located on West Campus. The Laboratory consists of a large-scale geotechnical testing box, a large-scale loading frame for railway testing, and several material bins for the storage of soil, aggregate, and ballast. The testing facility is also equipped with a 55-kip actuator, a Bobcat front loader, a forklift, two vibratory plate compactors, a jump jack compactor, in-situ testing devices (vane shear test device, dynamic cone penetrometer, and lightweight falling deflectometer), and instrumentation sensors (earth pressure cells, displacement transducers, and moisture sensors) and a data acquisition system. This testing facility has been used for geotechnical teaching and research including but not limited to geosynthetic-reinforced unpaved and paved roads, railways, buried pipes, retaining walls, and shallow foundations.