The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is the principal
association for geotechnical engineers in the United Kingdom.
The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is the principal
association for geotechnical engineers in the United Kingdom.
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Wednesday 28th January 2015 at 6.00pm
at the Iinstitution of Civil Engineers
An Offshore Engineering Society Event.
He will explore the utilisation of underground space and the development of ever more sophisticated construction techniques. Drawing on his considerable experience of working in the congested subterranean environment, Colin will present a summary of some of the challenges encountered when tunnelling beneath urban areas and some of the novel techniques he has employed to overcome them. Looking to the future, Colin will consider what challenges will be faced in the upcoming major tunnelling projects currently proposed for London and how the UK tunnelling industry can overcome them and maintain their position in a challenging international market. The lecture is also available to watch live online with the opportunity to pose questions. Follow this links to register and for details on how to log in and attend online.
2014 Fleming Award Competition
The BGA are pleased to invite you to the 4th Early Career Members event of 2014. The event will present an overview of the status
of the civil engineering industry and the dynamics within the fragmented construction sector. The concept of the role and value
of the engineering profession being at the core of society will be scrutinised, an aspect which is often not recognised by the
wider community. The discussion will proceed to focus on the challenges faced by the engineering fraternity and engagement of
geotechnical engineers at the forefront of project conception and delivery. Looking beyond the significance of a strong academic
background and pursuit for technical excellence, the discussion will aim to unravel the historical hurdles with integration of the
geotechnical discipline in engineering consultancy. The thought-provoking notion of our failures to communicate project risk and to demonstrate value will be put forward with a view of generating a constructive and exciting discussion on the topic.
Thermal conductivity of the ground is an important parameter in the design of ground energy systems, which have an increasing role to play in providing renewable heat to the built environment. For larger schemes, the bulk thermal conductivity of the ground surrounding the system is often determined in situ using a thermal response test conducted on a borehole heat exchanger. There is also an increasing trend to apply the test to energy piles. Although the test method is commonly used, its limitations are often not fully understood, leading to an over-simplistic interpretation that may fail to identify key facets of the ground and heat exchanger thermal behaviour. Some of these limitations will be magnified when applied to larger diameter energy piles.
This presentation will explore some of the uncertainties and limitations of thermal response testing with reference to two case studies. First an instrumented thermal response test carried out in a 150m deep borehole in east London will be examined. This test shows how a single unique value of bulk thermal conductivity may not be appropriate in all cases due to ground stratification and the presence of groundwater flow. Secondly the potential pitfalls of applying thermal response testing to energy piles will be explored using data from an instrumented test site in Texas. Here the effect of pile size and construction materials on the required test time will be discussed.
The presentation will then conclude with some practical recommendations about application of the thermal response test to both boreholes and piles and how it may fit within the site investigation process.