This laboratory, endowed by Titan America LLC, the premier cement and building materials producer in the eastern United States, is used in order to provide hands-on educational experience for students; to support research and development of innovative hurricane-resistant and durable construction materials, structural systems and components; to serve the construction industry; to contribute to the engineering community in South Florida; and to advance the safety, durability, and economy of our civil infrastructure.

The laboratory, formerly known simply as the Structures and Construction Testing Laboratory (SCL), was initially built through the help of a consortium of 21 industry partners who donated materials, services, and cash in excess of $250,000. Titan America LLC provided a generous gift of $250,000 – worth $500,000 with state match – to support the facility in September of 2009. The laboratory’s director is Dr. Atorod Azizinamini, Vasant H. Surti Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability at the FIU College of Engineering and Computing.

It is one of the largest facilities in the State of Florida with a total area of 6375 square feet of floor space and equipped with a full-scale structural testing system (FSST). The FSST consists of a 15-ft tall testing frame that stands above a 35-ft × 65-ft strong concrete floor with 4-ft thickness and 100,000 lbs capacity tie-downs on a 3-ft × 6-ft pattern. The steel frame is capable of testing full-scale structural members, such as a 65-ft bridge girder. The applied load is replicated using a fatigue rated tension/compression actuator that is capable of performing cyclic loading. In addition to the FSST, the Titan America Structures and Construction Testing Laboratory is also equipped with other material testing systems, including a universal testing machine, compression machine, and small-scale load frames.

 

 Number                       Equipment
       1 Structural Frame with Actuator
       2 Work Station
       3 Structural Frame with Lateral Actuator
       4 Overhead Crane
       5 Universal Testing Machine INSTRON 100kip
       6 500 Digital Concrete Compression Machine – ELE
       7 Caterpillar Fork-Lift
       8 Flexural Strength Tester for Full Size Beam
       9 Hydraulic Pump
      10 Cooling Tower
      11 Drill Press
      12 Concrete Mixer