Mechanical Testing, Structures, and Civil Engineering Laboratory (LEMSC)

PFTPLUS

     Test floor (200 m²)     Optical measurements of displacement fields (digital image correlation)     Optical measurements of displacement fields (digital image correlation)     MTS BIONIX 25kN hydraulic machine     Strain gauge technique

Technical and scientific expertise

  • Characterisation of materials and structural elements
  • Design of special tests on the test floor (20x10 ~200 m²)
  • Measurement campaigns carried out by UCLouvain staff
  • Supervised access to characterisation infrastructure/equipment

Main equipment

  • Test floor with gantries and modular anchors
  • Seven hydraulic machines
  • Five static machines
  • Servo-hydraulic cylinders
  • Numerous sensors (displacements, accelerometers, load cells, etc.)
  • Cameras (digital imaging)
  • Ovens, furnaces
  • Hydraulic channels

Get an overview of the platform’s facilities via a virtual tour.

Applications

  • Mechanical tests on various materials (metal, composites for aeronautics, wood, prestressing, neoprene supports, relaxation, corrosion, geomaterials, etc.)
  • Tests on structures (railway equipment, mixed beams, wood-frame panels, reinforced concrete walls, etc.)
  • Hydraulic tests (sedimentation)

Services available to

  • UCLouvain students and researchers: mechanical test development assistance
  • Non-UCLouvain: offers of accredited standard tests and customised tests

News

A hammock suspended above the water and at maximum...

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Martin Steinmetz and Justin Goosse, researchers at UCLouvain, built at the Mechanical Testing, Structures and Civil Engineering Laboratory (LEMSC) a timber floor with birch trunks provided by the...

LEMSC : a prototype footbridge built with tensegrity

In tensegrity structures, compressed bars appear to float within tensioned cables. The human body, composed of bones and muscles, is one of the most beautiful examples. Tensegrity structures...

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In addition to Research and Service to society, technology platforms are playing an important role in the education of students interested in "STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and...

Earthquake engineering with a twist: the torsional...

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A new 8.5 m tall steel reaction frame at the...

Watch the Time-lapse of a one-day assembly of the new 8.5 m tall steel reaction frame at the technological platform LEMSC. This equipment will allow performing tests on large-scale units under...