The National Buried Infrastructure Facility (NBIF) is a ‘one of its kind’ facility for research, education and training in buried infrastructure-ground interaction, soil stabilisation and improvement, geophysical sensing, pipeline detection and condition assessment, tunnelling and trenchless technologies, to name but a few.
The key feature of NBIF is its large pit (25m x 10m x 5m deep), which can be subdivided into smaller bays, with a 10 m x 5 m moveable floor section to simulate subsurface ground displacements. This enables research to be carried out at full-scale or near full-scale under fully-controlled conditions. In addition, the facility comprises:
- Material storage and test assembly areas
- Pipeline and small-structure testing rigs
- Material characterisation facilities
- Visualisation suite and knowledge transfer rooms
- Study space
We expect to open this new facility in early 2019 and are keen to explore and develop research ideas now and for the future. NBIF will be well placed to facilitate industry secondments to promote and accelerate the translation of our research into industry and share best practice.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss any research ideas, please contact Professor David Chapman.