A universal panel tester was built at the University of Houston to test reinforced concrete panel elements subjected to any combination of in-plane and out-of-plane forces. The forces are applied by 40 in-plane hydraulic jacks of 250-kip (1120-kN) capacity each and 20 out-of-plane hydraulic jacks of 140-kip (630-kN) capacity. The sophisticated hydraulic system makes it possible to simulate any complex stress condition in a panel.