Facilities

Zoom image: Layout of SEESL Map of SEESL

Layout of SEESL

SEESL includes four large spaces as shown in the adjacent plan view. The original laboratory space (Testing Area 1) was completed in 1983 and is located at the south end of the facility. The newer, larger laboratory space (Testing Area 2) was completed in 2004 and is at the north end. The other two spaces are used for storage, receiving and fabrication and are located between the two main laboratory spaces.

Apart from SEESL, Ketter Hall also houses many of the Civil and Structural Engineering faculty offices and a number of smaller laboratories used for structural and geotechnical engineering for research and instruction.

  • Shake Tables
    1/8/24
    For earthquake simulations, one of the services we provide are shake tables. Currently, there are two, relocatable, 7.0m x 7.0m platforms with six-degrees of freedom. Each table is capable of 50 tons payload.
  • Wind Tunnel
    2/23/24
    The multi-fan wind tunnel is controlled by a 64 inertia array (8x8) of small axial fans. These fans can be controlled individually or in groups using the the supplied software. Each individual fan can reach a maximum of 5,500rpm (rotations per minute). With the damping section installed, wind speeds can reach up to 40mph (~50mph without the damping section). Fully assembled, the tunnel has a length of 10 meters.
  • Furnace
    1/8/24
    Located in Testing Area 1 of the laboratory is a furnace. It uses thermocouples as feedback to a controller for temperature monitoring and control. Further instrumentation can be applied outside the furnace and monitored using data acquisition software. For those interested in use of the furnace or for further information, please contact us.
  • Loading & Bearing Machines
    4/23/24
    SEESL is equipped with multiple loading fixtures and bearing machines to test specimens of various sizes, load, and scope. All test specimens can be instrumented with a variety of sensors for data acquisition. Further information on what instrumentation is available can be found on our Instrumentation page.
  • Strong Floors
    8/21/23
    There are two strong floors, located in both Testing Area 1 and 2. The hole patterns are different in both testing areas. Inside Testing Area 2 are two reaction walls, one to allow for hybrid testing with our shake tables and the other that is aligned with the strong floor for static and dynamic testing.
  • Reaction Walls
    1/8/24
    There are two reaction walls on the east end of the laboratory's expansion area. The first is located adjacent to the strong floor, for both static and dynamic testing, and the other is adjacent to the trench to allow for hybrid testing with our shake tables. See the below information for dimensions and capacities of both strong walls.
  • Controlled Hydraulics
    8/18/23
    The pump room, located in the basement of the Ketter Hall expansion, houses four MTS 506.92 Hydraulic Power Supply (HPS) units, each rated at 185gpm (700lpm) flow with 3,000psi (207 bar) working pressure. Each HPS consists of two high-pressure, variable volume main pumps and a low pressure “supercharge” pump that draws oil from the reservoir and supplies a constant oil pressure and flow to the inlets of the main pumps.
  • Actuators
    12/9/19
    The SEESL lab is equipped with multiple large-scale, high-performance, dynamic and static actuators. These actuators provide the ability to conduct dynamic, pseudo-dynamic, and hybrid pseudo-dynamic testing, in which large structures could be directly subjected to dynamic excitations without the need for shake tables. Two large reaction walls are located on the eastern side of the lab, one of which is directly next to our shake tables. If equipped with dynamic actuators, this will allow for the application of computer-predicted external forces on shake table-mounted substructures, thus simulating the reaction of the entire structure (Real-Time Dynamic Hybrid Testing, or RTDHT).
  • Instrumentation
    8/22/23
    The laboratory is equipped with a variety of instrumentation options, which include motion and loading sensors, as well as strain gauges. All instrumentation is calibrated annually and verified before each project. Calibration certificates of all instruments can be provided upon request.