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Construction Materials Testing

Providing Competitive Expertise

Our Construction Observation and Materials Testing (CMT) services encompass a comprehensive range of skills to help ensure your project meets plans and specifications. We perform construction observation and materials testing services with experienced engineers and technicians with significant training certifications for concrete, aggregates, soils, and asphalt. These trainings often include ACI field and laboratory certifications and WYDOT certifications. Our experienced engineers observe deep and shallow foundation installations, proof rolls, and reinforcing steel (rebar) to name a few among the many we are capable of.

We back our field testing with an AASHTO-accredited laboratory in soil, aggregate, and concrete, and offer a wide range of laboratory tests for construction materials, including, but not limited to, gradations, proctors, plasticity tests, and concrete compressive strength testing.

Competitive Expertise

Soil & Aggregates Testing

An essential part of all construction projects is testing soil and aggregate for 1) compliance with approved materials characterizations that typically require laboratory analyses, and 2) confirming in-place conditions such as density and moisture. 


Our expertise covers: 

  • Sieve Analyses: Our sieve analyses involve separating soil and aggregates into different particle size fractions. This testing enables us to determine the distribution of particle sizes, which is vital for classifying materials specified for use on projects. 
  • Plasticity Analyses: We conduct plasticity analyses to evaluate the soil behavior under varying moisture contents. This analysis helps identify their cohesive properties, providing insights into their suitability for construction and potential challenges in handling and compaction.
  • Proctors (Standard and Modified): We offer Proctor tests using both Standard and Modified compactive efforts. These tests measure the maximum dry density and optimum moisture content of soil and aggregates and provide the target density for construction, but also to help guide the contractor toward more efficient earthwork construction.
  • Density Testing: We provide precise density testing to determine the compactness and moisture of soil and aggregates using calibrated nuclear density gauges. These tests provide reliable data to the project team, including the owner, contractor, and designers.

The above tests are frequently requested but our expertise is not limited to these. Give us a call to request any number of specific tests!

Concrete Testing

Concrete testing plays a critical role in verifying compliance with required standards and design specifications. Additionally, it provides reliability that the supplied concrete remains consistent and reliable in the construction process.

Here are a few commonly performed concrete tests aimed at ensuring that it meets the necessary standards and design specifications for its intended use:

  • Slump: This test measures the consistency and workability of fresh concrete, providing valuable insights into its flow characteristics and ability to be placed.
  • Air entrainment: We use pressure and volumetric methods to measure the entrained air within fresh mixed concrete. This test helps to define the durability of concrete used for construction in colder climates like Wyoming.
  • Concrete temperature: The temperature of concrete is an important test because it helps to gauge the chemical reaction process of concrete curing. 
  • Unit weight: We test the unit weight of the fresh concrete batch to provide insights into the mix and anticipated density of the concrete. 
  • Compressive Strength: In the laboratory, we subject cured concrete samples to controlled compression forces. This test determines their ability to withstand load-bearing requirements, providing reliable strength data to civil and structural design team members. We perform this test with our state-of-the-art concrete break machine that is fully automated to ensure cylinders are tested at the proper rate. After testing, the results are wirelessly transmitted to analysis software and prepared for project manager review. 

 

Many of our engineers and technicians are ACI certified in levels I and II for field and laboratory concrete testing, as well as WYDOT certified.

Construction Observations

We perform construction observation services with experienced engineers when possible because advanced is our standard. Our engineers hold many training certificates in construction materials testing along with professional development training specific for construction observation. We commonly provide the following observation services but perform others as well. Give us a call to discuss your specific needs. 

  • Drilled pier observations: Our engineers observe drilled cast-in-place-concrete piers to confirm total depth, depth of embedment, lithology, groundwater occurrence, and pier reinforcing as well as concrete tests.
  • Engineered aggregate piers: We observe and document the depths of piers, compaction of aggregates, locations, stabilization tests, and load tests if performed. 
  • Driven pile foundations: Some projects require deep pile foundations that must be driven into the ground to resist large loads. We observe and document this installation to provide civil and structural engineers with data to rely on. A range of information is collected and common issues we encounter include obstructions, bedrock depths greater or less than planned, alignments, etc.
  • Helical screw piles (helical piers): our engineers observe installation of piers to confirm depths, alignments, batter, and most importantly maximum installation torque. 
  • Other observations we commonly provide are:
    • Proof rolls
    • Post-tensioned slab construction
    • Reinforcing steel (rebar) observations
    • Shallow foundations

Asphalt Testing

We provide a continuously growing suite of asphalt services so that you can rest assured pavement section of your project is constructed with quality. The observations and testing performed on asphalt are essential during construction and capabilities include:

  • Density testing: We perform density tests for two primary purposes, contractor quality control and rolling patterns (QC) and owner quality assurance and acceptance (QA). It is very important to make sure asphalt is being constructed correctly at the time of placement because once it cools, very little can be done to improve its performance. 
  • Coring: we use our truck-mounted core machine to cut through newly constructed asphalt for a variety of reasons such as correlation to nuclear density gauge tests, bulk specific gravity testing on core samples, and direct measurements of asphalt lift thicknesses.
  • Gradations: Virgin aggregates used in asphalt mixes are tested for proper gradation using a sieve analysis. 
  • In addition, virgin aggregate can be tested for plasticity, fractured faces, flat and elongated particles, etc. 
  • Bulk specific gravity: This test accurately measures the density of cured asphalt cores. Oftentimes, bulk specific gravity testing is used to verify field density testing.
  • Mix verifications: These tests are performed to ensure that the asphalt mix being delivered to the site matches the specified mix design.

Asphalt Testing

We provide a continuously growing suite of asphalt services so that you can rest assured pavement section of your project is constructed with quality. The observations and testing performed on asphalt are essential during construction and capabilities include:

  • Density testing: We perform density tests for two primary purposes, contractor quality control and rolling patterns (QC) and owner quality assurance and acceptance (QA). It is very important to make sure asphalt is being constructed correctly at the time of placement because once it cools, very little can be done to improve its performance. 
  • Coring: we use our truck-mounted core machine to cut through newly constructed asphalt for a variety of reasons such as correlation to nuclear density gauge tests, bulk specific gravity testing on core samples, and direct measurements of asphalt lift thicknesses.
  • Gradations: Virgin aggregates used in asphalt mixes are tested for proper gradation using a sieve analysis. 
  • In addition, virgin aggregate can be tested for plasticity, fractured faces, flat and elongated particles, etc. 
  • Bulk specific gravity: This test accurately measures the density of cured asphalt cores. Oftentimes, bulk specific gravity testing is used to verify field density testing.
  • Mix verifications: These tests are performed to ensure that the asphalt mix being delivered to the site matches the specified mix design.

Construction Materials Testing Projects

South Spring Creek Dam
Wind Facility Pad
Converse County Bridge Maintenance Shop Construction
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