Ever since its inception, the CE department has realized the importance of in-house laboratories and has given priority to develop the necessary facilities. As a result, UAP became the first private university in Bangladesh to provide complete in-house laboratory facilities in all branches of Civil Engineering. Some of the experiments performed in these laboratories have been developed within the department itself, and are not offered by any other CE program in Bangladesh.

• List of the Labs

Structural Mechanics and Strength of Material Lab

The Strength of Materials laboratory (commonly known as the SM lab) is among the largest labs set up in the CE department. Established in Spring 2003, the lab is used for the purposes of teaching, research and testing by departmental faculty and students. The experiments performed in this lab are based on concepts learnt in theoretical courses on Strength of Materials.

At present, the experiments in this lab include tension test of mild steel, compression tests of timber, metallic spring, direct shear test of timber and metal specimens, test of beam bending, biaxial bending, non-destructive tests, impact test of metal specimens, buckling and torsion tests, the tension and hardness test of metal specimens.

The earthquake shake table of this lab was the first of their kind built in Bangladesh. The experimental research performed in this lab includes works on model beams, columns, skyscrapers, masonry buildings. 

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Hydraulics Lab

Operating since Spring 2002, the Hydraulics Laboratory offers more than ten experiments on Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Engineering to 2nd and 3rd year students. Besides it is used for research works on Hydraulic Engineering.

The Hydraulics lab is equipped with adequate facilities to offer experiments on Fluid Mechanics and Open Channel Flow. Two of its major apparatus are the Hydraulic Bench and the Flume, both offering testing options and quality comparable to the highest standards.

At present, the experiments performed using the Hydraulic Bench include flow measurements through orifice, mouthpiece, V-notch and Venturimeter as well as thedetermination of the coefficient of velocity by coordinate method.

The experiments using the Flume are the flow measurements through a broad-crested weir, sharp-crested weir, sluice gate and Parshall flume. Besides it is used for the demonstration of hydraulic jumps.

In addition to the two major apparatus, the lab also has the apparatus for determining the Center of Pressure and for verifying Bernoulli’s theorem.

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Engineering Materials Lab

Structural construction in Bangladesh as well as in many parts the world is still largelydependent on concrete. Despite the use of steel, masonry, timber etc., concrete is still the most widely used construction material for building structures in our country and is used worldwide. Therefore the materials primarily tested in the Engineering Materials Laboratory in the Department of Civil Engineering (CE) of UAP are concrete itself or its constituents (i.e., cement, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate).

The Engineering Materials lab, operating since Spring 2001 was one of the earliest labs set up in the CE department. Over the years, it has grown significantly in size, scope and apparatus. Currently, the lab is being used for offering sessional courses to 2nd year students, as well as for research by final year students and the departmental faculty.

The experiments on cement performed in this lab include the normal consistency, initial setting time of cement and test for compressive and tensile strength of cement mortar.

The tests on aggregate include the sieve analysis, specific gravity, absorption capacity of fine and coarse aggregate, unit weight and void test as well as Los Angeles abrasion test of aggregates.

Concrete cylinder and cube specimens are also used for tests of strength (compression and tension) as well as workability (slump). The lab is also equipped with adequate curing facilities for the concrete specimens. The stress-strain diagrams of the concrete specimen are also drawn using measurements from the strain gages. In addition to concrete crushing tests, non-destructive tests are also performed using the Schmidt Hammer.

The Universal Testing Machine (UTM) of this lab was the first of its kind built in Bangladesh and has produced accurate and reliable results for academic and research purposes for the last ten years.

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Transportation and Traffic Engineering Lab

The CE department’s Transportation and Traffic Engineering Laboratory has been operating since the Spring 2003 semester. The primary purpose of this lab was to offer the sessional course on Transportation Engineering to 3rd year students, but it is equipped with research facilities for the students and faculty.

Since Traffic Engineering and materials are parts of the broader field of Transportation Engineering, they have both been included in the lab. In addition to testing of transportation materials like aggregate, sub grade and bitumen, the departmental students and faculty also work on traffic capacity measurements.

The sessional course on Transportation Engineering includes about fifteen tests on TrafficEngineering and Transportation materials. The lab tests on Traffic Engineering.

include the determination of roadway capacity and saturated flow at traffic signals. The tests on aggregate include the aggregate impact value, aggregate crushing value, ten percent fines value, flakiness index, elongation index and angularity number.

Tests on bituminous materials include determination of specific gravity, penetration and solubility. Besides, the Marshall method of mix design and the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test of sub-grade soils are also performed in the laboratory.

The lab is equipped with adequate instruments like Impact testing apparatus, Marshall method apparatus, CBR apparatus, standard penetrometer, solubility measuring accessories, traffic counter and various necessary accessories.

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Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory

The stability and proper functioning of most Civil Engineering structures depend onthe foundation and the soil it is built upon. The available variety of soil is so wide and their features are so different that it is essential to know their physical and mechanical properties by a number of tests. These include the physical appearance, texture, density, permeability, strength and other important properties. The tests in the department’s Geotechnical Engineering Lab are aimed at determining these properties.

The Geotechnical Engineering lab has been operating since Spring 2001. Currently it offers a sessional course on Soil Mechanics to 3rd year students, which includes ten experiments on various geotechnical properties. The lab tests on general properties of  the soil include the field identification tests, the Atterberg’s Limit tests, specific gravityand relative density tests, compaction test, grain size distribution by sieve analysis and hydrometer analysis of soil sample. Permeability test of soil is also performed using the permeability testing apparatus.

Strength tests performed in the lab include the Direct Shear test and the Unconfined Compression test. Both the instruments are equipped with strain gages in order to get the load-deformation or stress-strain curves.

In order to perform these tests properly, the lab has the necessary devices like hydrometer, deflocculating agent, drying oven, desiccator as well as special tools like the consolidation unit, direct shear machine and unconfined compression machine.

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Environmental Engineering and Chemistry Laboratory

The Environmental Engineering Laboratory offers sessional courses, as well as research and testing facilities for the students and faculty. Since the department has traditionally put extra emphasis on environmental courses, this lab was established very early in the department, and has been operating since Fall 1999. The lab currently offers about fifteen experiments on Environmental Engineering, mainly of water quality and sound pollution.

The experiments on water quality include the comparison of color, measurement of pH, turbidity, carbon-dioxide, total solids, dissolved solids, suspended solids, alkalinity, hardness, chlorine concentration, iron concentration, chemical coagulation, residual chlorine and chlorine demand.

The tests on sound pollution include analysis of the combined effect of noise and analysis of noise protection efficiency. The lab is equipped with apparatus like the pH meter, color comparator, turbidity meter, digital sound level meter, Arsenic measuring kits and other necessary devices.

In addition to offering sessional courses, results from the lab have been used for research works on water quality assessment, sound pollution and Arsenic measurement.

The tests performed in the Chemistry lab include standardization of different solutions (of sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, sodium thiosulphate, potassium permanganate etc.) by standard solutions (of oxalic acid, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium dichromate, sodium oxalate etc.), determination of metal contents (copper, ferrous ion, calcium etc) in various solutions.

The laboratory performs monthly water quality testing in the department. To see these reports please follow archive below.

Year    Monthly Report

2019    January

2018    January    March    September     October  November

2017    January    February    March    April    May    July    August    September    October    November    December

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Survey Equipment

Ever since its inception, the CE department has been offering courses on theoretical and practical surveying to 1st year students. At present, the department offers ten fieldworks on practical survey and is equipped with all the necessary instruments.

The tests performed are on chain survey, traverse survey, plane tabling, leveling and contouring, measurement of height, area calculation, curve setting, house setting and route survey. The major equipments include the theodolite, level, plane table along with the necessary accessories.

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Computer Lab

The department has a Computer Laboratory with adequate computer facilities (about fifty computers, printer and internet facilities) for use by the students. The works in this lab include programming, research, report writing, drafting, internet browsing etc.

The department offers an introductory course on computer applications and computer based drawing (AutoCAD) to 1st year students, a computer programming course (C++) to 2nd year students and computer application course in CE to final year students. All these courses are offered in this lab.

The computers in the lab are equipped with softwares useful for Civil Engineering use, particularly for the courses taught in the department as well for research. These include AutoCAD, Fortran, C, SPSS, Microsoft Project and several softwares for structural analysis (e.g., ETABS, SAP, Grasp, SAP, BATS etc.).

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