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Civil Engineering

Civil Infrastructure Systems Laboratory

Photo of CISL Sign

The Civil Infrastructure Systems Laboratory (CISL) at Kansas State University is one of only six such facilities in the nation, capable of testing large-scale asphalt and concrete pavement sections under full-scale loading.

The equipment housed in the laboratory consists of a test frame in which a bogie with a dual wheel assembly repeatedly moves forward and backwards on the test pavement, while a load is applied on the axles through two overhead longitudinal girders. Lateral traffic wander can be applied to simulate highway truck traffic distribution in the lane, and the pavement temperature can be controlled between -10OF and 140OF.

The accelerated pavement testing projects at the CISL have been funded by the Midwest States Accelerated Pavement Testing Pooled Funds Program with Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and New York as participating states. The CISL has also conducted work for the private industry by researching geocell reinforcement in unpaved and low-volume paved roads.

Other recent projects have investigated thin bonded rigid overlay on Portland cement concrete and hot mix asphalt pavements, evaluation of chemically stabilized subgrade soil, and performance of foamed asphalt stabilized base in full-depth reclaimed asphalt pavement.

CISL also houses the Kansas Outdoor Concrete Exposure site, which was built to measure the durability of concrete materials under long-term, realistic exposure conditions. Funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation, ongoing projects include evaluating concrete durability against alkali-silica reaction and salt scaling and determining the relationship between in-situ concrete strength and concrete cylinder strength with time.

Located only three miles from the K-State campus, the CISL consists of a 4,500 square-foot high bay area used to test full-scale structural elements. The lab utilizes two MTS hydraulic pumps, two controllers to apply cyclic loading, two data acquisition systems, and several hydraulic rams and load cells to test full-scale members such as concrete beams and prestressed concrete railroad ties.

The CISL is also equipped with a self-reacting test frame that has a capacity of 500 kips and is capable of testing members up to 51 in length.

As a premier full-scale testing laboratory in the nation, the CISL offers exciting opportunities for corporate partners to conduct research projects that can help them in product development and in improvement of product quality.