Consultancy
The Golder Geomechanics Centre at UQ offers to the industry and research partners consulting service through the expertise of the Centre's staff. This includes expert advices, laboratory testing, computer analyses, and commercial research.
Expert Advice
Expert advice can be provided on:
- Peer reviews of major mining and infrastructure projects
- Expert witness cases
- Specialist advice in geomechanics and geohydraulics
- Interpretation and analysis of geotechnical laboratory and field data
Laboratory Testing
The Centre regularly performs advanced laboratory testing including:
- Unconfined compression testing
- Stress path triaxial testing
- Strain/pore pressure gradient controlled oedometer testing
- Large shear box testing of gravels and crushed rock
- Small shear box testing of shear planes in weathered rock cores
- Ring shear testing
- Psychrometer and filter paper suction testing
- Large stress controlled calibration chamber testing
- Concrete density and compaction measurement
- Both rock and coal characterization tests including:
- Determination of Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS)
- Determination of Uniaxial tensile strength (UTS)
- Fracture toughness
- Shore sclerescope hardness
- More info on rock testing capabilities can be found here
Computer Analyses
The Centre has expertise on the following computer analyses:
- Numerical simulations of reinforced concrete structures
- Numerical simulations of geotechnical problems
- Numerical simulations in mining engineering
- Teaching and support on Plaxis, FLAC, GeoSlope, Midas/GTS, ABAQUS, and other numerical tools
- Slope stability analyses
- Seepage analyses with unsaturated and saturated models
Commercial Research
The Golder Centre for Geomechanics has recognised strengths in the application of geomechanics principles to mine waste management and mine closure, and to mining and civil engineering infrastructure, including the following:
- Development of innovative landform and closure designs for potentially contaminating surface mine waste storages
- Application of geomechanics principles to mining and construction assets
- Application of risk assessment and cost-effectiveness analysis to mining and construction assets, and the development of expert systems
- Behaviour of buried structures under traffic and other loading
- Advances in techniques of underground excavation
- Advanced mine planning and design
- Advanced mining and processing of coal and other ores
- Application of geophysics to geotechnical assets such as road pavements.
