Hanging by a thread? Lifelines, infrastructure and natural disasters The 19th New Zealand Geomechanics Symposium was held in Queenstown on 21 and 22 November 2013. Convenor’s introduction: In recent memory our planet has suffered tragic loss of life and collateral damage due to the occurrence of…
What in earth is going on? Balancing risk, reward regulation and reality. Convenor’s introduction: The 20th New Zealand Geomechanics Symposium was held in Napier, the Art Deco capital of the world. On behalf of the Symposium Committee and NZGS I was delighted to welcome the…
Work is currently underway to update the NZTA Bridge Manual (BM) based on recent advancements in bridge design practice in New Zealand and worldwide, and also the NZTA’s experience on the performance of bridges during the Canterbury earthquakes. In the current 2nd edition of the BM various…
AMETI Panmure Phase 1 Project involves construction of three bridges and a covered box in Auckland Volcanic Field consisting of a thin basalt cover underlain by tuff and Puketoka Formation alluvium. Kaawa Formation “bedrock” is at approximately 40 m depth. The Serviceability Limit State (SLS)…
This paper aims at creating and assessing the feasibility of OpenSees-based finite element (FE) model used to simulate the response of a pile foundation in liquefying ground. A range of sources has been adopted in the definition of model components of which its validity is…
There is increasing awareness in earthquake engineering of the need to consider the structure, foundation, and underlying soil in an integrated fashion. The traditional design scenario, where the geotechnical and structural considerations are dealt with separately, results in inefficient and sometimes less effective foundation systems. Integrated numerical models…
The vertical subgrade reaction coefficient Kv is extensively used by structural engineers for the design of shallow foundations. The value of the coefficient is usually estimated by the geotechnical engineer by three possible ways: in situ testing, laboratory testing and bibliography. In this paper a…
The identification and characterisation of defects within a rock mass is a valuable tool when analysing potential and pre-existing slope instability as well as when assessing the stability and support requirements for tunnelling and underground structures. A good knowledge of rock defect data is extremely important to enable…
Clause B1/VM4 of the New Zealand Building Code allows a concession on strength reduction factors applied to foundation design for load cases involving earthquake load combinations with overstrength factors. It allows strength reduction factors of 0.8 to 0.9 compared to 0.45 to 0.60 typically specified for other load…
The Canterbury region experienced widespread damage due to liquefaction induced by seismic shaking during the 4 September 2010 earthquake and the large aftershocks that followed, notably those that occurred on 22 February, 13 June and 23 December 2011. Following the 2010 earthquake, EQC directed a thorough investigation of…