Geotechnical laboratory

Well-equipped geotechnical laboratory for all types of standard soil and rock tests, and for special testing in unsaturated conditions (CRS oedometer, triaxial system, direct shear, WP4C Soil Water Potential Lab Instrument) and under dynamic loads (triaxial system 60 kN, 2 MPa, 5 Hz, 38-150 mm samples).

Capital equipment:

• Triaxial static/dynamic triaxial system with electro-mechanical control (direct closed loop) - DYNTTS „Advanced Dynamic Triaxial Testing System“; 60 kN, 2 MPa, 5 Hz, 38-150 mm samples. Producer: GDS Instruments, UK. Special accessories/upgrades: LVDTs for local deformation measurements, Bender Element System (Vertical, Horizontal, S and P waves), Unsaturated Testing (HKUST method), additional pressure/volume controller for water permeability measurements; https://www.gdsinstruments.com/gds-products/advanced-dynamic-triaxial-testing-system
• Back Pressure Shearbox with electro-mechanical control (direct closed loop) - GDSBPS 25 kN (horizontal and vertical force), 75x75 mm and 100x100 mm samples, for direct shear tests with the possibility of precise back pressure control. Producer: GDS Instruments, UK. Special accessories/upgrades: unsaturated version (control of both pore water and pore air pressure); https://www.gdsinstruments.com/gds-products/gds-back-pressured-shear-box
• 2000 kN rock compression testing system with all the necessary subsystems and equipment for testing the strength and deformability of rocks under uniaxial and triaxial conditions (LVDTs, strain gauges, data acquisition, Hoek cell NX (54 mm), cell pressure up to 70 MPa). Producer: Controls (Wykeham Farrance), Italy.
• SHEARMATIC300 - Large shear box apparatus (300 mm sample, 100 kN vertical and horizontal load), for testing soil and other materials that contain large particles of up to 20 mm largest dimension, with direct connection to PC, stainless steel shear box, test on 300 and 150 mm samples. Producer: Controls (Wykeham Farrance), Italy. https://www.controls-group.com/eng/direct-residual-shear/large-shear-testing-machine.php
• CRS (Constant Rate of Strain) automated oedometer testing system, with 50 kN load frame and unsaturated upgrade to define the Stress Dependant Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SDSWCC). Vertical stress is applied under K0 conditions whilst pore water and pore air pressure are precisely controlled. Producer: GDS Instruments, UK. https://www.gdsinstruments.com/gds-products/unsaturated-consolidation-testing
• WP4C apparatus for soil suction measurements in the -0.1 MPa to -300 MPa range and determination of Soil Water Retention Curve (SWRC) https://www.metergroup.com/en/meter-environment/products/wp4c-soil-water-potential-lab-instrument

Other equipment:

Automated oedometers and direct shear apparatus for soil, direct shear apparatus for rock samples 50 kN, Point Load Tester 50 kN, slake-durability apparatus, laboratory vane apparatus, Pinhole test apparatus, universal automatic compression testing machine 50 kN, universal automatic Proctor compactor, vibro table (relative density of cohesionless soil), plate bearing test apparatus 100 kN, temperature and humidity controlled climatic cabinet, Methylene Blue Test Set, Enslin-Neff device for measuring soil water absorption, all equipment for soil classification tests and other equipment for geotechnical soil and rock testing and general (including LiDAR and UV-VIS spectrophotometer).