The seminar will explore the potential of synthetic water repellent soils in geotechnical engineering. New laboratory research by our team has demonstrated that wetting in soils can be controlled by inducing and adjusting water repellency. Existing soils can be treated on a construction site to become water repellent; once treated, they are non-intrusive, integrate with the surrounding environment and are mechanically stable (due to their non-wettable behaviour). This ongoing research will provide Hong Kong with a novel technology forconstructing water-tight barriers and fills that is both inexpensive and reliant on an abundant local resource – soils. Our research is aimed at verifying its stability, so that perceived risks to practical implementation are identified and alleviated.

Organised by American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Hong Kong Section and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University