Overview

The Engineering Laboratory (Workshop) is an integral part of the Faculty of Computational Science, Architecture and Engineering, located at Gerji, Al-Amoudi Campus – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Unity University is one of the very few private universities who have an engineering department having a laboratory of their own. The laboratory is equipped with all the basic instruments and manpower required for an engineering laboratory. As per the feedback obtained from various inspectors in the past, the laboratory fully meets the requirements of the licensing authorities.

The engineering laboratory has four sections:

• Geotechnical Engineering (Soil Mechanics) Lab
• Construction Materials and Highway Engineering Lab
• Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics Lab
• Surveying Section

Geotechnical Engineering (Soil Mechanics) Laboratory:

This laboratory is mainly organized to support the geotechnical engineering courses given by the university. Geotechnical engineering is one of the main branches of civil engineering which includes the analysis, design and construction of all types of foundations, slopes, retaining walls, embankments, roadways, tunnels, levees, landfills and all other civil engineering structures that are supported by or made up of soil or rock. Different tests are conducted in this laboratory to determine important index and mechanical properties of soils used in the design of any of the above mentioned structures in contact with soil.

Construction Materials and Highway Engineering Lab.:

The construction materials and highway engineering laboratory is organized to conduct different tests on construction materials (such as cement, concrete, fine and coarse aggregates) and collect data to be used for design of different structures. 

Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics Laboratory:

The hydraulics and fluid mechanics laboratory is organized to support the different courses in hydrology, hydraulics and fluid mechanics. It is dedicated to providing hands-on experience in the fundamental principles of fluid behavior essential for civil engineering disciplines. Practical experimentation is conducted in the areas of fluid statics, flow measurement and pipe flow, open channel flow and fluid dynamics.

Surveying Section

In the surveying section, students of civil engineering and architecture disciplines are introduced to basic surveying techniques with the primary goal of providing students with practical, hands-on experience in applying theoretical knowledge of surveying. This includes learning how to measure land, using specific instruments, and prepare professional reports and maps. Thus, students are trained on how to conduct field measurements accurately, analyze data, and prepare detailed survey reports, and plot maps and plans. Field practice sessions in surveying include ranging and chaining (measuring distances), differential and profile levelling, measuring horizontal and vertical angles, and open and closed traversing.

Purpose

The laboratory is organized mainly to support departmental educational coursework activities and research. The purposes of the Engineering Laboratory are: –

• To provide engineering students of the university with practical, hands-on experience in applying theoretical knowledge learned in classrooms to real-world scenarios.
• To develop their experimental and problem solving skills.
• To enable students use various measuring instruments and analyze experimental data.
• To produce   skilled   manpower and   provide   trained laboratory technicians to government and non-government agencies engaged in engineering practices.
• To create chances for the unemployed youth to seek employment locally or abroad.
• To contribute towards the overall development of the country.

Policies / Directives

The Engineering Laboratory of Unity University has prepared comprehensive laboratory procedure manuals for the different laboratories outlined in the overview above. Guidelines pertaining to laboratory access, laboratory safety rules, equipment usage and maintenance, data documentation and ethical reporting are outlined in the manual. Students are given soft copies of the manuals and are obliged to conduct experiments strictly following the guidelines in the manuals.