AGS 2025 Victoria Chapter Symposium

Retention Solutions: Innovations, Challenges, and Future Directions

Call for abstracts 

The Victoria Chapter of AGS is pleased to announce the Call for Abstracts for the 2025 AGS Victoria Symposium on “Retention Solutions: Innovations, Challenges, and Future Directions”. 

This event will be held in-person on 25 September 2025 at the State Library in Melbourne.

The Symposium forms part of the continuing program of events organised by the Victoria Chapter of the AGS and is intended to showcase innovations, challenges, and future directions in retention solutions.

The event

Retention solutions are a fundamental aspect of Victoria’s construction landscape. From deep excavations on infrastructure projects and city basements to dams and landslide stabilisation, demand for advanced retaining structures and ground retention systems continues to grow.

This symposium will showcase state-of-the-art practices, innovative technologies, recent research findings, and case studies related to the design, construction, and performance of retaining structures. The symposium will highlight developments in materials, equipment capabilities, observational instrumentation, engineering methodologies, and evolving regulatory requirements.

The goal of this symposium is to provide engineers, researchers, specialist contractors, regulators, educators and engineering students the opportunity to meet and share their knowledge and experiences in retaining structures.

• Innovations and advancements in earth-retaining structure design.
• Recent developments, challenges, and future research on the short- and long-term behaviour of retaining structures.
• Advancements in instrumentation, equipment, and numerical modelling and their integration into practice.
• Lessons learned from past failures and best practices for design and construction.
• Bridging the gap between engineering design and construction practices.
• Sustainable practices in earth-retaining structures and their implementation.

Suggested Topics

Design Methods and Regulatory Compliance

Geotechnical investigation and collection of factual data, including in-situ and laboratory testing.

Factual data interpretation and selection of design parameters. 

Design methodologies include closed-form solutions, Limit Equilibrium Design, Serviceability-Based Design, Reliability-Based Design, and Observational Design.

Assessing uncertainties using probabilistic methods, including partial factors, First-Order Reliability Method (FORM) and Monte Carlo Simulations 

Advancements in numerical modelling, including Finite Element Method (FEM) (e.g., PLAXIS 2D/3D), Finite Difference Method (FDM) (e.g., FLAC3D), Discrete Element Method (DEM) (e.g., PFC, UDEC), Boundary Element Method (BEM) (e.g., BEASY), and Coupled Multi-Physics Modelling.

Calibration and refinement of numerical models for improved predictive accuracy.

Groundwater control and seepage mitigation in retaining wall design.

Designing retention solutions to withstand earthquake-induced loads, including dynamic forces, ground shaking, soil liquefaction, rock fall and potential lateral spreading. 

Applications and limitations of national and international guidelines, such as AS4678 (Earth-retaining structures), AS5100.3 (Bridge design) and CIRIA760 (Guidance on embedded retaining wall design).

Types of Retention Solutions with Practical Applications and Case Studies

New temporary and permanent structures, including gravity, cantilevered, propped, raked, and anchored.  

Retrofitting and maintaining aging retaining structures, addressing compliance with modern standards and climate change adaptation.

Use of mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) and gabions. Reinforced soil slopes; landslide retention support, erosion control systems, vegetative reinforcement and bioengineering stabilisation.

Retaining systems for waterfront and coastal projects such as cofferdams, seawalls and bulkheads, protection structures, riprap or boulder walls;

Water retention structures such as dams, levees, embankments, basins, tanks and pools.

New materials and construction techniques, such as shotcrete, soil nailing, ground anchoring, and chemical or mechanical stabilisation.

Sustainable and eco-friendly retention designs, including green walls and vegetative reinforcement.

Monitoring and Performance

Specification, detailing, and interface considerations with adjacent structures and pavements.

Integration of digital/smart technologies for monitoring retaining structure performance and risk management.

Calibration of numerical models using field monitoring data.

Instrumentation methodologies for real-time monitoring, back analysis, and quality performance assessment.

Nominations 

The Victoria Chapter of the AGS invites national and local practitioners, contractors, academics and industry experts to submit abstracts on a topic related to “Retention Solutions: Innovations, Challenges, and Future Directions”. Abstracts shall not be more than 300 words and be prepared in accordance with the abstract submission guidelines outlined below. Completed abstracts shall be sent to Liuxin Chen ([email protected]) by 28 April 2025 for consideration by the organising committee.

Abstracts will be selected based on their quality and relevance to the Symposium topic. Given this is a regional Symposium, preference will be given to abstracts from local authors. However, we welcome abstracts from outside of Victoria for consideration if the author believes the subject matter has local applicability to the Victorian geological context.

Successful author(s) will be invited to submit a six-page paper for presentation at the Symposium. We encourage submissions from geotechnical professionals as well as academia.

Cost 

The cost of the Symposium is to be confirmed. Presenters will enjoy free entry to the Symposium. Discounts will apply for co-authors.

Important dates and submission

28 April 2025 – Abstract submission 

5 May 2025 – Notification of accepted abstracts  

18 July 2025 – Full paper submission  

1 August 2025 – Paper acceptance notifications  

8 August 2025 – Final paper submission and registration deadline 

Abstract submission format

Please submit a Word document with the following information for abstract submission:

Authors’ full names: 

i.e. Bob A. Smith, David, S. Smith

* Please underline the presenting author

Authors’ full affiliation 

Position, name of company/university, email address and contact number

Title: 

Title of paper, maximum 100 characters 

Abstract: 

Abstract text, maximum 300 words 

Further information 

For further information, please contact  

Mohammad Saberian
Email: [email protected]

Marvin Bedary
Email: [email protected]

Sponsorship

The organising committee is looking for potential sponsors of the Symposium. Interested parties should contact Yunlong Tang (email: [email protected]) by 12 May 2025.

Engineers Australia members participating in AGS technical sessions can record attendance on their personal CPD logs. Members should refer to Engineers Australia CPD policy for details on CPD types, requirements and auditing guidelines.