Construction Materials

A variety of materials are used in the construction of a structure, whether natural or artificial, raw or mixed, each with unique characteristics. Familiarity with these materials is essential for drawing and executing building plans, construction practitioners must be complied with the standard requirements to build a durable structure. The raw materials such as cement, steel, concrete, asphalt, aggregates, and rocks are used to construct a building, roads, bridges, pavement and etc. These are subjected to various kinds of forces like tensile, compression, and shear. TLA prides itself in having a variety of sophisticated and professional laboratory and field testing services on construction material testing to ensure quality.

Soil & Rock Laboratory

Soil & Rock tests for the construction of buildings or any structure are the first step in construction planning to understand the suitability of soil for proposed construction work. Soil which is responsible for allowing the stresses coming from the structure should be well tested to give excellent performance. That makes the soil inspection or testing is the first step to proceeding with any construction. Various tests on soil are conducted to decide the quality of soil for building construction. We also offer tests conducted in laboratory which you can refer to the below examples.

– Atterberg Limits	– Compaction Process Testing
– Dry Density of Soil	– Trial Pit Investigation
– Compaction Test (Proctor’s Test)	– California Bearing Test (CBR Test)
– Soil Texture and Site Testing

Asphalt Laboratory

In Hong Kong especially in airports and highways projects, we are able to offer testing services according to the AASHTO, ASTM, BS, BS EN, MS2, ISO standards and continue to develop tests for particular applications. Capabilities include testing of bitumen, asphalt, aggregate, texture, skid resistance, and down to white line testing of thickness and retro-reflectivity. We are also able to conduct your Marshal Mix Design testing as per client requirements.

Concrete Laboratory

The most common test for hardened concrete is the compressive strength, at a particular period of time, from the time of casting the concrete cubes. It is important for the client to obtain accurate results on the compressive strengths of concrete. Compressive strength over a period of time also indicates the extent of quality control exercised at the site. We conduct site testing according to all the international testing standards and follow the site samples through our full suite of concrete testing capabilities.

Aggregate Laboratory

Aggregates are raw materials that are produced from natural sources and extracted from pits and quarries, including gravel, crushed stone, and sand. When used with a binding medium, like water, cement, and asphalt, they can form compound materials like asphalt concrete and Portland cement concrete to provide the foundation for roads, bridges, and buildings. Aggregates are tested for strength, toughness, hardness, shape, and water absorption. We also offer tests conducted in the laboratory according to the AASHTO, ASTM, BS, and BS EN standards.

– Sieve Test	– Specific Gravity
– Shape and Crushing test	– Water Absorption Test
– Abrasion Test	– Soundness Test
– Impact Test

Steel Laboratory

Our steel laboratory provides comprehensive testing for a whole range of steel products; reinforcement bars, mechanically spliced reinforcement bars (couplers), steel wire and mesh, steel bolts, and structural steel. Products with expected loads of up to 2,000kN can be tested. TLA also boasts a fully equipped machine shop, where steel specimens can be prepared for the test, in-house under our strict quality guidelines.