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Advances in Water Related Geotechnical Engineering
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Advances in Water Related Geotechnical Engineering

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrogeology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 April 2026 | Viewed by 4342

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Chaofeng Zeng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
Interests: hydrogeology; multi-aquifers; groundwater control; land subsidence; soil-water-structure interaction; prevention of groundwater-related disaster; numerical modeling; physical simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water-related processes play a fundamental role in geotechnical engineering, governing the mechanical behavior, stability, and long-term performance of soil and rock masses. Challenges such as excessive settlement, slope failure, erosion, and foundation instability are often rooted in complex interactions between hydraulic and geotechnical factors.

This Special Issue aims to show the latest advances in water–soil interaction mechanisms, and their implications in geotechnical engineering applications. We seek contributions that deepen the theoretical understanding, improve predictive capabilities, and offer innovative solutions to engineering problems involving seepage, pore pressure, and hydrological variability.

We welcome original research and comprehensive reviews that employ analytical modeling, numerical simulation, physical experiments, or field-based monitoring. Submissions exploring the integration of AI-based approaches, remote sensing, and multi-physics coupling in geotechnical water-related problems are particularly encouraged.

In the following, we list some potential topics to guide the submission, while one should note that the involved topics are not limited to those.

  • Seepage, infiltration, and pore pressure evolution in soils
  • Hydro-mechanical coupling in slope, foundation, and retaining systems
  • Ground deformations induced by dewatering, recharge, or rainfall
  • Water-related failure mechanisms in unsaturated and soft ground
  • Erosion, internal instability, and piping phenomena
  • Ground improvement for hydraulically challenged soils
  • Impacts of climate change on water-driven geotechnical behavior
  • Smart sensing, data analytics, and early warning technologies

This Special Issue provides a platform for interdisciplinary research that bridges geotechnics, hydrogeology, and environmental engineering, aiming to promote sustainable, resilient, and data-informed geotechnical practice.

Dr. Chaofeng Zeng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater control
  • geotechnical engineering
  • dewatering
  • deep excavation
  • tunnelling
  • land subsidence
  • slope engineering
  • foundation engineering
  • pore water pressure
  • foundation pit leakage

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 6429 KB  
Article
Multi-Scale Experiments and Mechanistic Insights into Hydro-Physical Properties of Saturated Deep-Sea Sediments in the South China Sea
by Yan Feng, Qiunan Chen, Guangping Liu, Xiaocheng Huang, Zengliang Wang, Wei Hu, Bingchu Chen, Shunkai Liu and Xiaodi Xu
Water 2025, 17(24), 3581; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17243581 - 17 Dec 2025
Viewed by 744
Abstract
Deep-sea-resource development and marine engineering represent cutting-edge global research priorities. As a typical deep-sea region in the Western Pacific, the physical–mechanical properties of the South China Sea’s deep-sea sediments have critical implications for regional and global deep-sea engineering design and the safety assessments [...] Read more.
Deep-sea-resource development and marine engineering represent cutting-edge global research priorities. As a typical deep-sea region in the Western Pacific, the physical–mechanical properties of the South China Sea’s deep-sea sediments have critical implications for regional and global deep-sea engineering design and the safety assessments of resource exploitation. However, due to extreme environmental conditions and sampling technology limitations, studies on the mechanical behavior and microstructural control mechanisms of sediments in complex marine environments exceeding 2000 m in depth remain insufficient worldwide, hindering precise engineering design and risk management. This study systematically investigates the physical–mechanical properties, microstructure, and mechanical behavior of intact sediments acquired at a depth of 2060 m in the South China Sea. Through physical property tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), one-dimensional consolidation, and triaxial shear tests, combined with comparisons with nearshore soft soils and other deep-sea sediments, we acquired the following results: The sediments primarily consist of muscovite, quartz, and calcite. Triaxial shear tests revealed initial dilation followed by shear consolidation, reaching critical conditions with an effective cohesion of 19.58 kPa and an effective internal friction angle of 27.32°. One-dimensional consolidation tests indicated a short principal consolidation time, wherein the consolidation coefficient first decreased under loading before slowly increasing, while the secondary consolidation coefficient stabilized after vertical pressure exceeded 400 kPa. The research results not only provide a direct reference for designing deep-sea engineering projects in the South China Sea, calculating the penetration resistance of deep-sea drilling rigs, and predicting the foundation settlement of offshore wind power but also furnish typical cases and key data support for the study of the mechanical properties of global deep-sea high-organic-matter sediments and engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Related Geotechnical Engineering)
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21 pages, 8633 KB  
Article
Experimental Study on the Fracture and Failure of the Locking Section of Rock Slopes Caused by Freeze–Thaw of Fracture Water
by Shuai Liu, Hui Liu, Xiangqi Tian, Kuanyao Zhao, Yonglong Qu, Zhigang Jia and Huaiwu Su
Water 2025, 17(20), 2977; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17202977 - 15 Oct 2025
Viewed by 1209
Abstract
In rock slopes with a three-section landslide, the locking section is the key control factor. This study conducted double-sided freeze–thaw tests on a scale model of a rock slope with a three-section landslide in a cold region. We monitored the changes in frost [...] Read more.
In rock slopes with a three-section landslide, the locking section is the key control factor. This study conducted double-sided freeze–thaw tests on a scale model of a rock slope with a three-section landslide in a cold region. We monitored the changes in frost heave force, strain, and fracture during the water–ice phase change and investigated the effect of the trailing edge tensile crack length on the frost heave fracture of the locking section. A crack frost heave model was proposed based on rock and fracture mechanics to explore the mechanism of slope crack freeze–thaw weathering. According to the results, the slope shoulder froze first, with the freezing front progressing from the slope shoulder to the interior of the rock mass. The fracture failure in the three-section rock slopes was mostly caused by the frost heave of the trailing-edge tensile cracks. The largest frost heave force and locking section deformation occurred when the temperature of the top of the trailing edge tensile crack decreased from −3.5 °C to −6 °C (whereas that of the bottom of the crack dropped from 0 °C to −2.6 °C). Additionally, the results demonstrate that the frost heave force is positively correlated with the length of the trailing edge tension crack, and shear marks are virtually absent on the tensile fracture surface. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Related Geotechnical Engineering)
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13 pages, 1205 KB  
Article
Analytical Type-Curve Method for Hydraulic Parameter Estimation in Leaky Confined Aquifers with Fully Enclosed Rectangular Cutoff Walls
by Jing Fu, Yan Wang, Xiaojin Xiao, Huiming Lin and Qinggao Feng
Water 2025, 17(20), 2972; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17202972 - 15 Oct 2025
Viewed by 796
Abstract
In deep excavation dewatering engineering, fully enclosed cutoff walls are widely implemented to improve the efficiency of dewatering in the pit and prevent adverse environmental impacts such as land subsidence and damage to adjacent infrastructure. However, the presence of such impermeable barriers fundamentally [...] Read more.
In deep excavation dewatering engineering, fully enclosed cutoff walls are widely implemented to improve the efficiency of dewatering in the pit and prevent adverse environmental impacts such as land subsidence and damage to adjacent infrastructure. However, the presence of such impermeable barriers fundamentally alters flow dynamics, rendering conventional aquifer test interpretation methods inadequate. This study presents a novel closed-form analytical solution for transient drawdown in a leaky confined aquifer bounded by a rectangular, fully enclosed cutoff wall under constant-rate pumping. The solution is rigorously derived by applying the mirror image method within a superposition framework, explicitly accounting for the barrier effect of the curtain. A type-curve matching methodology is developed to inversely estimate key aquifer parameters—transmissivity, storativity, and vertical leakage coefficient—while incorporating the geometric and boundary effects of the curtain. The approach is validated against field data from a pumping test conducted at a deep excavation site in Wuhan, China. Excellent agreement is observed between predicted and measured drawdowns across multiple observation points, confirming the model’s fidelity. The proposed solution and parameter estimation technique provide a physically consistent, analytically tractable, and computationally efficient framework for interpreting pumping tests in constrained aquifer systems, thereby improving predictive reliability in dewatering design and supporting sustainable groundwater management in urban underground construction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Related Geotechnical Engineering)
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16 pages, 2035 KB  
Article
ABAQUS-Based Numerical Analysis of Land Subsidence Induced by Pit Pumping in Multi-Aquifer Systems
by Jiao Chen, Chaofeng Zeng, Xiuli Xue, Shuo Wang, Youwu Zhao and Zirui Zhang
Water 2025, 17(15), 2210; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17152210 - 24 Jul 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1173
Abstract
Foundation pit pumping induces groundwater drawdown both inside and outside the pit, consequently causing surrounding land subsidence. Based on actual engineering cases, this study established a three-dimensional numerical model using ABAQUS software (version 6.14-4) to systematically investigate the temporal evolution of groundwater drawdown [...] Read more.
Foundation pit pumping induces groundwater drawdown both inside and outside the pit, consequently causing surrounding land subsidence. Based on actual engineering cases, this study established a three-dimensional numerical model using ABAQUS software (version 6.14-4) to systematically investigate the temporal evolution of groundwater drawdown and land subsidence during pit pumping, while quantifying the relationship between drawdown and subsidence stabilization time under different parameters. The key findings are as follows: (1) land subsidence stabilization time (50 days) is governed by external phreatic layer response, reaching 2.3 times longer than isolated aquifer conditions (22 days); (2) medium-permeability strata (0.01–10 K0,AdII) showed peak sensitivity to drawdown–subsidence coupling; (3) pumping from a confined aquifer extends the subsidence stabilization time by a factor of 1.1 compared to phreatic aquifer conditions. These findings provide valuable insights for the design and risk assessment of dewatering strategies in foundation pits within multi-aquifer systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Related Geotechnical Engineering)
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