Research and testing facilities construction work

Tender description

The UK Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC) is a consortium of 14 universities which have secured 138 000 000 GBP capital funding from EPSRC for infrastructure research. Bristol's unique world leading experience and expertise in control and actuation technologies, developed in Bristol's BLADE laboratories, saw it secure 9 600 000 GBP EPSRC funding to establish the UKCRIC National Soil-Foundation-Structure Interaction (SoFSI) Facility. The SoFSI facility will address the clear research need to conduct well-controlled experiments on prototype, or near-prototype, scale dynamic testing of SoFSI specimens. The facility will comprise of a strong floor, reaction wall(s), a large soil pit/column, a versatile portfolio of actuator, control and instrumentation systems, and a rectangular, large capacity, single or bi-axial, potentially modular shaking table, which can accommodate a state of the art laminar soil box. The SofSI facility will fill key gaps in understanding of the fundamental mechanics of these systems, which cannot be resolved using conventional, smaller scale, laboratory tests or prototype observations. This will provide greater insights into how our structures and infrastructure actually behave, which will ensure that they can be better designed and managed. The University would like to invite interested providers to a Market Engagement session to give you a greater understating of our needs and help us to better understand the current market prior to progressing the design and specification of the SoFSI facility. This session will involve giving a short presentation to key stakeholders from the University and their advisers. Sessions will be held in September 2017 and sessions will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. For further information and to book your place on one of the sessions, please contact Nicci Coughlan (email: estates-ecg@bristol.ac.uk tel: 0117 331 8187).