Coventry University and The Knowledge Hub Universities are continuing their cooperation to give all their students the most intellectually stimulating and enriching educational environment possible. TKH and Coventry University have opened up a new engineering labs building to bring hands-on learning to a different level with the most cutting edge tech available.
We are proud of the successful completion of our state-of-the-art Engineering Lab in collaboration with Coventry University’s Quality in Learning and Teaching Committee. The state of the art facilities supports and enhances the project-based and hands-on learning experience of our students in the Civil, Mechanical, Electrical & Electronics Programmes of Study.
Professor Stratis Kanarachos | Head of School of Engineering
Built over 3000 square metres, the building accommodates three different labs, in addition to a manufacturing centre. The Fluids Mechanics lab allows students to investigate and experiment with the properties of fluids through its open channel test rigs and hydraulic benches. The Concrete, Geotechnics and Surveying lab brings your ear to the ground while working with its concrete mixers, mechanical rammers and 3000 kN structural testing machine. Finally, the Structural Mechanics lab includes advanced equipment for material testing, from a microscope for failure analysis.
The Fluid Mechanics lab has several types of equipment to examine the properties of fluids and to conduct experiments involving both incompressible and compressible fluids. Facilities are available for investigating the fundamentals of fluid statics as well as kinematics and kinetics of fluid flow to enhance the hands-on experience of our students. Furthermore, the laboratory is equipped with open channel test rigs, hydraulic benches and many other experiments to investigate complex patterns of fluid flow (e.g. slug flow).
The Concrete, Geotechnics & Surveying lab includes equipment for civil engineering students. Various tests can be conducted to study the physical & mechanical properties of materials under analysis. Calorimeters, concrete mixers & compressive machine are being used within teaching lab sessions where students focus on aggregate sizing, cement quality & concrete testing features. Geotechnics lab focuses on studying soil properties using Casagrande liquid limit device, plastic limit study & soil compaction using manual and mechanical rammers. Along with these tests, other experiments and testing are performed on-site using levelling and total station instruments to learn the basic aspects of such instruments through measuring distances, horizontal and vertical angles. Last but not least, students are exposed to structural testing procedures to fully comprehend how structures respond to real loads depending on the material properties.
The Structural Mechanics lab includes advanced equipment for material testing. The purpose of the lab is to provide materials and structures testing facility that familiarizes students with digital measurement methodologies and quality control. Equipment in the lab includes universal testing machine, impact testing machine, fatigue testing machine, load and torque testing, strain measurement, thermocouples and ambient temperature sensors, microscope for failure analysis, furnaces for annealing purposes.
The wood and metal workshop includes all the required machines for cutting and shaping wood and metals which will give the students the hands-on experience of building prototypes.
Finally, the Manufacturing Centre is set up to become a leader in research, prototyping and testing, serving as both an R&D and an educational facility, where students and researchers alike can apply their designs practically and see how it all works out. Between the multiple types of 3D printers on board, CNC machines and the state-of-the-art collaborative robot, the center is built as a technological powerhouse for curious minds and innovative creators.
