Webinar on Numerical modelling of mechanised tunnelling (25 June)

Dear Colleagues,
on Friday 25 June 2021, at 15:30 CET, Dr. Nunzio Losacco, Research Fellow at Politecnico di Bari, will be delivering the following webinar:
“Numerical modelling of mechanised tunnelling: from simplified to detailed approaches”

The webinar is organised by the Geotechnical Research Group of DICATECh, Politecnico di Bari, Italy, and will be held on Microsoft Teams.
No registration is required, participants can join the event by clicking on the following link:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YjJjOGRjODItNGJiMC00YmY0LWEzYmItZTA5MTU4MDA1ODlm%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%225b406aab-a1f1-4f13-a7aa-dd573da3d332%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22666815db-736a-4f9c-9ba1-db1bb4921368%22%7d
Please see the attached file for further details.

PhD position (teaching assistant) at the University of Liège (Belgium)

Applications are invited for a PhD student at the University of Liège, to work on Unsaturated soil mechanics – Experimental and constitutive focus on desiccation cracking in fine-grained soils.

The PhD candidate will also take part in teaching activites related to soil and rock mechanics courses. The research and teaching assistant position is granted for a first term of two years, renewable for up to 2 further periods of 2 years.

Project description

The mechanics of desiccation cracking is a complex hydro-mechanical process, induced by soil drying in partially or totally strain-constrained conditions. Desiccation cracks may affect significantly the hydro-mechanical properties of fine-grained soils (strength weakening, increased compressibility, increased permeability), leading to potential geotechnical issues (landslide triggering, soil erosion, leakage of impermeable barrier, …).

In the framework of unsaturated soil mechanics, this study will investigate the conditions of desiccation cracks triggering, their propagation and their aperture evolution, from experimental and constitutive approaches. Suction control techniques, image analysis and tensile strength testing will be developed. A particular attention will be devoted to the determination of tensile strength criterion at various suctions, through innovative experimental developments

The experimental characteristics will then be encapsulated in constitutive laws and implemented in a finite element code. The numerical simulations will incorporate the modelling of water evaporation, the hydro-mechanical response of soil upon drying, the tensile strength criterion and the impact on the presence of the crack mechanical and hydraulic response of the ground. Finally, the methodology will be applied to study the conditions of occurrence of desiccation cracking in full-scale problems (earthfill dike, nuclear waste disposal gallery, landfill waste disposal, agricultural soils, …).

Requirements and application procedure

The position is open to graduated students (Master degree) in Civil Engineering, Geosciences or related disciplines.

Applicants should have a high level of proficiency in written and spoken English. The successful candidate is also expected to learn French during his first two years.

Applications must be sent by email to Prof. Frédéric Collin (F.Collin@uliege.be). It should include a motivation letter, a CV and a short abstract of the Master thesis. Please contact Prof. Frédéric Collin if you need more information.

Applications are welcome before 12th July 2021. The starting date is at the latest the 1st October 2021.

10th Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt (SaltMech X) – abstract submission now open

Dear  colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that the 10th Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt (SaltMech X) will take place on July 6 – 8, 2022 at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. The conference will be hosted by the Experimental Rock Deformation group, the Structural Geology and Electron Microscopy group and the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development, at the Faculty of Geosciences. 

The SaltMech X website can be found at: http://www.saltmech.com/ .

Launched in 1981, the SaltMech Conferences series serves to exchange research findings and practical experiences regarding the mechanical behavior of rock salt in the context of safe use in mining, energy storage and waste disposal. Therefore, topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Laboratory Testing
Field Investigations
Constitutive Modeling
Modeling and Simulation
Micromechanics and Microstructures
Geology of Salt Formations
Salt Caverns, Cavern Abandonment and Long-term Integrity
Geological and Geotechnical Barriers
Geological Storage of Energy (methane, compressed air, hydrogen) and Hazardous Waste
Mining

Abstract submission is now open, with the submission deadline on Friday the 6th of August 2021. Check to website for more information on future important dates and procedures, the venue, accommodation and travel. We aim to have SaltMech X as a fully on-site conference, though we will keep an eye on potential travel restrictions and may make adjustments accordingly.

We hope you will consider attending and contributing to SaltMech X!

Kind regards,
 
The Local Organising Committee of SaltMech X
Dr. Suzanne Hangx, Dr. André Niemeijer, Dr. Matteo Gazzani, Prof. Chris Spiers, Prof. Hans de Bresser and Prof. Martyn Drur

EPOS-NL: call open for Facility Access

Hi all,

A 2nd call is open from 9 June to 16 July to get free of charge access to top EPOS-NL research facilities in the Netherlands, notably:

  • The ESL High Pressure and Temperature Lab at Utrecht University
  • The ESL Tectonic modelling lab at Utrecht University
  • The CT scanners of the Multi-scale Imaging and Tomography (MINT) facility at Delft University of Technology
  • The Petrophysics Lab at Delft University of Technology

Capabilities include CT scanning, triaxial compression testing, ring shear (friction) testing and analogue modelling of tectonic processes.

Access can be remote (send in sample analysis) or physical (personal visit), depending on developments in corona restrictions, the requirements of the facility to be accessed and/or your wishes. Click here for more information.

If you want to stay up to date on EPOS-NL facility and data access, e-mail “subscribe” to info@epos-nl.nl

Best regards,

Ronald Pijnenburg

Ronald Pijnenburg, PhD – Project Manager EPOS-NL| Department of Earth Sciences | Utrecht University |

Joint PhD position opening in Offshore Geotechnics at KULeuven and UCLouvain (Belgium)

Applications are welcomed for a joint PhD position KULeuven-UCLouvain starting October 1, 2021.

The objective of the project is to develop a better understanding of the soil-structure interaction during the installation and operational use of piles installed by vibratory driving for Offshore wind turbines. Semi-analytical and numerical models will be developed and calibrated using cyclic triaxial tests in conditions characteristic for offshore environments. The results of the models will be compared to reduced scale experiments of impact and vibratory driving for the installation and the extraction, but also the mechanical behavior of the pile subjected to cyclic loading under wind and wave loading. The developed methodology will be applied to actual case studies, aiming at a characterization of the soil-pile interaction and providing design guidelines.

To apply and get more detailed information, please see https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60029856?hl=en

Webinars on liquefaction and ground improvement – Prof. Kyle Rollins

2 webinars will be held in June through University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) by Prof. Kyle Rollins (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah) on liquefaction and ground improvement.

11 June 2021 – 10.00-12.00 CET “Liquefaction and Lateral Spread”

25 June 2021 – 10.00-12.00 CET “Ground Improvement for Earthquake
Engineering”

See the flyer for more information.

Online lecture on In-situ Testing in Geotechnical Engineering

The organising committee of Advancements in Geotechnical Engineering: From Research to Practice (AGERP) Lecture Series is pleased to invite you to the 4th lecture of the 2nd edition of AGERP Lecture Series (AGERP’21). The fourth lecture will be on ‘In-situ Testing in Geotechnical Engineering’. This Lecture will be jointly delivered by Professor Emeritus Peter K. Robertson (Gregg Drilling LLC, USA) and Eng. Diego Marchetti (Marchetti DMT, Italy).

Lecture 4 is scheduled to be hosted on 11th June 2021 (Australian Eastern Standard Time-AEST) with registration for this lecture closing at 00:00, 10th June 2021 (AEST).

You may find further info. and register (free but mandatory) here: https://www.age-rp.com/

Dr. Partha Mishra and Professor Sarat Das, Convenor, AGERP Lecture Series

Post-doctoral researcher opportunity at the University of Nottingham (UK)

The Nottingham Centre for Geomechanics (NCG) is currently undertaking two large multi-disciplinary projects related to investigating the behaviour of coal-mining spoil materials with a focus on the geotechnical, sustainability, environmental, socio-economic and long-term management challenges. NCG brings together expertise from the worlds of civil, geotechnical, and mining engineering as well as mathematics and material sciences to solve all forms of soil and rock-related design and construction problems. The projects are funded by the European Commission Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) and include project partners from across Europe. We seek a highly motivated researcher to join our team to work on this challenging project.

We are looking to recruit a post-doctoral researcher who will support the work of these RFCS projects as well as support the wider work of the research group. We would consider any candidate with a strong fundamental geotechnical background.

Candidates should be inquisitive, with a strong interest in applied research, and the personality and drive to interact effectively with industry and project partners. They will have a first degree in Civil Engineering or cognate subject and will have been awarded a PhD (or have submitted their thesis for examination), ideally in an area of Geotechnical Engineering. The successful candidate will have good presentation and report writing skills. A good publication record will be an advantage but its absence should not hinder applications from those who have recently submitted their theses.

For application details see https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/jobs/currentvacancies/ref/ENG196421

Further information about the work of the Nottingham Centre for Geomechanics is available on www.nottingham.ac.uk/ncg/