TFHRC Virtual Tour - Chemistry Laboratory
Welcome to the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) virtual tour, which can be viewed on your mobile phone, laptop, or desktop computer with a high-speed internet connection. In this virtual tour you can explore some of our common areas and laboratories and learn about TFHRC history, current projects, and innovative equipment.
This is the Chemistry Laboratory Tour 1 and Chemistry Laboratory Tour 2. To view the three-dimensional tours, continue to the tours below.
Chemistry Laboratory Tour 1
Chemistry Laboratory Tour 2
For an accessible version of the tour, visit the Chemistry Laboratory accessible virtual tour.
The Chemistry Laboratory investigates the impact chemical changes have on highway structures. Like everything else, materials used to construct transportation infrastructure are composed of atoms and molecules. By studying things such as steel and concrete at the atomic and molecular level, researchers can uncover the causes of road failure and damage as well as discover potential performance enhancements.
The Chemistry Laboratory includes a traditional space for wet chemistry to test and foster new materials and sample preparation and two rooms dedicated to instrumentation for developing and using state-of-the-art analytical equipment. With a focus on current and future transportation systems, researchers in this laboratory collaborate on offsite studies and assist in chemical research for State and Federal Government agencies as well as private companies.
Argon, an inert, noncombustible gas, is stored in its liquid form in a vacuum-jacketed tank called a Dewar. This gas protects the interior of an inductively coupled plasma spectrometer, which measures the amount of certain chemical elements in a sample. Argon accounts for about 1 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. Its boiling point is negative 186 degrees Celsius (negative 302 degree Fahrenheit), so it is pretty cold inside that tank!
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Aggregate—material of mineral composition such as sand, gravel, and stone—is a critical element in the construction, maintenance, and repair of roadways and concrete structures. These components are used to create such elements as concrete pavements used extensively for heavy traffic and mainline highway surfaces.
The Chemistry Laboratory's aggregate crusher breaks down aggregate materials into fine particles for use in subsequent tests.
The water purifier is an ion exchange system for purifying water that is subsequently used in analyses.
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The Chemistry Laboratory's fuser is used for making fused beads. These beads are made at about 1,100 degrees Celsius, then analyzed in the x-ray fluorescence spectrometer—a nondestructive analytical technique used to determine the chemical composition of materials.
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One of the more specialized pieces of equipment within the Chemistry Laboratory is the nitrogen glovebox and desiccator. The nitrogen gas-purged desiccator and glovebox protect samples from the surrounding atmosphere. Specifically, they provide an inert, or chemically inactive, atmosphere for studying alkali-silica reaction (ASR) gels and other cementitious materials that would be degraded by a reaction with carbon dioxide in the air.
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DISCLAIMER
Non-Binding Contents
Except for any statutes and regulations cited, the contents of this tour do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the States or the public in any way.
Disclaimer for Product Names and Manufacturers
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this virtual tour because they are considered essential to the objective of the virtual tour. They are included for information purposes only and are not intended to reflect a preference, approval, or endorsement of any one product or entity.