Geological and Geotechnical Engineering in the New Millennium

J. Carlos SantamarinaGeorgia Institute of Technology

USUCGER –

Sacramento May 2008

1. The National Academies

2. New Millennium Study

3. Update…

Committee on Earth

Resources

Geographical Sciences

Committee

Committee on Geophysical

and Environmental

Data

Mapping Science

Committee

Committee on Seismology and Geodynamics

Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering

Division onEarthand

Life Studies

TransportationResearch Board

Division onBehavioral andSocial Sciencesand Education

Division onPolicy and

Global Affairs

Division onEngineering and

Physical Sciences

National Academyof Engineering

National Academyof Sciences Institute of Medicine

National Research Council

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources

Study Committees

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

COGGE -

MissionTo identify, investigate, and report on questions relating to GGE to

government, industry, academia, and the public

To improve public policy on GGE issues

To identify new technologies and potential applications

To promote the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge

Types of ActivitiesReports

Symposia, roundtables, and forums on national issues

Proceedings from conferences and workshops

“White papers” that take a stand on pressing scientific concerns

COGGE Sponsors

Current Sponsors• National Science Foundation• US Nuclear Regulatory Commission• NIOSH Mining Safety and Health Research Program

Past Sponsors

• EPA• NSF• USNRC• DoD• DoE• BLM• Bureau of Reclamation• Federal Transit Administration• Gas Research Institute• Dowell-Schlumberger, Inc.

Sammantha

l. Magsino

NRC Program Officer

Gregory B. Baecher

(chair) University of Maryland

Thomas W. Doe

Golder Associates

Sandra Houston

Arizona State University

Edward Kavazanjian, Jr.

Arizona State University

Francis S. Kendorski

Agapito Associates, Inc

Wesley C. Patrick

Southwest Research Institute

J. Carlos Santamarina

Georgia Institute of Technology

A. Keith Turner

Colorado School of Mines

COGGE Membership

http://dels.nas.edu/besr/cogge.shtml

Recently Completed Studies

Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers

(2007)

Geological and Geotechnical Engineering in the New Millennium: Opportunities for Research and Technological Innovation (2006)

2. Geotechnical Engineering

in the New Millennium

Jane C. S. Long (chair) Lawrence Livermore Nat. Lab. (fmr)Bernard Amadei

University Of ColoradoJean-Pierre Bardet

University of Southern CaliforniaJohn T. Christian

WabanSteven D. Glaser

University of California, BerkeleyDeborah J. Goodings

University of MarylandEdward Kavazanjian

Arizona State UniversityDavid W. Major

Geosyntec Consultants Inc.James K. Mitchell

Virginia TechMary M. Poulton

The University of ArizonaJ. Carlos Santamarina

Georgia Tech

StaffAnthony R. De Souza (director)

Members of Study Committee

forcesspecific surfacerelative size

sphericityroundnesssmoothness

soil

fluidparticles

mineral size shape

microorganisms

surface chargedouble layerscapillarity

stiffnessthreshold strain

strength(scales)

conductiondiffusionenergy coupling

rheologydiagenesis

XVIII physics & mechanics 1950 chemistry 2000 biology

Biotechnology: Concepts

Shaped the earth – 3.5 bya

Size ~1 μm

~1017 microorganisms per m3 soil

Very fast growth mutation and adaptation ubiquitous

Processes work on small scale and in short times

Effects may reverse - Long-term stability ?

Limiting factors: water, C-source, nutrients, environment

??

Capture inorganic compounds from solution• environmental restoration –

bio-remediation

Bio-cementation Increase Gmax• lower settlement• stabilize liquefiable soils

Gas bio-generation lower fluid bulk stiffness Bfl• hinder shear induced generation of pore fluid pressure

Bio-films and clogging lower permeability k• control flow

Bio-processes can be engineered• Precondition prior to excavation, tunneling, and mining• Self-healing infrastructure• Grow foundations in-situ

Biotechnology: Possibilities

0.001

0.01

0.1

1

10

100

1000

100000.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000

Dep

th [m

]ACTIVE AND MOTILE

Trapped but may

displace individual particles

TRAPPED

T d d

Trap

ped.

Lim

iting

fact

or is

not

mec

hani

ca

Possible pore size reduction by grain crushing

Trapped and indented

(spore-forming species might be dormant)

(position of lower boundary depends on lateral soil stress)

DEAD

Trap

ped:

Lim

iting

fact

or is

not

mec

hani

cal

TRAPPED

ACTIVE AND

MOTILE

Particle Size [μm]

Dep

th [m

]

Biotechnology: Size Limitation in Soils

Nanotechnology

Feynman (1950’s): Nano-technology

Tunneling and AFM (1980’s)

Nano-manipulation (Eigler

1990)

Nano-scale building blocks

Geoengineers: early nanotechnologists

Surface control NaPAAC

H

OH

Na

C

H

CO

C

H

OH

Na

C

H

CO

Nanotechnology: Scales

Unprecedented soil engineering at the particle level

with predetermined physical & chemical properties

Engineered nano-particles

tracers and sensors

Sensors …

Nanotechnology: Possibilities

(N. Skipper – UCL 2002)

Cantilever displacement sensor

Yaralioglu et al

Sensors: MEMS

www.fiso.com

Sensors: Fiber Optics

pressure transducer: 0-to-70 kPa to 0-to-7 MPa

Strain (Dowding; Soga)

Pore fluid chemical properties

Moisture content (Brillouin

-

Pamukcu)

Temperature (Raman -

SENSA)

30 km …

every 1 m …

1oC resolution

Sensors: Distributed Optical Sensors

laser

Signal Processing

IMPROVING TOOLS –

REMOTE SENSINGGeophysics: New tools

Laboratory: VS

VP

attenuation

electrical k ε

thermal k

Tomography (all kinds)

Field:

parallel to labP. Mayne

JS Lee

12

3

1

61

5

1

4

1

3

1

2

1

11

098

7

6

5

4

AlshibliLSU

IMPROVING TOOLS –

REMOTE SENSINGGeophysics: Renewed Geo-relevance

'logkPaσ⎛ ⎞

⎜ ⎟⎝ ⎠

maxGlogkPa

⎛ ⎞⎜ ⎟⎝ ⎠Small-strain stiffness

Spatial variability

Pore fluid chemical properties

Water content (unfrozen)

Unsaturation

Diffusive/advective

fronts

Process Monitoring

BiloxiD’Iverville

I-110 Bridge

Pile 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Bathymetry: 200 kHz

Sub bottom profiling: 20 kHz

NSF - D. Fratta

Geophysics: Sonar

Geophysics: 3D-GPR

Oristoglio and Birken

Southern Manhattan

From airborne and space platforms

Non-contact passive and active methods

Information: vegetation type and density

lithology, mineralogy

Groundwater and soil type

morfology

displacements

Resolution: 10-25 m for satellite systems -1-3 m airborne

Remote Sensing

Remote Sensing: Radar Interferograms

Ground subsidence

(Phoenix)

Tectonic displacement

(after Northridge 1994)

From Rathje, et al., 2006

Remote Sensing: LIDAR

Kayen, et al., 2006

IT: Microelectronics –

Moore's Law

data from Birnbaum and Akinwande

1.E+03

1.E+05

1.E+07

1.E+09

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

Tran

sist

ors

per C

hip

40048080

8086

8028680386

80486

Pentium & 80786

Pentium IIIPentium IV

doubles: 24 months

IT: Storage

data from Kurzweil

0.00001

0.001

0.1

10

1000

100000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010Year

Kilo

byte

s pe

r do

llar

doubles:14 months

2006: < $10/GB2007: $0.30/GB`

IT: Calculations per second

0.000001

0.0001

0.01

1

100

10000

1000000

100000000

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Year

(Cal

cula

tions

/sec

ond)

/ $1

000

doubles:19 months

data from Kurzweil; Moravec

2006: 104

MIPS computers

Brain: 108

MIPS

IT: Communications

0.0001

0.01

1

100

10000

1000000

100000000

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

MB

ytes

per

sec

ond

0.0000001

0.00001

0.001

0.1

10

MB

ytes

per

sec

ond

per $

doubles:10 months

doubles:7 months

wireless

data from Kurzweil

IT: New Paradigms

•

site characterization

confirmation GIS data

•

laboratory testing single, information-rich test

•

design and construction IT-based Observational Method

•

wiki-geo-engineering collective knowledge & ingenuity

www.brgm.fr

Assessment of new technologyDISCIPLINE ORTECHNOLOGY

POTENTIALIMPACT

STATUS KNOWLEDGEREQUIREMENTS

BIO-TECH High Well-developed high short term impact

biologygeochemistry

NANO-TECH Med to Low Early stages Solutions looking for problems

physicschemistrymaterials science

SENSORS & SENSING SYSTEMS

Med to High Revolution in progressHigh impact in short time

electronicssignal processinginversion math

GEOPHYSICALMETHODS

High Established – Vs GmaxNew tools available Higher resolution in mid-term

electronicssignal processinginversion math

REMOTESENSING

High New family of tools and methods will have large impact in short term

electronicsdata managementcomputer science

INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY

High Critical role in sensing systems; smart infrastructure systems being developed

data managementcomputer science

Assessment of new technologyDISCIPLINE ORTECHNOLOGY

POTENTIALIMPACT

STATUS KNOWLEDGEREQUIREMENTS

BIO-TECH High Well-developed high short term impact

biologygeochemistry

NANO-TECH Med to Low Early stages Solutions looking for problems

physicschemistrymaterials science

SENSORS & SENSING SYSTEMS

Med to High Revolution in progressHigh impact in short time

electronicssignal processinginversion math

GEOPHYSICALMETHODS

High Established – Vs GmaxNew tools available Higher resolution in mid-term

electronicssignal processinginversion math

REMOTESENSING

High New family of tools and methods will have large impact in short term

electronicsdata managementcomputer science

INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY

High Critical role in sensing systems; smart infrastructure systems being developed

data managementcomputer science

3. Update …

Fractured Media -

Flow (Characterization, monitoring, design)

Underground Engineering -

Urban Infrastructure

Probabilistic Risk Assessment –

Risk-informed geo-decision making

Life Cycle Lifecycle Geoengineering: Thinking Beyond Construction

Sustainable management of municipal solid waste (e-waste)

Centrifuge modeling (security issues: dams and levees)

Geoengineering

application of 3D data

Energy (underlying theme in all studies)

COGGE Active Themes (May 2008)

National Academyof Engineering

National Academyof Sciences Institute of Medicine

National Research Council

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Make solar energy economical

Provide energy from fusion

Develop carbon sequestration methods

Manage the nitrogen cycle

Provide access to clean water

Restore and improve urban infrastructure

Advance health informatics

Engineer better medicines

Reverse-engineer the brain

Prevent nuclear terror

Secure cyberspace

Enhance virtual reality

Advance personalized learning

Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

Gra

nd C

halle

nges

Energy: 25 yr Horizon

Current Consumption: ~13 TW

Status quo

15.2 TW 17%

Promote growth

≥1.5 kW/per.

21.6 TW 66%

Limit over-spending

≤

4 kW/per.

11.0 TW -15%

Limit over-spending ≤

4 kW/per. 14.2 TW 9%

& promote growth ≥1.5 kW/per.

Population growth 36%

Energy Sources Economics Reserves

… diffuse

generations

limited (?)

approaching saturation

~5 c per kWh 26 c/ kwh

3-6 c per kWh

~4 c per kWh

~7 c per kWh

6-8 c per kWh

>20 c per kWh solar>6.5 c per kWh wind

centuries

45% petroleum

25% natural gas

25% coal

2.5% nuclear power

2.5% hydroelectric

< 1% renewable non-hydro

C-Based: Global Warming

IPCC 2007

(relative to 1980-1999)

2020-2029 2090-2099

Global Solutions

Regional Solutions

Closing Thoughts

Great time for Geotechnical Engineering

Unprecedented tools

Unprecedented challenges with central role for Geotechnologyinfrastructurewaterenergy (production, transport, conservation, waste)global warming (C-sequestration)

Rich & complex phenomena, interwoven processes: EDUCATION

Exceptional opportunities !

Information extracted from:

NRC report

presentation by Jim Mitchell

presentation by Samm

Magsino

Thank you