Landslides in Sensitive Clays


Book Description

Landslides in sensitive clays represent a major hazard in the northern countries of the world such as Canada, Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and in the US state of Alaska. Past and recent examples of catastrophic landslides at e.g. Saint-Jean-Vianney in 1971, Rissa in 1979, Finneidfjord in 1996 and Kattmarka in 2009 have illustrated the great mobility of the remolded sensitive clays and their hazardous retrogressive potential. These events call for a better understanding of landslide in sensitive clay terrain to assist authorities with state-of-the-art hazard assessment methods, risk management schemes, mitigation measures and planning. During the last decades the elevated awareness regarding slope movement in sensitive clays has led to major advances in mapping techniques and development of highly sophisticated geotechnical and geophysical investigation tools. Great advances in numerical techniques dealing with progressive failure and landslide kinematic have also lead to increase understanding and predictability of landslides in sensitive clays and their consequences. This volume consists of the latest scientific research by international experts dealing with geological, geotechnical and geophysical aspects of slope failure in sensitive clays and focuses on understanding the full spectrum of challenges presented by landslides in such brittle materials.




Landslides in Sensitive Clays


Book Description

This book gathers the most recent scientific research on the geological, geotechnical and geophysical aspects of slope failure in sensitive clays. Gathering contributions by international experts, it focuses on understanding the complete and practical spectrum of challenges presented by landslides in such complex materials. Based on sound and validated research results, the book also presents several recommendations that could be implemented in the guidelines or code-of-practice. These recommendations cover topics including the characterization and behavior of sensitive clays; the pre-failure, failure and post-failure stages of sensitive clays; mapping and identification methods; climate change; hazard assessment; and risk management. Sensitive clays are known for their potential for causing large landslides, which pose a serious risk to human lives, infrastructure, and surrounding ecosystems within their reach. This has been demonstrated by the recent catastrophic landslides in e.g. Sørum (2016), Skjeggestad (2015), Statland (2014), Byneset (2012), St-Jude (2010), Lyngen (2010) and Kattmarka (2009). The 2015 collapse of the Skjeggestad Bridge in Norway – which was due to a landslide in sensitive clay – alone costs millions of dollars in repairs. Recently, efforts are being made to increase society’s ability to cope with such landslide hazards. Geoscientists are now expected to provide input to the agencies responsible for landslide-risk preparedness. In other words, geoscientists’ role is not only to act as technologists to establish new theories, but also to go the extra mile to implement them in practice, so as to find meaningful solutions to geotechnical problems.




Engineering Problems of Regional Soils


Book Description

Proceedings of a conference held in Beijing, Aug. 1988. Comprises some 120 papers by contributors from various countries. Recently this subject has attracted increasing attention and interest among geotechnical engineers and researchers in countries where problems were encountered in construction works. This volume reports the latest developments i




Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics II


Book Description

Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics II comprises the Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG), organised by the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS) and held at the University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth from 8 10 November 2010. The volume addresses current and emerging challenges




Numerical Models in Geomechanics


Book Description

The papers in this volume reflect the current research and advances made in the application of numerical methods in geotechnical engineering. Topics include: instabilities in soil behaviour; environmental geomechanics; and hydro-mechanical coupling in problems of engineering.




Analytical Methods in Petroleum Upstream Applications


Book Description

Effective measurement of the composition and properties of petroleum is essential for its exploration, production, and refining; however, new technologies and methodologies are not adequately documented in much of the current literature. Analytical Methods in Petroleum Upstream Applications explores advances in the analytical methods and instrumentation that allow more accurate determination of the components, classes of compounds, properties, and features of petroleum and its fractions. Recognized experts explore a host of topics, including: A petroleum molecular composition continuity model as a context for other analytical measurements A modern modular sampling system for use in the lab or the process area to collect and control samples for subsequent analysis The importance of oil-in-water measurements and monitoring The chemical and physical properties of heavy oils, their fractions, and products from their upgrading Analytical measurements using gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) applications Asphaltene and heavy ends analysis Chemometrics and modeling approaches for understanding petroleum composition and properties to improve upstream, midstream, and downstream operations Due to the renaissance of gas and oil production in North America, interest has grown in analytical methods for a wide range of applications. The understanding provided in this text is designed to help chemists, geologists, and chemical and petroleum engineers make more accurate estimates of the crude value to specific refinery configurations, providing insight into optimum development and extraction schemes.




Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering


Book Description

Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering contains the proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE 2014, Delft, The Netherlands, 18-20 June 2014). It is the eighth in a series of conferences organised by the European Regional Technical Committee ERTC7 under the auspices of the International




Craig's Soil Mechanics


Book Description

Craig’s Soil Mechanics continues to evolve and remain the definitive text for civil engineering students worldwide. It covers fundamental soil mechanics and its application in applied geotechnical engineering from A to Z and at the right depth for an undergraduate civil engineer, with sufficient extension material for supporting MSc level courses, and with practical examples and digital tools to make it a useful reference work for practising engineers. This new edition now includes: Restructured chapters on foundations and earthworks, the latter including new material on working platforms and collapse of underground cavities (sinkhole formation). New mobilised-stress-based deformation methods that can straightforwardly be used with both linear and non-linear soil stiffness models and field measurements of shear wave velocity, for serviceability limit state design. Extended sets of correlations for making sensible first estimates of soil parameters, adding deformation-based parameters for broader coverage than the Eighth Edition. Extended section on robust statistical selection of characteristic soil parameters. Greater use of consolidation theory throughout in determining whether actions, processes and laboratory/in-situ tests are drained or undrained. Extended chapter on in-situ testing, adding the Flat Dilatometer Test (DMT), and interpretation of consolidation parameters from CPTU and DMT testing. An updated section on pile load testing. Additional worked examples and end-of-chapter problems covering new material, with fully worked solutions for lecturers. The electronic resources on the book’s companion website are developed further, with the addition of two new spreadsheet numerical analysis tools and improvement of existing tools from the Eighth Edition. Using these, readers can take real soil test data, interpret its mechanical properties and apply these to a range of common geotechnical design problems at ultimate and serviceability limiting states.




Unsaturated Soil Mechanics - from Theory to Practice


Book Description

In the past decades advances have been made in the research and practice on unsaturated soil mechanics. In 2000 the first Asia-Pacific Conferences on Unsaturated Soils was organized in Singapore. Since then, four conferences have been held under the continued support of the Technical Committee on Unsaturated Soils (TC106) of the International Socie




Correlations of Soil and Rock Properties in Geotechnical Engineering


Book Description

This book presents a one-stop reference to the empirical correlations used extensively in geotechnical engineering. Empirical correlations play a key role in geotechnical engineering designs and analysis. Laboratory and in situ testing of soils can add significant cost to a civil engineering project. By using appropriate empirical correlations, it is possible to derive many design parameters, thus limiting our reliance on these soil tests. The authors have decades of experience in geotechnical engineering, as professional engineers or researchers. The objective of this book is to present a critical evaluation of a wide range of empirical correlations reported in the literature, along with typical values of soil parameters, in the light of their experience and knowledge. This book will be a one-stop-shop for the practising professionals, geotechnical researchers and academics looking for specific correlations for estimating certain geotechnical parameters. The empirical correlations in the forms of equations and charts and typical values are collated from extensive literature review, and from the authors' database.