This is a classical testing laboratory for analysis of mechanical properties and characterization of the structure in various materials of importance in civil and mechanical engineering.

The specimen preparation station includes a disk cutter, a diamond wheel cutter, a bakelite encapsulation press, a grinder, a dual-disk polishing station, and a wet bench for chemical etching. A conventional and a high-temperature oven are available for heat treatment of the specimens. The structural characterization is performed on optical microscopes and stereo-microscopes equipped with digital cameras and connected with computers for direct image acquisition and processing under special analysis software. Mechanical properties are measured on a hardness tester (Brinnell-Rockwell), desktop bending/twisting stations for S-beams etc with computer-automated data acquisition from the strain gages, and a large scale universal testing machine (UTM) for static/dynamic tension/compression tests.

This laboratory is used for research sample preparation as well as for teaching, i.e. for hands-on materials analysis by student groups in various civil and mechanical engineering courses.