Scientific Programme

Conference Themes

 

Research and Innovation using Geotechnical Physical Modelling:

Broad themes

• Soil – Structure – Interaction
• Natural hazards
• Earthquake engineering
• Soft soil engineering
• New geotechnical physical modelling facilities
• Advanced experimental techniques
• Comparisons between physical and numerical modelling

Specific topics

• Offshore engineering
• Ground improvement and foundations
• Tunnelling, excavations and retaining structures
• Dams and slopes
• Process modelling
• Geoenvironmental modelling
• Education

Special discussion (Quo vadis?) sessions

• TC2 catalogue on scaling laws
• Impact on industry practice

Public lecture

• Role of physical modelling in combatting climate change

 

 

What qualifies as 'physical modelling' for the purposes of this conference?

"For the purposes of setting the scope of this conference, a geotechnical physical model is a simplified physical representation of a boundary value problem in which similitude is sought within the context of the relevant scaling laws. A key aspect of physical modelling is the idealisation process for representing soil behaviour, geometrical effects, loading, environmental and construction effects, leading to model design. The model will then be constructed principally with soil (or a soil analogue), which has been artificially constituted, or transported from its natural location to the laboratory.

Papers describing physical modelling as well as physical model tests, which are carried out to obtain predictions and validations (often known as testing), will be accepted. The papers should report recent physical modelling activity (which may be complemented by numerical or theoretical analysis), or describe the development or evolution of techniques and facilities for physical modelling."

Aim & Scope

The aim of the conference is to disseminate the research and innovation based on physical modelling to research students, academics, practitioners and society, as well as to bring together geotechnicians to discuss the current state-of-the-art in modelling and design.

The forerunner to the International Conferences on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics began in the early eighties with the early conference in Geotechnical Centrifuge Modelling, and were so named up to 1998, before embracing all forms of geotechnical physical modelling. Researchers using 1g small and large scale models, calibration chambers, shaking tables, as well as geotechnical centrifuges, are expressly encouraged to submit papers to this conference, and to come to Zurich at the end of June 2010 to create an inspirational environment in which ideas, innovation and technological development can be shared.