Problematic Soils in Building Construction

Dear Colleagues,

In terms of geotechnical engineering, problematic soils are soils which have potential to expand, collapse, disperse, or undergo excessive settlement. These properties might be induced by their composition, mineralogy, or fabric. Some typical types of problematic soils include swelling/shrinking clays, collapsible soils, soft soils, frozen soils, unsaturated soils, contaminated soils, salinized soil, calcareous sand, etc. A lack of understanding of the behaviors of problematic soils may cause great financial loss. With rapid global urbanization, it might be the only option to build infrastructure on problematic soils. These problematic soils might result in several problems, including poor bearing capacity, unsafe excavation, instability of slopes and embankments, long-term settlements, etc. Thus, it is essential to investigate problematic soils in building construction.

As the Guest Editors of the Special Issue “Problematic Soils in Building Construction”, we cordially invite you to submit high-quality and cutting-edge articles. The topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Start-of-the-art reviews and case studies of problematic soils;
• Site investigation and interpretation;
• Laboratory element tests, physical model tests, and field tests of problematic soils;
• Micro- and macrostructural properties of problematic soils;
• Constitutive modelling of problematic soils;
• Numerical modelling of problematic soils (finite element, discrete element, etc.);
• Advances in monitoring and data processing technologies;
• Stabilization methods (deep replacement, stone column, preloading, fill reinforcement, etc.);
• Seismic behaviors of problematic soils and structures;
• Problematic soil–structure interactions;
• Performance of structures on problematic soils (building structures, underground structures, onshore and offshore structures, etc.).

Dr. Kai Liu
Prof. Dr. Dongsheng Xu
Dr. Weiqiang Feng
Dr. Daoyuan Tan
Dr. Wenbo Chen
Guest Editors

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