Geotechnical, rock mechanics & pavement research

The geotechnical, rock mechanics and pavement (GR&P) research group at Victoria University focuses on fundamental and applied research that builds knowledge to make civil infrastructures safer, more economical and sustainable.

The group consists of leading researchers who apply innovation and creativity into research in a broad range of applications.

Our state-of-the-art testing facilities and numerical simulation tools allow us to conduct cutting-edge research that makes positive impacts on society and the environment in line with United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.

Research areas

  • Performance testing of asphalt mixtures
  • Behaviour and improvement of the properties of expansive soils
  • Rock mechanics and rock engineering
  • Hydraulic fracturing and induced seismicity
  • Recycled materials in pavement and geotechnical infrastructures
  • Unsaturated behaviour of geomaterials
  • Stress-strain response analysis of pavements

Research projects

  • Sustainable pavement structures 
  • Sustainable residential foundation systems 
  • Sustainable ground improvement techniques 
  • Recycled Material Blends to Backfill Sewer Trenches in Trafficable Areas (Sustainability Victoria)
  • Performance of asphalt mixtures under temperature shocks
  • Effect of tunnel fires on the integrity of the surrounding rock
  • Experimental study of visualising hydraulic fracture propagation in a biaxial stress regime

Research facilities

Bitamen & asphalt

  • Asphalt Performance Tester (AsphaltQUBE)
  • Four point beam tester
  • Indirect tensile modulus and dynamic creep
  • Dynamic modulus & Uniaxial fatigue
  • Gyratory compactor
  • Asphalt slab compactor & asphalt saw
  • 10 and 30 li asphalt mixers
  • Rolling Thin Film Oven (RTFO)
  • Marshall compactor and tester
  • Walking profilometer and skid resistance tester (field testing)
  • Basic bitumen testing equipment

Pavements geotechnics

  • Repeated Load Triaxial (RLT) tester (UTM16P)
  • Unsaturated Cyclic Triaxial tester (10 kN - 10 Hz)
  • Automatic compactors
  • CBR tester

Soils & geomechanics

  • Triaxial tester
  • Direct shear tester
  • Automatic oedometers (Shrink-Swell)
  • Environmental chamber
  • Basic soil testing equipment

Rock mechanics

  • RTX-1000 High Pressure High Temperature Triaxial testing rig
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) 
  • ULT-200 Ultrasonic Velocity Measurement System

Staff & HDR students

Staff

HDR students

  • Sejani Mediliye Gedara
  • Kiran Sapkota
  • Keelan Cranfield-Brooks
  • Foad Ghasemi

Partners, funders & collaborators

  • Asphaltech
  • Boral
  • Sustainability Victoria
  • Greater Western Water
  • Ground Science Pty Ltd
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China
  • Wyndham City Council

Contact us

To find out more about this research area contact:

Dr Wasantha Liyanage
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 3 9919 5887

Dr Ehsan Yaghoubi
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 3 9199 4804