ICAIR is part-funded by European Regional Development Fund
Unipart Construction Technologies is collaborating with ICAIR to evaluate the load-bearing capacity of various modular concrete retaining wall designs, incorporating innovative efficient forms of laser-cut steel reinforcement.
Four-point bending tests on full-scale samples were conducted at the Intelligent Infrastructure Laboratory, utilising a purpose made test rig equipped with two large hydraulic actuators, each with a 2 MN capacity, and a 4.9m long spreader beam. This set-up enabled the simultaneous loading of two adjoining wall elements connected together at the base.
High-precision LVDT gauges were placed to monitor displacements at key locations, while the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique was employed to capture detailed displacements and strain patterns in a critical section of the wall.
