Our laboratory and computer facilities currently fall into the following categories:

• Atmospheric Science - Helicopter Observation Platform
• 3 Dimensional Scientific Visualization - Duke Immersive Virtual Environment
• Engineering mechanics
• Soil mechanics
• Data acquisition
• Structural dynamics - Vibrations lab
• Environmental engineering
• Fluid mechanics
• Soil mechanics
• Computer laboratory
• Structural mechanics and mechanics laboratory

Atmospheric Science - Helicopter Observation Platform

Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering operates a unique atmospheric science user facility called HOP (Helicopter Observation Platform). HOP is a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter outfited with a new platform of research sensorsto bridge a gap in airborne studies of natural and man-made environmental processes. The advantage of the helicopter is that it combines a slow sampling speed, needed for many kinds of research, with a long duration at thedesignated sampling area. In addition, a helicopter can fly safely atvery low altitudes, and it can operate in remote areas, even fromships, without requiring long transit time.

3 Dimensional Scientific Visualization - Duke Immersive Virtual Environment (DiVE)

The Duke immersive Virtual Environment (DiVE) came on-line mid-November 2005 representing the fourth 6-sided CAVE-like system in the United States. The DiVE is a 3m x 3m x 3m stereoscopic rear projected room with head and hand tracking and real time computer graphics. All six surfaces – the four walls, the ceiling and the floor – are used as screens onto which computer graphics are displayed. For virtual worlds designed for this system, it is a fully immersive room in which the individual (researcher, educator, etc) literally walks into the world, is surrounded by the display and is capable of interacting with virtual objects in the world. Stereo glasses provide depth perception, and a handheld “wand” controls navigation and input to into the world for manipulating virtual objects.

Engineering Mechanics Laboratories

The 2400 ft² space (Room 053) of this laboratory is divided into three nearly equal work areas. The first area is partitioned for the desks of ten graduate assistants, and for conference tables for research discussions and for students requiring extra help in the mechanics courses. The second area is devoted to the laboratory experiments of the three courses: Mechanics of Solids, Dynamics, and Experimental Systems. The experimental equipment here, which is also used in research projects, includes two universal testing machines, a torsion machine, several computers, and transducers for load, displacement, strain, and acceleration measurements. Included are a variety of bench-top, hands-on experiments. The third area of this laboratory is devoted to upper level course projects and to research. The equipment here includes a polariscope for stress analysis, storage oscilloscopes, a Kistler force plate system for biomechanical research, a high speed cine camera, a camcorder, special equipment to evaluate the mechanical properties of rubber-like materials, multiple-channel data retrieval systems, computers, and state-of-the-art software for animation and data analysis.

Solid Mechanics Laboratory

Hudson Hall room 053 includes (2) 10k Tinius Olsen electric load frames, torsion tester, dial indicators, and data acquisition equipment.

Courses which use this facility include: EGR 075L Mechanics of Solids.

Data Acquisition Portion of the Laboratory

Hudson Hall Room 053: 10 personal computers with Matlab data acquisition toolbox, National Instruments data acquisition cards, sensors, experiments, data visualization and statistical data analysis.

Courses which use this facility include: EGR 053L Computational Methods in Engineering.

Structural Dynamics Laboratory

Hudson Hall Room 053 includes an 11k servo-hydraulic shaker, sensors, data acquisition and control equipment.

Courses which use this facility include: CE 130L Structural Design and Optimization.

Environmental Engineering Laboratories

Research and teaching facilities in environmental engineering include wet and dry laboratories equipped to study the range of physical, chemical, and biological processes, and water resources research topics. This 597 ft² laboratory is equipped with autoclaves, media preparation facilities and fume hoods, bioreactors, and analytical instrumentation including atomic absorption spectroscopy, gas chromatography, microscopes, a laser particle counter, viscometers, turbidimeters, and spectrophotometers. Calorimetry equipment for the measurement of heat values of secondary fuels, air classifiers interfaced with computers, as well as indoor and outdoor water resources monitoring devices including flumes, venture meters, and digital computation hardware are also available.

Environmental Engineering Lab, Hudson Hall room 027A (597 ft²).

Courses which use this facility include: CE 120L, Chemistry and Microbiology for Environmental Engineers; and CE 124L Environmental Engineering.

Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

The fluids mechanics laboratory is used for both graduate and undergraduate educational opportunities. In this lab the students investigate a variety of topics related to fluid flow, ranging from fundamental mechanics to exploring more complex issues related to subcritical/supercritical flow regimes related to open channel hydraulics. This laboratory is equipped with a hydraulic workbench and flume.

Fluid Mechanics Lab, Hudson Hall room 024C (356 ft²): Hydraulic workbench and flume.

Courses which use this facility include: CE 122L Fluid Mechanics.

Soil Mechanics Laboratory

Currently, the soil mechanics laboratory occupies one room with triaxial equipment and shares another room with the structural lab. The soil mechanics equipment includes: three pressure and three force controlled consolidation testers, a permeameter, triaxial testing equipment with complete air, water, and vacuum lines for 5 loading frames, as well as compaction and sieve analysis equipment.

Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Hudson Hall rooms 010 (460 ft²) and 022 (383 ft²): Sieving, compaction, penetrometers, consolidation and tri-axial testing.

Courses which use this facility include: CE 139L Introduction to Soil Mechanics.

Computer Laboratory

The computer laboaratory is the networked cluster used by graduate and undergraduate students for many of their classes. Equipped with state-of-the-art computer hardware and software, this computing center is used for both instructional and after class assignments.

Computer Lab, Room 209 (1000 ft²): 16 personal computers with flat-panel display, laser printer, large-format plotter, CAD design software, engineering analysis software, GIS software.

Courses which use this facility include: EGR 150L, Engineering Communication; CE 123L Water Resources Engineering; CE 133L Concrete and Composite Structures; CE 134L Metallic Structures; CE 161 Architectural Engineering I; CE 192 Integrated Structural Design; and CE193 Integrated Environmental Design.

Structural Mechanics and Materials Laboratory

This laboratory, located in Hudson Hall room 037 and 039, contains a 200,000-lb MTS closed-loop hydraulic testing machine with state-of-the-art computer control and digital data collection capabilities. It is supplemented by an older 400,000 lb Tinius-Olsen testing machine that is employed for structural engineering laboratory demonstrations and testing requirements, such as larger concrete cylinders, which are beyond the capacity of the MTS machine. Adjacent to this laboratory is a moisture closet for curing concrete samples and specimens, and environmental chambers capable of subjecting test specimens to freeze-thaw and to elevated temperature cycles. A second MTS system, capable of high frequency fatigue loading, is located in the Engineering Annex.

Concrete Lab Hudson Hall room 037 (245 ft²) and 039 (314 ft²) : 400k Tinius Olsen load frame, 200k MTS servo-hydraulic load frame, specimen preparation, concrete mixing.

Courses which use this facility include: CE 133L Concrete and Composite Structures.