The Structural Geology and Geomechanics lab at The Ohio State University is uniquely equipped to study problems in dynamic rock mechanics using a multidisciplinary approach combining laboratory experiments, geological field observations, and numerical models. The lab houses a 28 foot long Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar apparatus designed to test the response of hard rock materials under impulsive compressive loads, as well several hydraulically-actuated uniaxial load frames.
These tools are are augmented by several accessories, including:
(1) a recently-acquired Shimadzu HPV-2 Ultra-high speed camera (a CCD High Speed Camera with framing rates from 30 fps to 1 million fps without changing the resolution aspect ratio and 103 full resolution frames at 10 bit, 312 x 260 pixels) mounted on a custom lighting fixture.
(2) an 8 channel acoustic emission detection system,
(3) a furnace capable of heating specimens to 1000 degrees C, and an Omega thermocouple probe.
Field equipment consists of a Leica Viva GNSS system in a base-rover configuration allowing for position vector collection at sub-centimeter precision, a portable system for measuring P- and S-wave velocities of geomaterials in the lab or the field, and a field coring system, Schmidt hammer, and a UAV for low range aerial photography.
The Structural Geology and Geomechanics lab also contains several PC workstations operating Windows and Linux (Ubuntu) operating systems outfitted with Matlab, Mathematica, Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Midland Valley MOVE, Poly3D, COMSOL Multiphysics, and Microsoft Office software, as well as a drill press and grinding machines for sample preparation. In the next year we will install a triaxial deformation apparatus capable of rock deformation and monitoring under confining pressures and internal fluid pressures up to 140MPa and temperatures up to 150oC.