CGS Kingston Section
Graduate Candidate Competition for Michael Bozozuk Student Forum
Student Entries from Kingston: RMC and Queen’s University
Queen’s University
Candidate: Mr. Prabeen Joshi
Title of Presentation: Performance of geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) overlaps under
non-uniform stresses.
Abstract:
A composite geosynthetic liner consisting of a geomembrane (GMB) on top of a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) can be
very effective to limit leakage though landfill barrier systems however if not covered quickly and non-uniform stresses
are applied, additional issues may arise that may increase leakage through the composite liner. This presentation will
summarize a latest research conducted to quantify the leakage that occurs when a GMB wrinkle with defect (i.e
holes/cracks) overlies a GCL overlap. Comparison between performance of self-seaming and non-self-seaming GCLs
will also be presented.
Bio:
Mr Prabeen Joshi is from Kathmandu, Nepal. He conducted his undergraduate degree at Tribhuwan University in
Nepal and obtained an M.Sc from the University of Lueneburg in Germany. Currently, he is a PhD candidate under the
supervision of professors Dr. Kerry Rowe and Richard Brachman and the focus of his research in on the hydraulic
performance of containment liners.
Royal Military College of Canada
Candidate: Mr. Sina Javankhoshdel
Title of Presentation: Simplified probabilistic slope stability design charts for
cohesive and c-soils
Abstract:
Design charts to estimate the factor of safety for simple slopes with cohesive and c- soils are now available in the
literature. However, factor of safety is an imperfect measure to quantify the margin of safety of a slope because
nominal identical slopes with the same factor of safety can have different probabilities of failure due to variability in
soil properties. In this presentation a series of new probabilistic slope stability design charts are provided that consider
a practical range of coefficient of variation (COV) for cohesive and frictional strength parameters of the soil. The data
to generate the new charts were produced using conventional probabilistic concepts together with closed-form
solutions for cohesive soil cases and Monte Carlo simulation in combination with conventional limit equilibriumbased circular slip analyses using the program SVSlope for c- soil cases. The charts are a useful tool for
geotechnical engineers to make a preliminary estimate of the probability of failure of a simple slope without running
Monte Carlo simulations. Effect of spatial variability of soil properties and also effect of cross-correlation between
strength parameters on probability of failure are also provided in the presentation.
Bio:
Mr Sina Javankhoshdel is from Iran. He obtained his bachelor and master’s degrees in structural engineering from Iran
at the University of Tehran. He is a PhD Candidate working at RMC under the supervision of Professor Richard
Bathurst. His research area is in probabilistic slope stability analysis of unreinforced and geosynthetic reinforced
slopes.