The Takeo Mogami Geotechnical Laboratory is located in both rooms 266 and 268 on the second floor of Hollister Hall, has excellent facilities for experimental testing, particularly soil dynamics. Room 266 has a floor area of about 75 sq. m and Room 268 has roughly 130 sq. m of useable space. Major space renovations were done to both Rooms 266 and 268 in the late 1980s. Both rooms were rewired to provide separate circuits for both 110 and 220 V so that future increases in electronic equipment demands could be accommodated without overloading the existing electrical systems. Chilled water lines were run into Room 268 and air conditioning was installed. Sufficient capacity in the chilled water lines exists to air condition Room 266 if needed.

Room 268 is equipped with a walk-in environmental room. The 2.4 x 3.1 m environmental room has a temperature range of -20 to 60 degree C. Monitoring systems allow for temperature control within +/- 0.5 degree C, with additional controls for programmed temperature sequences. Airflow systems are included to provide interior ventilation while maintaining precise temperature control.

Special testing equipment includes a variety of systems for cyclic and dynamic soil testing. One system is a resonant column/torsional shear (RC/TS) system. This device is capable of testing solid or hollow cylindrical specimens, with diameters of 70 and 100 mm. Specimen lengths are approximately 200 mm. The TS device is capable of either static or cyclic operation, using either stress or strain controlled operation. The RC oscillator can be operated independently of the TS drive mechanism, allowing dynamic stiffness to be measured at any static strain level. The RC/TS device is connected to a PC for complete test control and data acquisition. An NGI-type direct simple shear (DSS) system also is part of the Mogami Lab. This system has been modified to by adding a servo-hydraulic cylinder for test control, rather than the static gear box drive initially present. The device tests circular specimen approximately 20 mm high, with cross-sectional area or either 35 or 50 sq. cm. A PC interfaced to a servo-hydraulic system provides test control. Specimens can be tested in static or cyclic modes, with either stress or strain control.

Test controls for the DSS device and a separate two-post vertical load frame are provided by two servo-hydraulic controllers, each having a wide range of capabilities. Hydraulic power is developed using a 21 MPa, 22 liter/min pump. The two-post load frame is used for testing that involves axial motions. Several additional modules have been added to the basic servo-hydraulic controllers for additional data display and acquisition, enhanced high frequency control, and programmable waveforms. The complete servo-hydraulic systems are interfaced with computer-controlled data acquisition systems. Location: 266-268 Hollister Hall Telephone Number: 255-3365 Emergency Contact: Harry E. Stewart, hes1@cornell.edu, 255-4734