Laboratories and training facilities

Engineering 4.0 houses several laboratories and training facilities, including the National Roads Materials Reference Laboratory of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), the first independent transport reference testing facility in Africa.

This is the site for the independent reference testing of materials for the road construction industry. Standard testing will mostly be conducted on road materials originating from SANRAL (for national roads projects), but also from the provinces and even neighbouring countries. It will serve as the standard for the properties of such materials, to which field data can be compared.

It will thus characterise materials for appropriate construction. The National Laboratory Proficiency Scheme for Road Materials Laboratories will be serviced from this laboratory, and it will also participate in international proficiency schemes.

This is a 20-station facility that will be used to train and certify road materials technicians employed by various testing laboratories. Once their skills are certified, laboratories can provide accurate test data to engineers. The objective is to ensure that materials testing in the field is up to standard and that the technicians who conduct the testing are capable and certified to do such tests with a high degree of accuracy. Engineering students will also be trained and certified in this facility.

This laboratory consists of preparation areas, curing and humidity rooms, and a large test floor where various concrete and structural testing can be conducted.

It also has a 900 mm-deep 20 x 15 m strong floor, which provides possibilities for attaching presses and test members onto the floor and a strong wall for testing.

This facility endeavours to cultivate, grow and expand the footprint of mass timber construction using advanced engineered wood products in South Africa and on the African continent in a collaborative effort between civil and chemical engineering, architecture, materials science, data science, genetics and other related bio-economy disciplines.

The 100 x 6 m APT track allows for the construction of different pavement structures and their accelerated evaluation using a mobile APT device developed in South Africa. This enables engineers to monitor the expected behaviour of a pavement over a fraction of its full life.

This active traffic test track is a lane on the N4 into Pretoria that is dedicated to research. It allows for the installation of sensors inside, next to and over the lane that can be monitored from a dedicated data house situated next to the N4. The datahouse is also the location of a traffic counter and classifier that has been developed in-house and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor traffic on the N4. This unique facility allows one to characterise pavement design and construction while using data obtained from the active traffic lane to model many aspects in transportation systems. Such data and models will support the planning and design of future transportation systems, and support cost-effective and innovative pavement engineering for Africa’s infrastructure development.

Prof Wynand Steyn Head of the Department of Civil Engineering and Chair of the School of Engineering

On 22 July 2020, the University signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the CSIR to collaborate on smart transport, cities and environments. This cooperation means that UP can focus on creating a pipeline of potential researchers in these areas. According to Prof Wynand Steyn, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, smart transport, cities Other facilities on the Engineering 4.0 Complex include a state-of-the-art auditorium for training and presentations, as well as wide, open social areas, both inside the facility and in the surrounding natural forest areas. Dedicated artworks have been installed inside the main building. The Pierre van Ryneveld memorial is situated at the entrance to the main building. This memorial commemorates the first successful flight from the United Kingdom to South Africa, which landed in South Africa on 17 March 1920.

A long-range (LoRa) low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) antenna is situated on the roof of the main building, which provides data collection coverage over the University’s entire Innovation Africa Campus, enabling unparalleled wireless communication capabilities for customised Internet of Things (IoT) sensor platforms. This will be used to monitor distributed sensors in a network that evaluates a range of environmental and related parameters on this campus. Photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roofs of most of the facility for sustainable power generation,

and a battery-operated car-charging station is located in the parking area. and environments are part of an integrated system that encompasses digitised transportation systems, parking management, reduced traffic congestion and addressing environmental problems.

“In order to work towards smart cities, there is a need to develop researchers with advanced skills in robotics, AI, IoT and satellite technology. To this end, researchers will be trained through complementary skills at UP and the CSIR,” said Prof Steyn. “This will further develop the skills required to design, construct, maintain and rehabilitate the extensive roads network in South Africa, a network that is vital for accessibility and the mobility of its communities, and in support of economic opportunities.”