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Civil Infrastructure Testing and Evaluation Laboratory

CITEL is a 45,000-square-foot facility that utilizes advanced testing and computational systems to examine numerous issues related to the performance of the world's civil infrastructure.

The laboratory enables evaluation of a broad range of standard and state-of-the-art concrete materials testing; measurement and characterization of pavement surfaces; in situ instrumentation; the effects of tire types and pressure on pavement performance; testing of concrete, masonry, composite structures, and subassemblies; AASHTO and ASTM cement, grout, mortar, and concrete testing; reinforcement bars and external repair/rehabilitation materials, static/dynamic/repeated loading, environmental effects, and life-cycle costs.

Laboratory features:

  • Concrete mixing and curing area
  • Chemistry lab for sample preparation and testing of cements, pozzolans, and geopolymers
  • Concrete mechanical and durability testing (freeze-thaw, shrinkage, corrosion, ASR)
  • 9 environmental chambers, ASTM and AASHTO restrained rings
  • An optical and petrographic microscopy facility
  • Mechanical testing capabilities, which include a test bed with a 2,500-square-foot structural floor for large-scale steel or concrete members
    • 12-ton crane
    • 3 test frames
    • Servo-controlled hydraulic actuator with capacities ranging from 11 KIP to 210 KIP
  • A broad suite of standardized concrete durability testing
  • Testing capabilities for concrete, steel, soil, aggregate, and asphalt
  • 3D printing capabilities
  • Non-destructive evaluation and monitoring
    • Field in-situ evaluation
    • Ultrasonic testing
    • Impact resonance testing
    • Non-contact measurements
  • Third-Scale Model Mobile Load Simulator (MMLS3), for accelerated traffic loading of payment surfaces
  • Seismic soil testing utilizing
    • Shake table and laminar shear box
    • Large-scale direct shear evaluation

 

CITEL is directed by:

Ming Xiao, Ph.D., P.E.
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering

For more information:

Vincent Ferraro 
Engineering Support Specialist
Phone: 814-865-9678
Email: vjf102@psu.edu
3127 Research Drive, Office 107
State College, PA 16801

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About

The Penn State Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, established in 1881, is internationally recognized for excellence in the preparation of undergraduate and graduate engineers through the integration of education, research, and leadership.

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

212 Sackett Building

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA 16802-1408

Phone: 814-863-3084