Facilities – CTAC – Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction

Construction, Materials and Technologies

Construction Materials Laboratory

Construction Materials Laboratory, created in 2002, is a unit of scientific research, technological development and service delivery to the community of the Department of Civil Engineering at University of Minho.

The main objectives of Construction Materials Laboratory are as follows:

•Participate in scientific research projects in the areas defined in the CTAC strategic program, namely in that who are framed in the Ecomaterials research area of competence;

•Support pedagogically different teaching projects of the Department of Civil Engineering, namely the postgraduate studies (Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering and International Master in Sustainable Built Environment) and the Integrated Master on Civil Engineering in the area of construction materials;

•Develop activities of consultancy and service delivery to the community.

Main Equipments

The CompactRIO system (cRIO) is a DAQ system with an incorporated computer (with its own operating system) capable of dedicatedly running one single LabVIEW program at a time. The cRIO has standard memory and an integrated real-time processor for control, data logging, and analysis, and able to run the program at much higher speed than a laptop (which is multitasking). The cRIO uses Ethernet to connect to its peripherals which enables it to communicate data fast. The cRIO connects to the electronic hardware via reconfigurable I/O field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology.

Available NI modules:

NI cDAQ-9172: legacy NI CompactDAQ chassis (without an incorporated computer)
NI cRIO-9074: integrated 400 MHz Real-Time Controller and 2M Gate FPGA
NI 9205: 32 channels, ±10 V to ±200mV, 16-bit analog input
NI 9234: 4 channels, ± 5 V, 24-bit, SW selectable IEPE & AC/DC
NI 9237: 4 channels, 24-bit, half/full bridge analog input
NI 9263: 4 channels, ±10 V, 16-bit analog output
NI 9421: 8 channels, 24 V, sinking digital input
NI 9472: 8 channels, 24 V, sourcing digital output

These pieces of equipment were acquired with fund that result from specialized services carried out by this Research Group to the Centre for Waste Valorisation.

Construction Materials Laboratory covers destructive and non-destructive testing of construction materials such as fresh and hardened pastes, mortars and concretes and the assessment of their durability and mechanical properties. The equipment housed in Construction Materials Laboratory will allow the characterization, development and testing of high performance sustainable materials for a wide variety of applications in the construction industry.

he Construction Materials Laboratory performs various tests in the following areas:

•Admixtures for mortar and concrete

•Aggregates;

•Mortars and concretes;

•Hydraulic and aerial lime;

•Alkali-activated materials;

•Earth based materials;

•Injection pastes;

•Cements and mineral additions;

•Wood;

•Ceramic materials;

•Paints and varnishes.

Water Resources and Environment

University of Minho Hydroinformatics Laboratory

Hydroinformatics Laboratory is a facility of the Department of Civil Engineering of University of Minho that makes available numerical modeling applications for solving hydraulics and water resources problems and where different hydroinformatic tools were developed in the context of R&D projects.

The Laboratory includes modeling tools to support the development of dissertations of students of the Master Courses of Civil Engineering and Urban Engineering and Doctoral Course in Civil Engineering of University of Minho.

In recent years, several computer applications were build whose main purpose is either to facilitate the use of hydroinformatics tools during educational activities and their use by water managers. The web page www.hydroinformatics.pt presents a detailed description of the developed applications as well as prototypes that can be experimented.

Main Equipments

The Bubbler Flow Module uses an internal air compressor to force a metered amount of air through a bubble line submerged in the flow channel to accurately determine the water level, converting this value to flow rate. This method is suitable for small channels, and it is not affected by wind, steam, foam or turbulence. Since only the bubble tube contacts the flow, corrosive chemicals are not a problem, making it ideal for stormwater applications.

All level data stored in the sampler is available for later retrieval, reporting, and graphing using Isco Flowlink® software.

The Isco 674 Rain Gauge is a precision instrument that uses a tipping bucket design for rainfall measurement. It has an 8-inch diameter orifice and is factory-calibrated, allowing to: – store rainfall data in internal memory for retrieval and analysis with Isco Flowlink® Software

– activate sampling based on rainfall – plot graphs and print reports of rainfall – data on the flow meter’s built-in printer

In Stormwater runoff monitoring programs, the rain gauge supports: – TMDL and Watershed surveys

– inflow and infiltration studies – sewer overflow monitoring and prevention analysis – general rainfall measurement Standard Features

This monitoring system was acquired in the framework of the FCT project PTDC/AMB/64953/2006.

In recent years, several computer applications were build whose main purpose is either to facilitate the use of hydroinformatics tools during educational activities and their use by water managers. The web page www.hydroinformatics.pt presents a detailed description of the developed applications as well as prototypes that can be experimented.

Territorial Planning and Governance

Regional and Urban Systems Laboratory

The Laboratory resources support advancing cross-disciplinary research in territorial planning and land use. The main applications are in models for data analysis and spatial networks for decision support systems, particularly in the evaluation of parameters of urban environmental comfort, accessibility studies, and urban mobility. Given the spatial nature of the issues under research, geographic information systems are the main computational resource. There are also several other support equipment to collect data, such as GPS equipment.

Main Equipments

Territory and Environment Planning Laboratory - LabTA

The Territory and Environment Planning Laboratory – LabTA is part of the Civil Engineering Department of the Engineering School of the University of Minho, associated with the Territory Cluster of the Research Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction (CTAC).

The activity of the Laboratory focuses on three main vectors:

Support for fundamental and applied research;
Technical and scientific consultancy;
Pedagogical support for undergraduate and postgraduate training programs and the dissemination of knowledge.

Regarding pedagogical support, the LabTA has been providing support for the following Master and Post-graduation Programmes:

Master in Civil Engineering – Urban Environmental Quality, Urban Planning, as well as all the disciplines of the Territory option of the 2th year;
Master in Urban Engineering – Urban Environment Management, Seminar and Dissertation;
International Master in Sustainable Built Environment – Urban Sustainability Performance and Dissertation in Sustainable Built Environment;
Master in Challenges of Atlantic Cities – Environmental Challenges in Cities, Urban Environment Management – Monitoring, Evaluating and Abatement, Internship and Dissertation

Collaboration with both national and international organizations, as well as engagement in projects, has played an essential role in the growth and strengthening of LabTA.

Part of the activities developed by LabTA is aimed at providing external services to the community.