Current Projects

PhD student:  Farimah Fattahi Masrour  f.fattahimasrour1@universityofgalway.ie    

Start and expected finish dates:  09/22 - 08/26

Funding:  Research Ireland Centre for Applied Geosciences - €154,000

Collaborators: Prof. Mike Long (NTNU and UCD), ROD Consulting Engineers, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Egis (formerly JB Barry and Partners), Wills Bros, RPS Group.

Summary: This aim of this project is to assess the effectiveness of surcharging in reducing long-term creep settlement in peat. The project has three elements (i) interpretation of field settlement and piezometer measurements in peat due to surcharged embankment construction near Glenties, Co. Donegal, (ii) modelling the surcharging process in oedometer tests at laboratory scale and (iii) numerical modelling using PLAXIS 2D and the Soft Soil Creep model.

PhD student:  Asad Wadood  a.wadood1@universityofgalway.ie

Start and expected finish dates:   01/23 - 12/26

Funding:  Research Ireland Centre for Applied Geosciences (iCRAG) - €170,350

Collaborators:  A/Prof. Brian Sheil, University of Cambridge, Ward and Burke Construction Ltd.

Summary:  This research involves the development and deployment of a number of instrumented pipes for a prominent microtunelling project in Ireland. The data from the instrumented pipe will be retrospectively analysed and a neural network framework was developed, calibrated and validated to predict the applied axial loads on the instrumented pipe during the pipe jacking process. Essentially, the framework allows the instrumented pipe to behave as a load cell, allowing the study of the distribution of frictional resistance along the pipeline. The framework will significantly reduce instrumentation costs and therefore encourage increased instrumentation for the construction of pipe jacked infrastructure allowing a better understanding of the process.