Annual Report Year 2004 - Civil and Environmental Engineering

Underground national labproposed for old mineGeotechnical engineering faculty are involved in amulti-disciplinary, multi-university effort to establisha national deep underground science andengineering laboratory (DUSEL) at the old Kimballtonmine in Giles County 25 miles from Virginia Tech. TheGiles County DUSEL is competing with other potentialsites nationwide. Seed money was allocated by VirginiaTech for preliminary engineering and geologic studies forthe underground laboratory,which would be constructedabout 7,000 feet below the surface—the necessary depthfor the full suite of planned experiments.Total constructioncost would run between $200 million to $300 million.This national laboratory would be benefit the localeconomy, provide unique opportunities for geoengineeringresearch, and stimulate interest in math, science andengineering among young people of the Appalachianregion.PROGRAM AREAS - GEOTECHNICALresearch on the micromechanics of soil and constructionmaterial interfaces. Graduate student Jeff Wang delivered hisfirst paper at the Engineering Mechanics 2004 conference inDover, Delaware on the effects of particle rolling resistance.Wang is assisted in his research by Jessa Corton, a senior CEEundergraduate, who is supported by an NSF ResearchExperience for Undergraduates award. VDOT is seeking toreduce the cost of mechanically stabilized earth walls throughuse of native soils as backfill in the reinforced zone. Togetherwith graduate students Jesse Darden and Daniel McGough,Dove is developing material selection and design recommendationsfor incorporation into VDOT specifications.He is also working with Susan Day and Roger Harris in theVirginia Tech Department of Forestry on the use of “structuralsoil” to reduce stormwater runoff from paved areas.Structural soil is a newly-developed blend of aggregate andplant growth medium that is able to support traffic loads whilepromoting tree growth. The pilot project will construct“green” parking areas in Blacksburg, Va., Ithaca, N.Y., andDavis, Calif. to evaluate the ability of structural soil to serve asa storage medium for runoff. Genevieve Smith, a senior inCEE, is working with the faculty members to determine geotechnicalparameters of structural soil from local materials.Mike Duncan, with co-author Stephen Wright of theUniversity of Texas, completed the book Soil Strength andSlope Stability during the past year. The book, a professionalreference and textbook for graduate courses, will be publishedby John Wiley in January 2005. Duncan presented theStanley Wilson Memorial Lecture in November 2003 at theinvitation of the Seattle Section of the American Society ofCivil Engineers, and was the first recipient of the Kenneth L.Lee Lecture Award, presented by the Los Angeles Section ofASCE in April 2004. Duncan serves as director of the Centerfor Geotechnical Practice and Research, working with GeorgeFilz (co-director), C.J. Smith (executive director), and the othergeotechnical engineering faculty. The CGPR is an affiliate programfor consulting firms, government agencies and contrac-22tors that supports research and teaching activities at VirginiaTech, and provides close liaison between students, faculty,and industry.Duncan completed service on the National ResearchCouncil Committee on Reducing Landslide Risk. The committeeevaluated a proposal by the U.S. Geological Survey toestablish a $20 million per year national program for landsliderisk reduction, in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers,the Bureau of Reclamation, and state geological surveys. Fourcomputer programs were developed in connection with thesettlement short course, to facilitate the computationsinvolved in settlement analyses. The computer programs willbe available to Virginia Tech students, and will be used inclasses. With Tom Brandon and post-doctoral research engineerYoungjin Park, Duncan completed a three-year investigationof the ability of filters to prevent erosion in the coresof dams that are cracked from settlement or seismic shaking.The study showed that filters designed using current criteriaare reliable crack-stoppers. The study also developed a computerprogram that makes filter design much easier and morereliable. With Chris Meehan, CEE instructor and former Viascholar; Binod Tiwari, post-doctoral research engineer fromNiigata University; and Tom Brandon, Duncan is working ona major NSF research investigation on the strengths of claysduring earthquakes. The study, which is being undertaken incooperation between Virginia Tech and the University ofCalifornia Davis, involves extensive laboratory tests atVirginia Tech and large-scale centrifuge tests at UC Davis.During the past year, George Filz served as co-director ofVirginia Tech’s Center for Geotechnical Practice and Research(CGPR), member of VDOT’s Geotechnical Research AdvisoryCommittee, member of the ASCE Geo-Institute Soil ImprovementCommittee and chairman of the CEE CurriculumCommittee. Filz, John Little, and six other faculty membersreceived a second round of funding from the U.S.Department of Education to support doctoral students instudies of environmental biogeochemistry. With Duhwoe