Since moving into our current office, the added space has allowed us to develop an in-house soils and construction materials testing laboratory. The ability to store and test soils and construction materials at our facility, in lieu of using a third party laboratory, has greatly decreased the turnaround time for obtaining and reporting test results while reducing the overall cost of these services. We are currently equipped with a walk-in cure room for storing concrete, mortar and grout samples. We also have several lime-water submersion tanks to accommodate compressive strength specimens when necessary. We utilize a Forney, digital readout compression machine to verify the compressive strength of concrete, mortar and grout samples. PS&R is accredited by the ASHTO Accreditation Program. Please click the link to view our certificate of accreditation and the scope of testing standards for which we are accredited. <Click Here> This ensures our clients will receive concise, accurate test results in a timely manner.
The Proctor compaction test is a laboratory method of experimentally determining the optimal moisture content at which a given soil type will become most dense and achieve its maximum dry density.
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Relative density (specific gravity) is the ratio of mass of an aggregate to the mass of a volume of water equal to the volume of the aggregate particles – also referred to as the absolute volume of the aggregate.
For many materials, the water content is one of the most significant index properties used in establishing a correlation between soil behavior and its index properties. The water content of a material is used in expressing the phase relationships of air, water, and solids in a given volume of material.
his test method is used primarily to determine the grading of materials proposed for use as aggregates or being used as aggregates. The results are used to determine compliance of the particle size distribution with applicable specification requirements and to provide necessary data for control of the production of various aggregate products and mixtures containing aggregates.
These test methods are used as an integral part of several engineering classification systems to characterize the fine-grained fractions of soils and to specify the fine-grained fraction of construction materials. The liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index of soils are also used extensively, either individually or together, with other soil properties to correlate with engineering behavior such as compressibility, hydraulic conductivity (permeability), compactibility, shrink-swell, and shear strength.
Method A makes use of the same compaction equipment and molds commonly available in soil laboratories and used for other soil-cement tests. It is considered that Method A gives a relative measure of strength rather than a rigorous determination of compressive strength.
This test method covers the determination of the consolidated drained shear strength of a soil material in direct shear. The test is performed by deforming a specimen at a controlled strain rate on or near a single shear plane determined by the configuration of the apparatus.
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Cylindrical specimens are tested in accordance with ASTM C 39, Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Cylindrical Concrete Specimens.
These test methods cover procedures for determining thickness and density of sprayed fire-resistive material (SFRM) used in structural assemblies. These include sprayed fiber and cementitious types.
