Our facilities

We have a continuous programme of infrastructure refurbishment to ensure that our research is not only competitive internationally, but leading internationally.

Institute of Engineering Thermofluids, Surfaces and Interfaces:

• Dowson Tribology Laboratory containing tribometers and specialised simulation rigs for the study of lubrication, friction and wear in real systems
• Bradley Combustion Laboratory containing optically accessible engines, special combustion vessels including a unique fan assisted bomb for investigating high temperature and pressure combustion, state-of-the-art laser diagnostic techniques and 3D imaging
• Refurbished erosion and corrosion laboratory with rigs for oil and gas applications, mineral scaling research and bioengineering systems
• Surface analysis suite including atomic force microscopy, nanoindentation, mass spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectrono spectroscopy, infrared spectrosocopy and quartz crystal microbalances
• State-of-the-art optics laboratories developing novel imaging and metrology techniques
• Microfluids Laboratory featuring micro particle image velocimetry, high-speed photography and a range of techniques for fluid mechanics
• Plasma Vapour Deposition (PVD) facility for advanced surface engineering research

Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering

• Wolfson Foundation Laboratory which is the largest academic facility in the world for the experimental functional simulation of artificial joint replacements
  including pin-on-plate wear and friction testing, six station reciprocator, single station reciprocator, wear and friction simulators for hip and knee joints, spine simulation
• Heart valve pulsatile flow simulation and durability testing
• Access to high resolution MRI and 2xMicro CT Scanners

Institute of Engineering Systems and Design

• Advanced Mechatronics and Robotics Laboratory
• The University's Charterhouse Rehabilitation Technologies laboratory including motion tracking system to support development of novel restorative rehabilitation technologies
• Purpose-built Design Systems Laboratory including soft metrology facilities and design observation suite for audio-visual recordings to study ways in which people interact with technology and new products
• Experimental facilities for characterising the dynamic behaviour of materials and systems including small-scale and full-size brake dynamometers