The thawing of permafrost, due to climate change or alterations in the ground surface energy balance, poses significant threats to infrastructure and communities in northern Canada. A main step towards the design of resilient infrastructure is to assess the climate threat (exposure) and predict the response of the infrastructure (vulnerability). The stability of permafrost is […]

Organic waste disposal in landfills can produce a massive amount of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Once the landfill is filled, it is usually capped by a clay cover or geomembrane that can trap methane but not reduce it. Changing a part of the conventional cover by compost to […]

The Etobicoke Creek watershed is heavily urbanized with erosion issues due to the high amount of impervious cover and creek channelization. This research will help to better understand the current erosion sensitivities and risks within the watershed for inclusion in a comprehensive watershed plan that will inform municipal land use and infrastructure planning.

Hollow core planks are used as floor systems in some structures. These planks are precast offsite of the structure and shipped to the building site for installation. They rely on the use of prestressing steel to help span large distances with minimal depth. The planks have several large voids in the interior of the concrete […]

Various industries and warehouse operations often need free-standing jib cranes to be installed on the floor. Industrial floors typically consist of unreinforced or very lightly reinforced concrete slabs poured directly on the ground which may not have sufficient strength to support the crane. Improper design may result in severe cracking which raises concrete durability issues […]

Wastewater treatment lagoons are practical and cost-effective systems for smaller towns across Canada to prevent wastewater seepage into the environment. Essentially all structures over permafrost that disrupt the natural winter temperatures contacting the ground surface initiates permafrost thawing over the long-term and this includes lagoons.KGS Group has been developing the concept of using conventional closed-loop […]

Integral Abutment Bridges (IABs) are unique structures in the sense that they are rigid compared to typical bridges that have bearing connections. Bridges are designed to withstand forces sourcing from its own weight and ongoing traffic as well as temperature forces. As the temperature varies (cyclic in nature), the bridge experiences contraction and expansion forces […]

Climate change will continue to increase vulnerability and risk to the impacts of extreme events and the complexity of processes that determine the potential for increased flood flows makes it difficult to properly design storm water infrastructure (such as storm sewers and culverts). The Town of Pouch Cove was able to conduct a risk and […]

The proposed research project will provide SRK a reliable tool to estimate the level of displacements developing in a clayey deposit when subjected to cyclic loading of variable amplitudes, such as earthquake loading conditions. Specifically, this tool is represented by a model which can be used during seismic analysis of geotechnical structures. The model will […]

Bridges in North America are aging and need repair or replacement. Precise evaluation of load carrying capacity of bridges is a way to prevent economic and environmental impact due to replacement and repairs. Current method of evaluation requires the evaluator to make conservative assumptions on load and resistance of bridges. In recent years as technology […]

Civil infrastructure (e.g. roads, embankments, pipelines and buried utilities) is severely impacted by frost action and permafrost conditions in cold regions. With earth’s temperature predicted to increase, the ground ice melts, and the induced soil shift and collapse jeopardize the integrity of infrastructure. Therefore, any remedial measures for excessive soil settlements or new design of […]

A thorough investigation of the porous medium characteristics is essential in order to detect transport phenomena in porous media. Lab experiments such as Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) and Gas Expansion (GE) on the core samples that are directly extracted from geologic formations are useful techniques to measure the porosity of the porous structure. However, the […]