CIVIL
LABORATORY

The activities of the Laboratory are aimed at:

• Companies
• Manufacturers of building materials and products
• Building planners and construction supervisors
• Sector technicians and consultants
• Certification entities

An integral service of support and assistance is offered in the fields of civil and infrastructural engineering, thanks to the execution of a wide range of tests, both in the laboratory and in the field, which mainly concern: concrete, reinforcement for reinforced concrete, strands and wires. for reinforced concrete, electro-welded meshes and lattices, structural steel, bricks and elements for masonry, aggregates, bituminous conglomerates, cements and mortars, additives and mixing water, additives (fly ash, silica fume, etc.), natural stone, concrete blocks for flooring, diagnostics of cultural heritage, coring and on-site checks, plate and lift tests, on-site density, geotechnical characterizations.

We also perform petrographic investigations with observation under the stereomicroscope and polarizing optical microscope and thermogravimetric analyzes of mortars and concrete.

Petrography allows to know the mineralogical / petrographic composition of mortars and plasters.
Thermogravimetric analyzes are aimed at analyzing the hydraulic compounds present in the binder fraction.
Thermogravimetric analyzes (TGA) and optical microscope observations of polished sections (thin sections or polished sections) have the objective of investigating concretes, mortars and plasters, of historic buildings and new constructions. By combining the two methods it is possible to recognize events such as chemical and structural changes, as well as the observation of exothermic and endothermic reactions that develop in the sample. It is therefore possible to obtain a reliable definition of the composition of the cement conglomerates analysed: lime mortar, mortar of lime and cement or cement only, of silicate or carbonate composition, indicative content of the primer and binder mass.

The Laboratory is equipped with instruments for qualification and control during the laying phase on various bituminous conglomerates, with determination of the binder content and granulometry of the extracted aggregate. P&P also takes care of the checks after the installation by means of on-site coring of the conglomerate and subsequent laboratory determinations on the extracted specimens.

In addition, P&P offers the test specimen packaging service in the laboratory with a turntable press or Marshall compactor, on which to perform the necessary characterizations:

• Compactability;
• Density;
• Void content (void index);
• Marshall test;
• Indirect tensile strength;
• Sensitivity to water;