Page 4 - CEGE Spring 2024

MAST really stands for the Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing (MAST) Laboratory. What makes it amazing is its size, power, and control. And now, MAST’s new director, new lab manager/research associate, and two new structural faculty members are eager to take on custody of its legacy and put their own marks on this unique structural testing facility.
The laboratory facility was originally created and funded for the first
15 years by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to be run as part of
the NSF George E. Brown Network
for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) program. The stated purpose of the program was to operate a “network of integrated and interconnected facilities to transform earthquake engineering by integrating collaborative experimentation,
computation, theory, databases, and model-based simulation.” The federal government invested $82 Million through NSF to fund 15 experimental facilities. MAST was one of those facilities. Catherine French served as the Principal Investigator on the grant to create the facility. She worked with colleagues Carol Shield, who focused on structural control and data acquisition; Jerry Hajjar, Douglas Ernie, and David Du, who worked on telepresence features; Robert Dexter who designed the crosshead; and Arturo Schultz who worked on the building requirements.
As first proposed, the Lab was to be built within the UMN’s Civil Engineering Building by digging out additional space under Pillsbury Drive. Serendipitously, the University was able to acquire space at the edge of campus that became the
location of the MAST Lab. The $6.7M grant from NSF paid for the testing equipment, which included construction of the strong floor and strong walls of the lab. The University paid to build
the shell walls and office space around the testing floor.
The unique equipment of the lab was built by MTS Systems. Carol Shield,
the first Lab Director said at that time, “We sought to be the first facility capable of performing highly accurate tests on full-scale civil structural specimens, including the ability to apply loads realistically in multiple axes....We knew it would be a formidable task to test such enormous specimens. That’s why we chose to work with MTS.” (https://www. mts.com/en/articles/civil-engineering/ case-study-uofm)
4 CEGE | CSE.UMN.EDU/CEGE
MAST: A Most Amazing Structural Testing Lab!