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Download the two-page presentation of the centrifuge (updated September 2007) 
Download the two-page presentation of the earthquake simulator (updated September 2007)
Download the two-page presentation of the tele-operator (updated September 2007)
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Geotechnical centrifuge
This piece of equipment is one of the biggest stars at
the Nantes facility and almost always a highlight on the
Center's guided tour. Operational since 1985 within a
specially-fitted 900-m2 building, the geotechnical centrifuge
- affectionately known as the "centrif" - allows
studying the behavior of geotechnical structures, such
as foundations, offshore anchorages, embankments or supports,
using reduced-scale models. The scale-reduction factor
of the models is equal to the centrifugal acceleration
being applied, up to a maximum of 200 G! The loads are
applied in flight using jacks or the robot, controlled
from the centrifuge operator's room. The results obtained
may then be directly transposed to the full-sized structures.
Thanks to the assistance provided by the Division for
Metrology and Instrumentation as well as the centrifuge
team own workshops, all of the experimental phases can
be conducted on site, from the assembling of test models
to the processing of data collected during testing. The
centrifuge team includes 7 permanent people.
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Technical characteristics:
Axisswingin basket platform distance: 5.50 m
Pivoting swinging basket:
- platform length:
1.40 m
- platform width:
1.15 m
- clearance height:
1.50 m
Performance
- Maximum mass of
the model: 2,000 kg
- Maximum acceleration
(at 5 m): 200 G
- Allowable unbalanced
mass: +/- 100 kN
- Run-up time at 200
G: 360 sec
Connections with the model
- Low-level slip-rings:
101
- Power slip-rings:
5
- Hydraulic joints:
6
- IEEE488, RS485,
fiber optic connections with on-board data acquisition
system
- CCD cameras and
image processing system
· Operational since:
1985
· Application examples:
- Deep-water anchorage
of an offshore platform - EXXON, CHEVRON (United
States)
- Suction-activated
offshore anchorages - IFREMER, Bouygues Off Shore,
Geodia (France)
- Rockslide protection
embankments - Savoy Public Works Office (France)
- Marine foundations
submitted to cyclical loads - IFP (France)
- Geotextile-reinforced
walls - BASt (Germany), LCPC
- Shallow and deep
foundations - LCPC
- Tunnels through
unconsolidated ground - RUB (Germany), LCPC
- Pipelines on unstable
slopes - C-CORE (Canada)
- Nailed walls - the
National "CLOUTERRE" Project (France)
- Micro-pile networks
- the National "FOREVER" Project (France)
- Calibration of numerical
models - GRECO Geomaterials (France)
- Rion-Antirion Bridge
- Isthmus of Corinth (Greece)
· Application examples in
other sector(s):
- Plate tectonics
- Global Physics Institute
- Crystalline growth
- CNRS Meudon, University Paris VI
- Metallic silos -
the National Silos Project
- Material flows through
a hopper - LCPC
- Grain avalanches
- ECP, LM-EP, LCPC
- Premixing flames
- CNRS Meudon
- Stress measurements
in sand heaps - ECP
- Slurry segregation
- LCPC
- Electro-osmosis
- LCPC-LMSGC
- Equipment qualification
(aircraft devices)
· Associated facilities:
· On board Equipment:
- Robot
- Hydraulic, pneumatic
and electric jacks,
- Servo-actuators
(2) & hydro-pneumatic unit
- Cone penetrometer
- Vane apparatus
· Associated Equipment around
the centrifuge:
- Flow-controlled
raining sand hopper
- Consolidometers
- Containers, including
one with a transparent face
· For more information:
- NECER
Web site
- TC2 Web site (Technical
Committee of the International Soil Mechanics Society)
- CFMS Web site (Comité
français de Mécanique des Sols et
de Géotechnique)
- THOREL L., GARNIER
J. 2002. High-G
modelling. DVD video 19 minutes. Ed. LCPC.
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