GEOTECHNICAL CENTRIFUGE

University Gustave Eiffel Nantes', Bouguenais / France

Scope

The Centrif-UGE is devoted to physical modelling in geotechnics.

By increasing the centrifuge forces applied on a small scale model of a geotechnical work, the stress field existing on full scale (prototype) geotechnical work is reproduced. The model is installed in the Centrif-UGE’s basket (~1.5m3 of volume).

A set of scaling laws have been established (e.g. Garnier et al., 2007, doi.org/10.1680/ijpmg.2007.070301) for different applications.

The Centrif-UGE is versatile and offers a large domain of applications, concerning mainly soil-structure interaction (SSI):

  • Piles, monopiles, piles group effect, helical piles under vertical/horizontal monotonic/cyclic loading;
  • Off-shore anchoring systems for Oil & Gas or Marine Renewable Energy;
  • Shallow foundations (e.g. in slope vicinity);
  • Soft soils reinforced with vertical rigid inclusions;
  • Construction of adjacent embankments on soft soils ; Reinforced earth structures (soil-nailed wall; geosynthetic layers)
  • Tunnels: effect of excavation on surface settlement;
  • Unsaturated soils;
  • Ground vibration isolation;
  • Cantilever wall;
  • Seismic loading, soil liquefaction (not detailed in this document);
  • Macrogravity testing of medical apparatus or aeronautical devices

Specifications

Connections to the on-board scale model
Electric, low-voltage rotary contact slip rings 101
Rotary contact connector power 2A and 160A
Optical rotary contact connector and optical fibre
Rotary joints water, compressed air, hydraulic
Digital cameras and image processing
Computer Network
Scheme of the Centrif-UGE
Facility Details
Name Geotechnical Centrifuge of the University Gustave Eiffel
Short Name Centrif-UGE
Owner University Gustave Eiffel
Location Uni Eiffel Nantes’ Campus (Bouguenais/France)
Website Click Here to View Website
Contact centrif-nantes@univ-eiffel.fr
Head of facility Matthieu Blanc
Construction year 1985

Image Gallery

Video

Associated Equipments
Unidirectional earthquake simulator
Four-axis remote operating robot system
Miniature geotechnical investigation tools penetrometer, pressure meter, cane test, T-Bar)
Hydraulic and electric servo actuators
Sensors set (~230) acquisition chains
Mobile pluviation hopper and consolidometers for test massif preparation
Transparent face containers
Roll-motion simulator
Mobile tray for investigating the load transfer behavior towards rigid inclusions
In-flight saturation

Other relevant information

The Centrif-UGE is programmed week per week, one week corresponding to one research project. This allows to install the devices in the centrifuge (small scale model, loading systems, instrumentation connection,…).

The duration of one test varies a lot between few seconds for a seismic shot and few days for thick clay models.

Depending on the complexity of the expected tests, the design phase requires more or less time. Usually, a minimum delay of 6 months is required for scheduling the test.

The four other teams equipped with a geo-centrifuge are the people who do the same job than us. So easy connection is possible for complementary tests.

Why Choose Us

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01.

Certified Experience

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02.

Great Support

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03.

Competitive Price

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04.

We Got The Tools

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05.

Success Guarantee

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06.

Experienced Team

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