Construction Materials Testing & Inspections
For over three decades, CTE has provided expert laboratory services to meet the needs of rapid infrastructure development and rehabilitation in Southern California. To serve the diverse requirements of our regional clientele, CTE operates multiple accredited, independent, and full capacity laboratory facilities located at our corporate and branch offices, initially providing detailed program services tailored to meet specific residential, commercial, industrial, or public project needs pertaining to all facets of the construction industry. CTE performs testing services for Aggregate, Asphalt and Bituminous Materials, Corrosion Testing of Soil and Water, Concrete and Cement, Earthwork Soils Material, Fireproofing/ Fire Safety, Masonry Units, Non-Destructive Testing/Ultrasonic Testing (UT), and Structural Steel.
Our Construction Materials Testing and Inspections services include:
- Concrete
- Shotcrete
- Masonry
- Grout
- Mortar
- Reinforcing Steel
- Structural Steel
- Aggregates
- Roofing
- Fireproofing
- Specialty Testing
- Tensile & Elongation
- STADIUM®
Laboratory Personnel, Certifications, and Accreditations
Well-trained and experienced field and laboratory technicians perform materials testing in accordance with local, state, and national test methods such as:
- American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
- American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM E329)
- American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
- Portland Cement Association (PCA)
- Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL)
We have an in-house Corporate Quality Systems Group responsible for keeping our equipment calibrated and checked for accuracy. Also, our laboratories are qualified and accredited through outside agencies such as:
- District of State Architect (DSA)
- AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory Accreditation (AMRL)
- Cement/Concrete Reference Laboratory Accreditation (CCRL)
- Construction Materials Engineering Council (CMEC)
- US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
STADIUM® Concrete Testing
CTE's Escondido lab is certified and authorized to provide STADIUM® (Software for Transport and Degradation In [Un]saturated Materials)® service life modeling software. In fact, CTE is one of three labs in the country and the only laboratory in the Southwestern United States to offer this testing service.
STADIUM®’s advanced concrete analysis is the most up-to-date method of analyzing the material properties of concrete by taking into account the results of controlled laboratory testing, as well as all mix design specifications. This test can accurately predict a particular concrete’s ability to resist ionic penetration in the natural environment, which is critical when determining management, maintenance schedule, and service life of a steel reinforced concrete structure.
STADIUM® analysis can be performed on cores cut from existing structures, as well as on both field and lab cured samples in order to optimize mix design for a particular project. CTE has a dry cure room solely dedicated to STADIUM® testing procedures. This is not required but was created in order to ensure the most accurate and precise results.
For more information on SIMCO’s STADIUM® Technology, click here.
Soils Testing
By conducting on-site tests and monitoring, CTE can analyze the suitability of soils for structural fill, determine the need for moisture adjustment, and provide an overview of earthwork activities.
Our Soils Testing services include:
- Soils / Formation Analysis
- Particle Size Distribution
- Soil Rock Classifications
- Compaction Relationships
- Plasticity Characteristics
- Direct Shear
- Compressive Strengths
- California Bearing Ratio
- Specific Gravity
- Expansion Index
- Resilient Modulus
Structural Steel Inspections & Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
Structural Steel Inspection services routinely include visual welding inspection performed by a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) in accordance with the American Welding Society (AWS) D1.1 Structural Welding Code or other applicable AWS standard. In addition to a visual welding inspection, other non-destructive testing (NDT) such as bolt torque testing, Magnetic Particle Testing (MT), Ultrasonic Testing (UT) and Radiographic Testing (RT) are used to “look inside” materials to detect discontinuities and defects that may not be seen by visual inspection alone.
The examinations are performed without damaging the materials, so that the tested materials are not wasted and may be put into service. NDT helps determine if the materials are acceptable for use as-is, contain defects that can be repaired, or must be rejected. Inspections take place in steel mills and fabrication shops throughout the United States and on-site in the field and include all varieties of structures including bridges, stadiums, buildings, towers, poles, and sign structures.
Our Structural Steel Inspections & Non-Destructive Testing services include:
- Structural Welding Inspections
- Weld Fit Up Inspections
- Welder Certification
- Bridge Weld Inspections
- Decking & Joist Inspections
- High Strength Bolting Inspections
- Pre-tension Verification Inspections
- Piping and Pressure Piping (ASME B31.3 and B31.9)
- Dye Penetrant Testing
- High Strength Bolting Inspections and Torque Testing
- Ultrasonic Testing (UT)
- Vapor Emissions Testing
- Magnetic Particle Testing (MT)
- Phased Array Ultrasonic Dye Penetrant Magnetic Particle