Groundwater engineering and control: design and modelling course
Online course |
|
50 hours / 6 weeks |
|
To be determined |
Introduction
Groundwater control for construction comprises techniques for abstracting groundwater from the ground, for the purpose of lowering the water table and/ or reducing the piezometric head of an artesian stratum. Groundwater control is also called Construction Dewatering.
Without Construction Dewatering, when excavation takes place through a soil, the ground becomes very soft, as a consequence of the high water-table. In addition, the excavation floods, causing construction difficulties.
The image below demonstrates a clear challenge to the contractor who is required to construct a large structure to around 5m below ground level.
A method of construction dewatering is illustrated below, in which a simple wellpointing technique is installed. The image below presents the installation operation in process.
After the wellpoints are installed, each wellpoint is connected together with a herder pipe, which is then attached to a vacuum pump. Once the vacuum pump is turned on, and vacuum applied to the wellpoints, groundwater then flows towards each wellpoint and is removed from the ground. This removal of groundwater then desaturates the ground and creates a significantly drier and firmer excavation formation, which enables safer and cleaner construction.
The groundwater that is abstracted from the ground, has passed through various filters before reaching the collection tank. As a result, this water is normally produced in a crystal-clear form, as shown in the image below.
The above presents a successful construction dewatering operation, with crystal clear water produced. However, this success was achieved as result of careful analysis, design & modelling. In the following sections, the various stages of design & modelling are presented, so that the reader will learn how to achieve a robust design of a groundwater control construction dewatering operation.
Objectives
To provide the learner with practice knowledge in the field of Groundwater Engineering & Control, this short course will include receiving presentations of real case studies, designed & installed by the course presenter.
The learner will also be provided with guidelines of how to design a groundwater control operation, including the techniques of construction dewatering.
Unique to this course is that practical yet theoretically accurate software will be provided with the course for educational purposes only. This will enable the learner to apply new knowledge to prepared case study problems, and practice in their own time.
This course does not aim for the learner to become an expert, but it will result in the learner achieving a strong understanding of the processes of the design & modelling required for a groundwater engineering & control operation in practice.
2.1 Introduction to Groundwater.
2.4.1 Representative Elementary Volume.
2.6 Classification of aquifers.
2.10 Unconfined flow conditions.
3. GROUNDWATER AQUIFER TESTING.
3.2 Pumping Test Procedure for the Durham Model Aquifer.
3.5 Monitoring during the Pumping Test.
4.2 Estimating the Radius of Influence.
5.2.1 Physical models and analogues.
5.3.1 Discretisation in space.
5.3.5 Hydraulic stresses over an area.
5.4 Convergence for non-linear problems.
5.5 Accuracy of the finite element method.
7.1 CVM11-FLOW QUICK START GUIDE.
7.1.2 How to Install CVM11-FLOW.
7.1.4 CVM11 Excel User Interface Structure.
7.1.5 How to add user monitored data for matching against CVM.
7.1.6 Defining the Model Geometry.
7.1.7 Defining the Aquifer Type.
7.1.10 Defining Aquifer Properties.
7.1.11 Defining Initial Head Conditions.
7.1.12 Defining Boundary Conditions.
7.1.13 Defining Observation Points.
7.1.14 Defining Time Step Profiles.
7.1.15 Back-Calculation of Aquifer Properties.
Dr Stephen David Thomas
- – BSc (Wales), MSc (Wales), DPhil (Oxford), MBA (Durham), FICE, MCIWEM, OdE, CEng, Eur Ing.
- – Founding Director of OGI Groundwater Specialists Ltd, UK
- – Honorary Fellow of the University of Durham, UK
- – Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, UK
- – Registered Ground Engineering Adviser, UK
- – Member of the Chartered Institution of Water & Environmental Management
- – Worshipful Company of Engineers & Liveryman of London
- – Member of the British Geotechnical Association
- – Membro da Ordem dos Engenheiros, Portugal
- – Membro da Sociedade Portuguesa de Geotecnia, Portugal
- – Membro da Comissão Portuguesa de Geotecnia Ambiental, Portugal
- – Membro da Associação Portuguesa dos Recursos Hídricos, Portugal
- – Vice-presidente da Comissão Especializada de Águas Subterrâneas, Portugal
- – Sociedad Española de Mecánica del Suelo e Ingeniería Geotécnica, Spain
Stephen is Founder Director & Chairman of OGI Groundwater Specialists Ltd (incorporated 1989). He is recognised as an industry expert with 42 years of experience in the field of ground & groundwater engineering & management.
Stephen started in this field in 1981 in the USA with the interpretation of large-scale aquifer heater tests to replicate the burial of high-level nuclear waste in fractured rock. Other projects range from the design of well fields for water resources, to the design & installation of groundwater engineering & control systems for the construction industry. Projects in various construction sectors, the energy and utility industries, transport projects and large structures as hospitals, bridges, tunnels and shafts.
Stephen has gained substantial experience from numerous ground and groundwater projects with over 100 designs of groundwater control, slope engineering and artesian pressure reduction systems. He has several publications in the field of Groundwater Engineering & Control, Construction Dewatering & Recharge, Hydrogeology & Geotechnics, Ground Source Energy & Slope Engineering.
Stephen is a UK Chartered Civil Engineer (1992), a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE), a Member of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (MCIWEM), and a European Engineer (Eur Ing). In 1991 he was the UK Young Geotechnical Engineering of the Year, and in 2014 he achieved qualification as a UK Registered Ground Engineering Adviser which is the highest grade in the Register of Ground Engineering Professionals (RoGEP Ref. No. 48319386).
Stephen is Senior Engineer of Portugal and Membro da Ordem dos Engenheiros (No. 92236) He is a Member of Associação Portuguesa dos Recursos Hídricos (APRH), within which Stephen is Vice-president of the Specialist Groundwater Commission. He is a member of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Geotecnia (SPG) and the Portuguese Commission of Environmental Geotechnics (CPGA), and specifically the Urban Areas and Environmental Geotechnics working group.
In 2019, Stephen became a Freeman of the City of London (recognised as a Citizen and Engineer of London) and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Engineers (a London Livery Company).
He is an Honorary Fellow at Durham University, is on an Advisory Board at Teesside University, and delivers Groundwater Control and Numerical Modelling MSc Lectures at City University of London.
Stephen is technical adviser to numerous major UK organisations, including National Grid plc, Scotland Gas Networks (SGN), United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Durham County Council, Durham University, CIRIA Steering Committee, and several major contractors for National Projects. He was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the British Geotechnical Association.
ROLE SPECIFIC SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Proven technical and practical ability: Stephen has both design and sub-contract experience relating to the practical and theoretically robust technical solutions of groundwater control including the reduction of groundwater pressures in difficult and challenging saturated weak ground. He has designed over 300 systems for groundwater control where there is a specific emphasis on efficient lowering of the water table using robust dewatering techniques.
Temporary works and groundwater control design: Temporary works for excavations and embankments requires careful and sensitive dewatering to ensure that the ground inside a confining structure is safely dewatered and consolidated to provide the required ground improvement, whilst ensuring that there is insignificant drawdown of groundwater at distance from the structure.
Permanent pressure relief design: Stephen has completed numerous designs that were constructed to maintain groundwater pressure below a defined level in permanent conditions. Projects include systems to maintain piezometric head below base slabs with designs progressing to pressure relief systems for residential buildings where waterproofing is not feasible, or where there is excessive holding down techniques otherwise required to prevent uplift.
Collaborative working: Stephen leads a technical team to deliver designs and procedures that require liaising with the Client, the Principal Contractor, the Environment Agency, the Earthworks Sub-Contractor, and the Consultant. As the operations impact widely across a range of traditional disciplines, Stephen is required to collaborate with all parties to ensure that the both the design and implementation of the design is fully communicated, with the designs both verified and validated.
To ensure that the complexities of dewatering and pressure relief is communicated to the industry, Stephen delivers regular CPD seminars to industry and councils, where the principles and practices of Groundwater Control and Engineering are delivered as Seminars & Workshops on a regular basis.
The course is delivered online through our easy-to-use Virtual Campus platform. For this course, a variety of content is provided including:
– eLearning materials
– Videos
– Interactive multimedia content
– Live webinar classes
– Texts and technical articles
– Case studies
– Assignments and evaluation exercises
Students can download the materials and work through the course at their own pace.
We regularly update this course to ensure the latest news and state-of-the-art developments are covered, and your knowledge of the subject is current.
Live webinars form part of our course delivery. These allow students and tutors to go through the course materials, exchange ideas and knowledge, and solve problems together in a virtual classroom setting. Students can also make use of the platform’s forum, a meeting point to interact with tutors and other students.
The tutoring system is managed by email. Students can email the tutor with any questions about the course and the tutor will be happy to help.
Project managers in the field of Civil Engineering, temporary construction works, earthworks.
Ground & Geological Engineers & Hydrogologists would find this of interest in moving forward their careers.
Groundwater Hydrogeologists who would like to have an understanding of the practical aspects of groundwater engineering & control in the construction industry.
Previous knowledge:
Some knowledge of soil mechanics, geotechnical principles, geology/ground engineering, would be beneficial.
It would be useful to have some basic maths skills and a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
Once a student finishes the course and successfully completes the assignments and evaluation tests, they are sent an accreditation certificate. The certificate is issued by Ingeoexpert to verify that the student has passed the course. It is a digital certificate that is unique and tamper-proof – it is protected by Blockchain technology. This means it is possible for anyone to check that it is an authentic, original document.
You will be able to download the certificate in an electronic format from the Virtual Campus platform. The certificate can be forwarded by email, shared on social networks, and embedded on websites. To see an example, click here.
There are always career opportunities for individual who have a good practical & theoretical knowledge of Groundwater Engineering & Control
It also helps that this course will be delivered by Dr Thomas who has 48 years of experience in Civil Engineering, which comprises 10 years of University education & research, with 38 years of experience in practice, 34 years of which has been running his own Groundwater Engineering Company, OGI Groundwater Specialists Ltd.
Introduction
Groundwater control for construction comprises techniques for abstracting groundwater from the ground, for the purpose of lowering the water table and/ or reducing the piezometric head of an artesian stratum. Groundwater control is also called Construction Dewatering.
Without Construction Dewatering, when excavation takes place through a soil, the ground becomes very soft, as a consequence of the high water-table. In addition, the excavation floods, causing construction difficulties.
The image below demonstrates a clear challenge to the contractor who is required to construct a large structure to around 5m below ground level.
A method of construction dewatering is illustrated below, in which a simple wellpointing technique is installed. The image below presents the installation operation in process.
After the wellpoints are installed, each wellpoint is connected together with a herder pipe, which is then attached to a vacuum pump. Once the vacuum pump is turned on, and vacuum applied to the wellpoints, groundwater then flows towards each wellpoint and is removed from the ground. This removal of groundwater then desaturates the ground and creates a significantly drier and firmer excavation formation, which enables safer and cleaner construction.
The groundwater that is abstracted from the ground, has passed through various filters before reaching the collection tank. As a result, this water is normally produced in a crystal-clear form, as shown in the image below.
The above presents a successful construction dewatering operation, with crystal clear water produced. However, this success was achieved as result of careful analysis, design & modelling. In the following sections, the various stages of design & modelling are presented, so that the reader will learn how to achieve a robust design of a groundwater control construction dewatering operation.
Objectives
To provide the learner with practice knowledge in the field of Groundwater Engineering & Control, this short course will include receiving presentations of real case studies, designed & installed by the course presenter.
The learner will also be provided with guidelines of how to design a groundwater control operation, including the techniques of construction dewatering.
Unique to this course is that practical yet theoretically accurate software will be provided with the course for educational purposes only. This will enable the learner to apply new knowledge to prepared case study problems, and practice in their own time.
This course does not aim for the learner to become an expert, but it will result in the learner achieving a strong understanding of the processes of the design & modelling required for a groundwater engineering & control operation in practice.
2.1 Introduction to Groundwater.
2.4.1 Representative Elementary Volume.
2.6 Classification of aquifers.
2.10 Unconfined flow conditions.
3. GROUNDWATER AQUIFER TESTING.
3.2 Pumping Test Procedure for the Durham Model Aquifer.
3.5 Monitoring during the Pumping Test.
4.2 Estimating the Radius of Influence.
5.2.1 Physical models and analogues.
5.3.1 Discretisation in space.
5.3.5 Hydraulic stresses over an area.
5.4 Convergence for non-linear problems.
5.5 Accuracy of the finite element method.
7.1 CVM11-FLOW QUICK START GUIDE.
7.1.2 How to Install CVM11-FLOW.
7.1.4 CVM11 Excel User Interface Structure.
7.1.5 How to add user monitored data for matching against CVM.
7.1.6 Defining the Model Geometry.
7.1.7 Defining the Aquifer Type.
7.1.10 Defining Aquifer Properties.
7.1.11 Defining Initial Head Conditions.
7.1.12 Defining Boundary Conditions.
7.1.13 Defining Observation Points.
7.1.14 Defining Time Step Profiles.
7.1.15 Back-Calculation of Aquifer Properties.
Dr Stephen David Thomas
- – BSc (Wales), MSc (Wales), DPhil (Oxford), MBA (Durham), FICE, MCIWEM, OdE, CEng, Eur Ing.
- – Founding Director of OGI Groundwater Specialists Ltd, UK
- – Honorary Fellow of the University of Durham, UK
- – Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, UK
- – Registered Ground Engineering Adviser, UK
- – Member of the Chartered Institution of Water & Environmental Management
- – Worshipful Company of Engineers & Liveryman of London
- – Member of the British Geotechnical Association
- – Membro da Ordem dos Engenheiros, Portugal
- – Membro da Sociedade Portuguesa de Geotecnia, Portugal
- – Membro da Comissão Portuguesa de Geotecnia Ambiental, Portugal
- – Membro da Associação Portuguesa dos Recursos Hídricos, Portugal
- – Vice-presidente da Comissão Especializada de Águas Subterrâneas, Portugal
- – Sociedad Española de Mecánica del Suelo e Ingeniería Geotécnica, Spain
Stephen is Founder Director & Chairman of OGI Groundwater Specialists Ltd (incorporated 1989). He is recognised as an industry expert with 42 years of experience in the field of ground & groundwater engineering & management.
Stephen started in this field in 1981 in the USA with the interpretation of large-scale aquifer heater tests to replicate the burial of high-level nuclear waste in fractured rock. Other projects range from the design of well fields for water resources, to the design & installation of groundwater engineering & control systems for the construction industry. Projects in various construction sectors, the energy and utility industries, transport projects and large structures as hospitals, bridges, tunnels and shafts.
Stephen has gained substantial experience from numerous ground and groundwater projects with over 100 designs of groundwater control, slope engineering and artesian pressure reduction systems. He has several publications in the field of Groundwater Engineering & Control, Construction Dewatering & Recharge, Hydrogeology & Geotechnics, Ground Source Energy & Slope Engineering.
Stephen is a UK Chartered Civil Engineer (1992), a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE), a Member of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (MCIWEM), and a European Engineer (Eur Ing). In 1991 he was the UK Young Geotechnical Engineering of the Year, and in 2014 he achieved qualification as a UK Registered Ground Engineering Adviser which is the highest grade in the Register of Ground Engineering Professionals (RoGEP Ref. No. 48319386).
Stephen is Senior Engineer of Portugal and Membro da Ordem dos Engenheiros (No. 92236) He is a Member of Associação Portuguesa dos Recursos Hídricos (APRH), within which Stephen is Vice-president of the Specialist Groundwater Commission. He is a member of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Geotecnia (SPG) and the Portuguese Commission of Environmental Geotechnics (CPGA), and specifically the Urban Areas and Environmental Geotechnics working group.
In 2019, Stephen became a Freeman of the City of London (recognised as a Citizen and Engineer of London) and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Engineers (a London Livery Company).
He is an Honorary Fellow at Durham University, is on an Advisory Board at Teesside University, and delivers Groundwater Control and Numerical Modelling MSc Lectures at City University of London.
Stephen is technical adviser to numerous major UK organisations, including National Grid plc, Scotland Gas Networks (SGN), United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Durham County Council, Durham University, CIRIA Steering Committee, and several major contractors for National Projects. He was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the British Geotechnical Association.
ROLE SPECIFIC SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Proven technical and practical ability: Stephen has both design and sub-contract experience relating to the practical and theoretically robust technical solutions of groundwater control including the reduction of groundwater pressures in difficult and challenging saturated weak ground. He has designed over 300 systems for groundwater control where there is a specific emphasis on efficient lowering of the water table using robust dewatering techniques.
Temporary works and groundwater control design: Temporary works for excavations and embankments requires careful and sensitive dewatering to ensure that the ground inside a confining structure is safely dewatered and consolidated to provide the required ground improvement, whilst ensuring that there is insignificant drawdown of groundwater at distance from the structure.
Permanent pressure relief design: Stephen has completed numerous designs that were constructed to maintain groundwater pressure below a defined level in permanent conditions. Projects include systems to maintain piezometric head below base slabs with designs progressing to pressure relief systems for residential buildings where waterproofing is not feasible, or where there is excessive holding down techniques otherwise required to prevent uplift.
Collaborative working: Stephen leads a technical team to deliver designs and procedures that require liaising with the Client, the Principal Contractor, the Environment Agency, the Earthworks Sub-Contractor, and the Consultant. As the operations impact widely across a range of traditional disciplines, Stephen is required to collaborate with all parties to ensure that the both the design and implementation of the design is fully communicated, with the designs both verified and validated.
To ensure that the complexities of dewatering and pressure relief is communicated to the industry, Stephen delivers regular CPD seminars to industry and councils, where the principles and practices of Groundwater Control and Engineering are delivered as Seminars & Workshops on a regular basis.
The course is delivered online through our easy-to-use Virtual Campus platform. For this course, a variety of content is provided including:
– eLearning materials
– Videos
– Interactive multimedia content
– Live webinar classes
– Texts and technical articles
– Case studies
– Assignments and evaluation exercises
Students can download the materials and work through the course at their own pace.
We regularly update this course to ensure the latest news and state-of-the-art developments are covered, and your knowledge of the subject is current.
Live webinars form part of our course delivery. These allow students and tutors to go through the course materials, exchange ideas and knowledge, and solve problems together in a virtual classroom setting. Students can also make use of the platform’s forum, a meeting point to interact with tutors and other students.
The tutoring system is managed by email. Students can email the tutor with any questions about the course and the tutor will be happy to help.
Project managers in the field of Civil Engineering, temporary construction works, earthworks.
Ground & Geological Engineers & Hydrogologists would find this of interest in moving forward their careers.
Groundwater Hydrogeologists who would like to have an understanding of the practical aspects of groundwater engineering & control in the construction industry.
Previous knowledge:
Some knowledge of soil mechanics, geotechnical principles, geology/ground engineering, would be beneficial.
It would be useful to have some basic maths skills and a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
Once a student finishes the course and successfully completes the assignments and evaluation tests, they are sent an accreditation certificate. The certificate is issued by Ingeoexpert to verify that the student has passed the course. It is a digital certificate that is unique and tamper-proof – it is protected by Blockchain technology. This means it is possible for anyone to check that it is an authentic, original document.
You will be able to download the certificate in an electronic format from the Virtual Campus platform. The certificate can be forwarded by email, shared on social networks, and embedded on websites. To see an example, click here.
There are always career opportunities for individual who have a good practical & theoretical knowledge of Groundwater Engineering & Control
It also helps that this course will be delivered by Dr Thomas who has 48 years of experience in Civil Engineering, which comprises 10 years of University education & research, with 38 years of experience in practice, 34 years of which has been running his own Groundwater Engineering Company, OGI Groundwater Specialists Ltd.
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Groundwater engineering and control: design and modelling course
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