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America has an infrastructure problem.<\/span><\/p>\n Auburn now has a $22 million solution. It\u2019s at the corner of West Samford Avenue and Shug Jordan Parkway, it\u2019s nearly 42,000 square feet, and it\u2019s spectacular.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. is dealing with significant issues related to aging infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, railways, airports, waterways, and water and wastewater facilities,\u201d said Steve Taylor, associate dean for research. \u201cIt\u2019s a safety issue, but also an economic development issue. Without safe and functional transportation networks, our economy fails. Without safe and functional water and wastewater systems, our economy fails. Auburn researchers in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering will now be able to better contribute to designing newer, cost effective infrastructure solutions for years to come thanks to the new Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory (ASEL).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAdvanced\u201d is almost an understatement. The ASEL, one of the largest structural engineering labs in the world, is a technological marvel.<\/span><\/p>\n The facility, which opened in early December, includes a high bay laboratory with a strong wall and strong floor specially engineered to handle extreme structural testing loads; a geotechnical chamber within the strong floor; a concrete materials research and testing laboratory; wind testing capabilities that can replicate hurricane-level loads; and faculty and graduate student spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe new technology and functionality obviously excited our faculty when we first discussed building the ASEL, but another huge plus was that there would be so many things close together on one research campus,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cFor years, we\u2019d had an excellent structural testing lab that\u2019s part of the Harbert Engineering Center, but we had outgrown it. We\u2019d come to the point that we needed to replace it, due in part to its surroundings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, one of the most attractive aspects of the lab, is the ease of access. Due to its location on the engineering campus, the previous structural testing lab, which was built in 1988, could only accommodate elements 40 feet in length or under. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd even that took a lot of work,\u201d said Robbie Barnes, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. \u201cLet\u2019s just say that a few signs may or may not have been bent. But with the new facility, we can bring in elements like full-scale bridge girders that are 140 feet long. A lot of care was put into the design to ensure that a long vehicle, be it a truck or trailer, can basically just back right up to the building.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Plenty of care was also put into providing peace of mind once that vehicle\u2019s cargo is inside; the ASEL\u2019s strong floor is twice as large, and features anchor points that hold 10 times the load as the floor in the previous lab, which will be repurposed for other academic and research use.<\/span><\/p>\n But the ASEL\u2019s most unique feature may be the 4,700-cubic-foot geotechnical test chamber within the strong floor footprint \u2014 one of the few test chambers in the nation included in a university laboratory \u2014 that will allow the department\u2019s geotechnical researchers to conduct testing on foundations, anchorages and towers previously only possible in the field.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAfter a devastating season of hurricanes in the Southeast, we are reminded of the fragile nature of some aspects of our critical infrastructure,\u201d said Justin Marshall, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and the director of the ASEL. \u201cThe unique capabilities of the ASEL will allow for full-scale, controlled testing including the soil, the foundation and the structural system to develop and evaluate innovative, high-performing, resilient and cost-effective infrastructure that will endure and perform well into the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Marshall calls the ASEL \u201cgame-changing.\u201d Andy Nowak, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, goes a step further.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt really is a revolution in structural engineering,\u201d Nowak said. \u201cIt creates completely new opportunities. It changes the way we think about solving structural and material engineering problems. What was impossible is now possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And Nowak is excited about who will be doing it. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn addition to helping us secure research grants and projects, the ASEL will help us to recruit the best faculty and the best students,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Taylor agrees.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe now offer one of the best laboratories in the country \u2014 if not the best,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIf I\u2019m a student who wants to be a structural engineer, this is the best place to go to school in the nation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But the ASEL isn\u2019t just a recruiting tool for the university, it\u2019s a huge one for the state.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAuburn University continues to serve a pivotal role in the development of our state\u2019s second-to-none workforce,\u201d said Gov. Kay Ivey, a 1967 Auburn University graduate. \u201cI am proud to celebrate the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering\u2019s new Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory and the fact that this is not only a giant step for Auburn but a giant step for Alabama. When you have what is arguably the best lab of its kind, you are signaling to the world that Alabama is the place to do business.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI remain committed to working in partnership with Auburn University as we move our state forward into the next century,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2020\/12\/50583065483_e8c436a80a_c.jpg\")
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