Engineering programs are supported by state-of-the-art laboratories that are open to all engineering students. These laboratories and workshops are managed by qualified and dedicated staff. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers seven laboratory courses to cover the main topics in the fields of concrete and pavement design, environmental engineering, mechanics of materials, soil mechanics, hydraulics, field surveying and engineering graphics. The lab equipment is continuously upgraded and updated to ensure that our students are exposed to the most recent and advanced systems. The department also ensures highly accurate and professional testing facilities such as spectrophotometry, strain gauging, triaxial testing, open and closed channel flow measurements, and total station application. Most of the lab facilities are connected to a data acquisition system. In addition, field equipments are available for in-situ testing, such as soil investigation, groundwater and surface water testing, and concrete quality control. Professional commercial testing as well as community services are also performed on a regular basis in the above areas.
Pavement Design Lab
The next time you drive around in your B.M.W, take a moment to have a thankful thought to a civil engineer, who designed the roads you are traveling on.
A well-equipped and technically-advanced design laboratory is available for civil engineering students.
The students will be able to design, mix, compact and test asphalt mixtures.
Ho-mix asphalt is analyzed using Marshall test and the bitumen binder is graded by penetration.
Aggregates are tested for abrasion with a Los Angeles machine, and evaluated according to their sand equivalent value and California bearing ratio.
Extraction of bitumen is also available for field control testing. the lab equipment is "ELE" made.
Ovens, furnaces and water basins are available for temperature control.
Concrete Design Lab
Thinking about Civil Engineers? How do they impact what we encounter each day? Look at all these constructions around you.
Students are actively involved in studying the behavior of concrete through designing and testing concrete mixes.
Concrete is tested for consistency while fresh, and for strength after curing and hardening.
Equipment includes a Los Angeles abrasion machine, a concrete mixer, an air-entrainment meter, a cylinder capping device and a facility for sand equivalent determination.
In addition, a comprehensive set of " Perrier Labotest" testing machines is available:
- A 1500KN compression machine for Concrete A 200KN tensile machine for steel bars A 30KN flexural testing machine for beams A 150KN flexural testing machine for large scale beams A 300KN large-scale testing machine for beams, and pipes.
- Machines are automated and results data are collected and processed on computers.
Soil Mechanics Lab
What is the main problem of the Pisa tower?
The soil underneath
Students will be involved in sampling, testing and evaluating soils in order to build a comprehensive knowledge about soil characteristics and their physical properties.
Properties include soil strength and settlement under weights, and soil response to compaction.
The student is introduced to field investigation and testing. He/ She is also familiarized with the relative compaction and consolidation procedures.
Up-to-date digital " ELE" machines-triaxial, Direct Shear, and Unconfined Compression-enable the student to determine soil parameters along with pore water pressure and volume changes.
Mechanics of Materials Lab
Is Concrete the only Material Used in Construction?
What about other Materials such as Steel, Wood, Aluminum etc.?!
The student will be able to "see" and "feel" the properties and behaviors of materials under tension, bending, torsion and buckling.
A computerized universal testing machine is available for tensile and hardening experiments, with corresponding graphical software.
Experiments are also performed using strain gages technology on small-scale models of different materials.
All set-ups are " GUNT" made.
Field Surveying
Surveyors measure the heights of mountains and the depths of valleys and ocean floors.
In fact, Mount Everest was named after Sir George Everest, Surveyor-general of India.
Following sir Everest footsteps, Civil engineering students will be over NDU campus taking measurements, heights and distances.
The surveying laboratory allows students to become familiar with state-of-the-art surveying equipment.
Students are expected to survey, plot, and set out data points.
Drawings are then generated using CAD facilities available on campus.
The students are introduced to one of the most recent technology in the area of surveying through "LEICA" electronic total stations.
Students are exposed to latest innovations, experts are invited to lecture specialized seminars and workshops on GPS, GIS, and automated instruments.
Environmental Engineering Lab
Are you longing for clean beach water, wish to breath pure air, walk in a green and healthy environment?
Let us marshal the best of our talents to protect our resources and improve the quality of life.
The primary objective of this lab is to demonstrate environmental engineering testing procedures.
This lab is continuously upgraded with the latest environmental equipment.
It covers the four major pollution areas: air, soil and water contamination.
Students contribute through water testing procedures to build a pollution database of the nearby rivers.
A three meters high settling column is available for wastewater analysis.
Other equipment include a micro-sentinel filtration system, a sound level meter, an air sampler and large size permeameters, in addition to instruments for in-situ water investigation.
Recently acquired equipment include Time-Domain-Reflectometers, Spectrophotometers and COD reactors.
Hydraulics Lab
Have you ever been trapped in a traffic jam on flooded roads?
A civil engineer with a good knowledge in Hydraulics has the answer for you.
The Civil engineering hydraulics laboratory is equipped with an open channel flow tank, a testing pipe system, a flow head-losses measurement instrument, and several pumps and turbines systems.
The hydraulics lab is designed for both instruction and research in hydraulics and fluid dynamics.
Students have the opportunity to test and illustrate the governing principles of incompressible fluid flow.
The lab is an opportunity for students to design and execute new creative projects.
Research Opportunity
Why not? Let's dive into innovative Projects and Research.
The Civil engineering labs are also a research facility in the areas of structural analysis and design, hydraulics, soil mechanics, and mechanics of material.
Data acquisition capabilities include the latest software and instrumentation for collecting and processing data on a wide variety of applications.
A devoted team of faculty and staff are continuously developing innovative ideas, paving the way toward new research and projects.
In addition to the principal laboratory tools, the department has an equally strong computer-based capability for problem solving using numerical models for analysis and design.
The photo elasticity lab-an illustration in the field of mechanics-consists of a high precision transmitted light polariscope system.
This is used for research as well as undergraduate instruction. Photo elasticity is a method of examining stresses in transparent polymer models of structures.
The model is placed between crossed circular polarizing filters and the applied stresses are optically visualized.
Commercial Activity
Time to get Professional?! Whatever you do in a lab course is the reflection of real- life testing you need for your Profession.
Civil engineering labs at NDU are managed by ACI certified personnel. We are staffed and equipped to rapidly respond to any test request and evaluation process. Our services include:
- Testing of fresh and hardened Portland cement concrete
- Testing of bitumen binder and asphalt concrete mixes
- Head losses measurement
- Testing soil properties
- Permeability tests
- Triaxial testing
- Pipe Strength
- Steel Tension
Our lab facilities offer prompt services, competitive prices, and professional assessment reports. We are serving our clients with the most advanced and well maintained equipment. Faculty members share their Know-how and expertise in the evaluation process.