Applied Science & Research

Overview

Tour SGH's Applied Science & Research Center, our in-house laboratory facility, to learn more about what we can do.

Testing and research to understand the unknown.

Why has this material failed? How will this structural connection perform? What happens to this substance when exposed to extended sunlight, water, cold, or heat? We constantly question the “why” to better understand how structures and materials behave. Laboratory testing helps us validate innovative designs, provides evidence for investigations, and informs our repair techniques.

By executing hands-on analyses in our Applied Science & Research Center, SGH staff explore all the relevant information–digitally and physically–to develop ideas and find solutions. Through our constant questioning, we solve complex issues, satisfy our curiosity, and create an environment where we can learn and improve.

Advancing the meaning of what’s possible.

Specialized Capabilities

Physical Testing

SGH can perform mechanical testing to understand the physical characteristics of materials, components, and systems. We can conduct tension and compression loading; fatigue testing; macro- and micro-hardness testing; and specialized tests, such as shear, fracture toughness, adhesion, and delamination with our axial load machines. We also have a 5 ft thick strong floor, supported by an overhead crane, that allows us to simulate pushing or pulling forces on components of various sizes and configurations.

Environmental Simulations

Evaluating how materials, components, and systems perform in specific environments is an important aspect of predicting serviceability and suitability for proposed applications. SGH uses equipment–such as a walk-in freezer, oven, or salt fog chamber–and applies corrosive liquids, high temperature gases, and ultraviolet light to simulate a wide range of aggressive environments, evaluate long-term exposure, or replicate past events to efficiently determine root causes of issues.

Materials Science

Whether a material is new, being used in a new way, or taken to a new limit; deteriorates due to age or exposure; or fails or performs unexpectedly, our Applied Science & Research Center can answer complex questions. With physical testing, environmental simulation, microscopy, and chemical/thermal analysis capabilities, SGH develops testing plans to determine a material’s composition and properties that help us identify it or predict its behavior in service. Our multidisciplinary teams apply an understanding of materials science, engineering principles, construction techniques, and testing approaches to evaluate materials for innovative project designs, investigate failures, and design durable and appropriate repairs.

Microscopy

Microscopy can help our trained specialists in the Applied Science & Research Center identify characteristics that can affect a material’s behavior or performance. We can use this information to evaluate whether a material is appropriate for the intended use or why it failed. SGH’s fully equipped microscopy laboratory includes stereo microscopes (10X to 100X); a transmitted light polarizing microscope (10X to 1,000X); and an ultraviolet, reflected light microscope (10X to 50X); along with cutting and lapping equipment to create flat, polished surfaces, and a computer-assisted, linear-traverse instrument for conducting hardened air-void analyses.

Research Partnerships

We’re better when we work together. SGH collaborates with academic and scientific institutions and other professional firms to advance the architectural, engineering, and construction industry by evaluating new building and structural materials, components, and systems. We work with these partners to develop and execute research initiatives in our Applied Science & Research Center.

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With approximately 13,500 sq ft of in-house laboratory facilities, our Applied Science & Research Center develops and executes comprehensive testing and research plans to better understand how materials, components, and systems behave. Take a look inside our laboratory and learn how its capabilities enhance the work we do for clients.

Working together for optimal results.

Our engineers partner with team members in the Applied Science & Research Center to identify project goals, develop testing protocols, interpret results, and tackle the toughest challenges. Our collective technical knowledge and years of laboratory experience provide us with a unique lens to investigate and explain failures, help codify standards today, and innovate the future. Some of our specialists in the Applied Science & Research Center include:

Chemists
Geologists
Metallurgists
Materials Engineers
Laboratory Technicians

From the director to the newest staff member, we have a group of scientists and engineers that provide in-house expertise to help the rest of the SGH staff solve problems for our clients.

Ricardo Medina, Staff Consultant

SGH’s Applied Science and Research Center is where we combine our engineering knowledge with our testing and materials expertise to help our clients by solving problems or investigating new technologies/approaches to turn their visions into reality.

Emily Hopps, Principal

In our Applied Science & Research Center, SGH engineers and architects and material scientists and petrographers can work together, looking at the same sample at the same time and talking about it. We gain so much knowledge and information through that collaborative interaction.

Matthew Sherman, Senior Principal

https://vimeo.com/654514937

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Client Solutions: Weathering The Storm

In the weather testing room at SGH's Applied Science & Research Center, we use a roof mockup and storm simulation to recreate field conditions. This allows us to evaluate issues, identify potential problems, and recommend remedial strategies to our clients.

Client Solutions: Weathering The Storm

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Client Solutions: Petrography

In SGH's Applied Science & Research Center, our engineers and architects work side-by-side with material scientists, chemists, and petrographers to study concrete, stone, terra cotta, and other materials at a microscopic level and help us understand inform how structures work on a macro scale.