Researching soil movements deep underground
Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering Dr Joel Smethurst, from the University of Southampton’s Infrastructure Group, has been awarded a £125,000 grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to investigate the movement of soil beneath Victoria underground station.
London is built on clay. When it is exposed, such as during excavation work beneath a new basement, it can swell upwards over several years. Joel will be placing sensors in both the ground below and within the concrete floor of a new ticket hall now being built at Victoria to learn more about the changes in both ground and water pressures, caused by basement construction.
"This is a valuable opportunity to get accurate data for many years to come on the movement of soil deep below the city's streets," he explains.
The £700 million rebuilding work at Victoria scheduled to end in 2018, will enlarge the station by 50 per cent. At present, 80 million people a year use it; this is forecast to grow to 100 million by 2016.
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Dr Joel Smethurst BEng PhD GMICE FHEA
Dr Joel Smethurst is an Associate Professor in Geotechnical Engineering within Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton. He is member of the Infrastructure Research Group and is currently the undergraduate Admissions Tutor for Civil Engineering.
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