Soil-Foundation-Structure Interaction Laboratory (SoFSI)

SoFSI enables holistic testing of structural systems together with their foundations and the surrounding ground.

It supports research on:

structural dynamics
geotechnics
multi-scale earthquake and nuclear engineering
multi-hazard and climate-change loading
smart materials
structural health monitoring
the resilience of energy and transport networks.

Funded by EPSRC as part of the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC) and commissioned in 2021–22, SoFSI is located on the University’s Langford campus and is open to academic and commercial users. It brings a shaking table, an instrumented soil pit and strong floors together on one centreline.

Video of the new UKCRIC SoFSI Laboratory

Video tour of the laboratory

Equipment

Shakes up to 50 tonnes (the equivalent of a full-scale building unit) at twice the acceleration of gravity. Enables large-payload seismic testing of complete structural systems under realistic, demanding earthquake loading conditions.

Specifications:

Platform: 6 m × 4 m
Payload: 50 t
Peak acceleration: 2 g
Max frequency: 50 Hz
Design standard: BELLCORE

The overhead crane allows large specimens, including near-scale wind turbine foundations, to be constructed directly in the soil pit. This supports realistic preparation, positioning and installation of substantial test structures before experimental loading begins.

Specifications:

Gantry crane: 30 t, 8 m lift height
Hydraulic power unit: Serves tables and actuators
Working and storage areas: Internal and external

Build a foundation in 120 m³ of soil, then load it to failure with meganewton force. Enables static and dynamic soil–structure interaction testing, including bridge abutments spanning the shaking table and adjacent soil pit.

Specifications:

Pit: 6 m × 5 m, 4 m deep
Pseudostatic actuators: 2 × 1 MN, 1000 mm
Dynamic actuator: 1 × 1 MN, 500 mm

Eight g in all three axes simultaneously — simulating extreme shaking conditions. This six-degree-of-freedom hexapod enables high-acceleration simulation and equipment qualification.

Specifications:

Platform: 1.2 m diameter
Payload: 1 t
Acceleration: 8 g, all three axes
Frequency: 0–100 Hz
Degrees of freedom: 6

SoFSI is available for commercial testing and collaborative research.

SoFSI is designed for:

Near-scale static and dynamic testing of single piles, pile groups and monopiles in the soil pit, and dynamic SSI in a laminar soil box on the shaking table — including soil damping, liquefaction, high-frequency SSI, tall-building foundations and building–tunnel interaction.

Seismic qualification of electro-mechanical plant: sequences of simulated earthquakes at increasing intensity — where the specification requires it, with a final test above the design level to demonstrate margin — with inspection and functional checks after each run. Research also addresses subsoil uncertainty under low-to-moderate and high seismicity.

Stability of rail embankments, the generation and mitigation of Rayleigh-wave ground vibration, and the effects of high-speed rail on existing infrastructure.

Near-scale foundations for wind turbines, offshore platforms and bridges, built in situ in the pit; an exciter driven by the hydraulic power unit can reproduce turbine rotor loading. Research also covers scour and structure–seabed interaction.

Abutment–backfill systems, gravity wall abutments, retaining walls, vehicle restraints and parapets, aimed at better serviceability and lower whole-life maintenance of integral bridges in both seismic and non-seismic regions.

Soil-Foundation-Structure Interaction Laboratory (SoFSI)

Video of the new UKCRIC SoFSI Laboratory

Video tour of the laboratory

Equipment

Biaxial shaking table

Laboratory infrastructure

Soil pit and strong floors

High-g multi-axis table