Laboratories

Surveying Lab

Surveying labs provide students with hands-on experience to supplement instruction in surveying courses. The introductory course, Plane Surveying, exposes students to the fundamental land surveying measurement methods. Students gain familiarity with:

• Precision steel taping methods to perform horizontal measurements
• Traditional transits and digital theodolites to perform angular measurements
• Traditional and automatic levels for elevation measurements

Fluid Mechanics Lab

The Fluid Mechanics Laboratory offers several compulsory undergraduate courses. Well-developed electives floated by the group include advanced numerical techniques, laser measurement systems, turbulent flow, and micro-scale fluid flow. New initiatives that will be pursued are in the areas of crystal growth, inverse techniques, drag reduction by active obstacles and nano-mechanics.

Structural Mechanics Lab

The Structural Mechanics Laboratory contains dedicated to testing and instruction. All major testing machines are professionally calibrated bi-annually, with the last two calibrations reporting all equipment within 1% of indicated value throughout all ranges. The following is a listing of the major items in the Structural Mechanics Laboratory used in undergraduate laboratory instruction

Concrete Lab

Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) is considered a major construction material that is used in almost every civil engineering structure.

The design of a PCC mix depends on factors such as function of the structure, exposure of the concrete to the environment, and the type and mode of loads expected for the structure. The design engineer takes into consideration all of these factors in proportioning the concrete mix.

Students start by testing and analyzing the aggregates, then they design the required mix in accordance to specific standards. Upon determining the proper proportions of the mix, it is then prepared in the lab. Fabricated samples are cured in a humid control room, and at the end of the curing process, they are tested in order to determine the mechanical properties of the concrete mix.

Soil Mechanics & Geotechnology Lab

Soil Mechanics/Geomechanics is sometimes confused as Geology or Soil Science [but there are similarities with geological engineering]. In soil mechanics, we study and characterize the properties of soils that are relevant for engineering analysis or design. We study the behavior of soil, up to failure, due to external or internal loading.

It includes investigating existing subsurface conditions and materials, assessing risks posed by site conditions, designing earthworks and structure foundations.

Transportation Engineering Laboratory

Plan and design streets, highways, railways, and airports.

Plan and implement traffic control systems.

Apply technological and scientific principles to the planning, functional design, operation and management of facilities for any mode of transportation in order to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical and environmentally compatible movement of people and goods.

Environmental Engineering Laboratory

Design water and wastewater treatment facilities. In the public sector, they enforce federal and state environmental regulations, review plans for both public and private water and wastewater projects, and assist communities in assessing their needs and obtaining financing for new and expanded facilities.

Study the impact from human interactions with the environment and ecosystems in order to solve environmental quality problems. Work may also include air, noise and agricultural pollution, municipal solid waste management and hazardous waste management.