Prefabricated Elements Laboratory

The Prefabricated Elements Laboratory (UEP) is part of the Building Economy, Management and Technology Unit of LNEC´s Buildings Department.

Additional information can be found at this laboratory's flyer.

Field of expertise

UEP is equipped with the technical and human resources required to perform the relevant tests on prefabricated elements and corresponding connection elements for buildings, in particular:

floor and roof elements (beams, hollow core slabs, floor plates, blocks, purlins and metal sheets);
wall elements (masonry blocks and panels);
connection elements (anchors, masonry mortars, grouts and ancillary).

Testing

UEP performs, among others, the following tests:

On floor and roof elements:

Determination of dimensions;
Determination of reinforcing and prestressing steel positioning;
Determination of prestressing force;
Fragility test (beams);
Bending and shear tests;
Punching-bending tests (blocks).

On wall elements:

Determination of dimensions;
Determination of net gross dry density;
Determination of percentage of voids (blocks);
Determination of water absorption due to capillarity;
Determination of moisture movement;
Determination of compressive strength (blocks);
Determination of flexural and compressive strength (masonry mortars and grouts);
Determination of compressive and shear strength (masonry elements);
Determination of adhesive strength (masonry mortars and grouts);
Impact tests (panels);
Eccentric load test (panels).

Other services

In addition to testing activities in support to the technical assessment and approval of building products and systems, UEP provides other testing services, particularly in support to the factory production control and to the development of new building products and systems. In this context, UEP also offers the possibility of performing, in partnership with other units, some tests on experimental models of full-scale building elements.