THUNDER BAY — Lakehead University is building a new soil testing facility they say will be the largest of it's kind in the world.
The university received $559,910 from the province to create a new soil-structure-interaction testing facility, which will serve the needs of mining, natural resource and infrastructure sectors in Northwestern Ontario.
The current biggest one is 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres by 1.4 metres, according to Eltayeb Mohamedelhassan, assistant dean and professor with the university’s faculty of engineering.
The one at Lakehead will be 1.6 metres by 1.6 metres by 1.6 metres.
A soil testing facility already exists at Lakehead but this funding, from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, will allow the university to construct a new facility that will use a large shear box for full-scale soil-rock-structure interactions.
“This will allow us to investigate ways to strengthen the soil,” said Mohamedelhassan.
Soil loads for projects like railways and mines will be tested in the facility.
Mohamedelhassan said soil loads can be tested to ensure they can carry the weight of a train and for deep mines, the data can be used to optimize the design of a mine in terms of cost and duration “since we have precisely what type of load the soil is going to be subjected to.”
Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan, announced the funding on Friday. He said the soil-testing research will assist some of the industries in the region.
It’s also a great example of partnerships between institutions like the university and businesses like engineering firms.
“It's going to be instrumental in helping our industries move forward with these new innovative ideas to help larger industries like a railway system, for example,” said Holland. “It's really exciting to see the work that's being done here at Lakehead University and be able to support that through the NOHFC grant is so important.”
“Lakehead University has really positioned themselves well and they have demonstrated to be a true community partner and leader in helping businesses and government really with the research that we need to make sure that we're advancing the technologies that's going to improve life in Northwestern Ontario,” Holland added.
