Research facilities

GHERG is home to a wide range of laboratory and field equipment, computing hardware and software. State-of-the-art testing equipment is complemented by standard instrumentation to provide a fully outfitted geotechnical and geomechanical research and testing facility.

Laboratory

Our state-of-the-art geotechnical and geomechanical laboratory testing facilities allows us to undertake a wide range of conventional and advanced testing of geomaterials under controlled conditions.

Our laboratory testing equipment includes:

  • Fully automated dynamic and static triaxial testing system (x2)
  • Large scale constant stiffness direct shear system
  • Fully automated direct shear test apparatus (x3)
  • Ring shear test apparatus
  • Fully automated 1D consolidation (oedometer) machine (x2)
  • Constant and falling head hydraulic conductivity (permeability) apparatus
  • Flexible wall (triaxial) hydraulic conductivity apparatus (x16)
  • Vane shear device
  • Atterberg limits apparatus (liquid and plastic limits, shrinkage)
  • Automatic compactors (standard, modified and CBR compaction)
  • Particle density and water absorption testing apparatus
  • Electromechanical sieve shaker and sets of standard sieves
  • Hydrometer
  • Slake durability apparatus
  • Pressure extractor
  • Tensiometer (pF-meter) (x3)

Download full list of our lab and field equipment (pdf, 57kb).

Our field equipment

  • Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW)
  • Cross hole probe
  • Hood infiltrometer
  • Permeability packer
  • Borehole camera
  • Multiscale seepage gauge
  • Water level loggers
  • Water temperature loggers
  • Drill cutters
  • Sample extruder

Download full list of our lab and field equipment (pdf, 57kb).

Our computer software

  • Abaqus FEM
  • Plaxis 2D/3D
  • Rocscience Advanced Bundle, including Slide2/3, RS2/3
  • Hydrus
  • MathWorks MATLAB
  • GIS packages such as ESRI ArcGIS, QGIS
  • Drafting packages such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks
  • Graphing tools such Adobe packages, Inkscape, GIMP

Make a booking

If you are interested in booking some of our equipment, or using our research facilities, Contact us.