The research topics pursued by the Geotechnical Group have been broadening in the past years, following recent technological advances and the changing needs of the civil engineering field. Research is often collaborative, with research institutes in Greece or abroad. Frequent sources of research funding are Public Greek Organizations and the European Union.
Research teams at the Geotechnical Department include the staff of the Department, undergraduate students at their final year who work on their diploma thesis and, primarily, doctoral students. Research topics cover a wide range of problems of fundamental or applied nature. Main research interests include:
- Laboratory investigations, with the aid of specialized laboratory equipment, and theoretical modeling, through application of numerical methods, of the behavior of peculiar soils in Greece and abroad (e.g. structured, partially saturated, cemented, creep-sensitive soils, lignite).
- Analysis of tunnel excavation and support (face stability and reinforcement, loads on the final lining).
- Soil improvement using gravel piles and jet grouting.
- Influence of site-specific conditions on the intensity and spectral characteristics of seismic motion.
- Physical and analytical modeling of the behavior of soils during dynamic loading with concurrent development of analytical models of linear and non-linear response.
- Behavior of deep foundations and retaining structures under static and dynamic loading.
- Documentation and analysis of historical geotechnical failures during recent earthquakes, such as those of Aegion, Greece (1995), Kobe, Japan (1995), Adapazari, Turkey (1999) and Athens, Greece (1999).
- Development of soil improvement through the use of synthetic geomaterials (geotextiles, geogrids, etc.).
- Applications of geotechnical and geological methods for environmental protection.
- Geoenvironmental applications addressing problems of characterization and remediation of contaminated sites and issues of landfill design and monitoring.