Physical Modelling in Geotechnics – Springman, Laue & Seward (eds)

© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-59288-8

Establishing a beam centrifuge facility at the Institute

of Technology, Sligo, Ireland

C.D. O’Loughlin & P. Naughton

Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland

N. Baker & A. Ainsworth

Thomas Broadbent & Sons, Huddersfield, UK

ABSTRACT: A new beam centrifuge facility has recently been established at the Institute of Technol-
ogy, Sligo in Ireland. The centrifuge, designed and manufactured by Thomas Broadbent & Sons, is a
9 g-tonne machine, that can spin two strongboxes at either end of a 0.75 m beam rotor at a maximum
(effective radius) acceleration level of 300 g. Although the centrifuge is relatively small, the functionality is
at least equivalent to the successful approach of using a drum centrifuge in beam mode, where a number
of strongboxes are located within the drum channel. The design of the centrifuge is such that the beam
rotor can be interchanged with a drum channel so that the centrifuge can operate either in beam or drum
mode. Thomas Broadbent & Sons are currently finalising a drum channel and tool table design suitable
for retrofitting to the existing machine.

1 INTRODUCTION • University of Delft small beam centrifuge: sam-

Centrifuge modelling has a well-established posi-
tion in providing insight into complex geotechnical
problems (Schofield 1980; Taylor 1995; Muir Wood
2004; Gaudin et al. 2006). The number of centri-
fuges in geotechnical research centres has increased
significantly over the last decade; these centrifuges
vary in size, cost and complexity in accordance with
the needs and resources of each centre. In 2007 the
Institute of Technology, Sligo (ITS), set out to
establish the first geotechnical centrifuge facility in
Ireland. The facility was conceived to strike a bal-
ance between teaching, research and commercial
opportunity. Early in the design evolution, con-
straints were set on the physical dimensions of the
centrifuge to minimise costs, infrastructure require-
ments and dedicated technical support. ITS consid-
ered existing geotechnical centrifuges that did not
require substantial housing such as pits and rein-
forced concrete enclosures. Existing designs that
influenced the design process included:
• University of Dundee mini beam centrifuge: sam-
ple base radius = 0.35 m, payload = 0.4 g-tonne,
sample dimensions of 80 × 80 × 80 mm (Newson
et al. 2002).
• University of Colorado (teaching) beam cen-
trifuge: sample base radius = 0.61 m, pay-
load = 0.6 g-tonne, sample dimensions of
223 × 165 × 25 mm (Dewoolkar et al. 2003).
ple base radius = 1.2 m, payload = 9 g-tonne,
sample dimensions of 300 × 400 × 450 mm
(Allersma 1994).
• University of Western Australia drum centrifuge
in beam mode: sample base radius = 0.55 m, pay-
load = 2.5 g-tonne (per sample), sample dimen-
sions of 258 × 150 × 80 mm (White et al. 2005).
The more attractive features in the above
centrifuges were incorporated in a conceptual
design for the ITS centrifuge. In 2008 Thomas
Broadbent & Sons (TBS) were commissioned to
develop this conceptual design and manufacture
the centrifuge. The centrifuge was installed and
commissioned during July and August, 2009. This
paper provides an overview of the main features
of the ITS centrifuge, including control and data
acquisition systems.
2 BEAM CENTRIFUGE
2.1 Specification
The ITS geotechnical centrifuge is a 9 g-tonne
beam centrifuge, with two strongboxes at either
end of a 0.75 m beam rotor. A substantial steel
casing with an outer diameter of 1.7 m surrounds
the rotating assembly; the wall thickness of the cas-
ing is 12 mm and is sufficient to contain the debris

255
should the strongbox be overloaded such that it
breaks free in flight. The centrifuge is designed such
that a strongbox rather than a swinging platform is
suspended from pivots at either end of the beam
rotor. At the time of writing (September 2009) the
strongboxes in use are plane strain boxes with inter-
nal (sample) dimensions of 300 × 170 × 150 mm.
Each strongbox acts as a counterweight to the
other and doubles the available testing plan area.
Although the centrifuge is rated to 9 g-tonne, the
current strongboxes are designed for a safe working
payload of 6 g-tonne. The strongboxes can be easily
removed through a hinged hatch on the casing lid.
Alternatively the entire casing lid can be removed
using either a portable crane or overhead gantry.
The maximum rotational speed is 638 rpm,
equivalent to an acceleration level of 259 g at the
top of a soil sample (at radius = 0.57 m), 341 g
at the base (at radius = 0.75 m) and 300 g at the
effective radius of the sample = 0.66 m. This cor-
responds to a maximum over stress of ∼12% at
the surface of the sample and ∼14% at the base of
the sample. Further specifications are provided in
Table 1, and schematics and photographs of the
centrifuge are provided in Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 1. Centrifuge general arrangement.
2.2 Centrifuge laboratory
The centrifuge is located in a geotechnical research
laboratory that is home to other geotechnical
research equipment. No specific structural require-
ments were necessary for the centrifuge and the
only service provisions required are those com-
monly supplied to a laboratory environment. The
laboratory has an overall floor space of approxi-
mately 80 m2; the centrifuge, adjacent work sur-
faces and open plan control “room” occupies a

Figure 2. The ITS 9 g-tonne beam centrifuge.

Table 1. Centrifuge specifications.

Strongbox base radius 0.750 m footprint of approximately 25 m2 (i.e. less than ⅓

Effective radius 0.660 m of the laboratory floor space). Model preparation
Pivot radius 0.350 m and other activities related to the centrifuge (e.g.
Maximum rotational speed638 rpm clay mixing, calibrating instruments) are carried
Maximum acceleration 300 g at effective radius out elsewhere in the laboratory.
(0.66 m)
341 g at base of strongbox
(0.75 m) 2.3 Drive and transmission
Maximum size of payload W = 0.170 m
(circumferential in f light) The centrifuge is driven by a 7.5 kW, 380/415 V,
L = 0.300 m 3 phase AC motor. The motor is located on a
(vertical in f light) vertical plate on the centrifuge casing (see Figs 1
H = 0.150 m and 2) and drive is transmitted from the motor
(radial in f light) to the centrifuge drive shaft via multiple V wedge
Maximum payload at each 9 g-tonne (30 kg at 300 g) belts. Variation in the centrifuge rotational speed
end of beam
is achieved using a solid state inverter located in
Maximum unbalance 0.45 g-tonne (1.5 kg at
300 g) the control/drive panel. The inverter is regenerative
and can provide electrical braking to assist aerody-

256
namic drag on the beam to quickly decelerate the
centrifuge.
2.4 Rotary stack
The rotary stack is located centrally on top of the
beam rotor and protrudes through the centre of
the lid (see Figs 1–2). The rotor of the slip ring
stack is installed over an aluminium alloy support
column that is flange mounted to the top of the
beam rotor hub as shown on Figure 3. The power
and data lines originate at connectors attached to a
ring screwed to the top plate of the stator, and are
fed down slots on the outside of the column termi-
nating at connectors attached to the beam rotor.
There are a total of 16 electrical slip rings, 4 rated
to 10 A and 12 rated to 2 A. Although the number
of rings is low, they are not required for data trans-
fer as this is achieved using a wireless data acquisi-
tion system (described later). This leaves the slip
rings free for providing power to devices in flight
such as the electrical actuator and data acquisition
system.
A two way fluid rotary union suitable for sup-
plying both fluid and air (at pressures up to 1 MPa)
is attached to the top of the support column. Fluid
or air from the rotary union passes via O-ring sealed
transfer spools into a pair of drillings passing down
the full length of the support column and emerges
at tapped holes just above the beam hub.
2.5 Control systems
The centrifuge control systems are shown sche-
matically on Figure 4. An industrial programmable
Figure 3. Rotary stack.
257
Figure 4. Centrifuge control system.
logic controller (PLC) controls all normal machine
functions such as speed and start/stop sequences,
whilst also providing the first level of safety features
such as access interlocks, and protection against
overspeed and unbalance. Critical machine related
safety functions such as emergency stop, overspeed
and excessive unbalance are, in addition, hard-
wired independently of the PLC to comply with
current safety legislation which limits the reliance
to be placed on programmable electronic devices.
The centrifuge is operated from a local control
panel that houses the PLC, an input/display touch
screen and a series of push buttons for starting and
stopping the centrifuge (including emergency stop
and power isolation). The touch screen allows the
desired centrifuge speed to be input and displays
centrifuge status parameters such as current speed,
acceleration level, unbalance and faults.
Centrifuge speed is measured by impulses from
two proximity sensors mounted above a series of
holes drilled through the driven pulley attached
to the bottom of the centrifuge drive shaft. To
guard against faulty speed control, two independ-
ent speed monitoring systems are fitted. In the pri-
mary system pulses from the first proximity sensor
are received by the main PLC via a frequency to
current converter and scaled to centrifuge speed.
Should the centrifuge speed exceed a software limit,
the centrifuge comes to rest in a controlled man-
ner. In the secondary monitoring system, impulses
from the second proximity sensor are received by
a simple overspeed switch. This is a pulse counter
that has a set of contacts that switch when a preset
limiting pulse rate is exceeded. The pulse counter
contacts are connected to the drive contactor, such
that if the pulse speed exceeds the limits, the centri-
fuge comes to rest. This system provides protection
in the event of a failure in the main speed measur-
ing system or in the inverter.
 In addition to the above, the inverter is preset
with a software limit on output frequency which
limits the maximum speed of the drive motor.
Out of balance loading on the centrifuge beam
causes small deflections of the centrifuge and the
resultant vibration at the shaft rotational frequency
is sensed by an accelerometer mounted on the con-
nector ring at the top of the rotary stack. The sig-
nal from the accelerometer is received by the main
PLC and is displayed as a vibration velocity on the
local control panel. Software vibration limits initi-
ate an alarm if the unbalance reaches 50% of the
maximum permitted unbalance and a controlled
stop and shutdown if the unbalance exceeds the
maximum permitted unbalance. If the unbalance
exceeds 120% of the maximum permitted unbal-
ance, a trip amplifier wired in the safety relay cir-
cuit removes the inverter run signal causing the
centrifuge to be braked to rest. This is a hardwired
protection feature that guards against PLC faults.
The frequency to current converter also has a
set of contacts that switch when the pulse speed
from the first proximity sensor exceeds the preset
limiting pulse rate. These contacts are connected
in the safety relay circuit in series with the emer-
gency stop button and unbalance vibration sensor.
If any of these contacts are opened the centrifuge
is braked to rest. This system provides protection Figure 5. Schematic of the data acquisition system
in the event of a fault in the PLC. (after Gaudin et al. 2009).

3 DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM
A geotechnical centrifuge data acquisition system
(DAS) is typically located “on-board” the rotat-
ing assembly close to the axis of rotation so as to
minimise the g level experienced by the electronics.
In the typical DAS arrangement, analogue data sig-
nals are amplified, digitized and multiplexed before
transmission through the electrical slip rings. Such
an arrangement requires a PC with a hard drive,
data acquisition card and the associated interface
buses in addition to separate sensing, condition-
ing and amplification units. However the limited
number of electrical slip rings on the ITS cen-
trifuge and the limited internal physical space to
mount this relatively bulky arrangement prompted
consideration of an alternative approach.
A wireless DAS has recently been developed by
the University of Western Australia (UWA) for
their drum centrifuge (Gaudin et al. 2009). The
operation of the UWA wireless DAS is shown
schematically on Figure 5. Each logging unit is
contained within a metal box 150 × 60 × 40 mm
in size and is capable of powering and monitoring
8 instrument channels at a sampling rate of up to
1 MHz at 16-bit resolution. Up to 8 logging units
can be daisy-chained to give a total of 64 channels
that communicate with the control room via wire-
less Ethernet. Unlike the PC-based DAS typically
used in a geotechnical centrifuge, the UWA wireless
DAS performs the full sequence of amplification,
conditioning, digitization and storage on a single
circuit board via an independent micro-controller
allocated to each pair of instrumented channels
(Gaudin et al. 2009). This results in a significantly
more compact hardware unit that is well suited to
small centrifuges.
UWA have developed a similar wireless DAS for
the ITS centrifuge, but with 2 units which allows
up to 16 instrument channels to be logged simul-
taneously (additional 8 channel logging units can
be daisy-chained at a later date if required). 12 V
DC power is provided to the DAS network switch
via the electrical slip rings. The DAS and other test
specific control systems are mounted on an instru-
mentation chassis plate that is mounted on and
orthogonal to the beam rotor at the axis of rota-
tion (not shown on Fig. 1).
4 ELECTRICAL ACTUATOR
An electronic linear actuator has been developed
(by TBS) for conducting sample characterisation

258
and foundation tests (see Figs 6–7). The in-plan
location of the actuator is controlled manually
prior to testing, whilst in flight the actuator has
a stroke length of 145 mm and has a loading
capability of 2 kN at a maximum actuator speed
of 10 mm/s. The actuator drive motor is a 80 V DC
brushless servo motor that drives a worm gearbox
traveling nut screw jack via a toothed belt. Axial
position is sensed by a non-contacting magneto-
inductive linear transducer.
The actuator is currently controlled via a dedi-
cated control panel supplied by TBS. Plans are
underway to transfer this to software control as
part of an overall experimental control program.
Figure 6. Electrical linear actuator.
Figure 7. Plane strain strongbox in “PIV mode”.
259
5 IMAGE CAPTURE AND PROCESSING
Optical measurement techniques, such as the adap-
tation of particle image velocimetry (PIV) from
experimental fluid mechanics have permitted high
resolution, non-obstructive displacement measure-
ments in geotechnical physical models (White et al.
2003, 2005). This technique has particular merit
in use with small centrifuges as less room is avail-
able for alternative instrumentation. Existing plane
strain strongboxes for the ITS centrifuge have
been designed with PIV applications in mind. The
strongbox incorporates removable Perspex side
panels which provide viewing windows on either
side of the soil sample. Custom-built brackets can
be attached to either side of the strongbox to mount
cameras and lighting (see Fig. 7). ITS use Canon S
series compact digital cameras (image resolution
of 5 to 8 Mega Pixels at 0.5–1.0 Hz) for “static”
tests and a Mikrotron MotionBlitz EonSens® high
frame rate camera (1.3 Mega Pixels at 500 Hz) for
dynamic tests.
Four miniature pinhole cameras are mounted
at various locations in the centrifuge. The video
signals are transmitted wirelessly from the centri-
fuge to a 4 channel digital video recorder (DVR)
located in the control room, which can output to
a PC screen or allow for remotely viewing over
the internet. Cameras are located on the camera
bracket to view the experiment in-flight, and at
various locations within the centrifuge to check for
potential collisions as the centrifuge is ramped up
and the experiment progresses.
6 CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE
DEVELOPMENTS
At the time of writing the centrifuge has been suc-
cessfully commissioned. A number of control and
benchmark experiments are being conducted to ver-
ify performance. Of particular interest is the potential
for unfavourable heat buildup within the centrifuge
casing, due to the dissipation of heat energy from
the drive motor. The rotating beam rotor acts as a
large fan, drawing air through the gap surrounding
the rotary stack and expelling it through the drain
outlet in the base of the casing. Tests are currently
underway to investigate if this is sufficient to main-
tain the temperature within the casing at acceptable
levels, or if a dedicated air-conditioning unit will
need to directly service the centrifuge.
The centrifuge design also permits the beam
rotor to be interchanged with a drum channel, so
that the centrifuge can be used in either beam or
drum mode. ITS have commissioned TBS to design
and manufacture the drum channel and a tool table
than can rotate independently of the drum (with-
out the need for a twin concentric shaft). Delivery
and commissioning of the drum is expected to take
place in early 2010.
7 SUMMARY
This paper has described a new geotechnical cen-
trifuge facility established at the Institute of Tech-
nology Sligo in Ireland. The centrifuge, designed
and manufactured by Thomas Broadbent & Sons,
is a 9 g-tonne beam centrifuge, that can spin two
strongboxes at either end of a 0.75 m beam rotor at
a maximum (effective radius) acceleration level of
300 g. A substantial steel casing surrounds the rotat-
ing assembly and is designed to contain the debris
in case of catastrophic failure. Although the cen-
trifuge is small, the two plane strain strongboxes
currently in use provide a total testing plan area of
just over 1000 cm2, which is generally sufficient for
most applications in plane strain mode (e.g. White
et al. 2005; Hossain et al. 2005; O’Loughlin &
Lehane 2009). The centrifuge is located in a generic
engineering laboratory that did not require specific
structural or service requirements. The centrifuge
and associated work areas occupy less than ⅓ of
the 80 m2 laboratory floor space.
The centrifuge features a rotary stack that allows
for the passage of fluid, air (2 channels) and elec-
trical signals or power (16 slip rings). An extremely
compact and robust wireless data acquisition
system, supplied by The University of Western
Australia, allows combined low and high speed (up
to 1 MHz) sampling on 16 channels (expandable to
64 channels) at 16 bit resolution. The strongboxes
currently in use are rectangular plane strain cham-
bers with removable Perspex side panels, although
alternative strongboxes and testing arrangements
can be used. The plane strain strongboxes with
optical viewing windows either side of the soil
sample permits optical measurement of planar soil
deformation using a high resolution digital com-
pact camera. A number of wireless pinhole cam-
eras are mounted at various locations within the
centrifuge, which allows for a visual safety check
against collisions and permits experiments to be
viewed in real-time.
The design of the centrifuge is such that the
beam rotor can be interchanged with a drum chan-
nel so that the centrifuge can operate either in
beam or drum mode. Thomas Broadbent & Sons
are currently finalising a drum channel and tool
table design suitable for retrofitting to the existing
machine.
The centrifuge described here is a very attractive
and economical solution for expanding geotechni-
cal research groups that require access to centrifuge
260
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facilities, or for an established research group that
need to reduce demand on their large fixed beam
centrifuge.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Funding for the centrifuge facility was provided
by grants from the Institute of Technology Sligo.
Further funding to initiate and support opera-
tion of the facility was received from the Institutes
of Technology Ireland Office under the Strand 3
programme.
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