Physical Properties 

The Geotechnical Soils Properties Laboratories house both standard and specialist in-house developed equipment. This allows BGS to conduct experiments rarely carried out in the UK such as the shrinkage limit test, as the equipment developed in-house at BGS does not require the use of mercury. Apparatus has also been developed for research into 3D swell strain and 1D swelling pressure.

The Hydrogeological Properties and Processes Laboratory (HRL) is a recent addition to BGS. The facility houses a flow tank and is installed with air-conditioning for temperature control during the experiments. Instrumentation can be controlled remotely through the BGS LAN and data transferred to BGS servers.

The Rock Mechanics and Phsyics Laboratory focusses on the mechanical and physical properties of near surface rocks (less than 5km deep) and building stones. The facility provides services for the testing of strength, deformation and classification (index) of core samples with diameters of 28mm, 50mm and 100mm to ASTM (1995) standards. 

The Physical Property Research Facility investigate the measurements of physical properties of the UK’s solid and superficial geology plus the application of this data for the prediction and spatial mapping of material properties and their temporal changes. The facility includes the Ultrasonics Research Laboratory, Geophysical Properties Research Laboratory and Geohazard Monitoring and Imaging. Research includes hydrocarbons, water, geotechnical and waste management.