October 2024 CGS-SOS Lecture : State of Geotechnical Laboratory Methods

New Venue! Free Parking!

Lecture :

• 5:00 PM – Cocktails and Socializing
• 6:00 PM – Dinner
• 7:00 PM -8:30 PM- Lecture

As advanced technologies become more widely available, they are being increasingly adopted in the field of Geotechnical Engineering. Some Geotechnical Laboratory investigations that were previously considered too academic or difficult have now become mainstream. This is a positive development, as project owners are becoming less tolerant of risks and more conscious of costs. Geotechnical engineers now have a wider array of tools to choose from, with tests being mostly automated, less expensive, and faster with reduced susceptibility to user errors. However, the task of selecting the correct test for a specific job has become increasingly crucial. Geotechnical engineers are expected to understand the advantages and limitations of these methods and choose the most suitable one to obtain the most useful data in the least amount of time and at the lowest cost. This presentation will provide a brief review of the current state of several families of Geotechnical Laboratory testing, including permeability, consolidation, shear, interface, triaxial, torsional shear, and several dynamic tests. It will discuss the advantages and limitations of each method and examine some cautionary tales.

Kaveh Zehtab holds a Ph.D. in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Old Dominion University in Virginia, USA. He also holds a M.S. degree in Engineering Sciences and a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering. Before moving to Canada, he was the Director of the Products Division for Geocomp Inc. where he contributed to the development of various laboratory and field-testing methods and equipment in collaboration with leading research institutes, consulting and engineering firms. His work included seismic stability assessment for mine tailings, offshore field and laboratory investigation, and other Geotechnical projects. Prior to that, he was a design project manager for UTEST, a Turkish testing equipment company, and a project engineer for Geotechnical investigation and seismic risk assessment for various infrastructure, energy, and mining-related projects in Turkey and Iran. Kaveh is actively involved with ASTM and currently serves as the chair of Subcommittee D18.09 on Cyclic and Dynamic Properties of Soils. He has co-authored several peer-reviewed journals and conference papers.

Notes:

• Tickets are sold based on first come first served.
• There is a maximum of 10 tickets available for students.
• No refund is possible from 48 hours to the start of the event.
• Sponsorship tickets do not include a patron ticket.

Host or Publisher Canadian Geotechnical Society - Southern Ontario Section