Michelle Willis

Michelle is a geotechnical engineer with 9yrs of experience working for Earthtech Consulting in Auckland. She spends half her time working in the field of groundwater engineering and hydrogeology. Typical projects include roading, bridges, residential/commercial construction, dewatering, groundwater take consents and groundwater modelling.

Abstract

Why Geotechnical Engineers need to understand perched groundwater

Geotechnical Engineers work with groundwater throughout their careers. We readily calculate effective stress using hydrostatic pressure, but may not necessarily consider non-hydrostatic pressure. Perched groundwater systems are non-hydrostatic. Failure to understand the nature of perched groundwater can introduce significant error into liquefaction assessments, settlement calculations, parameter correlations, ground retention design, and any calculation which utilises effective stress. This presentation offers an overview of how perched groundwater can be incorporated into geotechnical calculations.