ABSTRACT
The London Geotechnical Centrifuge facility is located at City, University of London. The centrifuge has been used for research since it was established in 1987. However, this powerful research tool is also used to support teaching in the civil engineering undergraduate programme. Final year students are enrolled on a module entitled ‘Geotechnical Analysis’, which covers advanced methods for investigating non-standard geotechnical structures including physical modelling. Students are required to determine the stability of a composite structure made up of a wall or foundation and a tunnel using theorems of plastic collapse, numerical analysis and physical modelling. The students perform a centrifuge test to explore the use of this technique and to compare results from the test to analytical and numerical models. The technical details and learning objectives of this exercise are described within this paper.
