GEOLAB - Transnational Access project LIWEMAT – Deformation characterisation of LIghtWEight foundation MATerials

Proper use of lightweight materials as construction material for various types of infrastructure brings a lot of advantages to European critical infrastructure related to weight reduction and prevention of progressive heating or freezing of its structural elements. Large-scale Triaxial Apparatus was used to perform the loading tests, which enables the characterization of materials at very small strain ranges with a very high accuracy level of load-displacement control. The apparatus has rigid confining aluminum frames with a height of 3 cm and cross-section of 40 x 40 cm, enabling prismatic specimens with a height of up to 80 cm to be tested. This research aims to determine the characteristics of expanded clay and foamed glass aggregates through laboratory testing, performing cyclic loading for the stiffness and damping evaluation, which would be beneficial parameters for numerical simulations. Testing material The foam glass aggregate has a homogeneous microstructure with approximate uniform shape and sizes. Foam glass aggregate is considered one of the best solid isolation materials with several unique properties. It can be widely used in many applications such as basement walls, foundations, floors and roofs, terrace and garden covers, rooftops, and parking areas. The expanded clay aggregate is round shape with different sizes with small, air-filled cavities, with dark brown, reddish, brown-red or gray colors, which depends on the chemical composition of the expanded clay. The lightweight expanded clay aggregate has bulk density from 250 kg/m3 to 710 kg/m3, mostly dependent on the size of the aggregate

Numerical modelling of slope–vegetation–atmosphere interaction: an overview

The behaviour of natural and artificial slopes is controlled by their thermo-hydro-mechanical conditions and by soil–vegetation–atmosphere interaction. Porewater pressure changes within a slope related to variable meteorological settings have been shown to be able to induce soil erosion, shrinkage–swelling and cracking, thus leading to an overall decrease of the available soil strength with depth and, ultimately, to a progressive slope collapse. In terms of numerical modelling, the stability analysis of partially saturated slopes is a complex problem and a wide range of approaches from simple limit equilibrium solutions to advanced numerical analyses have been proposed in the literature. The more advanced approaches, although more rigorous, require input data such as the soil water retention curve and the hydraulic conductivity function, which are difficult to obtain in some cases. The quantification of the effects of future climate scenarios represents an additional challenge in forecasting slope–atmosphere interaction processes. This paper presents a review of real and ideal case histories regarding the numerical analysis of natural and artificial slopes subjected to different types of climatic perturbations. The limits and benefits of the different numerical approaches adopted are discussed and some general modelling recommendations are addressed

Some experience in numerical modelling of unsaturated slope instabilities

In the past couple years, the region of South-East Europe is subjected to gust rainfall events activating many landslides which cause significant material and human losses. To revaluate the existing risk maps and set new standards some old case histories are revaluated. This paper presents two case histories of landslide instabilities subjected to excess climatic perturbations, gust rainfall, namely the «Stanjevci» cut-slope near the railway line in North-East of Slovenia; and the «Ramina» a natural landslide in urban area near the city of Veles in Central Macedonia. They are briefly described later to be analysed using coupled thermo-mechanical calculations. They are subjected to specific short and gusting rainfall considered as possible trigger. Hence, van Genuchten’s hydraulic model is used in combination with elastoplastic material models. The results are summarized with critical comments regarding the mathematical formulation used to describe atmospheric-soil interaction and the influence of different aspects on the accuracy is discussed briefly

Numerical modelling of slope–vegetation–atmosphere interaction: an overview

The behaviour of natural and artificial slopes is controlled by their thermo-hydro-mechanical conditions and by soil–vegetation–atmosphere interaction. Porewater pressure changes within a slope related to variable meteorological settings have been shown to be able to induce soil erosion, shrinkage–swelling and cracking, thus leading to an overall decrease of the available soil strength with depth and, ultimately, to a progressive slope collapse. In terms of numerical modelling, the stability analysis of partially saturated slopes is a complex problem and a wide range of approaches from simple limit equilibrium solutions to advanced numerical analyses have been proposed in the literature. The more advanced approaches, although more rigorous, require input data such as the soil water retention curve and the hydraulic conductivity function, which are difficult to obtain in some cases. The quantification of the effects of future climate scenarios represents an additional challenge in forecasting slope–atmosphere interaction processes. This paper presents a review of real and ideal case histories regarding the numerical analysis of natural and artificial slopes subjected to different types of climatic perturbations. The limits and benefits of the different numerical approaches adopted are discussed and some general modelling recommendations are addressed.Peer Reviewe

Numerical modelling of slope–vegetation–atmosphere interaction: An overview

The behaviour of natural and artificial slopes is controlled by their thermo-hydro-mechanical conditions and by soil–vegetation–atmosphere interaction. Porewater pressure changes within a slope related to variable meteorological settings have been shown to be able to induce soil erosion, shrinkage–swelling and cracking, thus leading to an overall decrease of the available soil strength with depth and, ultimately, to a progressive slope collapse. In terms of numerical modelling, the stability analysis of partially saturated slopes is a complex problem and a wide range of approaches from simple limit equilibrium solutions to advanced numerical analyses have been proposed in the literature. The more advanced approaches, although more rigorous, require input data such as the soil water retention curve and the hydraulic conductivity function, which are difficult to obtain in some cases. The quantification of the effects of future climate scenarios represents an additional challenge in forecasting slope–atmosphere interaction processes. This paper presents a review of real and ideal case histories regarding the numerical analysis of natural and artificial slopes subjected to different types of climatic perturbations. The limits and benefits of the different numerical approaches adopted are discussed and some general modelling recommendations are addressed.Geo-engineerin