2024 Victoria Symposium
Piling and Ground Improvement Applications
The Victorian Chapter of AGS is pleased to announce the 2024 AGS Victoria Symposium on ‘Piling and Ground Improvement Applications’ to be held on 18 September 2024.
The symposium forms part of the continuing program of events organised by the Victorian Chapter of the AGS and is designed to showcase piling and ground improvement applications in the regional geological setting. This symposium will be held as a face-to-face event in Melbourne.
The construction industry has experienced a significant increase in piling and ground improvement works in recent years driven by development of major road and rail infrastructure projects under Victoria’s Big Build Scheme and construction of high-rise residential and commercial buildings in the CBD and suburban town centres. Fishermans Bend Development precinct, labelled as Australia’s largest urban renewal project and located within the Yarra Delta, will require significant piling and ground improvement works and is another example of such developments. In many cases these construction activities require piling and ground improvement works to be carried out in areas with space constraints, limits on ground vibration, noise and offsite impacts while ensuring the safety of workers and the durability and integrity of the foundation support system. Increasingly, these activities are occurring in dense urban environments and benefit from supporting instrumentation, monitoring and early warning systems.
The piling and ground improvement solutions can vary greatly depending on the geological setting, which in Melbourne, ranges from compressible soft soil in the Yarra Delta, reactive soil and high strength rock in the basalt plains and weak rock associated with the bedrock underlying Melbourne. Tailored ground engineering solutions in piling and ground improvement works are often required to achieve project objectives in these diverse geological settings.
Research work on piling and ground improvement has undergone considerable expansion in recent decades, driven by advancements in materials, design and construction techniques. This research is being propelled in part by the exploration of recycled materials, eco-friendly binders, innovative cementitious materials and emerging technologies aimed at improving piling and ground improvement methodologies.
The Symposium aims to provide a platform for geo-professionals to exchange insights and ideas on piling and ground improvement applications with a particular focus on addressing challenges in the local geological setting including Melbourne and regional Victoria.