Double porosity soil is characterised by a soil continuum containing two distinct porosities. Typically, this consists of macro-grains (lumps) of soil that have an internal porosity defined as the intragranular porosity. The spaces between lumps are identified as intergranular voids that give rise to the intergranular porosity. Human activities such as land reclamation or mining can give rise to large areas of land with subsoil that exhibits double porosity. The need to build in, or on, these areas is increasing, due to demand for land for industrial usage, infrastructure, and residence. However, the engineering properties of such soils are challenging, and often difficult to predict due to their inhomogeneity and a lack of information about the initial or current parameters. Double porosity mining waste landfills in Northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic were studied in this project. There, decades of open-cast mining of brown coal have left vast areas of land affected by the waste overburden that has been removed and dumped in old mining pits. Redevelopment of areas affected by mining sometimes requires construction on old overburden waste spoil heaps, which consist primarily of lumps of overconsolidated clay and are therefore characterised by a double porosity soil structure. The loading response on these clayfills entails large absolute and relative deformations, which means that ground improvement is normally needed before construction begins, to ensure that both stability and service limit state requirements are met. The primary aim of this research was a comparison, through physical modelling, of ground improvement techniques on double porosity clay landfills. A secondary objective was to contribute to the understanding of the material behaviour governing response to loading and other processes on double porosity soil.

Natural soft soils are very complex materials. As construction activities increasingly take place in poor ground conditions, ground improvement is often required. However, design practices for ground improvement were for long at best crude and conservative, and at worst unsafe. Although new construction and field observation techniques have been de

The 8th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2014) was organised by the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems at the University of Western Australia under the auspices of the Technical Committee 104 for Physical Modelling in Geotechnics of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. This quadrennial conference is the traditional focal point for the physical modelling community of academics, scientists and engineers to present and exchange the latest developments on a wide range of physical modelling aspects associated with geotechnical engineering. These proceedings, together with the seven previous proceedings dating from 1988, present an inestimable collection of the technical and scientific developments and breakthroughs established over the last 25 years. These proceedings include 10 keynote lectures from scientific leaders within the physical modelling community and 160 peer-reviewed papers from 26 countries. They are organised in 14 themes, presenting the latest developments in physical modelling technology, modelling techniques and sensors, through a wide range of soil-structure interaction problems, including shallow and deep foundations, offshore geotechnics, dams and embankments, excavations and retaining structures and slope stability. Fundamental aspects of earthquake engineering, geohazards, ground reinforcements and improvements, and soil properties and behaviour are also covered, demonstrating the increasing complexity of modelling arising from state-of-the-art technological developments and increased understanding of similitude principles. A special theme on education presents the latest developments in the use of physical modelling techniques for instructing undergraduate and postgraduate students in geotechnical engineering.

Squeezing conditions in tunnelling are characterized by the occurrence of large deformations of the opening or high rock pressure that may overstress the lining. Squeezing is associated with poor quality rock. Tunnelling in squeezing ground involves great uncertainties. It is therefore very important to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Triaxial testing is the main source of information in order to understand the mechanical features of squeezing ground. Despite the complexity of the squeezing mechanism and the behaviour observed under relatively simple loading conditions, most of previous research work and engineering design practice considers the ground as a linearly elastic, perfectly plastic material obeying the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. While the MC model is capable of predicting the final strength and post-failure volumetric behaviour of the squeezing rock, it cannot map some potentially important pre-failure features or the occasionally observed contractant plastic deformation. In addition, the MC model usually leads to an overestimation of the strength under undrained conditions, which is unsafe for tunnel design. The present thesis mainly addresses the influence of constitutive modelling on predictions about the response of squeezing ground to tunnelling in order to provide some general guidelines for basic engineering analysis. This objective is achieved by investigating the behaviour of squeezing rocks theoretically and experimentally, using samples from several tunnel projects, including the Gotthard base tunnel and the planned Gibraltar strait tunnel.

On the variability of squeezing behaviour in tunnelling

Knowledge of the performance of river dykes during flooding is necessary when designing governmental assistance plans aimed to reduce both casualties and material damage. This is especially relevant when floods have increased in their frequency during the last decades, together with the resulting material damage and life costs. Most of previous attempts for analyzing dyke breaching during flooding have neglected to consider the soil mechanics component and the influence of infiltration and saturation changes on the failure mechanisms developed in the river dyke. This research project aimed to fill that gap in knowledge by analyzing, in a comprehensive manner, the effect of transient water conditions, represented by successive flood cycles, on the seepage conditions and subsequent breaching of dykes. Therefore, three key sub-projects were carried out: • the analysis of the results from an overflow field test, • the physical modeling of small-scaled models under an enhanced gravity field, • the numerical modeling of the flow response and the resulting stability of both the air- and water-side slopes. The results from the numerical simulations matched accurately with the results obtained with the centrifuge modeling, including the prediction of local instabilities during the flood cycles for those dykes that did not include a toe filter.

This PhD thesis investigates the effectiveness of drainage measures with respect to two particularly important problems associated with tunnelling through water-bearing, weak ground: the stability of the tunnel face and the stability and deformation of grouting bodies. Water is an adverse factor with respect to the stability and deformation of underground structures due to the pore water pressure and the seepage forces associated with seepage flow towards the tunnel. Drainage boreholes reduce the pore water pressure and the seepage forces in the vicinity of the cavity. Furthermore, loss of pore water pressure increases the effective stresses and thus the shearing resistance of the ground („consolidation“), which is favourable in terms the deformation occurring during and after tunnelling. The goal of the PhD thesis is to elaborate a more detailed understanding of the interrelationships between drainage measures and the stability of the tunnel face and grouting bodies. The main objectives of the investigations relating to the tunnel face are: 1. analysis of face stability through limit equilibrium computations taking account of the numerically determined seepage flow conditions prevailing in the ground after the implementation of drainage measures; 2. systematic investigation of tunnel face stability considering several different drainage layouts and working out designnomograms; 3. consideration of a series of aspects limiting pore pressure relief and thus the effectiveness of drainage measures and their impact on face stability. The main objectives of the investigations with regard to grouting bodies are: 1. a study of the stabilizing effect of the virtual case of ideal drainage on tunnel support and plastification in grouted fault zones in plane strain conditions; 2. a comparison with the stabilizing effect of real drainage layouts, i.e. when considering pore pressure relief due to specific drainage borehole arrangements; 3. application of the drainage measure both before and after the injection works. In summary, the contribution of this PhD thesis is the detailed investigation of the static effects of drainage measures during tunnelling in water-bearing ground with respect to the stability of the tunnel face and the grouting body as well as the supply of design aids capable of providing a quick assessment of face stability when considering a number of advance drainage schemes.

This book is devoted to describing theories for porous media where such pores have an inbuilt macro structure and a micro structure. For example, a double porosity material has pores on a macro scale, but additionally there are cracks or fissures in the solid skeleton. The actual body is allowed to deform and thus the underlying theory is one of elasticity. Various different descriptions are reviewed. Chapter 1 introduces the classical linear theory of elastodynamics together with uniqueness and continuous dependence results. Chapters 2 and 3 review developments of theories for double and triple porosity using a pressure-displacement structure and also using voids-displacement. Chapter 4 compares various aspects of the pressure-displacement and voids-displacement theories via uniqueness studies and wave motion analysis. Mathematical analyses of double and triple porosity materials are included concentrating on uniqueness and stability studies in chapters 5 to 7. In chapters 8 and 9 the emphasis is on wave motion in double porosity materials with special attention paid to nonlinear waves. The final chapter embraces a novel area where an elastic body with a double porosity structure is analyzed, but the thermodynamics allows for heat to travel as a wave rather than simply by diffusion. This book will be of value to mathematicians, theoretical engineers and other practitioners who are interested in double or triple porosity elasticity and its relevance to many diverse applications.

Papers cover topics including: physical modelling facilities; experimental advances; seismic experimental advances; education; soil behaviour; offshore systems; cold regions; geo-environment; dynamics; earthquake effects; and strategies for disaster reduction.

This volume includes a collection of technical papers on an important topic in geotechnical engineering; the behavior and treatment of expansive soils. The research studies include investigations into novel stabilization techniques for expansive soils using different admixtures or mechanical consolidation techniques, as well as new experimental approaches to evaluate the behavior of expansive soils. They also include an evaluation of wetting boundary conditions on the volume change of expansive soils, as well as the role of hydrologic boundary conditions in arid climates. The volume is based on the best contributions to the 2nd GeoMEast International Congress and Exhibition on Sustainable Civil Infrastructures, Egypt 2018 – The official international congress of the Soil-Structure Interaction Group in Egypt (SSIGE).