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Sustainability
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Geotechnical Risks in Rock Mechanics and Sustainable Infrastructures
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Geotechnical Risks in Rock Mechanics and Sustainable Infrastructures

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Hazards and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 10818

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Rubén Galindo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departament of Geotechnical Engineering, Escuela de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: volcanic rocks; rock mechanics; soil dynamics; foundations; numerical methods
Prof. Dr. Zhigang Cao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: soil dynamics; transportation geotechnics; foundations
Prof. Dr. Nihat Sinan Işık

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departament of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Gazi University, Ankara, 06500, Turkey
Interests: engineering geology; soil and rock mechanics; geotechnical earthquake engineering
Prof. Dr. Antonio Lara-Galera

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departament of Construction Engineering, Escuela de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: rock mechanics; soil dynamics; transportation geotechnics; geotechnical construction procedures; public works economy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There are many geological and geotechnical risks, and the challenges of infrastructure construction in search of greater comfort, better connectivity, and more equitable distribution of resources are becoming increasingly demanding. This need for infrastructure must determine its construction in a safe and sustainable manner.

The Malpasset and Vajont Dam disasters created the need to establish solid bases in rock mechanics. However, more efforts from the research community are required in search of a better understanding of the geotechnical behavior. Numerous news stories in the media report catastrophes and accidents that affect constructions, generating social alarm and whose human and material consequences depend to a great extent on the geological environment where the infrastructure is located and on the geotechnical design or solution adopted.

In general, it is human action, either because of our limited predictive capacity in the case of natural disasters or because of our own construction activity or transformation of the planet (e.g., effects of climate change), that increases the risk of accidents and multiplies their devastating effects, with rock engineering being present in many of the large infrastructures.

This Special Issue aims to provide a source of geotechnical hazards in rock mechanics that must be taken into account for the construction of infrastructures and that through theoretical developments, empirical studies, or real experiences help to better understand the geotechnical environment in order to identify mechanisms of breakage in the ground, risks, and potential damage, contributing to safer construction in the future. In particular, among other phenomena that affect sustainable construction can be considered: landslide, rock falls, failures and large settlements, dissolution of soluble rocks and karstification, bearing capacity of foundations, offshore foundations (e.g., the pile foundation of offshore wind turbines), rock alterability, etc.

Prof. Dr. Rubén Galindo
Prof. Dr. Zhigang Cao
Prof. Dr. Nihat Sinan Işık
Prof. Dr. Antonio Lara-Galera
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • geo-hazards
  • geotechnical accident
  • rock mechanics
  • ground failure
  • safe construction

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4659 KiB  
Article
Identification and Investigation of Subsidence Areas to Mitigate Karstic Risks in Urbanized Areas of Madrid, Spain: A Case Study
by Eugenio Sanz Pérez and Cesar Sanz Riaguas
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7716; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13147716 - 10 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1538
Abstract
A multidisciplinary investigation was carried out in a karstic depression in a housing development under construction in Madrid to assess its stability. It was found that it is a small basin within a larger depression as a result of subsidence accumulated during the [...] Read more.
A multidisciplinary investigation was carried out in a karstic depression in a housing development under construction in Madrid to assess its stability. It was found that it is a small basin within a larger depression as a result of subsidence accumulated during the Quaternary. Subsidence has built up progressively in the Miocene clay cap and bedrock due to the underlying dissolution of gypsum rich intercalations. The preferential circulation of the dissolving subsurface flow is along a fault conditioned by subsidence, the formation of an elongated syncline along the fracture, and the alluvial basin. During the Pleistocene, a former lagoon zone was formed in this subsiding area; it was also a groundwater discharge zone. The decrease in recent times is very small and could be evaluated to be about 0.4 mm/year, and affects the alluvial zone and along the furrow of a fault zone, where the maximum average rate of subsidence would be 1.4 mm/year. This has led to the development of a relatively strong alluvium. It seems that under the alluvial deposits, a slow and diffuse dissolution is taking place of the shallower clayey gypsiferous levels, free of hypersoluble mineral species; this is somewhat more intense in the fault zone, which is more active hydrodynamically, where groundwater velocity is higher. Microgravimetry surveys indicate that only 5% of the area hidden under the alluvium shows anomalies, interpreted as residual soft clayey masses, or anomalous alluvial fillings of old dissolution voids. These pockets (“bolsones”), have dimensions of no more than 20 × 20 m and depths below 20 m. These measurements have been confirmed by boreholes and are the only points that would require special attention in the future construction of the urbanization. The urbanization work, in full development, is implementing solutions aimed at the stability of the road in the strips of alluvial studied. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geotechnical Risks in Rock Mechanics and Sustainable Infrastructures)
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20 pages, 14122 KiB  
Article
Simulation of Groundwater Flow in an Aquiclude for Designing a Drainage System during Urban Construction: A Case Study in Madrid, Spain
by Joaquín Sanz de Ojeda, Eugenio Sanz, Francisco Javier Elorza, Cesar Sanz Riaguas and Manuel de Pazos Liaño
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1526; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13031526 - 01 Feb 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1656
Abstract
A detailed hydrogeological study was carried out due to the recent occurrence of unexpected problems associated with the flooding of the water table during excavations in the area of a major urbanization work in Madrid. The numerous exploratory drilling excavations carried out allowed [...] Read more.
A detailed hydrogeological study was carried out due to the recent occurrence of unexpected problems associated with the flooding of the water table during excavations in the area of a major urbanization work in Madrid. The numerous exploratory drilling excavations carried out allowed for the development of a conceptual model of the complex hydrogeological functioning in clay formations in an urban area. The clays have very little natural recharge, and the underground flow is highly conditioned by the topography and a fold-fault. Modelling with MODDFLOW confirmed and quantified this conceptual model and also allowed for the design of an efficient network of 1.5 km-long drainage trenches. The design of this drainage network was influenced by the difficult balance that must be respected in order not to contaminate the water with sulphates from the nearby gypsum substrate. This is to guarantee the quantitative and qualitative sustainability of the groundwater. The follow-up and monitoring of the water tables and the quality of the groundwater for more than a year after the excavation of the drainage trenches guaranteed the results of the research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geotechnical Risks in Rock Mechanics and Sustainable Infrastructures)
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25 pages, 9689 KiB  
Article
Influence of Hydrogeochemistry on Tunnel Drainage in Evaporitic Formations: El Regajal Tunnel Case Study (Aranjuez, Spain)
by Ignacio Menéndez Pidal, Jose Antonio Mancebo Piqueras, Eugenio Sanz Pérez and Clemente Sáenz Sanz
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1505; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13031505 - 01 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1725
Abstract
Many of the large number of underground works constructed or under construction in recent years are in unfavorable terrains facing unusual situations and construction conditions. This is the case of the subject under study in this paper: a tunnel excavated in evaporitic rocks [...] Read more.
Many of the large number of underground works constructed or under construction in recent years are in unfavorable terrains facing unusual situations and construction conditions. This is the case of the subject under study in this paper: a tunnel excavated in evaporitic rocks that experienced significant karstification problems very quickly over time. As a result of this situation, the causes that may underlie this rapid karstification are investigated and a novel methodology is presented in civil engineering where the use of saturation indices for the different mineral specimens present has been crucial. The drainage of the rock massif of El Regajal (Madrid-Toledo, Spain, in the Madrid-Valencia high-speed train line) was studied and permitted the in-situ study of the hydrogeochemical evolution of water flow in the Miocene evaporitic materials of the Tajo Basin as a full-scale testing laboratory, that are conforms as a whole, a single aquifer. The work provides a novel methodology based on the calculation of activities through the hydrogeochemical study of water samples in different piezometers, estimating the saturation index of different saline materials and the dissolution capacity of the brine, which is surprisingly very high despite the high electrical conductivity. The circulating brine appears unsaturated with respect to thenardite, mirabilite, epsomite, glauberite, and halite. The alteration of the underground flow and the consequent renewal of the water of the aquifer by the infiltration water of rain and irrigation is the cause of the hydrogeochemical imbalance and the modification of the characteristics of the massif. These modifications include very important loss of material by dissolution, altering the resistance of the terrain and the increase of the porosity. Simultaneously, different expansive and recrystallization processes that decrease the porosity of the massif were identified in the present work. The hydrogeochemical study allows the evolution of these phenomena to be followed over time, and this, in turn, may facilitate the implementation of preventive works in civil engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geotechnical Risks in Rock Mechanics and Sustainable Infrastructures)
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21 pages, 8952 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Bearing Capacity of Foundations on Rock Masses Subjected to Seismic and Seepage Loads
by Rubén Galindo, Ana Alencar, Nihat Sinan Isik and Claudio Olalla Marañón
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10063; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su122310063 - 02 Dec 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2072
Abstract
It is usual to adopt the seismic force acting as an additional body force, employing the pseudo-static hypothesis, when considering earthquakes in the estimation of the bearing capacity of foundations. A similar approach in seepage studies can be applied for the pore pressure’s [...] Read more.
It is usual to adopt the seismic force acting as an additional body force, employing the pseudo-static hypothesis, when considering earthquakes in the estimation of the bearing capacity of foundations. A similar approach in seepage studies can be applied for the pore pressure’s consideration as an external force. In the present study, the bearing capacity of shallow foundations on rock masses considering the presence of the pseudo-static load was developed by applying an analytical solution for the Modified Hoek and Brown failure criterion. Calculations were performed adopting various inclinations of the load and the slope on the edge of the foundation, as well as different values of the vertical and horizontal components of the pseudo-static load. The results are presented in the form of charts to allow an affordable and immediate practical application for footing problems in the event of seismic loads or seepages. Finally, and to validate the analytical solution presented, a numerical study was developed applying the finite difference method to estimate the bearing capacity of a shallow foundation on a rock mass considering the presence of an additional horizontal force that could be caused by an earthquake or a seepage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geotechnical Risks in Rock Mechanics and Sustainable Infrastructures)
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37 pages, 19183 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Construction of Earth Dams: Use of Heterogeneous Material from the Dam Site
by Rubén Galindo, José Sánchez-Martín and Claudio Olalla Marañón
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9940; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12239940 - 27 Nov 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2832
Abstract
The volumes of soil required for the construction of an earth dam are usually of importance, so that, consequently, a key aspect to mitigate the negative impacts of dam construction, both from an economic and environmental point of view, is the use of [...] Read more.
The volumes of soil required for the construction of an earth dam are usually of importance, so that, consequently, a key aspect to mitigate the negative impacts of dam construction, both from an economic and environmental point of view, is the use of materials in the vicinity of the dam location. However, this is often complicated because the existence of good quality materials with homogeneous properties, necessary for the dam core, is scarce in sites near the dam and their presence in sufficient volume for its construction is not usual. Unfortunately, using and transporting soil with good geotechnical characteristics to construct the core in a faraway location is economically and environmentally unsustainable. Therefore, the possibility of using less suitable material at the dam site as part of the core must be studied. Thus, in the present research the use of a soil of great heterogeneity in its geotechnical properties with a great dispersion of permeability is analyzed. Considering permeability as a random variable, combinations of representative values of heterogeneous soils are analyzed using their mean permeability and coefficients of variation that allow generating different lognormal distribution functions to carry out a Monte Carlo analysis. By maintaining the soil’s global heterogeneity, it was possible to study an unlimited disposition of lifts of different permeability. The statistical formulation allowed the research of the variation of the seepage flows and maximum gradients produced as a function of the variability of their mean permeability, being able to detect the factors with the greatest influence on the generation of high flows and gradients. Thus, it was possible to verify how high gradients were obtained for situations in which the seepage flow rates were moderate and low; the highest maximum gradients were observed in the lowest lifts of the dam core. In addition, based on the results of the Monte Carlo analysis, design charts have been developed for flow rates and maximum gradients, dependent on the mean permeability and the coefficient of variation, which allow judging whether heterogeneous material can be used, under conditions of safety, for the construction of the core of a dam. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geotechnical Risks in Rock Mechanics and Sustainable Infrastructures)
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