The Test Pit is the original feature of WRc’s Engineering Test Facility. The testing pit is located inside and provides the means to mimic engineering site conditions within a controlled scientific environment. It is 10m in length, 4m wide, 4m deep and typically filled with clay backfill. Structures can be buried inside the pit and placed under load from hydraulic jacks each of which is capable of exerting up to 22.5 tonnes of force.
The facility has been used on projects looking at backfill compaction and structural performance of pipe and pipeline repair systems. The structure itself has also been used of performance testing of material and structures and for investigative relating to pipeline operatives