The paper corresponds to the Pacheco Silva Lecture delivered by the author in September 2014. In the first part of the text, a general perspective of the movements induced by deep excavations in soft soils is outlined. The general report presented by Ralph B. Peck to the 1969 ISSMFE México conference is taken as reference and the pr...
View ArticleMany embankment dams completed during the first six decades of the 20th century have been found deficient relative their ability to resist currently anticipated levels of seismic shaking and probable maximum flood. In this Fourth Victor de Mello Lecture, two recent case histories are described. One is a hydraulic fill structure completed in 1920 that is...
View ArticleRockfill behavior is dominated by particle breakage, a phenomenon which is analyzed from the perspective offered by the subcritical propagation of cracks within individual particles. Propagation velocity depends on stress concentration in particles as well as on the ambient Relative Humidity (RH). RH controlled oedometer and triaxial tests are reviewed ...
View ArticleThis paper illustrates the use of the seismic dilatometer (SDMT) to assess the decay of in-situ stiffness with strain level in different soil types. The approach adopted in this study relies on the ability of the SDMT to provide routinelyat each test depth both a small strain stiffness (G0...
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