STF · Laboratory infrastructure
AMD — Adjustable Multidimensional Testing Module
Building the documentation backbone for the world’s first adjustable multidimensional testing module, and mapping the strong floor it sits on.
- Role
- Structural Laboratory Assistant Coordinator
- Facility
- U of T Structural Testing Facilities
- Period
- May 2026 – Sep. 2026
- Research area
- Large-scale structural testing infrastructure
- Application
- Multidirectional testing of structural components
01Project objective
The AMD is the world’s first adjustable multidimensional testing module, under construction at the Structural Testing Facilities. Where a conventional test frame applies load along a fixed axis, an adjustable multidimensional module is meant to be reconfigured between test programs, so that one piece of laboratory infrastructure can serve experiments that would otherwise each need their own purpose-built setup.
02My contribution
My work on the AMD was organisational rather than experimental. A module assembled from hundreds of components is only usable if the lab can find, identify and re-specify every part of it years later.
- Developed a centralised documentation system for the module, integrating up to 30 engineering drawings and their measurements.
- Organised equipment references, fastener data, component weights and volumes, and supporting records into a single structure the lab can query.
- Introduced and implemented a mapping system for 600+ strong-floor anchor points, creating a clear reference for lab navigation, test setup planning and future experimental configurations.
- Supported assembly and equipment preparation in the AMD bay alongside the documentation work.
03Results and engineering significance
The documentation system and the anchor-point map turn a one-off assembly into infrastructure other researchers can plan around. A test configuration can now be laid out against a known grid of 600+ floor anchors before anything is moved, and every component carries a traceable drawing, weight and fastener specification.
04More from the lab
