Facilities

The Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing (MAST) system is housed in a new laboratory building on the Twin Cities East Bank campus of the University of Minnesota. The MAST Laboratory is part of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) funded by The National Science Foundation. The MAST system features 8 hydraulic actuators, capable of delivering +/-3910 kN (+/-880 kips) in both horizontal directions while simultaneously delivering +/-5870 kN (+/-1320 kips) vertically. The six degrees-of-freedom of the MAST system may be controlled in either displacement or load control modes. Four ancillary actuators having capacities of +/-980 kN (+/-220 kips) each are available for providing additional loading to a structure, e.g., at each floor of a multi-story specimen. The system is suitable for quasi-static cyclic testing of structural components. The MAST Laboratory is open to researchers from across the country and around the world through participation in the NEES Consortium, Inc.