On 21 June 2023, the British Geotechnical Association Case History Award 2022 was presented to Dr Njemile Faustin, Dr Mohammed Elshafie (in absentia) and Professor Lord Robert Mair for their paper “Case studies of circular shaft construction in London”. The announcement took place during the AGM of the British Geotechnical Association (BGA) annual conference hosted by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).
The BGA Case Histories Award is to encourage and recognise the importance of exchange of exemplary geotechnical knowledge and experience in the performance of constructed works. The award recognises outstanding contributions to knowledge and experience in the UK geotechnical engineering profession through the publication of well-considered and well-researched case histories, or through the publication of recommended practices or design methodologies based on the evaluation of case histories to provide beneficial insights into the geotechnical aspects of constructed works.
The award-winning work describes field measurements, including fibre-optic strain installation for some of the shafts, carried out by CSIC and associated measurements made by Dr Njemile Faustin when she was studying for her PhD under Professor Robert Mair’s supervision. It rigorously compiled a review of performance of circular shafts from 27 case studies from three major tunnelling projects, providing a valuable database of surface settlement data in an area for which there were few previously well-documented case studies. The useful database is presented in normalised charts to help the UK industry’s future tunnelling and circular-shaft projects make estimates of settlements due to circular shaft construction in London, with due consideration for different shaft geometries and construction methods. This paper is the outcome of research funded by EPSRCandGeotechnical Consulting Group.
Reference:
Faustin, N., Elshafie, M. and Mair, R.J., (2018), “Case studies of circular shaft construction in London”. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Geotechnical Engineering, 171, 5, 391-404.