The NCGF is currently undertaking major developments to be able to operate the new beam centrifuge facility at its full potential. More information will be provided on this page and on the news feed, as these developments progress.
Robotic Motion
2D actuators are being designed and manufactured to enable vertical and horizontal motion to be applied to geotechnical models, whilst the centrifuge is spinning at 130 g. An on-board 4D robot is being purchased from Actidyn to provide 2 additional degrees of freedom and tool changing capabilities.
New Laboratory
The new laboratory opened in 2016 is located in the world-class Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre. Operating three centrifuges at once is challenging and requires careful planning and organisation of the laboratory space. The centrifuge laboratory is being designed to facilitate a smooth and efficient workflow between the soil preparation, test setup and centrifuge testing areas, ensuring full control over the operation in a safe and comfortable environment.
Telepresence
The NGCF collaborates with academic and industry partners worldwide. The control command room will feature telepresence capabilities, enabling users and partners to access live video and data streams from on-going experiments, and interact with researchers and engineers at the NGCF from anywhere in the world.
Full-feature Website
In the coming months, the NGCF website will be improved and expanded to include the following features:
Community Engagement
The NGCF is developing outreach programmes to interact with the local community, including engineering companies and high schools. Follow the news and twitter feed for upcoming events.