The research area focuses on developing field and laboratory investigation methods for determining the strength and stiffness properties of soils. The knowledge of these properties is fundamental in the design of safe and economical foundation structures. The aim is to identify more reliable and faster investigation methods to reduce the risks in construction works and have more accurate designs.
Background
While designing earth and foundation structures, it is of utmost importance to know the soil properties and their variability. Natural material soil is different in many ways than fabricated construction materials. As its properties are not known beforehand, they need to be estimated at the start of a construction project. The subsoil often consists of several soil layers, the properties of which may highly vary. The soils are not homogenous, and the variation of one soil layer may be higher than the others. The paucity of time in todays hectic construction business further places new demands on soil investigations. However, errors made due to the improper knowledge of the ground may incur severe costs and delays in the construction process. Thus, it is important to identify reliable, accurate, and effective ground investigation methods.
Goal
For long, we have been developing the equipment for determining strength and deformation properties in the laboratory. In the FINCONE project, we initiated research on field investigations methods, concentrating on CPTU, including seismic and resistivity cones as well as field vane and sampling. CPTU enables determining a continuous profile for undrained shear strength and pre-consolidation pressure and estimating quite accurately the stiffness for the overconsolidated region. Excellent-quality undisturbed samples are on the other hand a key requirement for the laboratory determination of the strength and stiffness properties of clays.
Contact persons
Tim Länsivaara
Professor
tim.lansivaara [at] tuni.fi
+358 40 765 8085