Inland Rail – N2NS Rail Formation from design to construction

Andrew Doe, Li-Ang Yang and Vincent Blanchet

The presentation will cover the application of Lightweight Portable Impulse and Variable Energy Dynamic Penetrometer devices for compliance testing of performance-based rail formation as well as a mechanistic formation design in cohesive soils based on Li and Selig Method. The main aspects of the presentation include:

  1. Overview of the project
  2. Investigation and ground model
  3. Analysis FE
  4. Li- and Selig method
  5. Cyclic Triaxial testing
  6. Trial results
  7. Compliance testing

5:30pm-6:00pm: Arrival/Networking + Drink and Canapes
6:00pm-7:00pm: Technical Presentation and Q&A

About the speaker

Andrew Doe Principal Geotechnical Engineer, Inland Rail Program, Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)

Andy Doe is the Principal Geotechnical Engineer for the Inland Rail Program at the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC). He’s Inland Rail’s subject matter expert for per-way and rail infrastructure geotechnical engineering aspects of the Inland Rail program. Andrew has more than 25 years’ experience in geotechnical design, asset evaluation and geotechnical risk assessment for major infrastructure projects in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Prior to joining Inland Rail, Andrew worked in the civil infrastructure sector with organisations such as Aurizon, AECOM, and Halcrow. A Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland and a Chartered Geologist, Andrew has a Bachelor of Science from Queensland University of Technology and a Master of Engineering Science from the University of New South Wales.

Li-Ang Yang Senior Principal Geotechnical Engineer, WSP

Dr Li-Ang Yang is a Senior Principal Geotechnical Engineer at WSP. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, Chartered Professional Engineer and RPEQ with over 25 years of experience in geotechnical engineering in Australia, the UK, Singapore and China. He is well known for his ability to solve complex geotechnical problems and provide practical and value engineering solutions based on his sound knowledge of soil mechanics and geotechnical principles. His areas of technical expertise include interpretation of geotechnical site investigation data, rail formation, earthworks, slope stability, settlement analysis, retaining walls, pile foundations, landslide investigations and mitigations, and numerical modelling. Li-Ang’s work on rail formation dates back to his post-doctoral research work in the University of Southampton from 2004 to 2007. His research works on the rail formation has been referred in the State of Art presentation for Transportation Geomechanics in the recent Sydney 2022 ISSMGE conference. This knowledge on the rail formation has enabled to adopt a mechanistic approach on the rail formation design on the ARTC Inland Rail projects. Li-Ang’s leading technical skills on the rail formation have also been demonstrated by recent publications, with two papers in ANZ Conference on Geomechanics in Perth in 2019 and two papers in ISSMGE 2022.

Vincent Blanchet Regional Executive, Geotechnics and Tunnels Queensland, WSP

Vincent is a chartered professional geotechnical engineer and the Regional Executive, Geotechnics and Tunnels, Queensland, in WSP in Australia. He has worked in France, England, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. This has developed his adaptability to provide valuable input into transport infrastructure, mining and property (residential and commercial). Having consistently been involved in challenging and cutting edge projects, he has gained a broad skill set ranging from field-testing to advanced analysis technics.

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