CURRENT PROBLEMS AND NEW DIRECTIONS

IN GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL

ENGINEERING
James K. Mitchell
Launch of the Nottingham Centre for Geomechanics
University of Nottingham

September 26, 2002

www.nottingham.ac.uk/ncg/news/Jim_Mitchell_NCG_tal...

www.nottingham.ac.uk/ncg/news/Jim_Mitchell_NCG_tal...
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Constitutive modeling; In-situ testing; Expansive soils; Soil
dynamics; Centrifuge testing; Partly saturated soils;
Geotechnical earthquake engineering ...

To understand where we are and to

help predict where we are going, it
is useful to review where we have
been.

Charles Augustin Coulomb

Macquorn Rankine

EVOLUTION
FPrior to 1940 - Karl Terzaghi
FAfter World War II:
Political and societal demands for:
New structures and facilities
Protection and enhancement of
environment
New resources
Mitigation of natural disaster risks

SOIL MECHANICS AND FOUNDATION

ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN 1949
v Scope of field limited mainly to:
v Soil Classification
v Capillarity and seepage
v Stress analysis by elasticity
v Consolidation and settlement analysis
v Shear strength
v Slope stability
v Lateral pressures
v Bearing capacity
v Shallow and deep foundations
v Emphasis largely on saturated clays and sands

DEVELOPMENTS FROM 1950 - 1960

v Slope stability
v Shear strength
v Soil structure, causes of clay sensitivity
v Compacted clay properties
v Pavement design
v Soil stabilization
v Transient loading

DEVELOPMENTS FROM 1960-1970

v Pore pressure, effective stress analysis
v Physico-chemical phenomena
v Rock Mechanics
v Computer applications
v Finite element analyses
v Soil-structure interaction
v Soil dynamics
v Liquefaction
v Earth and rockfill dams
v Offshore, cold region, lunar projects

DEVELOPMENTS FROM 1970-1980

vConstitutive modeling
vIn-situ testing
vExpansive soils
vSoil dynamics
vCentrifuge testing
vPartly saturated soils
vGeotechnical earthquake engineering
vUnderground construction

DEVELOPMENTS FROM 1980-1990

vRisk and reliability
vGroundwater and geohydrology
vGeoenvironmental engineering
vGeosynthetics
vEarth reinforcement
vGround improvement

Groundwater Contamination
Industrial wastes have been disposed in many ways

Placement of a Geomembrane

Reinforced Earth Wall, Valdez, Alaska

DEVELOPMENTS FROM 1990-2000

vWaste containment
vSite remediation
vSeismic risk mitigation
vLand reclamation
vInfrastructure
vGeophysical applications
vGeographic information systems

Rumpke MSW
Landfill Failure
12.5 ha
36 m headscarp
Max. waste depth
of 110 m
Toe moved 300 m
in 5 minutes
Pre-failure slope
of 2.6:1

Downstream Treatment at
Mormon Island Dam

I-15 / I-80 East / SR-201 Junction

(Artist's Rendition)

Salt Lake City

SITUATION AT THE BEGINNING

OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM

SCOPE OF GEOTECHNOLOGY
v Geotechnical engineering
v Geology and engineering geology
v Geophysics
v Geochemistry
v Geohydrology
v Seismology
v Civil engineering
v Mining and mineral engineering
v Petroleum engineering
v Information science and technology

PROJECTS AND PROBLEMS

v Foundations for structures of all types
v Transportation infrastructure (roads,
airfields, rail, ports and harbors,
underground)
v Land reclamation
v Seismic safety mitigation of seismic risk
v Resource recovery
v Energy
v Preservation and restoration of old
structures

TOWER OF
PISA IN 1957
(Speakers green
automobile for scale)

PROJECTS AND PROBLEMS (cont.)

v Waste disposal and containment
v Site remediation and environmental
enhancement
v Soil and rock as construction materials
v Deep Ocean, Cold Regions, Space
v Natural hazard protection and risk
reduction (landslides, tornadoes, hurricanes,
tsunamis, expansive soils, floods)

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND MATERIALS

vEarth reinforcement
vDeep soil mixing
vJet grouting
vCompaction grouting
vGeosynthetics

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND MATERIALS

(Cont.)

vMicro-piles
vMicro-tunnels
vGeocomposites
vGeophysical methods

INCREASING INVASIVENESS

INVASIVENESS OF MEASUREMENTS
Satellites, Aircraft
Helicopter

Remote sensing, photo

Remote sensing,
electromagnetic magnetic
Walk on ground
Magnetics, gravity, GPR,
conductivity
Disturbance, < 1m Seismic, resistivity, sampling:
geochemical, biological, soil
Disturbance, < 100 m Penetrometers; boreholes and
samples, downhole
measurements, tomography

APPLICATIONS OF NON-INVASIVE METHODS

v Characterization of subsurface for:
- waste disposal, containment, remediation
- infrastructure construction
v Locating:
- voids
- resources
- underground utilities
- buried land mines and unexploded ordnance
v Monitoring:
- ground movements
- infrastructure decay
v Archeological or forensic investigations
v Search and rescue

NEW REALITIES OF ENGINEERING

PRACTICE AND CONSTRUCTION
v Public participation
v Regulatory and Legal issues
v Health and Safety
v Decision and risk analysis
v Design-Build replacing Design-Bid-Build
v Questionable benefit/cost
v Struggling economies
v Poorly defined goals

PREDICTING THE FUTURE

vPredictions are very difficult
especially about the future
(Neils Bohr)

vHeavier than air flying machines are

impossible.
(Lord Kelvin, 1895)
vI think there is a world market for
maybe five computers
(Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943)

vWe dont like their sound, and guitar

music is on the way out.

(Decca Records rejection of the Beatles,

1962)

v640 K ought to be enough for

anybody
(Bill Gates, 1981)

SOME KNOWLEDGE NEEDS

v Liquefaction and predicting its consequences
v Evaluation of improved ground
v Prediction of deformations
v Dealing with Difficult Dirt
v Foundation Capacity
v Improved site characterization
v Constitutive models (always!)

PAPERS IN THE 2001 J.G.E.E., A.S.C.E.

(What people are working on)
v Piles and drilled piers

19

v Geotech EQ engrg and liquefaction

13

v Constitutive behavior, mechanics

v Ground improvement and stabilization

v Properties and behavior

v Micro-mechanics

v Contaminant transport

v Stability

v Geosynthetics

v Lateral Pressures, excavations

v Others

13

NETWORK FOR EARTHQUAKE

ENGINEERING SIMULATION (NEES)
(Sponsored by the National Science Foundation)

vA system of experimental
facilities linked by advanced
telecommunications that is
capable of real-time interactive
collaboration across the U.S.

SOME NEW FRONTIERS

vMicro-mechanics
vNano-technologies
vBiological processes
vSeeing into the earth
vSmart materials
vSelf-monitoring and correcting
systems

KEY QUESTIONS
vWhat is soil?
vHow does it respond to different
stimuli?
vWhy does it respond this way?
vHow do we relate the answers to
these questions to the problem or
project at hand?

Fundamental Mechanical Properties

vVolume change
vStress-strain
vStrength
vHydraulic conductivity
v(and their changes with time)

MOST IMPORTANT UNSOLVED PROBLEMS

vCommoditization of services
vNarrowing the gap between state-ofpractice and state-of-knowledge rapid
transfer of best research results into
practice
vSeismic behavior of earth structures
vDisplacements of earth structures during
and after construction

MOST IMPORTANT UNSOLVED PROBLEMS

(Cont.)

vCharacterizing and designing for

materials falling between soil and rock
vTime effects in disturbed ground
vImproved site characterization
vHow to generalize and simplify the
discipline

RESEARCH WITH HIGH PAYOFF BY 2010

vFaster, less expensive, more reliable in-situ
testing
vRapid methods of site
assessment/characterization/investigation
vLess expensive, easier to use high level
analysis methods
vNew and better ground improvement
technologies

RESEARCH WITH HIGH PAYOFF BY 2010

(Cont.)

vHow to apply GIS and the WWW to

maximize value of our collective
knowledge base
v21st Century implementation of the
Observational Method real time
integration of observations, test data,
analysis and design during construction

On this occasion of the launch of the new

Nottingham Centre for Geomechanics,
the challenges are many, the
opportunities to make a difference are
great, and I wish you all the best success
in your efforts to lead the way during
the exciting and unpredictable times
that lie ahead.