Australian Geomechanics Society Queensland – 2010 Meetings
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February 18, 2010
The Mystery of Unsaturated Soils
Professor David Williams
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March 18, 2010
2009 EH Davis Memorial Lecture – Recent Advances In The Application Of Vertical Drains And Vacuum Preloading In Soft Soil Stabilization
Prof. Buddhima Indraratna, University of Wollongong
Much of the world’s essential infrastructure is built along congested costal belts composed of highly compressible and weak soils up to significant depths. Alluvial and marine soft clay deposits have very low bearing capacity and excessive settlement characteristics, with direct design and maintenance implications on tall structures, large commercial buildings, as well as port and transport infrastructure. Stabilizing such soft soils prior to construction is essential for both short and long term stability.
Pre-construction consolidation of soft formation soils by applying a surcharge load alone often takes too long. Moreover, attributed to the low permeability and high thickness of low-lying clay deposits, the required surcharge load to achieve more than 90% degree of consolidation can be excessively high over a prolonged period. A system of vertical drains combined with vacuum pressure and surcharge preloading has become an attractive ground improvement alternative in terms of both cost and effectiveness. This technique accelerates soil consolidation by promoting rapid radial flow, decreasing the excess pore pressure while increasing the effective stress.
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April 22, 2010
“Great Man-made River” Project
Cristian Rotariu
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June 22, 2010
Concepts & Parameters Related to Ground Improvement Illustrated by Case Histories
Serge Varaskin
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July 22, 2010
Designing With High Strength Geosynthetics
Dr. Patrick Naughton
Griffith University South Bank campus