In the EPB laboratory of the Chair of Tunnelling, Pipeline Construction and Construction Management at the Ruhr University Bochum, the essential properties of conditioning agents and conditioned unconsolidated rock can be investigated and evaluated with regard to their suitability for conditioning or as a support medium. These investigations can be carried out both under atmospheric pressure conditions and under supporting pressure conditions in the COSMA test rig. The properties that can be determined in laboratory tests include, for example, the density and drainage behaviour (foam) for the conditioning agents or the consistency or workability, water permeability, compressibility, density or shear strength for conditioned soils.

Controlled movements of the spray nozzle can be carried out with the help of the KUKA industrial robot. The mixture is then pumped using a vibrating concrete pump. The pump can be used to achieve a continuous flow of both the shotcrete and the accelerator agent, which means that a homogeneous test specimen can be produced.