Geotechnical Engineering

Direct cyclic simple shear testing system

Geotechnical engineering deals with the study of earth materials in the context of engineering investigation, design and construction.  It is concerned with soil properties, mechanics of soil particles, compression and swelling of soils, seepage, slopes, retaining walls, foundations, footings, anchors, embankments, use of synthetic materials in soil structures, construction, soil-structure interaction, soil dynamics, geotechnical earthquake engineering, and material and numerical modeling.  The geotechnical engineering faculty has conducted funded research in many of these areas, with support from numerous funding agencies.

Faculty

Horst Brandes Associate Professor Office: Holmes Hall 345 Phone: (808) 956-8969 brandes@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu	Peter G. Nicholson Associate Professor Office: Holmes Hall 338 Phone: (808) 956-2378 pnichol@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu	Phillip Ooi Associate Professor Office: Holmes Hall 335 Phone: (808) 956-8512 ooi@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu

Laboratory Facilities

Stress path triaxial system with flow pumps

Undergraduate laboratory facility

Shear wave velocity measurement using bender elements

The Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory (GEL) is located on the second floor of Holmes Hall and includes one teaching and two research laboratories, a sample preparation room, equipment and soil storage areas, and offices.  Available testing equipment ranges from standard devices and soils laboratory infrastructure to state-of-the-art soil and aggregate testing systems.  In addition, advanced in-house computational facilities are continually updated for student and faculty use.  The GEL at UH is the premier soils testing and research facility in the State of Hawaii.

Some of the equipment housed in the GEL includes:

• Direct cyclic simple shear testing system (NGI-type)

• Stress path triaxial system with flow pumps

• Flow pump-driven consolidometer and permeameter

• Resilient modulus triaxial system

• Bender element testing system

• Standard triaxial systems for static and cyclic testing (3)

• Back-pressured consolidometer and permeameter

• Triaxial creep equipment for long-term testing

• Large-displacement direct shear device

• California Bearing Ratio device

• Shake table for density determination

• LA abrasion machine

• Micro-Deval abrasion device

• Large screen shaker

• Ignition oven

• Field cone penetration testing device

• 1 m diameter field equipment calibration chamber

Funded Research Projects

Resilient modulus triaxial system

Update of the State Pavement Management System and calibration of the 2002 Design Guide for Hawaiian conditions
PI: Archilla, R., Co-PI: Ooi, P.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT (2005-2010)

Application of recycled materials in highway projects
PI: Ooi, P., Co-PI: Archilla, R.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT (2006-2009)

Characterization of voids and other subsurface deficiencies by geophysical methods
PI: Brandes, H.G., Co-PI: Nicholson, P.G.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT (2006-2009)

Nuclear gauge calibration and testing guidelines for Hawaii
PI: Brandes, H.G.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT (2006-2009)

Integral abutment bridges when the abutments are supported on concrete deep foundation elements
PI: Ooi. P.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT through KSF, Inc. (2004-2007)

Back-pressured consolidometer and permeameter

Soil Investigation and soil-structure interaction modeling of the Kealakaha bridge
PI: Robertson, I.  Co-PI: Brandes, H.G.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT (2004-2006)

Mapping Potential Liquefaction Hazard Zones for Coastal Hawaii & Maui
PI: Nicholson, P.G.
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Coastal Services Center (2003-2006)

Correlation of aggregate properties to performance of asphalt pavements in Hawaii
PI: Brandes, H.G.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT (2000-2005)

Modeling of sediment mechanics for mine burial prediction
PI: Brandes, H.G.
Office of Naval Research (2001-2004)

Dynamic modeling and monitoring of Kealakaha bridge

Correlation of resilient modulus, Mr, of fine-grained soils with common soil parameters for use in design of flexible pavements.
PI: Ooi, P., Co-PI: Nicholson, P.G.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT (2000-2004)

Hawaii Superpave demonstration project: measurement of asphalt mix design parameters using image analysis
PI: Brandes, H.G.

Correlation of resistance value (R-Value) with California Bearing Ratio (CBR) for use in the design of flexible pavements on fine-grained soils.
PI: Ooi, P., Co-PI: Nicholson, P.G.
Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and HI-DOT (2000-2003)

Creep characterization of residual tropical soils for engineering design and analysis
PI: Brandes, H.G., Co-PI: Nicholson, P.G.
Federal Highway Administration and HI-DOT (1998-2001)

In situ testing and sampling	Assessment of New Orleans Levee system

Publications

Brandes, H.G. and Seidman, J. (2008).  Dynamic and static behavior of calcareous sands.  18th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, Vancouver, Canada, July 6-11 (in press).

3D soil-structure interaction modeling

Brandes, H.G., Nicholson, P.G. and Robertson, I. (2008).  Damage assessment and seismic modeling of dams in connection with the 2006 Hawaii earthquakes.  Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics IV Conference, Sacramento, California, May 18-22 (in press).

Brandes, H.G. and Hirata, J.G. (2008).  An automated image analysis procedure to evaluate compacted asphalt sections.  International Journal of Pavement Engineering (in press).

Ooi, P.S.K., Li, M.M.W., Sagario, M.L.Q. and Song, Y. (2008). Shear strength characteristics of recycled glass.  Transportation Research Record, Journal of the Transportation Research Board (in press).

Andersen, C.F., Battjes, J., Daniel, D.E., Edge, B., Espy, W., Gilbert, R.B., Jackson, T.L., Kennedy, D., Miletti, D.S., Mitchell,  J.K., Nicholson, P.G., Pugh, C.A., Tamaro, G. Traver, R.  (2007). The New Orleans hurricane protection system: what went wrong and why. Report of the External Review Panel of the American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE Press.

Brandes, H.G., Nicholson, P.G. and Robertson, I. (2007).  Liquefaction of Kawaihae Harbor and other effects of 2066 Hawaii earthquakes.  17th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, 2:1169-1176

Nicholson, P.G. (2007).  Preliminary reconnaissance and observations of the New Orleans levee and floodwall failures.  ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication No. 161.

Investigation of New Orleans levee system after hurricane Katrina

Archilla, A.R., Ooi, P.S.K. and Sandefur, K.G. (2007).  Estimation of a resilient modulus model for cohesive soils using joint estimation and mixed effects.  ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and GeoEnvironmental Engineering, 133(8):984-994.

Andersen, C.F., Battjes, J., Daniel, D.E., Edge, B., Espy, W., Gilbert, R.B., Jackson, T.L., Kennedy, D., Miletti, D.S., Mitchell,  J.K., Nicholson, P.G., Pugh, C.A., Tamaro, G. Traver, R.  (2006).  Hurricane Katrina one year later: what must we do next? Report of the External Review Panel of the American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE Press.

Brandes, H.G. and Wang, S. (2006).  The role of the intermediate stress in offshore slope sediment modeling.  Proceedings, 16th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, 2:455-461.

Brandes, H.G. and Robinson, C. (2006).  Correlation of aggregate test parameters to HMA pavement performance. ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering, 132(1):86-95.

Nicholson, P.G. (2006). Liquefaction evaluation discrepancies in tropical lagoonal soils. Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering. Springer, 24(5):1259-1269.

Brandes, H.G. and Wang, S. (2005).  OpenSees modeling of the 3D plastic behavior of underwater slopes: achievements and limitations.  Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics, ISFOG 2005, Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics, Eds: S. Gourvenec and M. Cassidy, New York: Taylor & Francis, 897-902.

Brandes, H.G., Seidman, J. and Wang, S. (2005).  Cyclic simple shear testing and modeling of an offshore fine sand.  Proceedings, 15th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, 2:679-689.

Brandes, H.G. (2005).  Time dependency of deep sea and island clays at room and elevated temperature. International Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineering, 15(1):65-70

Brandes, H.G. and Wang, S. (2004).  Failure and post-failure mechanics of submarine landslides.  Proceedings, 23rd International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, OMAE 2004-51141, pp. 1-8.

Soil-pile analysis using continuum modeling

Brandes, H.G. (2004).  Time dependency of deep sea and island clays at room and elevated temperature.  Proceedings, 14th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, 2:607-612.

Campanella, R.G., Nicholson, P.G. and Lim, R. (2004).  Use of shear wave velocity to characterize tropical soils.  Proceedings of 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Vancouver, Canada.

Ooi, P.S.K., Chang, B.K.F and Wang, S.  (2004).  Simplified lateral load analysis of fixed-head piles.  ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 130(11):1140-1151.

Ooi, P.S.K.,Archilla, A.R. and Sandefur, K.G.  (2004).  Resilient modulus models for compacted cohesive soils.  Transportation Research Record 1874, Journal of the Transportation Research Board: 115-124.

Ooi, P.S.K., Chang, B.K.F. and Seki, G.W.  (2004).  Examination of proof test extrapolation for drilled shafts.  Geotechnical Testing Journal, American Society of Testing and Materials.  27(2):123-133.

Rollins, K.M., Nicholson, P.G. and Lane, J.D. (2004).  Liquefaction hazard assessment using controlled-blasting techniques.  Proceedings, 3rd International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, Balkema, Berkeley, California.

Brandes, H.G. and Johnson, T. (2003). Effect of volcanic fines and gradation on the deformation and strength properties of detrital marine sediments in Hawaii.  Proceedings, 22nd International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, OMAE2003-37266, pp. 1-6.

Instrumentation and monitoring of piers and bridge abutments

Ooi, P.S.K. and Pu, J.  (2003).  Use of stiffness for evaluating compactness of pavement geomaterials.  Transportation Research Record 1849, Journal of the Transportation Research Board: 11-19.

Ooi, P.S.K. and Ramsey, L.T.  (2003).  Curvature and bending moments from inclinometer data.  International Journal of Geomechanics, American Society of Civil Engineers. 3(1):64-74.

Ooi, P.S.K. and Frederick, L.L.  (2003).  An innovative method of load testing deep foundations.  Geotechnical Testing Journal, American Society of Testing and Materials.  26(2):210-218.

Wan, Y., Kwong, J., Brandes, H.G. and Jones, R.C. (2002).  Influence of amorphous clay-size materials on soil plasticity and shrink-swell behavior.  ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 128(12):1026-1031.

Brandes, H.G. (2002).  Geotechnical and Foundation Aspects.  Chapter 7 in: CRC Earthquake Engineering Handbook, W.-F. Chen and C. Scawthorn (Eds.).  Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press LLC.

Brandes, H. G. and Riggs, H.R. (2002).  Modeling of seabed liquefaction and other processes responsible for mine burial.  Proceedings of OMAE’02, 21st International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, OMAE2002-28242, pp. 1-8.

Brandes, H. G. and Riggs, H.R. (2002).  Numerical modeling of seabed liquefaction due to surface water waves.  Proceedings of the 12th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, 2:558-562.

Brandes, H.G., Silva, A.J. and Walter, D.J. (2002).  Geo-acoustic characterization of calcareous seabed in the Florida Keys.  Marine Geology, 182(1-2):77-102

Ooi, P.S.K., Walker, M.P. and Smith, J.D.  (2002).  Performance of a single-propped wall during excavation and during freezing of the retained soil.  Computers and Geotechnics.  29(5):387-409.

Ooi, P.S.K. and Pu, J.  (2002).  Evaluating compaction of tropical soils using soil stiffness.  Proceedings, 6th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields, Lisbon, 2:1143-1150.

Veyera, G.E., Brandes, H.G. and Silva, A.J. (2001).   Geotechnical characterization of calcareous sediments from the Dry Tortugas and Marquesas Keys CBBL SRP study sites, Lower Florida Keys.  Geo-Marine Letters, 21(3):131-148.

Brandes, H.G. (2001).  Geotechnical characteristics of shallow-water Hawaiian sediments.  In: Recent Advances in Marine Science and Technology 2000, N.K. Saxena (Ed.), pp. 145-154.

Brandes, H.G. (2001).  Geotechnical properties of marine sediments from acoustic measurements. Proceedings of the 11th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, 2:482-487.

Brandes, H.G., Silva, A.J. and Sadd, M.H. (2001).  Geotechnical and acoustic measurements on cohesionless sediments from the West Florida sand sheet.  Geophysical Research Letters, 28(5):823-826.

Brandes, H.G. and Tsui, C.S.L. (2001).  Modeling the effectiveness of groundwater-lowering remediation measures in the Alani-Paty landslide area, Oahu, Hawaii.  Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, 2:1543-1547.

Tsui, C.S.L., Brandes, H.G. and Nakayama, D.D. (2001).  Creep behavior of the slow-moving Alani-Paty landslide, Oahu, Hawaii.  Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, 2:1629-1633.

Ooi, P.S.K. and Lum, W.B. (2001).  A graphical technique for analysis of slopes in c-f soils. Indian Geotechnical Journal, 5:92-108

Brandes, H.G. (2000).  The Venezuela flash floods and debris flows of December 15-16, 1999.  Landslide News, 13:5-7.

Brandes, H.G. (2000).  Geotechnical characteristics of shallow-water Hawaiian sediments.  (Abstract).  PACON 2000 Abstracts, p. 75.

Brandes, H.G., Khadge, N.H. and Nakayama, D.D. (2000).  Consolidation and strength properties of calcareous sediments from Kaneohe and Kailua bays, Hawaii.  Proceedings of the 10th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, 2:470-476.

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