Geotechnical facility welcomes its third centrifuge

The National Geotechnical Centrifuge Facility (NGCF), based at The University of Western Australia, (UWA) has become the only geotechnical modelling facility in the world that operates three centrifuges, this week welcoming a third 26-tonne fixed-beam centrifuge into its Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre building.

The NGCF is run by the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS) and aims to service the national and international geotechnical engineering community by developing safe and economical geotechnical structures, notably for the offshore oil and gas and renewable industry. It was awarded a LIEF grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC) in November 2011 and sees UWA partner with Monash University, The University of Adelaide, The University of Newcastle, The University of Queensland and the University of Wollongong.

The new centrifuge has a 10 m diameter and is capable of spinning 2400 kg of soil at a G-level of 100, which is a force 10 times greater than an astronaut experiences during training. It functions by spinning reduced-scale foundation models at incredible speeds in order to simulate the stresses experienced by the soil at full-scale conditions.

Results from centrifuge modelling are applied to full-scale structures and used to help design pipelines, anchors and other offshore infrastructure, at a fraction of the cost and hazard when compared to full-scale testing. According to Professor Christophe Gaudin, centrifuge manager at COFS, it will make waves in the energy industry.

“This is a big milestone for us,” said Professor Gaudin. “It’s been a huge effort from the whole team at the National Geotechnical Centrifuge Facility. There is still a lot of work to do, but we hope to be ready for the first spin in about three weeks.”