Abstract: The first geotechnical drum centrifuge GT450/1.4 in China was introduced by Dalian University of Technology in 2009 with the aim of building an integrated testing platform to face the rapid development of marine soil mechanics. The details of mechanical system, control system, data acquisition system and other corollary equipment including PIV system, vacuum mixer for clay, large-scale consolidation apparatus and soil placement device, are presented through a comparison with the corresponding products in the world. Furthermore, submarine landslide is simulated by centrifugal tests with remoulded soil obtained in-situ. The results of centrifugal test show that drum centrifuge GT450/1.4 is of high performance and comprehensive capacity, and is better than other similar products in terms of mechanical system scale, data acquisition accuracy, automation of control system and load mode of actuator. Meanwhile, drum centrifuge GT450/1.4 is easy to be developed to be a modular geotechnical drum-beam centrifuge. Geotechnical drum centrifuge has advantages in the research of ocean engineering structures such as submarine landslide.

Key words: drum centrifuge, centrifugal modelling test, actuator, data acquisition, marine landslide