Laboratories

Various building materials tests are carried out in the building materials laboratory as part of courses and lectures as well as for research projects and external commissions.

The tests focus on

• Cement-bound building materials: concrete, mortar, screed
• Concrete and prestressing steel
• Wood and wood-based materials

The equipment available in the building materials laboratory enables various tests to be carried out in the following areas, among others:

Mechanical properties of building materials

• Determination of tensile, compressive and flexural strength
• Determination of the modulus of elasticity

Properties of fresh concrete and young concrete

• Production of fresh concrete and testing of fresh concrete properties
• Hydration heat release of the hardening concrete
• Simulation of concrete maturity by controlling the climate during hardening
• Testing the stiffening and setting behaviour of cements and special binders

Durability of concrete and mortar

• Frost and freeze-thaw resistance
• Carbonation at atmospheric_{CO2 concentration}
• Chloride penetration resistance (chloride migration cells)
• Determination of the chloride concentration in hardened concrete (photometric measurement)

The geotechnics laboratory plays an important role in the basic training of students in civil and wood engineering. Here, students learn about the common field and laboratory tests used to determine the properties of soil. The following tests, for example, can be carried out by our laboratory:

Field tests:

• Taking disturbed and undisturbed soil samples
• Determination of the density of the soil in the field
• Static and dynamic plate load tests

Soil physical laboratory tests:

• Determination of the water content of soil samples
• Determination of the state limits of cohesive soils (flow, roll-out and shrinkage limits)
• Determination of grain size distribution (by sieve or slurry analysis)
• Assessment of the compactability of soils by determining the Proctor density or the density with the loosest and densest storage
• Determination of water permeability in the triaxial cell
• Determination of the modulus of rigidity of soils by means of a one-dimensional compression test
• Determination of the drained shear strength by shear tests in a frame shear tester
• Determination of undrained shear strength using a falling cone test or laboratory vane probe

In addition to practice-orientated training in the soil mechanics and foundation engineering modules, the laboratory is available for students' final theses, research assignments, expert opinions and external clients. If you are interested, we look forward to hearing from you.

In the area of research and development, the steel construction laboratory offers a wide range of testing options, with a highly efficient and competent team of employees available to provide the following services, among others:

• Planning and realisation of tests,
• product development,
• development of calculation methods,
• type statics,
• damage assessments,
• Finite element simulations,
• vibration analyses and
• programme development.

The steel construction laboratory has a test frame that enables tests to be carried out on large-scale components. Research here is currently focussed on the investigation of crane runway and rail fastening systems under static and dynamic loads. Furthermore, intensive research and development is being carried out in the area of stability-endangered and thin-walled components.

Over the years, the hydraulic engineering laboratory has been fundamentally remodelled and equipped with new measuring and pump technology. In addition to a tilting fl ume(W = 60 cm, H = 80 cm, L = 12 m, max. I = 2 %) and the permanent model of a staircase flume (inclination 1:2, H = 176 cm, W = 50 cm, s = 6 cm), further models can be installed for use in research and teaching.

Existing equipment:

• 2 frequency-regulated pumps with a total flow rate of approx. 170 l/s
• Elevated tank (pressure head approx. 8 m)
• 2 magnetic-inductive flow meters (Krohne WATERFLUX 3100 W, DN 200)
• 11 ultrasonic distance sensors for flow depth measurement (microsonic)
• 2 laser distance sensors (Sick OD2000)
• 3 underwater cameras (GoPro Hero 7)
• 3D depth camera (Intel RealSense D435)
• 3D ADV probe (Nortek Vectrino II)
• 3D ADV probe (Sontek FlowTracker 2 with integrated pressure sensor)
• 2D Doppler profiler (Seba HydroProfiler)
• 1D velocity measuring vane (Schiltknecht MiniWater6 Micro)
• High-speed camera (Phantom M120) with PIV software module (LaVision) and pulsed LED light source
• 4D particle tracking velocimetry (4DPTV and TomoPIV, with pulsed LEDs)
• Air content probe (dual-tip conductivity probe)
• 4-axis linear drive system (isel)
• 2 universal measuring amplifiers with 8 channels each (HBM QuantumX)
• Measuring computer
• High-performance computer for CFD simulations

The hydraulic engineering laboratory is also available to process enquiries from the field! We would be pleased to inform you about the possibilities for carrying out model tests in the hydraulic engineering laboratory at FH Aachen!