Resilient Construction Materials (RCM) Lab

The Construction Materials Lab has a wide range of mixers, vibrating tables, 3D cement printer, compactors and equipment to mix, cast and test building materials according to the relevant standards. The lab is located in Queen's Buildings, West -1.02. To access the lab equipment and information about testing and costs, please get in touch.

Equipment

Name	Make/Model	Details
Ultrasonic pulse analyzer (UPV)	PULSONIC 58-E4900 serial number 19005533.	The PULSONIC is used for measuring the velocity of ultrasonic pulses through a concrete section providing informations on cracks, voids, strength, and giving quick estimates of dynamic modulus of elasticity on site or in the laboratory. It can also be used for estimating times for formwork striking. The pulse velocity can be combined with the rebound hammer value for the strength evaluation of concrete.
3D printer for clay and concrete	Delta WASP 40100 Clay.	Ceramic 3d printer open and accessible on three sides to interact during the prints. With Delta WASP 40100 Clay is possible to print directly on the floor or on a printing surface removable steel. You can also continue printing without waiting for the piece to dry and simply by moving the printer.
Rapid Chloride Permeability Tester (RCPT)	Controls 58-E5214.	4-channels apparatus for determination of concrete ability to resist to chloride ion penetration. Conforming to ASTM C1202, C1760, AASHTO T277 and NT BUILD 492.
Water permeability testing	MATEST C430.	Automatic concrete water permeability apparatus at 4 cells to test mortar and concrete cubesa or cylinders permeability at water pressure of max 40 bar.
Density and Gravity Setup	Matest V085 and vacuum chambers.	Used for specific gravity determination of concrete, aggregates etc. Robust steel frame made, it incorporates on its lower part a platform adjustable in height, holding a water container, and allowing the specific gravity test. The testing setup is coupled with a choice of two vacuum chambers (32 L and 110 L) for vacuum saturation.
Viscometers (x2)	IKA Lo-vi and IKA Me-vi.	Rotational viscometers (low, ultra-low and medium) to determine the rheology of liquid and paste components at different viscosity. The instruments can be used to determine viscosity at different temperatures.
Concrete flexural machine 150 kN semi-automatic, Cyber-plus progress	MATEST/C091-02N	The concrete flexural machine with a 200 kN capacity is characterized by its high stiffness and is equipped with a Servo-plus progress control unit, making it a fully automatic model. This machine is specifically designed for conducting flexural tests on various concrete beam specimens, including those with maximum dimensions of 200x200x800 mm. Additionally, it is suitable for testing flat blocks, flagstones, kerbs, tiles, slabs, masonry units, and materials of any type with a maximum size of 600x250 mm (lower rollers having a maximum length of 1325 mm).
Compression Testing Machine	CONTROLS AUTOMAX COMPACT-Line/50-C56D02	The AUTOMAX Super-Automatic Compact-Line compression tester is designed with a capacity of 3000 kN, making it suitable for testing the compression strength of cubes with dimensions up to 200 mm and cylinders with a maximum diameter of 160 mm and height of 320 mm.