| The CE faculty
members at Kansas State University strive to create an environment that
prepares our graduates for professional careers in civil engineering.
This can only be done if we provide excellence in classroom instruction
and continued exposure to advances in the field. Historically, the
department has had a strong commitment to hands-on learning opportunities,
as demonstrated by its many required laboratory courses. In the
area of structural engineering, the Mechanics of Materials laboratory
course is an essential prerequisite to all design courses. However,
a knowledge of material performance is only the first step in understanding
structural behavior. In order to better equip our students for professional
practice, the structural engineering faculty members at K-State plan to
expand our hands-on laboratory experiences in conjunction with applicable
courses in structural design.
One of the ways
we are doing this is to construct a test frame that will allow students
to participate in the fabrication and testing of full-scale structural
components. The self-reacting test frame will be located at the
West-end of the Kansas Testing Laboratory for Civil Infrastructure and
Highway Research (925 Carlson Street, Manhattan KS). The testing
frame is 52 feet long, 12 feet wide, and over 22 feet tall. It
will be able to withstand a concentrated load of 500,000 pounds at the
mid-span of a 50-foot-long test specimen. Response to the plans
of increasing our hands-on experiences has been tremendously positive,
as demonstrated by the numerous industry
partners who have joined us in this undertaking.
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