Infrastructure

The Advanced Characterization of Infrastructure Materials (ACIM) lab is unique among industry and university based labs as it incorporates advanced characterization of the materials used to build the single and composite materials that support infrastructure. Using advanced micro/nano-analytical techniques and non-destructive evaluation, the ACIM lab provides equipment and computational power for the characterization of aggregates, […]

The Asphalt Innovation Laboratory has state-of-the-art equipment and world-renowned researchers to investigate, develop and deploy improvements in asphalt technology, focusing not only on defining problems, but solving them, and helping implement the solutions. The researchers in this lab encompass a holistic approach to pavements, including intricate modeling, chemical analysis, physical testing, and field investigation to […]

The TTI Asphalt Mixture Testing Laboratory has a full range of equipment needed for sample preparation and evaluation. The lab has standard capabilities for assessing asphalt mixture characteristics (such as stability and skid resistance) and asphalt cement properties (including viscosity, softening point, and flash point). TTI also has the capabilities for performing the SHRP binder […]

The 138,000 square-foot Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) is a state-of-the-art research center that is a leading source for developing transformative infrastructure solutions. The center, which was funded by the Texas Legislature in 2015, provides the facilities and the multidisciplinary research environments for attracting significant cross-industry and government agency participation, as well as educating the […]

The Concrete Innovation Laboratory conducts research on all things that have to do with concrete. For example, it is essential that the power generation energy infrastructure migrate the damage done from alkali–silica reaction (ASR), or “concrete cancer” and similar expansion mechanisms in both above and below ground structures containment facilities. The lab has characterized a […]

Connected transportation is a major evolution in how vehicles and infrastructure will interact in the future, affecting every facet of transportation safety and mobility. Vehicles and the infrastructure will be able to talk to each other and communicate their real-time conditions. The lifespan of this research is expected to last more than two decades as […]

The falling weight deflectometer (FWD) is a test system for performing non-destructive testing of pavements. The system develops force from acceleration caused by the arrest of a falling weight. These forces are transmitted onto the surface of a structure, causing it to deflect much as it would due to the weight of a passing wheel […]

Researchers in the Infrastructure Protection Program work closely with public- and private-sector sponsors on the development, construction, testing, and evaluation of highway safety appurtenances and perimeter security devices. The staff of the Infrastructure Protection Program is recognized as leaders in the development and testing of both highway safety and anti-terrorist/anti-ram structures. Their experience related to […]

TTI’s Instrumented Bridge is an innovative bridge design at TTI’s Proving Grounds Research Facility that is appropriate for spans of 50 feet or less. The bridge uses a new concrete spread slab beam bridge design. Conventional slab beam bridges have precast concrete slab beams placed immediately adjacent to one another with a cast-in-place (CIP) topping […]

The Testing, Machining, and Repair Facility (formerly run by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station) is now part of TTI and is known as the Model and Machining (M&M) Center. Through over four decades of service, the center continues to support the university and system agencies by aiding in the design and manufacture of both scientific […]

The National Geotechnical Experimentation Site on Texas A&M University’s RELLIS Campus is available for large-scale experiments. At these unique sites, full-scale walls, shallow and deep foundations, culverts, anchors, pipes, and other structures have been instrumented, calibrated, built, and monitored over a period of 20 years.

Pavement Non-Destructive Testing Equipment is a nondestructive geophysical method that “sees” underground and produces a record of subsurface features—without drilling, probing, digging, or coring. Since 1988, researchers at TTI have been developing, testing, and implementing ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology for TxDOT to use in its road repair and maintenance activities. Pavement Non-Destructive Testing Equipment operates […]

Located at the Texas A&M RELLIS Campus (formerly known as the Riverside Campus), TTI’s Pavement Profiler Evaluation Facility was set up to aid in the evaluation, support and implementation of profiling products, technology and initiatives. Initially constructed in 1999, the facility has a 2000-ft long dense-graded hot-mix asphalt (HMA) test track on which inertial profiler […]

More than… 50 years of safety research. 4,000 full-scale crash tests. 40 tons of truck brought to a screeching halt. Research performed at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Proving Ground has saved lives for more than 50 years. The TTI Proving Grounds has long been a place where TTI has conducted world-class research, technology development […]

Infrastructure systems are only as good as the foundation on which they are built. Much of our existing infrastructure is in dire need of foundational upgrades or rehabilitation. This lab allows researchers to investigate soils, stabilization techniques, and rehabilitation techniques that can be implemented in both the short and long term. The Soil and Unbound […]

The Soils and Aggregates Laboratory is equipped with standard as well as advanced soil testing equipment. The following is a sample of the tests that can be performed in the Soils and Aggregates Laboratory and associated laboratories at Texas A&M University. Atterberg limits grain size—sieve analysis grain size—hydrometer analysis laboratory vane shear strength consolidation tests […]

The Structural Materials Testing Lab is one of the largest, best-equipped facilities of its kind in the country. The lab’s ability to perform both full-scale, but also component and material testing, sets it apart. Most institutions must rely on numeral research with small-scale testing; but the CIR allows researchers to go one step further and […]