Selected Projects

Chemical Plant Ground Water Pollution, Louisiana, USA:  During a construction of a chemical plant, pile foundations were driven through a 30 m deep layer of clay with low permeability and entered the sand aquifer. Corrosion of the steel piles over the past 40 years effected permeability and swelling potential of clay allowing for the contaminated water to reach the aquifer. Our understanding and modelling of this mechanism helped to settle a multi-million dollar lawsuit (Client: Consortium of law firms, USA).

Avila Camacho Highway Collapse, Mexico:  Construction of a federal highway through Sierra Madre Oriental mountain chain caused a number of slope failures which have been investigated. Based on our risk analysis it was recommended to support the slope during further excavation. Because this recommendation was not followed, an existing creeping landslide accelerated, destroyed the road and PEMEX oil pipes,  causing an ecological catastrophe (Client: Allianz Global Corporate, Spain).

Oil and Gas Facility Risk Assessment, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan:  Planning of the new BP Azeri offshore oil and gas facility required submarine landslide risk assessment with an aim of preventing future oil spills. Our novel approach to submarine slope stability analysis allowed for understanding of the existing landslides, their dimensions and historical frequencies. Calibrated models were used for risk assessment and helped to define safe location for the future BP oil and gas facility (Client: BP plc, UK).

Haifa Port Extention, Israel:  Geotechnical consulting for Haifa Port Extension, including land reclamation, breakwaters, light and heavy piers, deep pile foundations, interaction between neighboring structures, geotechnical site investigation and monitoring (Client: Israeli Port Authority).

Radioactive Waste Disposal, Switzerland:  Providing geotechnical expertise on the construction and operation of deep repositories for radioactive waste disposal (Client:  NAGRA - National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Switzerland).

Construction in Landslide Prone Areas, Switzerland:  Geotechnical consulting for construction on permanent landslides. Monitoring of slope displacements. Investigation of slope instabilities. Development of novel approaches for safe construction on slopes (Clients: municipalities of Zurich and St. Moritz; insurance and construction companies; cantonal courts).

Ecological Catastrophe Mitigation, Taranto, Italy:  Taranto represents one of the most complex industrial sites in Europe located near to urban areas of high population density. It is included into the list of polluted Sites of National Interest (SIN sites) of Italy with a national priority for environmental remediation. In collaboration with the Politecnico di Bari awe are investigating geotechnical aspects of contamination and looking for innovative remediation solutions (Client: Italian Government).

Fertilizer Plant Dam Collapse, Negev Region, Israel:  Collapse of a Phoshogypsum Dam at ICL's Rotem Phosphate Fertilizers Plant, catastrophic spill of phosphoric acid – with support of Israeli Ministry of Environment we are currently investigating this failure case. (Client: Israeli Ministry of Environment).