Proceedings of the 2015 Sydney Chapter Symposium

This page contains papers for the 19th annual symposium organised by the Sydney Chapter of the Australian Geomechanics Society and the NSW branch of the International Association of Hydrogeologists. It is hoped that the symposium will keep practicing geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, hydrogeologists and other engineering professionals informed of recent developments in this field. It also recognises the need to gather together the experience of those practicing throughout Australia and to allow transfer of knowledge and sharing of their experiences.

These symposia continue to be one of the best forms for bringing together the key stakeholders of the Australian geological, geotechnical and groundwater community. The main objective of the symposium, held on 13 November 2015, is to advance the knowledge in design and construction towards safer excavations, more cost effective shoring practices, accurate groundwater modelling and better management of groundwater issues in urban and infrastructure environment.

Contributors include academics, practicing consultants, designers, suppliers and contractors. The papers present novel design and construction technologies for the performance monitoring and prediction of groundwater flow in excavations, groundwater management, the state-of-the-art practices, innovative technologies as well as new research results and case histories on construction.

This symposium is the cooperative effort of many authors and qualified reviewers. The editors and organising committee wish to thank the authors, who have generously contributed their time to prepare the various papers and the colleagues of the authors, who have assisted with time, secretarial, drafting and other facilities. Appreciation is also extended to our sponsors for their support. Without them the Symposium would not be possibly the best ongoing forum for the Australian Geomechanics and groundwater community.