The Structures Laboratory at Texas Tech University is capable of testing full-scale structural elements up to 18.3 m (60 ft) long. The test deck has a plan area of over 2,000 square feet, and is constructed as a three-compartment, heavily-reinforced concrete Vierendell girder with a depth of 3 m (10 ft). Tie-down points in the top slab are provided in a grid pattern with a 0.6 m (2 ft) spacing in each direction. The entire floor area of the structural laboratory is over 604 m2 (6,500 ft2) and includes support for welding, machining, wood-working, instrumentation, data collection, and hydraulics. The laboratory is outfitted with an 89 kN (10 ton) overhead crane with a 6.1 m (20 ft) clear height. A variety of laboratory testing and instrumentation equipment is present in the structures laboratory. To apply load, the laboratory has two dedicated rams with capacities of 4,450 kN (1,000 kips) and 1,620 kN (365 kips). Load cells, wire potentiometers, LVDT's, dial gages, and other measuring devices are available for use. A Vishay Model 5000 data acquisition system is dedicated for use in the laboratory. Other data acquisition systems include a National Instruments SCX1 system, several Campbell Scientific systems, and a Vishay model 7000 system. Two Forney compression machines are used for cylinder testing. Steel load frames, columns, and beams exist to construct reaction frames. Additional testing equipment is located below and adjacent to the structures laboratory. A 250 kN (55 kip) MTS System is capable of applying cyclic loads. Two Rapid Chloride Permeablity Test systems and a LeicaTM Stereoscopic Materials Science Microscope are part comprehensive concrete materials laboratory.