geotechnical-engineering

Mining-induced deformation and failure of overlying strata may trigger roof collapse, surface subsidence, and abnormal gas emissions. To address this, this study proposes a distributed optical fiber monitoring method for large-scale rock mass deformation, leveraging the high sensitivity and distributed sensing advantages of Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) technology. A physical sim…

Unsaturated loess slopes in the Three-River Source Region of Qinghai are prone to landslide hazards under rainfall infiltration. To investigate the influence of rainfall on slope stability in this region and the effectiveness of ecological slope protection, this study first determined the basic physical properties, shear strength under controlled matric suction (50–200 kPa), and soil-water charac…

The exposed cohesive soils to temperature can face physical and mechanical characteristics changes considerably. Therefore, understanding the environmental events influences on the soil geotechnical properties is essential, which is significant in the rainy and cold places such as in Sulaimani city, north of Iraq. For that reason, and due to the common role of lime on cohesive soil stabilization,…

Liquefaction is a major concern, especially in loose soil subjected to vibrations, which may lead to severe damage to buildings and infrastructure. In this paper, the influence of vertical vibrational loading on the liquefaction potential of natural sabkha soil was numerically examined to understand the effects of different parameters, on liquefaction potential. The parameters considered in this …

The dynamic response characteristics of stress redistribution in roadway surrounding rock and the distribution patterns of plastic zones during different stages are pivotal to controlling rock mass stability. Addressing the vulnerability of retained roadways to repeated mining impacts from adjacent working faces under dual- or multi-roadway layouts, this study examines the 22,104 auxiliary transp…

Scientific Reports, Published online: 15 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-47582-8 Geomechanical performance of a novel L-shaped wellbore design for hot dry rock geothermal reservoirs: insights from fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling

UofU Professor’s Leadership in Seismic Design and Accelerated Construction Technologies Dr. Steven Bartlett drives innovation in the design and construction of infrastructure worldwide. Having established himself as a global leader in geotechnical engineering, Dr. Bartlett has 35 years of experience in applied soil dynamics, liquefaction hazard mapping, seismic risk evaluations, and accelerated c…

A team of faculty members and students in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University contributed to a major geotechnical engineering field research project recently recognized with a 2021 Western States Seismic Policy Council Award in Excellence. Associate Professor Leon van Paassen led the group from ASU’s Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics , or CBBG, …

In Italy, on January of 2014, one of the Secchia river levees failed, causing millions of dollars in flood damage and two fatalities. Concerned with preventing similar disasters, scientists and geotechnical engineers are using soil sensors to investigate solutions in a project called, INFRASAFE (Intelligent monitoring for safe infrastructures) funded by the Emilia Romagna Region (Italy) […] The p…

Recently, I spent a day at the University of Birmingham in the UK where I talked with Dr. Nicole Metje and researchers in the Civil Engineering department.  They are working on a project called, “Mapping the Underworld,” (Curioni G., Chapman D.N., Metje N., Foo K.Y., Cross J.D. (2012) Construction and calibration of a field TDR […] The post New Applications in Archeology for TDR Probes Measuring …