PolySDL-STRUCTURAL DESIGN LAB
at Florida Polytechnic University
Active learning in Civil Engineering through structural design, modeling, testing, and experimentation
PolySDL Multi-Axis Structural Test Frame
This large-scale steel testing frame allows students and researchers to apply controlled forces to structural models and components and observe how they deform, crack, buckle, or fail. A 60-kip hydraulic actuator can apply vertical loading, while a second actuator can apply horizontal loading, making it possible to study structural response under combined loading conditions. The system is especially well suited for scaled experiments that simulate the behavior of structures subjected to gravity, lateral, seismic, or other design-related actions.
PolySDL 250-kip Concrete Compression Testing Machine
This hydraulic testing machine applies controlled compressive force to concrete specimens so students and researchers can measure material strength and observe failure behavior. With a maximum capacity of 250,000 lb (1,112 kN), it can test standard concrete cylinders, cubes, beams, and cores. The machine provides a direct connection between concrete-material theory, laboratory testing, and the measured strength used in structural engineering.
PolySDL 135-kip Tensile Testing Machine
This 600 kN (135-kip) hydraulic testing machine is used to study how steel materials behave when pulled in tension. It is primarily used for testing reinforcing steel bars and steel plate specimens while measuring the applied force and corresponding deformation. The test allows students to observe yielding, strain hardening, necking, and eventual fracture, and to determine key material properties such as yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and ductility.
PolySDL Educational Shake Table
This compact single-axis shake table is used to demonstrate how structures respond to earthquake-like ground motion. Small-scale building and structural models can be mounted on the 400 × 400 mm platform and subjected to controlled horizontal shaking while students observe vibration, acceleration, displacement, resonance, and possible damage. With a payload capacity of up to 50 kg, a maximum stroke of ±125 mm, and operating frequencies up to 30 Hz, the system provides an accessible way to connect structural dynamics and earthquake-engineering concepts with physical testing.
PolySDL Balsa Model Fabrication Equipment
PolySDL includes a dedicated set of tools and materials for the design and fabrication of balsa-wood structural models. The workspace supports activities such as bridge building, seismic models, truss construction, and other small-scale structural projects where accuracy, repeatability, and careful workmanship are important.
PolySDL Concrete Materials Testing Equipment
PolySDL includes a range of equipment for preparing, testing, and curing concrete and its constituent materials. The lab supports activities such as aggregate sieve analysis, concrete mixing, specimen molding, curing, and preparation for strength testing. Equipment includes laboratory sieves and a mechanical sieve shaker, concrete mixer, molds, curing tank, scales, and the various tools and accessories needed to produce and evaluate concrete specimens.