The Geotechnical Division of SAICE

SAICE Call for Fellow Nominations:

SAICE call for fellow nominations is open and all all nominations must be submitted by no later than Monday, 28 February 2023, 12H00.

Please send nominations for Fellow with completed application forms to [email protected] by latest 22 February 2023. Nominations will be vetted and submitted to SAICE by the Division.

Guidelines for completion of election forms can be downloaded from the link below. A link to the application form is also provided.

Guidelines: https://lnkd.in/dMPyAJT7

Application Form: https://lnkd.in/dXeeCRip

EVENING LECTURE: Barry van Wyk Award and Jennings Award recipients

Please join us on Thursday, 2 March 2023, at 16:30 for our first online Evening Lecture for 2023. The 2022 Barry van Wyk Award and the Jennings Award recipients will present their work. The lecture will be divided in two parts:

Part 1: 2022 Barry van Wyk Award Recipient - Mr Franco van der Berg will discuss "Measurement of soil water suction of high plasticity clay using a self built dew point hygrometer powered by an arduino microcontroller"

Part 2: 2022 Jennings Award Recipients - Dr Charles MacRobert will present on the topic "Liquefied strength ratio with stress densification and low stresses"

To register for the event please click on the registration link below before 1 March 2023. Only registered persons will receive the Weblink for the meeting.

Evening Lecture Registration: https://lnkd.in/d4aHRUzX

APRIL 2023 SAICE MAGAZINE GEOTECHNICAL EDITION CALL FOR ARTICLES:

This is a reminder to contribute to the Geotechnical Engineering (April 2023) edition of SAICE’s magazine “Civil Engineering".

The April edition offers the ideal opportunity to showcase innovation, scope and depth of work and even challenges faced in the geotechnical engineering field, so please consider contributing to our very own industry focused edition.

The submission deadline for the February edition is Monday 27 February 2023.

Please also note that SAICE have added a second Geotechnical Engineering Feature this year as part of the December edition.

The submission deadline for the December edition is Monday 30 October 2023.

A full listing of publications from SAICE and the respective editorial and advertisement booking deadlines are also provided below.

To prevent delays, please send your articles DIRECTLY to the editor:

Danielle Petterson
T: 011 805 5947
C: 083 226 5614
E: [email protected]

Please use the link below to download the template that you may want to use as a guide when preparing articles.

We look forward to receiving your contributions, and wish you all the best for 2023!

Article Template: https://lnkd.in/dJRngsSD

SAICE Geotechnical Division AGM & Awards Dinner:

Dear valued members we are pleased to invite you to this year's combined AGM and Awards Dinner, which will be held on Thursday, 17 November 2022 at the Irene Country Lodge. The AGM will be hybrid for those who cannot attend in person.

We hope that you can join in on the festivities after a tumultuous year as well as celebrating our awards recipients. Partners are welcome to join.

There is just one week left before this event and we would love for all of our valued members to join us. The evening promises to be a great celebration of not only our award winners but also the year that has gone.

RSVP essential! Kindly send you response by latest 10 November 2022.

Contact Details:
RSVP: Yolandé van den Berg at [email protected]
Sponsorship opportunities: Nanine Fouché at [email protected]

Booking Form: https://lnkd.in/dYimAPAb

Sponsorship Options: https://lnkd.in/d9H9rUHT

REGISTER:
Course on Static and Cyclic Liquefaction of Mine Tailings Registration is open!

The GeoDiv Tailings sub-committee is excited to announce a 3-day course on "Static and Cyclic Liquefaction of Mine Tailings" to be held from 15 -17 August 2022. The course will be presented by Dr Jonathan Bray, Dr Scott Olson and Dr Jorge Macedo.

The objectives of the course are:
- To present both state of the practice and state of the art approaches with respect to evaluation of static and cyclic liquefaction of mine tailings and soils (foundations), including approaches to identify and address brittle failure modes with conservative design criteria, independent of trigger mechanisms within the context of Requirement 4.6 of GISTM.

- To provide a forum for discussion of how these approaches can /are being applied at Southern African projects, in particular within the context of conformance with GISTM Principle 4, and Requirements 4.6 and 4.7.

The dates for the course are confirmed and you can register by downloading the registration form below, which provides all the necessary details.

Looking forward to seeing you at the course!

Download Announcement - https://lnkd.in/eBqm5MaP

Download Registration Form - https://lnkd.in/eSVdFwi5

EVENING LECTURE
Preview of the Updated Mine Residue Standard - SANS 10286

Please join us on Thursday, 7 July 2022 at 16:30, for our third Evening Lecture of 2022. This evening lecture will present a preview of the new Code of Practice for Mine Residue Deposits: SANS 10286, which will be released for public comment in due course. The lecture will be presented by Mr Andrew Copeland, who headed the drafting committee.

This will be a hybrid evening lecture, with in-person attendance limited to 50 attendees on a first-come, first-serve basis. The in-person event will held at Ambrosia Hall in Midrand, Gauteng. There is still space available for in-person attendance.

Please use the links below to register to attend either in-person or online. In-person attendees will be notified of successful registration. If a notification is not received, please register for the online event.

Please note that the 50-person limit is in line with COVID regulation and we ask that you do not attend at the venue unless you have registered and received confirmation.

In person - https://lnkd.in/eD-Znvva

Online - https://lnkd.in/e7Y-3aiM

Evening Lecture Recording:



Herewith , YouTube link to the recording of the Evening Lecture - "Introduction to Triaxial Testing" presented by Prof Heymann & Feedback on Triaxial Survey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puMeHGvY1t0

Evening Lecture: Introduction to Triaxial Testing

Please join us on Wednesday, 11 May, at 16:30 for our second online Evening Lecture for 2022. This is a long awaited lecture by Professor Gerhard Heymann of the University of Pretoria on triaxial testing. As part of this evening lecture, the results from a triaxial analysis survey will be presented. The lecture will be divided into two parts:

Part 1: Introduction to Triaxial Testing
Part 2: Feedback on the Triaxial Analysis Survey

To register for the event please click on the registration button below before 10 May 2022. Only registered persons will receive a weblink for the meeting.

Link: https://lnkd.in/dfa5YxCZ

SANCOT Webinar: Introduction to "Practical Guide to Rock Tunnelling" with a special focus on relevant tunnelling case studies

About the Author:

Dean Brox is Canadian and graduated from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 1985 where he received his degree in Geological Engineering (Geotechnical). In 1990, Dean received his Master of Science in Rock Mechanical Engineering, with distinction, from Imperial College in London.

Dean has 36 years of experience in the tunnelling industry including involvement in the planning, design, construction, operation and inspection stages. In total, Dean has worked on more than 1500km of large tunnels, including 575km of mining tunnels and 525km of hydroelectric tunnels.

Dean is a licenced Professional Engineer and independent consultant specialising in Risks, Claims and Reviews.

Specific areas of specialization & interest
Planning and ex*****on of geotechnical investigations; characterization of rocks with in-situ stress tests and specialized laboratory tests;

Evaluation of tunnel boring machines for mining projects;

Risk assessment and acceptability of unlined and shotcrete lined pressure tunnels;
Assessment and prediction of overstress, including rockbursting for long and deep tunnels;

Forensic investigations of tunnel collapses; and

Evaluation of the structural conditions of hydroelectric tunnels through underwater inspections with remote control vehicles.

Register: https://lnkd.in/dgVcdpmu

TRIAXIAL ANALYSIS SURVEY: PART 2

3. INSTRUCTIONS

d) Please use the analysis methods that you would typically apply for a project. This is not a competition to see who can get the “right” answer. It is an assessment of the results as they would typically be analysed.
e) Submit the results on or before 22 April 2022, preferably as a .xlsx document or as a .pdf document to [email protected].

4. PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
A detailed analysis of the results will be presented at an evening lecture on Triaxial Testing to be held during May 2022.

5. QUERIES
Queries regarding this survey may be addressed to [email protected]. The data provided is what it is, and no further data is available.

Thank you in advance for your participation. We look forward to receiving your responses.

Download data pack: https://lnkd.in/dQnZvKSZ

André Archer
SAICE GeoDiv

TRIAXIAL ANALYSIS SURVEY: PART 1

For the 2021 Laboratory Testing Workshop, the organising committee decided to conduct a triaxial analysis survey with the aim of assessing the consistency of triaxial interpretation and compare the results to stimulate discussion. An unsatisfactory number of results were received for the workshop and it was decided to extend the survey to 2022 to allow more participation.

The survey is based on three sets of triaxial test results. The tests results are typical of those one would find as part of a geotechnical investigation. Excel spreadsheets are provided with the typical raw data results produced by the laboratory.

1. MOTIVATION
When test results received from a laboratory show different outcomes compared to the expectation of the consultant, it typically raises the question whether the data is accurate and reliable. As part of the 2021 SAICE Geotechnical Division’s Laboratory Testing Workshop planning, the question was raised “Do consultants just blame the laboratory when results appear incorrect, or does the problem lie with the interpretation from the consultants side?”. Of all the geotechnical laboratory tests, the triaxial test in particular is a challenge on the side of laboratories and consultants alike.

It was therefore decided as part of the workshop to send out triaxial test results to consultants to analyse. The aim of the exercise is to act as a survey to assess the consistency of triaxial interpretation and compare the results to stimulate discussion. Few results were received for the workshop and it was decided to extend and postpone the outcome herrythe survey to 2022.

2. OUTLINE
The survey is based on three sets of triaxial test results. The tests results are typical of those one would find as part of a geotechnical investigation. Excel spreadsheets are provided with the typical raw data results produced by the laboratory.

The idea is to provide data that is representative of what is likely to be encountered during an investigation. Some tests results are, however, simpler to analyse than others. The aim of this is the assess how different consultants deal with more unexpected data.

You do not need to analyse all three data sets, although it would be appreciated if you did.

3. INSTRUCTIONS
a) Analyse all or as few data sets as you wish.
b) Analyse the results as you would typically do for a project. It can be assumed that the correct shear rate was employed for the type of material and that all the required corrections and calibration factors have been applied to the data.
c) Summarise the key results on the reply sheet provided in Annex. Please remember to complete the “Details of Respondent” section. Names and e-mail addresses will not be presented or shared when presenting the results.

(See next post, for PART 2)

First Call for 2022 Award Nominations - SAICE Geotechnical Division Awards 2022:

This is the first call to submit entries/nominations for the following awards:

- Final year undergraduate dissertation in geotechnical engineering topic to be considered for the Barry van Wyk Award.
- Geotechnical technical papers that were published in 2021 to be considered for the Jennings Award.
- Nominee for the South African Geotechnical Medal. (A nomination for the South African Geotechnical Medal must be accompanied by a CV of the nominee.)
The closing date is set for 31 May 2022. All entries/nominations to be submitted to Kate Lauwrens via email at [email protected].

Additional information regarding each award is included below:

- The Barry van Wyk Award is awarded annually to the author of the best final year dissertation on a geotechnical topic at a South African University.
- The JE Jenning’s Award is presented annually by the Geotechnical Division to honour the late Prof. J E Jennings and the outstanding role played by him in the development of geotechnical engineering in South Africa. The award is presented to a member of the Geotechnical Division who is the author of a meritorious publication relevant to geotechnical engineering in South Africa published during the previous year, either in South Africa or elsewhere.
- The South African Geotechnical Medal is awarded to an individual who has made a significant contribution to furthering the art and science of geotechnical engineering in South Africa. The recipient will be selected by a committee of previous Geotechnical Medal winners.

TIME CAPSULE PROJECT: PART 2

There is no limit or restriction on the content posted and we encourage the following information to be shared:

Technical papers which have shaped the way we carry out investigations, analyse field and laboratory data and carry out designs. Examples of topics include but not limited to:

- Problem Soil Analysis
- Foundation Design
- Slope Stability & Mechanically Stabilised Earth
- Roads Investigations
- Dolomite Investigations
- Tailings Facility Design and Supervision
- Landfill and Geosynthetic Analysis and Designs
- Development and advances in Laboratory and In-Situ testing techniques in South Africa;
- Case studies on successes and failures;
- Details of events such as symposia, conferences, workshops and courses;
- Papers submitted to local and international journals;
- PhD theses and research completed or currently underway;
- Personal insights and reflections;
-Tributes and biographies of past and present members;
- Histories on the formation and enhancement of learning institutions (Geotechnical Faculties at Universities & Technikons);
- Histories and landmark events of companies;
- Ideas on future research required;
- Commentary on any problems faced by the Geotechnical Community.

“A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.” Nelson Mandela

We look forward to your contributions.

Get in touch with the Geotechnical division sub-committee running the project should you have any queries or feedback using the link below:
[email protected]

TIME CAPSULE PROJECT: PART 1

The ISSMGE has initiated a project to create an entirely virtual Time Capsule that brings together and provides a common heritage to all geotechnical engineers around the world. A formal presentation of the Time Capsule Project, and promotion of Member Societies’ contributions, will take place at the 20th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,1-5 May 2022, Sydney, Australia.

The idea of the Time Capsule Project is to highlight the development of geotechnical engineering & the history of each member society which contains information on the developments, failures, successes, and research that shaped our industry into what it is today.
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The SAICE Geotechnical Division has created a Blog page on our website that provides a platform for our members to contribute information on a decade by decade basis. The record starts from as far back as 1908 when the first pre-cast piles were installed for the Putt Bridge that was constructed in Port Alfred.

This Time Capsule Blog is intended to become an ongoing repository of the history and future of Geotechnical Engineering in South Africa, with an overview of the following:

- Achievements of the geotechnical engineering community since its beginnings in the early 1900's and the social conditions that prompted these advancements;
- Successful achievements of geotechnical engineering in South Africa;
- What went wrong and what lessons were learnt;
- The future of Geotechnics in South Africa;
- Research required to further our profession.

This Blog Page will ultimately provide our members with a platform where we can share historical information along with new developments, while providing a forum in which members can leave comments or queries and thereby stimulate conversations and discussions.

We invite you, our members, to look back on your careers, projects you have been involved with and any significant events you recall that may have had an impact on our profession. We then ask you to share these insights and knowledge on the Blog site which can be accessed using the link below. There is no limit to the amount of detail that can be submitted on any particular event or project, and we welcome your contributions of 300-400 words or more. Alternatively, feel free to submit headings for topics and/or images to initiate input from other colleagues.

Please join this collaboration by populating it with your contribution by 31st March in order for us to showcase it at the conference.

Visit the Time Capsule Blog Site: https://lnkd.in/dfXt6Rkp

Timecapsule The South African Geotechnical Division

Geotechnical Engineering (April 2022) edition of SAICE’s magazine “Civil Engineering" Announcement:

The April edition offers the ideal opportunity to showcase innovation, scope and depth of work and even challenges faced in the geotechnical engineering field, so please consider contributing to our very own industry focused edition.

The submission deadline for this edition is Monday 21 February 2022.

To prevent delays, please send your articles DIRECTLY to the editor:

Danielle Petterson
T: 011 805 5947
C: 083 226 5614
E: [email protected]

Attached please find a template that you may want to use as a guide when preparing articles.

We look forward to receiving your contributions, and wish you all the best for 2022!

Barry van Wyk Award - Ruan Andrew Murison.

This award is presented annually to the author of the best final year dissertation on a geotechnical topic at a South African University, in honour of the late Barry van Wyk.

Award to be presented to Ruan Andrew Murison for his thesis “Using Small-Strain Stiffness to Predict the Bearing Capacity of Strip Foundations on Sand”.

Jennings Award - Luis Alberto Torres-Cruz and Prof. J Carlos Santamarina.

The Jennings Award Honours the late Prof. J E Jennings and the outstanding role played by him in the development of geotechnical engineering in South Africa.

The award consists of a certificate which will be presented to a member of the Geotechnical Division who is the author of a meritorious publication relevant to geotechnical engineering in South Africa published during the previous year, either in South Africa or elsewhere.

Award to be presented to Luis Alberto Torres-Cruz and Prof. J Carlos Santamarina for their publication ”The critical state line of nonplastic tailings”

South African Geotechnical Medal - Prof. Denis Kalumba

The South African Geotechnical Medal was instituted by the Geotechnical Division in 1989 to honour members of SAICE who have made a significant contribution to geotechnical engineering in South Africa.

The medal is awarded to an individual who, in the unanimous opinion of the Division Committee, has made a significant contribution to furthering the art and science of geotechnical engineering in South Africa.

This year we have the pleasure of presenting this award to Prof Denis Kalumba for his commitment and dedication to the Geotechnical Profession in South Africa.

Prof. Denis Kalumba is an Associate Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and an Adjunct Professor at the University of KwaZulu Natal. He holds a BSc Civil Engineering from Makerere University (Uganda) and obtained his MSc degree in Geotechnical Engineering from UCT (South Africa). As a British Commonwealth Scholar, he completed his PhD degree in Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom.

He is the Founding and Current Director of the University of Cape Town Geotechnical Engineering Division and the convenor of geotechnical engineering courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. He is the pioneer and programme convenor for two postgraduate programs at UCT, i.e., Master of Science in Civil Engineering Specialising in Geotechnical Engineering and Master of Geotechnical Engineering (Professional Masters).
Prof. Kalumba is an accomplished academic with over 100 peer reviewed publications and book chapters and has supervised over 50 postgraduate students to date.

He has over 25 years’ experience in research and practice in geotechnical engineering. He has also travelled extensively serving as a Visiting Professor, Lecturer, External Examiner, Curriculum Reviewer, Postgraduate Supervisor and Mentor for over 17 universities across the African continent. In the process, he has initiated numerous collaborations and worked tirelessly to develop other African scholars.

He is also a member of several professional bodies, including the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa, the British Geotechnical Association and the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. His main expertise / scientific research interests include: soil/foundation interaction behaviour, soil reinforcement, geosynthetics and waste minimisation.

JENNINGS LECTURE 2021: PROFESSOR PETER ROBERTSON

CAN YOU SAFELY CONSTRUCT A TAILING FACILITY USING UPSTREAM CONSTRUCTION?

The SAICE Geotechnical Division is proud to host the 2021 Jennings Lecture, which will be presented by Dr Peter Robertson. The 2021 Jennings Lecture "Can you safely construct a Tailing facility using upstream construction" will be presented by Professor Peter Robertson and screened live at Ambrosia Hall in Midrand where members can attend the lecture with other members and enjoy some light refreshments afterwards. Members unable to attend the live event can attend the online event.

1. Details for the lecture are as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 26th October 2021
Time: 17:00 (Central African Time)
Duration: ±1.5 Hours
Format: Online Live Event via MS Teams and in-person attendance at Ambrosia Hall
CPD Points: Accreditation Awaited

2. See below for registration details:

- Online attendance registration:
Kindly RSVP to [email protected] to confirm ONLINE attendance by no later than Wednesday 25th October. A weblink to the online event will be issued via return email.

- In-person attendance registration:
Following the survey carried out on the interest for in-person attendance in Cape Town, Durban and Gauteng, it was found that only Gauteng had sufficient interest for an in-person event to be organised.
The venue for in-person attendance in Gauteng is Ambrosia Hall in Midrand. Members who wish to attend must register at [email protected] by Wednesday 25th October.
Attendees are requested to arrive at 16:30 to be seated in time for the lecture to start at 17:00.
Refreshments will be served afterwards.

Directions to Ambrosia Hall: https://lnkd.in/dkbtHjHC

Dr. Peter Robertson brings more than 40 years of experience as an educator, researcher, consultant and practitioner specializing in the areas of in-situ testing and site investigation, earthquake design of geotechnical structures, and soil liquefaction. Peter is recognized as an expert both nationally and internationally in the areas of in-situ testing and soil liquefaction. He has been a consultant to various clients around the world for projects involving liquefaction evaluation for major structures, stability of on-shore and off-shore structures, landslides, stability of natural slopes and tailings dams, and use and interpretation of in-situ tests. He is the co-author of the primary reference book on Cone Pe*******on Testing (CPT). He has also authored or co-authored over 250 publications as well a popular CPT Guide that is freely available on several websites. He also assisted in the development of several inexpensive CPT-based interpretation software programs and has presented a series of free webinars in an effort to enhance education and practice. Peter continues to provide private consulting to a wide range of clients and currently resides in southern California.

3. INSTRUCTIONS
Analyse all or as few data sets as you wish.
Analyse the results as you would typically do for a project. It can be assumed that the correct shear rate was employed for the type of material and that all the required corrections and calibration factors have been applied to the data.

Summarise the key results on the reply sheet provided in Annex A. Please remember to complete the “Details of Respondent” section. Names and e-mail addresses will not be presented or shared when presenting the results.

Please use the analysis methods that you would typically apply for a project. This is not a competition to see who can get the “right” answer. It is an assessment of the results as they would typically be analysed.

Submit the results on or before 31 October 2021, preferably as a .xlsx document or as a .pdf document to [email protected] or [email protected].

4. PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
A detailed analysis of the results will be presented at the Laboratory Testing Workshop on 10- 11 November 2021.

5. QUERIES

Queries regarding this survey may be addressed to [email protected] or [email protected]. The data provided is what it is, and no further data is available.

To assist us in gauging the challenges in laboratory testing in the industry, please complete the following short survey:
https://lnkd.in/gBdMRAcN

Provisional Topics of discussion:
Triaxial Testing Strategy
General Lab Challenges
Unsaturated Soil Testing
Problem and Difficult Soils
Calibration & Verification Test Reports
Interpretation of Test Results
Panel Discussions

Thank you in advance for your participation. We look forward to receiving your responses.

André Archer & Hennie Barnard
SAICE GeoDiv Lab Testing Workshop Committee

LABORATORY TESTING WORKSHOP - TRIAXIAL ANALYSIS SURVEY

In anticipation for the upcoming Laboratory Testing Workshop, the organising committee decided to conduct a triaxial analysis survey with the aim of assessing the consistency of triaxial interpretation and compare the results to stimulate discussion.

The survey is based on three sets of triaxial test results. The tests results are typical of those one would find as part of a geotechnical investigation. Excel spreadsheets are provided with the typical raw data results produced by the laboratory.

All the information and submission details are summarised below and the triaxial data can be downloaded using the link at the bottom of this mailer. Results are due by 31 October 2021.

Whether you will attend the workshop or not, we encourage you to participate. This will assist greatly in gauging the challenges associated with interpretation of triaxial data in the industry.

We look forward to your submissions.

Triaxial Analysis Survey:

1. MOTIVATION
When test results received from a laboratory show different outcomes compared to the expectation of the consultant, it typically raises the question whether the data is accurate and reliable. As part of the SAICE Geotechnical Division’s Laboratory Testing Workshop planning, the question was raised “Do consultants just blame the laboratory when results appear incorrect, or does the problem lie with the interpretation from the consultants side?”. Of all the geotechnical laboratory tests, the triaxial test in particular is a challenge on the side of laboratories and consultants alike.

It was therefore decided as part of the workshop to send out triaxial test results to consultants to analyse. The aim of the exercise is to act as a survey to assess the consistency of triaxial interpretation and compare the results to stimulate discussion.

2. OUTLINE
The survey is based on three sets of triaxial test results. The tests results are typical of those one would find as part of a geotechnical investigation. Please use the link below to download the Excel spreadsheets which contain typical raw data results produced by the laboratory.

The idea is to provide data that is representative of what is likely to be encountered during an investigation. Some tests results are, however, simpler to analyse than others. The aim of this is the assess how different consultants deal with more unexpected data.

You do not need to analyse all three data sets, although it would be appreciated if you did.

Raw Data: https://lnkd.in/gGYJUAwr

See the next post for Instructions.