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Research ThrustsEnvironmental Geotechnics Protecting the earth’s subsurface resources presents formidable challenges to the geotechnical and geoenvironmental community today. In recent years, the need has grown for the development of technologies centered around prevention. By teaming up with local, state, and federal agencies, the Geoenvironmental group at USF is spearheading technological advances aimed toward prevention, resource conservation, and reuse of recycled waste and industrial by-products for soil treatment. Among the main thrusts of the group is the development of a new generation of engineered bentonite clay-polymer materials through manipulation by nano-scale processes. Such materials are customized to meet and exceed current standards for waste containment in terms of hydraulic and chemical compatibility. The experimental component of the research is supported by a state-of-the-art geoenvironmental laboratory, which houses a broad range of equipment such as controlled flow permeability pumps, diffusion cells, low conductivity permometers, and instruments for chemical and mineralogical characterization of soils. Computational Geomechanics The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is emerging as the new paradigm for numerical modeling of discrete geo-materials, thereby replacing the need to simulate granular media as continua. The contributions of the GGE Group at USF have been at the forefront of the ongoing developments and implementation of DEM in practice. Over the past few years, the Group has introduced a new quantitative method for characterizing the morphology of granular materials, and has undertaken studies on flow behavior of powders and grains, and liquefaction of granular soils under earthquake loading. In 2002, USF researchers were the first to model irregular soil particles using DEM. Through strategic collaborations with other research institutions, the USF team is leading a new initiative for three-dimensional characterization and modeling of angular geo-materials. The research, which is supported by the National Science Foundation and number of national and international partners, integrates elements of particle morphology analysis, pattern recognition, and computer vision. The research involves a significant component of cross-disciplinary interactions with other faculty across the College of Engineering. Research Thrust in Pavement Engineering The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USF has a relatively small but active program in pavement engineering. Currently this study area is manned by a single full-time professor devoting 50% of the teaching duties and 100% of his research efforts. In view of the well established pavement materials program at the University of Florida, USF’s main focus has been primarily on pavement management aspect. Furthermore, in keeping with the areas of research thrust identified by the USF College of Engineering, pavement management research has incorporated advanced technology in particular. The current doctoral studies are focused on the following specific areas: 1. Evaluation and possible standardization of the techniques used to collect digital images of highway features using fundamental principles of optics and image processing as well as innovative mathematical techniques. 2. Formulation of effective and accurate techniques to collect geometric data and assimilating them into GIS/GPS highway databases used in pavement management. 3. Exploring innovative techniques to forecast future pavement condition based on readily available historical condition data. |
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