National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing
University of CambridgeCambridge
The National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing is hosted by the University of Cambridge in the Civil Engineering Building at West Cambridge. It combines sensor development and infrastructure monitoring with structural, materials, durability and soil-element research. The owner welcomes industry research and testing projects, with charges based on facility use and technical support. Contact enquiries@nrfis.cam.ac.uk to discuss the experiment, appropriate laboratory and arrangements. UKCRIC separately states that it is not a lab service provider or an accredited analysis service.
Reviewed by Arc · About this review
Key facts
- Current research facility and site
- NRFIS is a University of Cambridge research facility in the Civil Engineering Building at West Cambridge. Its dedicated contact block gives 7a JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FA.
- Sensing and engineering research
- The owner brings sensor development together with structural, material, concrete-durability and soil-element laboratories. Sensor deployment and infrastructure data analysis are linked to the Smart Infrastructure and Construction Laboratory.
- Industry access and charges
- NRFIS welcomes businesses for commercially sensitive research, equipment access and testing of public assets. Charges are calculated for each project’s use of facilities and technical support.
- Primary enquiry
- Use enquiries@nrfis.cam.ac.uk for research collaboration or facility use. The owner separately gives civeng-reception@eng.cam.ac.uk for arranging visits, access and parking.
Testing capabilities
Sensor development and infrastructure monitoring
The novel prototyping, sensor maintenance and vibration isolation laboratories support sensor technologies towards deployment. The Smart Infrastructure and Construction Laboratory supports field deployment and data analysis for infrastructure monitoring. Confirm the sensor, calibration or development task, required measurements and deployment arrangements.
Building-material testing and characterisation
The Materials Testing and Characterisation Laboratory describes static and dynamic tensile and compressive testing at room and elevated temperatures. Its universal testing machines cover low-capacity flexural materials and stronger load-bearing elements. Confirm the selected machine, fixture, specimen, temperature and loading history.
Structural proof-of-concept and concrete durability research
The Advanced Structures Laboratory manufactures and tests small-scale proof-of-concept structures using metal, composite and thermoplastic materials. The owner also describes structural-material research and concrete manufacturing and durability laboratories for long-term integrity studies. These are research activities, with exact mechanical or durability protocols and preparation to agree.
Soil-element and coupled geomechanics research
NRFIS geomechanics laboratories offer static element, dynamic, thermo-hydro-mechanical and high-pressure/high-stiffness testing. Listed apparatus includes direct and simple shear, oedometers, vane shear, resonant column and triaxial systems. The Schofield Centre is described as a complementary university facility, with its equipment and modelling capability requiring separate arrangements.
Equipment and published limits
| Specification | Published value | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Sensor-development equipment | Dual lock-in amplifier, digital high-definition oscilloscope, motion simulator and MEMS microsystem analyser | These tools are listed for the NRFIS sensor laboratories. No numeric bandwidth, motion envelope, sensitivity or measurement uncertainty is stated. Confirm the required sensor-development or measurement task directly. |
| Materials laboratory universal testing machines | Individual electro-mechanical universal testing machines rated 2 kN, 30 kN and 150 kN | The page also lists an environmental chamber and optical microscope. These are individual machine ratings, with no common specimen envelope, dynamic-duty limit or verified chamber temperature range. Confirm the appropriate system and test conditions. |
| Geomechanics apparatus | Direct shear, dynamic direct/simple shear, incremental-loading oedometers, vane shear, unsaturated-soil resonant column, temperature-controlled oedometer and triaxial systems | The owner lists these NRFIS soil-element tools and a forced-convection oven. No numeric pressure, load, strain, frequency or temperature envelope is stated on the page. Schofield Centre equipment is not included in these specifications. |
Access and contact
Email enquiries@nrfis.cam.ac.uk to discuss research collaboration or use of the facilities, and describe the sensor or specimen, required test or monitoring task and technical support. The owner supports businesses through commercially sensitive research, equipment access and public-asset testing, with project-specific charges based on use and support. For visits and parking, use civeng-reception@eng.cam.ac.uk. NRFIS is in the Civil Engineering Building, 7a JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA. UKCRIC separately offers early research enquiries at hello@ukcric.com, visits and intellectual-property discussion, with EPSRC-funded proposals given priority.
Facility contact
- Address
- Civil Engineering Building, 7a JJ Thomson Avenue
Cambridge, CB3 0FA - Website
- Official test house website
Standards and accreditation
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
What to confirm with the facility
- No method-specific standard or accredited scope was verified in the current bounded sources. The owner’s research and testing access does not itself establish accredited analysis. UKCRIC explicitly says it is not a lab service provider or an accredited analysis service.
- The 2 kN, 30 kN and 150 kN values describe individual electro-mechanical testing machines. Numeric sensor performance, specimen limits, chamber temperature, dynamic loading and geomechanics pressure or frequency limits remain unverified. Confirm the system and combined operating conditions needed.
- NRFIS’s geomechanics laboratories complement the existing Schofield Centre facilities. Those separate physical-modelling and geotechnical assets are not treated as NRFIS equipment. Manufacturing, computation and field monitoring likewise need the appropriate laboratory or deployment arrangements.
- Confirm experiment preparation and quantity, measurement requirements, fixture and sensor setup, access responsibilities, technical support, costs, programme, data ownership and reporting directly.
Before requesting a test
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Frequently asked questions
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Related testing facilities
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Further reading
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Sources and review
Reviewed by Arc on 1 October 2026 using current official University of Cambridge NRFIS identity, contact, industry access, charges and laboratory pages, with UKCRIC context. The three selected laboratory node links redirected to their current canonical pages. No publication or modification date for the exact pages was verified. Dated 2022 homepage news and October 2021 showcase materials are separate from page publication and this review. Individual equipment limits remain qualified, with no Schofield Centre equipment or accredited testing scope inferred.
Arc publishes this directory entry and does not operate the test facility. Suggest a correction to Arc with a supporting source.
NRFIS home and University of Cambridge identity
The owner identifies NRFIS as a University of Cambridge research facility in the Civil Engineering Building. Dated 2022 news cards are not the homepage’s publication or modification dates.
The page gives enquiries@nrfis.cam.ac.uk for research and facility use, with a separate reception address for visits and parking. Its dedicated NRFIS contact block gives 7a JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FA.
The owner offers businesses equipment access for commercially sensitive research and testing of public assets, with sensor-to-infrastructure monitoring capabilities. This is a project offer, not a universal test envelope or accredited scope.
Charges are calculated for the individual project, use of facilities and technical support. No numeric tariff or automatic unassisted access is established.
The owner describes sensor, structural, material and durability research, soil-element testing and construction data analysis. The guide selects relevant testing groups and keeps manufacturing, computing and wider university capabilities in context.
Novel prototyping, sensor maintenance and vibration isolation laboratories
The exact linked laboratory page lists a dual lock-in amplifier, digital high-definition oscilloscope, motion simulator and MEMS analyser. It gives no numeric bandwidth, motion, sensitivity or accuracy range.
Materials Testing and Characterisation Laboratory
The page lists individual 2 kN, 30 kN and 150 kN electro-mechanical universal testing machines, an environmental chamber and an optical microscope. Temperature, specimen and dynamic-duty ranges remain unverified.
Geomechanics Testing Laboratories
The page names static, dynamic, thermo-hydro-mechanical and high-pressure/high-stiffness soil testing and its apparatus. Schofield Centre facilities are described as complementary and are not transferred into NRFIS’s equipment list.
National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing
The profile corroborates the West Cambridge Civil Engineering Building, infrastructure sensing and dedicated NRFIS enquiry route. It supplies research context and does not establish equipment-specific accredited testing.
UKCRIC facilities and research access
UKCRIC describes early project enquiries, visits, intellectual property and EPSRC priority, and says it is not a lab service provider or an accredited analysis service. October 2021 is showcase context, not page publication.