Proceedings of the ICE - Geotechnical Engineering

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ISSN : 1353-2618
E-ISSN : 1751-8563

Impact Factor 0.443. 

Geotechnical Engineering provides a forum for the publication of high quality, topical and relevant technical papers covering all aspects of geotechnical research, design, construction and performance. The journal aims to be of interest to those civil, structural or geotechnical engineering practitioners wishing to develop a greater understanding of the influence of geotechnics on the built environment.

  • - It is free to submit to this journal. Papers appear Ahead of Print (below) as soon as they are ready to be published. Ahead of print articles are fully citable using the DOI system.


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  • The design of temporary excavation support to Eurocode 7
    Author(s):  Paul David Markham
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  • This paper examines how Eurocode 7 relates to the design of temporary excavation support. It is shown that total stress design and the net available passive resistance method described in Ciria Report 104 can produce inconsistent results, which must be carefully checked for sensitivity to the soil parameter values used. Many temporary excavations are designed using moderately conservative soil parameter values and a limit equilibrium method of analysis with a lumped factor of safety of 1·5. It is concluded that design in accordance with Eurocode 7 produces higher propping forces than design using this approach, but that Eurocode 7 produces propping forces over 60% lower than design in accordance with Ciria Report C580.
  • Retaining wall behaviour in Dublin's fluvio-glacial gravel, Ireland
    Author(s):  Michael Long; Philip Daynes; Shane Donohue; Michael Looby
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  • Practising engineers in the Dublin, Ireland, area have significant experience in dealing with the Boulder Clay which underlies much of the city. However, the 45 m deep buried pre-glacial channel north of the River Liffey is infilled with fluvio-glacial deposits which behave very differently from an engineering point of view. Case history data from eight sites and a detailed examination of the retaining wall behaviour at two of the sites show that retaining wall movements appear to be governed by system stiffness (i.e. a combination of wall stiffness and support configuration). It seems that relatively simple beam–spring type computer programs will provide data for reasonably accurate designs of retaining walls for basements of up to two levels. Input parameters such as K 0, φ‘ and soil stiffness need to be carefully specified. Groundwater inflows can be significant but can be dealt with by providing a good cut-off into the underlying glacial till or bedrock and by conventional pumping techniques. Geophysical techniques such as multichannel analysis of surface waves, S/P waves and resistivity can be very useful for the determination of soil properties, such as degree of saturation, density and stiffness, and for material characterisation (i.e. distinguishing the presence of these materials in contrast to the Boulder Clay).
  • Long-term behaviour of embankment dams: seven Greek dams
    Author(s): George T. Dounias; Kostas Anastasopoulos; Argyris Kountouris
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  • The long-term deformation of embankment dams is one of the key safety issues. Mechanisms affecting the post-construction deformation of embankment dams are briefly described. The long-term deformation of seven large Greek dams is presented by examining the crest deformations. The older dams have attained a nearly constant rate of deformation that is very small. More than 100 years are required in order for the crest settlements to reach the design camber, and in some cases many hundreds of years. The crest deformations differ for each dam, but some patterns are identified for similar dams. Factors that influence the deformations include the materials of construction, the core location, the valley geometry and the reservoir fluctuations. Of particular interest are the horizontal crest deflections for dams with central cores, where movements towards upstream are occasionally observed.
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  • Citytunneln, Malmö: geotechnical hazards and opportunities
    Author(s): Jan Hartlén; Henrik Christensen; Sven Jansson
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  • Penetrating limestone in Malmö, Sweden, the underground works at Citytunneln comprise two parallel 7·8 m internal diameter railway tunnels, 6 km long, excavated with tunnel-boring machines. Triangeln Station, halfway along the tunnels, is a 30 m wide cavern with 15 m soil/rock cover and a row of pillars for central support. Malmö C Station at the northern end is an open cut-and-cover structure. There are two contracts, one for the tunnels and cavern (Lot E201) and another for Malmö C Station (Lot E101). Differing risk management techniques maintained an appropriate balance in the risk distribution. Groundwater lowering close to the harbour and the stability of adjacent historic buildings were the main hazards in E101. The design was based on the client's geotechnical interpretative report (GIR), and encountered deviations were compensated within a unit rate contract (E101). By contrast, the tunnelling risks in E201 were handled in a design–build contract (Lot E201), with the contractor responsible for the GIR. The geotechnical risk management was based on contractual geotechnical reference conditions. The observational method was used successfully to mitigate geotechnical hazards as well as to exploit opportunities. 
  • Physical modelling analysis of the New Orleans levee breaches
    Author(s):  R. Scott Steedman; Michael K. Sharp
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  • As part of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) investigation into levee breaches in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, centrifuge modelling was undertaken of representative levee cross-sections on the 17th Street, Orleans and London Avenue Canals. Two mechanisms were observed leading to breaching of the levee in the models, both of which stemmed from a water-filled crack that formed in front of the flood wall. Depending on the foundation conditions and geometry of the levee and flood wall, the crack led either to a rotation of the flood wall landwards, with uplift and sliding on the top of the sand towards the landward toe of the levee, or to a translational (sliding) failure in the clay layer commencing from the bottom or toe of the flood wall. In the Orleans models no breach ensued, although it was clear these sections were close to failure. The centrifuge model tests identified, at an early stage in the IPET investigation, the importance of the ‘gap' mechanism affecting the stability of the flood walls, and confirmed that levee geometry and flood wall depth of penetration, together with the underlying soil profile, were critical to the performance of the system under flood loading.
  • Assessment of pyritic Lower Lias mudrocks for earthworks
    Author(s): Mourice A. Czerewko; Stephen A. Cross; Philip G. Dumelow; Amon Saadvandi
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  • The weathering of pyritic mudrocks can have serious consequences for construction, and in particular for earthworks. Prediction of the likely behaviour of pyritic mudrocks involved in earthworks tends to be overlooked, with only the determination of aggressivity to steel and cementitious materials carried out. British Jurassic mudrocks tend to be soil-like overconsolidated deposits, typically with significant calcite and pyrite content. They may have appropriate engineering properties for earthworks under certain conditions, but they are susceptible to rapid atmospheric deterioration in the presence of both oxygen and water. The rate and products of pyrite oxidisation are dependent upon the mineralogy and fabric of the host material, its hydrological setting, and its immediate environment following exposure. This ultimately controls the rate and impact on construction. This paper outlines the construction through an area of Lower Lias mudrocks of Jurassic age for the A46 Newark to Widmerpool Improvement Scheme. The approach adopted allowed an understanding of the likely reactions and implications for construction at a site-specific level. This provided confidence for the client, designer and contractor that the adopted methodology was appropriate for long-term performance. 
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