Structural Engineering Laboratories

 Structures and Concrete Laboratories provide assistance in performing academic programs for students and faculty research, public establishments and private sectors. Summary of Civil Engineering programs in Structure and Concrete Laboratories are:

·          Student studies in concrete and various material properties

·          Student projects for the B.S degree program

·          Student projects for the M.S degree program

·          Research projects for the PhD program

·          Faculty research projects

 The structural lab is located at the ground floor in a very big hall and is fully air conditioned. It has a strong floor covering about 60% of its area. Two gantry cranes, each of 7.5 tons capacity serve the lab. It is equipped with modern machines to test plain and reinforced concrete elements, masonry wall panels and structural steel specimens up to full size. The testing can be performed using either load or deformation controlled rate of loading. Dynamic and fatigue tests are also carried out in the lab. Adjacent to the structural lab is another big area, fully air conditioned, for the casting and curing of concrete specimens. The lab is equipped with concrete mixers of various capacities and is served by a gantry crane. Besides a large curing area, environmental rooms, for the hot and cold curing of the specimens, are also available for research purpose. State of the art Compression and Tension testing machines are serving these laboratories. All the tests are performed according to International Standards by highly qualified and well experienced staff.

 These laboratories provide service to Research Centers. National research projects are carried out through King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). Research is also carried out for public establishments like ARAMCO, SABIC and Riyadh Municipality as well as for many others in the private sector.

 These laboratories provide assistance in the quality control of construction materials by testing new construction materials manufactured locally or outside the Kingdom. They are also assisting in developing local Building Codes and solving problems related to building construction.

 Currently, the laboratories are extensively involved in testing, repairing and strengthening reinforced concrete elements and frames. Also, a lot of emphasis is given to the durability studies conducted on concrete and other repair materials.