The « Laboratoire Essais Mécaniques, Structures et Génie Civil LEMSC » (Mechanical Testing, Structures and Civil Engineering Laboratory) offers a large panel of services.
The main fields of expertise can be divided into 3 main activities:
Mechanical control tests on materials
- For producers, certification bodies and construction companies
- Tests on prestressing steel: tensile testing, fatigue, relaxation, corrosion under tension, deflected tensile.
- Tension and fatigue tests on reinforced concrete steel bars and couplers
- Tensions tests on steel material
- Tests on bridge neoprene bearings – Dimension control, shear tests, compression tests
- Tests on railway sleepers – dynamic and static bending, frost conditioning, … recognized by Infrabel
- Tests on composite (Fiber Reinforced Resin): tension-compression, shear, bending, …
Special tests on railway equipment
- Fastening system components (pads, USP, UBM, springs, …): static and dynamic stiffness, fatigue, creep tests, …
- Whole fastening systems (discrete or continuous) : vertical stiffness (static and dynamic), effect of repeated loading (in one inclined direction or biaxial), freeze-thaw resistance, ultimate loading, …
- Whole tracks (slab track, ballasted track, level crossing, …) : determination of the frequency response, fatigue tests, loading with a real-scale bogie
- Since several years, the procedures of railway tests are more and more fixed by standards (ISO, EN, DIN, …). The requirements of many of them can be met by the laboratory.
Design of special tests on the test floor (20x10 ~200 m²)
Numerous medium and large scale tests were already realized on the test floor for companies as Arcelomittal, Mobic, Besix, etc: mainly bending tests on slabs and beams (concrete, steel-concrete composite, timber, …).
The limitations are mainly related with the maximum capacities of our hydraulic jacks, but each test configuration has to be studied individually.