User:Shawndouglas/sandbox/sublevel15

Sandbox begins below

Title: What types of testing occur within a construction and engineering laboratory?

Author for citation: Shawn E. Douglas

License for content: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Publication date: November 2023

Construction materials and geotechnical testing: The basics

Like any other manufactured materials, construction materials such as fasteners, lumber, and adhesives have a certain level of expectation attached to them, that they will be safe to use, of good quality, and will perform in the way advertised by the manufacturer. And just as in other industries, laboratory testing of these construction materials is an important component of giving consumers more confidence in what they are acquiring and using. Can a bolt used in a bridge sufficiently resist corrosion and maintain sufficient shear strength to fulfill its purpose? Can a 2x8 piece of lumber meet specific strength and density requirements to ensure it can effectively act as header material? Does the pull-off strength claimed by a manufacturer for its construction adhesive actually meet that claim in multiple environments? These and other questions are asked about the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of construction materials to ensure they are fit for purpose.

But when it comes to construction and engineering, it's more than simply construction materials that need to be tested; the area where the structure itself is going to end up also has characteristics that must be examined. This geotechnical testing (or geotechnical investigation) examines soil and rock for load-bearing and seismic (i.e., engineering) properties to ensure any proposed structure can safely last for a minimum set of time. Geotechnical engineers examine soil and rock mechanics, soil-structure interactions, geomechanics, ground improvement strategies, and various stabilities, as well as characterize geomaterials with laboratory and in situ sampling and analysis.

Types of testing

• Soil
• Rock
• Aggregate
• Sprayed fire-resistive material
• Concrete
• Masonry
• Pozzolan
• Wood/lumber
• Polymers/foams/adhesives
• Composites
• Emulsified asphalt and asphalt mixture
• Bituminous mixtures
• Iron and steel

Examples:

• http://aashtoresource.org/accreditation-details?LaboratoryID=RBxy*WovGkdE*V
• http://aashtoresource.org/accreditation-details?LaboratoryID=HOt7kpwaZi0*V
• http://aashtoresource.org/accreditation-details?LaboratoryID=tj6P*XOX*Xsa4*V
• http://aashtoresource.org/accreditation-details?LaboratoryID=W8SPNJPHXdQ*V
• http://aashtoresource.org/accreditation-details?LaboratoryID=90hsJ42WzfI*V
• http://aashtoresource.org/accreditation-details?LaboratoryID=3toFJWhKE2Q*V
• https://search.anab.org/public/organization_files/Center-for-Building-Innovation-LLC-Cert-and-Scope-File-01-30-2023_1675103006.pdf
• https://search.anab.org/public/organization_files/Municipal-Testing-Laboratory-Inc-Cert-and-Scope-File-07-07-2023_1688760896.pdf
• https://www.iasonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TL-196-CERT-New.pdf
• https://www.iasonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TL-893-cert-New.pdf

• Plastic sewer piping
• Metal pipeline
• Welds
• Rubber products
• Fasteners
• Wire mesh
• Wire rope
• Roofing materials
• Fenestration products

Examples:

• https://customer.a2la.org/index.cfm?event=directory.detail&labPID=E80E511B-81E7-48DB-B353-54D995A2BEA4
• https://customer.a2la.org/index.cfm?event=directory.detail&labPID=C07B4C5E-F705-44D4-B348-C6C49A86800D
• https://www.iasonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TL-656-Cert-new.pdf
• https://www.iasonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TL-501-Cert-New-1.pdf
• https://www.iasonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TL-226-CERT-NEW.pdf