91ÊÓƵ

UAF expands structural testing capacity

New machinery at the University of 91ÊÓƵ Fairbanks will allow researchers to simulate stress on buildings, utilities and other infrastructure in the North. The new load frames were installed in the High Bay Structural Testing Laboratory at UAF’s Usibelli Building this month.

The frames can apply 225,000 pounds of vertical force and 50,000 pounds of horizontal force. That will allow researchers to simulate Arctic infrastructure problems at full scale in the 27-by-120-foot high bay.

Northern infrastructure frequently faces challenges not found in more temperate environments. Those include, for example, uneven foundation settlement rates in permafrost regions and soil movement from annual freezing and thawing. The load frames can simulate the forces created by these conditions, as well as stresses generated by other phenomena, such as earthquakes. The high bay is the only one of its kind in 91ÊÓƵ.

The addition is a major leap forward in the high bay’s testing capacity, according to Billy Connor, director of the Arctic Infrastructure Development Center at the Institute of Northern Engineering. The institute is the research arm of UAF’s College of Engineering and Mines.

Connor led the installation of the load frames. Purchase of the load frames was made possible in part by Alan Straub, a 1966 civil engineering graduate who now lives in California. Straub has been a longtime supporter of UAF’s hands-on approach to engineering education.

The Arctic Infrastructure Development Center focuses on research into resilient and efficient transportation, utility and building systems in the North, including adaptations to thawing permafrost and other climate-related changes. The center’s labs investigate soils and asphalt, advanced materials, low-temperature effects, road dust and automated construction techniques.

A time-lapse video of the set-up is available .

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Billy Connor, bgconnor@alaska.edu, 907-474-7695

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