engineering_laboratories_banner
The Materials Testing Department is housed in RESPEC’s corporate headquarters located in Rapid City, South Dakota. More than one-third of the 30,000-square-foot headquarters building has been designed especially for rock testing, sample handling, and storage. Three laboratories comprise the department and are supported by separate shop facilities for sample preparation and storage, calibration, and records archival. The three laboratories include test systems and instrumentation for:
  • Mechanical and hydrologic properties measurements
  • Thermal properties measurements
  • Petrographic/Petrofabric analyes
  • Support facilitiies.

A controlled environment within each laboratory helps ensure the accuracy of the acquired data and provides safety and security from accidental or deliberate disruption of testing services. The laboratory facilities are earth-sheltered to maintain constant temperatures of 20°C +/- 1°C. Fire protection is provided by an alarm system that monitors the entire facility and a fire-resistant vault with an automatic fire suppression system that contains quality assurance records from testing programs. Security is provided by electronic sensors located throughout the facility and professional security personnel who monitor the sensors continuously from a remote location and perform regular on-site surveillances.

Our state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind materials testing laboratory has expanded to include two new creep testing systems. RESPEC can now conduct 16 high-precision creep tests at elevated pressures and temperatures simultaneously. Our added capacity now allows us to serve more clients and complete test programs more rapidly.