The Applied Geology Laboratory of our department is equipped with modern test equipment in accordance with today's technology. Almost all of the test equipment used to determine the physical and mechanical properties of soils and rocks are available in our laboratory. Our laboratory consists of sections where rock mechanics and soil mechanics experiments are carried out, sample preparation section where coring, cutting and trimming processes are carried out for test samples to be used in rock mechanics experiments and aggregate experiments. In these laboratories, experiments are carried out according to the most widely used recommended methods and standards in the world such as International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and British Standards (BS) and Turkish Standards (TS) of the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE).
Tests Performed in the Laboratory
In Rock and Soil Mechanics Laboratories, the following tests are carried out to determine the physical, index, strength, deformation, consolidation and swelling properties of rock and soil materials.
1. Rock Mechanics Tests
1.1. Physical and Index Property Determinations
-Water content determination
-Unit weight determination (natural, dry, saturated)
-Water absorption test by weight and volume
-Porosity - apparent porosity determination
-Stability index test against dispersion in water
-Schmidt hammer test
-Leeb hardness test
-Needle penetration test
1.2. Strength and Deformation Properties
- Point load strength index test
- Uniaxial compression strength test
- Tensile strength (by Brazilian method) test
- Triaxial compression strength test
- Determination of modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio
- Shear stregth test with deformation controlled direct shear device
-Ultrasonic wave velocity tests (P and S wave velocity)
1.3. Other Tests (Air Conditioning and Fire Tests)
- Evaluation of acid rain effects with air conditioning device
- Modeling the effects of the atmosphere (rainfall, temperature, etc.) for many years with an air conditioning device
- Modeling the high temperature effect with an ash/fire furnace
- Wetting drying test
- Freeze thaw test
2. Soil Mechanics Tests
2.1. Physical and Index Properties
- Water content determination
- Unit weight determination (natural, dry, saturated)
- Specific gravity determination
- Atterberg limits (liquid limit, plastic limit, plasticity index, shrinkage limit)
- Sieve analysis
- Hydrometer experiment
2.2. Strength and Deformability Properties
- Unconfined compression test
- Determination of shear strength with triaxial tests (UU, CU, CD)
- Deformation controlled direct shear test
2.3. Consolidation and Swelling Characteristics
- One dimensional consolidation (oedometer) test
- Swlling tests
- Compaction (Proctor) tests
3. Aggregate Tests
- Methylene blue test
- California bearing rate (CBR) test
- Los Angeles abrasion test
- Sortation by coarse sieving
- Specific weight determination
