Influence of heterogeneity and elevated temperatures on the seismic translational stability of engineered landfills.

This paper proposes a new generalised closed-form solution to estimate the safety factors for translational failure of landfills considering the effects of heterogeneity and temperature variation with the depth of the landfill. The influence of heterogeneity was considered in the form of a shear wave velocity profile, while the influence of temperature was accounted for by considering the temperature-dependent shear strength properties. The proposed method also considered the influence of material damping and the mode change behaviour of the landfill.

The Technical Challenges for Applying Unsaturated Soil Sensors to Conduct Laboratory-Scale Seepage Experiments.

Although many unsaturated soil experiments have successfully delivered positive outcomes, most studies just concisely illustrated sensor techniques, because their main objectives focused on bridging research gaps. Inexperienced research fellows might rarely follow up those techniques, so they could encounter very trivial and skill-demanding difficulties, undermining the quality of experimental outcomes. With a motivation to avoid those, this work introduces technical challenges in applying three sensor techniques: high precision tensiometer, spatial time-domain reflectometry (spatial TDR) and digital bench scales, which were utilized to measure three fundamental variables: soil suction, moisture content and accumulative outflow.

Co-solidification of bauxite residue and coal ash into indurated monolith via ambient geopolymerisation for in situ environmental application.

Bauxite residues generated from alumina refineries worldwide have accumulated to more than 4 billion tons, at an annual increment of ~ 0.15 billion tons. It is imperative and urgent for the alumina sector to develop field-operable disposal solutions for rapid and cost-effective stabilisation of alkaline bauxite residues (BR) in the storage facility to minimise/prevent potential environmental risks.

Determination of the Porosity Distribution during an Erosion Test Using a Coaxial Line Cell.

The detection of porosity changes within a soil matrix caused by internal erosion is beneficial for a better understanding of the mechanisms that induce and maintain the erosion process. In this paper, an electromagnetic approach using Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry (STDR) and a transmission line model is proposed for this purpose. An original experimental setup consisting of a coaxial cell which acts as an electromagnetic waveguide was developed.