Aramco High Bay Structural Testing Laboratory

In the Aramco High Bay Structural Testing Laboratory, innovation and engineering excellence come together to advance the future of structural systems. This state-of-the-art facility provides world-class capabilities for testing a wide range of structures—including civil infrastructure, buildings, and aerospace components—at scales ranging from benchtop models to full-size systems.

Serving researchers from Penn State and institutions around the world, the lab is designed to simulate both real-world service conditions and extreme events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and fire. These tests help us push the boundaries of structural engineering and develop safer, stronger, and more resilient designs for the built environment.

Facility

The Aramco High Bay Structural Testing Laboratory, housed in the Engineering Design and Innovation Building, is an 8,000-square-foot shared resource of the College of Engineering.

Equipment & Capabilities

• Strong wall & strong floor
  • L-shaped configuration: 60 ft long x 26 ft wide x 32 ft tall
  • Designed for 225 kip point loads with less than 3/8" deflection
• Hydraulic & loading systems
  • 180 GPM, 3,000 psi hydraulic power supply
  • Six servohydraulic actuators with capacities from 55 kip (16 in stroke) to 225 kip (24 in stroke)
• Control & data systems
  • High-speed, 8-station digital servohydraulic controller
  • Advanced networked data acquisition system with 116 input channels and integrated signal conditioning
  • Wide range of structural sensors (displacement, strain, and force)
• Material handling & access equipment
  • Two 20-ton capacity overhead bridge cranes
  • Two forklifts (4,000 and 10,000 lb capacity)
  • Two scissor lifts (maximum platform heights 26 and 40 ft)
• Universal testing machines
  • Three servohydraulic machines for monotonic and fatigue testing:
    • 22 kip UTM with environmental chamber and hydraulic grips
    • 22 kip UTM for general compression and bending testing
    • 110 kip UTM can be equipped with a furnace for fire testing
  • 330 kip compression-only machine for concrete cylinders and mortar cubes
• Specialized testing apparatus
  • Dynamic racking frame
    • Custom-built, hydraulically actuated fixture simulates in-plane seismic shear loading on wall systems
  • Uniform load testing system
    • Uses air-filled bladders to apply out-of-plane uniform loading to walls/roofs until failure
  • Windborne debris impact tester
    • Compressed air cannon launches steel ball bearings of various diameters to test windows and building components at controlled velocities
  • Beam testing facilities
    • Two large-scale bending frames perform flexural testing on beams up to 12 ft in length
  • Auxiliary systems
    • Static 10,000 psi hydraulic pumps and air compressors for smaller programs