Research Interests
My expertise has long been in the areas of site classification and laboratory testing methods for expansive clays, design of shallow footings and the influence of trees on clay soils (including related forensic engineering). I have also worked with, and continue to research, collapsing soils.
More recently I have focussed on pavement engineering, first by looking at the influence of soil suction on the resilient moduli of subgrades below rail tracks. Thereafter my research focus shifted to the use of recycled C&D waste as a sustainable source of aggregate for pavement construction. In particular, crushed concrete and crushed fired clay masonry have been investigated. Some outcomes of this research can be seen on the Sustainable Aggregates South Australia website. Prediction of rutting of unbound granular materials is a strong interest for future investigation. More recently, my research interest has been on options for stabilizing pavement materials in-situ for low traffic volume roads.
Other engineering interests include soil-structure interaction; e.g. slab on ground on expansive soils, flexible pipes buried in trenches, subjected to loading by construction traffic. Numerical modelling of structure interaction and pavement response to traffic, particularly FEA, is a valuable tool for researchers that needs to be used more often.
