This facility is consists of three very heavy steel abutments anchored firmly in the concrete pad. The two strongest of the three are located 65 feet apart. Between these adjustments is installed a heavy steel track on which movable brackets of various types can be mounted at any desired distance from either end abutment. All components of this system are capable of 1,300,000 pounds tensile or compressive force along the axis of the bed. The brackets and abutments are designed to accept a wide variety of loading devices. The largest of these now in use are the 28-inch diameter hydraulic cylinders shown illustrated. These cylinders have a stroke of 117 inches.
The facility allows mounting of the actuators as high as 7 feet above ground level at their center line. An additional abutment is located on an extension of the track to allow testing of specimens up to approximately 130 feet in length. In this case the specimen passes through a 3 foot wide opening in the center abutment. test loads in this configuration are limited to 600,000 LBS. The track of this facility is capable of sustaining 1,000,000 pound vertical loads, and is effectively used in testing large spreader bars, lifting slings, etc. in their normal lifting positions. Access to this facility is unobstructed, allowing heavy equipment and test articles to be quickly moved in or out. Changes in test setups in less than one hour are routine. |
