Photo Credit: Alex Mead
This is part of the structural testing lab at the University of Illinois, one of the premier structural labs in the world. The blue box is a particular piece of equipment capable of applying forces in all three cardinal directions as well as moments in all three cardinal directions. Experiments performed with this machine allow engineers to control all the aspects of the motion and load a structural element is undergoing. Seen here is a pier being tested for post seismic repair adequacy.