Institute for Infrastructure and Environment

The Institute for Infrastructure and Environment carries out research on a diverse range of topics contributing to efficient, sustainable and resilient infrastructure in the built and natural environments.

Our research is aimed at promoting well being of humanity in the face of contemporary and anticipated challenges to urban infrastructure and the natural environment. Such as security of infrastructure and communities from natural and anthropogenic hazards; improving industrial infrastructure for dealing with bulk solids; assessment, monitoring and improvement of transport infrastructure; and treatment of water and waste water. Our work spans from understanding fundamental behaviour of materials, structures and processes at the smallest scales to the full design scale including simulation and modelling at all relevant scales.

Research Themes

The Institute contributes to the following activities as part of the Edinburgh Research Partnership in Engineering (ERPE): Fire Safety Engineering, Railway Engineering, Structural Materials and Geomechanics, Structural Engineering, and Water Management and Water Quality.

Research Facilities

The Structures Test Hall

This is our high-headroom lab for testing large and unusual structural assemblies. We have a actuators, test frames, and universal test machines to conduct tests under precise computer control, on materials such as concrete, FRP composites, high performance steels, masonry, and timber.

Environmental Laboratories

The environmental laboratories are located in the William Rankine building and are primarily used for both basic and applied research purposes as well as consultancy on water and wastewater treatment, water quality analysis, plant biology, environmental process modelling, etc. Among all devices it is worth mentioning:

  • automatic stations for air, water, plant and soil monitoring;
  • plant roots scanner analyzer;
  • thermal imaging video cameras;
  • Advanced oxidation, membrane, sorption and biological processes;
  • Analytical equipment: HPLC, GC-MS and FID, TOC, IC, UV-Vis, Zeta Potential and Size Analyser, solvent extraction.

Rushbrook Fire Labs

The Rushbrook Fire Laboratory is the Centre's principal laboratory for fire experiments. Located within the John Muir Building (King's Buildings Campus), it is home to several pieces of fire testing hardware, including:

  • Cone Calorimeter & Fire Propagation Apparatus (FPA)
  • Furniture Calorimeter
  • Heat-Transfer Rate Inducing System (H-TRIS)

Further Information

Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, Alexander Graham Bell Building
Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, Alexander Graham Bell Building
HRH The Princess Royal observes H-TRIS in action
HRH The Princess Royal observes H-TRIS in action
Graduating Civil Engineers 2016
Graduating Civil Engineers 2016