Research | Geotechnical

Presentation

The "Giuseppe Sorbino" Geotechnical Laboratory was founded in 1994 essentially as a Didactic Laboratory for the experimental training activities provided for students of the master’s degree Courses in Civil Engineering and Engineering for the Environment and Territory in the field of exams of the Geotechnical sector. Since 1996, thanks also to some funding granted by the Interuniversity Consortium for the Prediction and Prevention of Major Risks (C.U.G.Ri.), the laboratory has been used intensively in the context of research projects carried out by the teachers of the Geotechnical sector of the Department of Civil Engineering. Then, carrying out laboratory tests on behalf of third parties was undertaken as part of agreements stipulated by public institutions and private companies with the Department of Civil Engineering. In 2004 the Laboratory moved to its new location within the University Campus in Fisciano (Salerno province), built with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (Campania Region - University of Salerno).

Apparatuses

The “Giuseppe Sorbino” geotechnical laboratory is located within the University Campus in Fisciano (Salerno province). The laboratory extents for about 500 m2 of which 320 m2 are dedicated to soil testing, while the remaining portion consists of studies of the teachers of the Geotechnical sector and spaces dedicated to PhD students and assistant researchers.

The Soil Testing Laboratory is comprised of 4 main sections:

1. acceptance, storage and processing of samples;
2. identification and classification of soils;
3. mechanical characterization of soils in saturated conditions;
4. mechanical characterization of soils in unsaturated conditions.

Laboratory apparatuses include:

• 1 hydraulic extruder;
• 1 vibrating table;
• automatic sieves, precision scales, thermostatic heaters, muffle furnaces, vacuum pumps, sedimentation tanks;
• 6 oedometers equipped with the data acquisition system, 1 Wissa oedometer and 1 Rowe edometer for the mechanical characterization (compressibility) of saturated soils;
• 3 direct shear apparatuses, 2 hydraulic presses, 6 triaxial cells equipped with the data acquisition for the mechanical characterization (failure) of saturated soils;
• 2 stress path triaxial cells for the mechanical characterization (at failure) of saturated soils;
• 2 volume extractors and 2 Richards’ plates for the hydraulic characterization of soils in unsaturated conditions;
• 2 suction-controlled oedometers for the mechanical characterization (compressibility) of soils in unsaturated conditions (see photo here below);
• 1 suction-controlled simple shear apparatus, 2 stress path and suction-controlled triaxial cells, 1 suction-controlled direct shear apparatus for the mechanical characterization (failure) of soils in unsaturated conditions (see photos here below);
• 1 seepage tank to perform two-dimensional physical models of the groundwater flow in soils for teaching and research purposes;
• 1 system for Resonant Column and Torsional Shear (RCTS) tests on unsaturated soil specimens;
• 1 dynamic penetrometer DL-030, 1 Guelph’s permeameter and 1 freatimetric probe for in-situ testing.

Services

The "Giuseppe Sorbino" Geotechnical Laboratory deals with the physical, hydraulic and mechanical characterization of soils by means of tests conducted on specimens obtained from undisturbed or reconstituted samples.

A particularly developed sector that is at the forefront in the international arena is that dedicated to the mechanical characterization of soils in unsaturated conditions. In this context, the Laboratory boasts the availability of specially designed and manufactured equipment, such as the suction-controlled simple shear and the system for RCTS tests on unsaturated soils. For this equipment, experimental techniques and original and innovative data analysis procedures, recognized internationally, have also been developed. The laboratory carries out all the experimental research activities related to the projects developed by the teachers of the Geotechnical sector of the Department of Civil Engineering.

The Laboratory is also available to students of the master's degree courses in Civil Engineering, Engineering for the Environment and the Territory and Building Engineering-Architecture as part of the internship activities and, more generally, to all students (also of the three-year degree courses) for carrying out experimental theses based on the physical-mechanical characterization of the soils involved in different geotechnical problems (e.g., soil-structure interaction, slope stability, etc.).

The Laboratory is also available to carry out geotechnical laboratory tests, to be carried out on behalf of public institutions and private companies through Conventions and/or Contracts to be formalized with the Department of Civil Engineering.

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