Research and development services and related consultancy services

Tender description

The University of Birmingham (Civil Engineering) has developed unique proprietary technologies, expertise and know-how for various geotechnical and infrastructure applications including buried utility sensors, soil stabilisation and built environment monitoring and modelling. The University has been awarded funding for a new National Buried Infrastructure Facility (NBIF) on Campus as part of a £27 Million investment into Civil Engineering research at the University. Key to this investment is the development of a bespoke, internationally-leading ‘Soil-Structures Interaction Facility’ where the research, development and the testing of underground structures can be undertaken in a unique, controlled and monitored environment. As part of this facility, a computer controlled, dynamic ‘Loading, Deformation and Testing System’ is required that is capable of simulating subsurface loading, deformation and failure at full scale and in real time. The University of Birmingham are world-leaders in infrastructure research and have funding for a new National Buried Infrastructure Facility (NBIF). Key to this investment is the development of a ‘Soil-Structures Interaction Facility’ where research and testing of underground structures can be undertaken in a unique, controlled environment. A custom made, computer controlled, ‘Loading, Deformation and Testing System’ is required for simulating soil-structure interactions at full scale and in real time. The Testing system is to be supplied under a single design, supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning contract with maintenance and post-commissioning warranty. It is required to have —A ‘Movable Floor’ soil deformation system built into the NBIF test pit: 50 separate, but complementary, computer controlled, 25 T actuators with integral floorplates & load/displacement monitoring equipment all mounted on a bespoke, structural ‘base-frame’ —A composite ‘Dynamic-Static Actuator’ deformation system: Independently controlled, dynamic-static loading capability using 20, 10, 50 & 200 T actuators with integral load/displacement monitoring equipment & local, remote and/or external control capability. Must operate in conjunction with the movable floor system — Self-contained Hydraulic Power Units (HPU) operating at noise levels below 76dB A — Fully autonomous ‘Integrated Control-Operation-Monitoring System’ to operate, control, monitor, record and visualise all the Testing system's data/parameters in real-time. Must be capable of dynamically interacting with external software, numerical simulations, independent tests and existing testing facilities. —A bespoke, building-specific hydraulic & power/control network integrated within the NBIF building's services and pipe/cable trench layout. The design, supply, installation and commissioning of these components as a single contract is a highly specialist requirement needing capabilities in i) high performance hydraulic loading and actuator systems, ii) bespoke load-cell/displacement transducer technology, iii) custom designed HPUs, iv) sophisticated, user-specific control, instrumentation and operational computer software to provide real-time data to/from external or computer simulation experiments and v) the know-how and proven track record of providing single contract design, supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, maintenance and warranty packages for large-scale, research facilities. The University intends to contract these activities to MTS Systems Limited who encompass all of these capabilities. Namely, they; — Can provide a bespoke design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning service for the movable floor and dynamic-static actuator deformation systems including all HPUs, actuator structural steelwork, instrumentation, control/power cabling, cooling facilities, hydraulic pipework network and testing stations for use in complex and ‘dirty’ testing environments. —Have a demonstrated track record of designing, supplying, installation, testing and commissioning complex, computer-based control systems (i.e., instrumentation, hardware and software) with the capacity & flexibility for integrating with external functions/tests and computer simulations/models. —Can provide a system that is directly compatible with the structural testing facilities at the University without change/adaptation to the existing equipment. —Can provide ‘whole system’ documentation, staff training and extended warrantees for all operational, technical and software aspects of the system in a single package MTS are world leaders in the field of large scale, integrated structural testing systems and have supplied bespoke testing facilities to Universities and research centers worldwide. Their significant expertise and in-house know-how are vital for ensuring that the system is successfully integrated within the NBIF building in the construction programme timeframe.