Materials Testing & Monitoring

Materials Testing & Monitoring

IFE’s laboratory is fully equipped and able to meet most construction testing requirements for soil, concrete, masonry and asphalt.  Our lab participates in the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP Code 100406-0).

We also maintain relationships with several qualified, accredited laboratories to which we subcontract specialty testing, such as petrographic analysis, steel tensile and bend testing, and hardness testing.

IFE maintains a staff of qualified and equipped technicians for on-site monitoring and testing of compacted earth fills, concrete, and asphalt.  We strongly encourage our technicians to pursue certifications including ACI, ICBO, Caltrans, and AWS.  Our staff of engineers and geologists is also trained to evaluate change grading conditions, where needed.

Field monitoring and testing services routinely performed include:

  • Observation and compaction testing of earth fills and slopes
  • Compaction testing of trench backfills
  • Slump testing, air content testing, and casting of strength test cylinders for fresh concrete
  • Observation and compaction testing of asphalt concrete pavement construction
  • Core sampling of Portland cement concrete and asphalt concrete pavements

Laboratory Testing Services Available:

Aggregate & Aggregate Base:

  • Abrasion (L.A. Rattler)
  • Durability Index
  • Gradation
  • R-Value
  • Sand Equivalent
  • Soundness
  • Specific Gravity

Concrete & Asphalt Concrete:

  • Compression
  • Gradation
  • Hveem Stability
  • Marshall Stability
  • Percentage Asphalt
  • S-Value
  • Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity and Density of Hot Mix Asphalt

Masonry:

  • Block & Prisms
    • Absorption
    • Compression
    • Moisture Content
    • Shrinkage
    • Dimensions
  • Grout & Mortar Compression

Soil & Earth Materials:

  • Analytical Testing for Sulfates and Corrosive Soil
  • Consolidation
  • Direct Shear
  • Expansion Index
  • Grain-Size Distribution
    • Hydrometer Analyses
    • Sieve Analyses
  • Permeability
  • R-Value
  • Sand Equivalent
  • Standard Classification and Compaction
  • Triaxial Shear
    • Stress or Strain Controlled
  • Unconfined Compression
  • Unit Weight

Other Laboratory Accreditations & Sample Reference Programs: