Use of Natural Materials for Soil Stabilisation under Coastal and Transport Infrastructure

Abstract:

Natural materials such as fibre, bamboo, timber and biopolymers can be found abundant in various countries around the world. They are not only environmentally friendly but also have excellent engineering features that can be used for many geotechnical purposes. As climate change and environmental degradation has become pressing in recent years, widening the use of these eco-friendly materials, especially via recycling agricultural wastes becomes crucial. This presentation will highlight several research activities and findings carried out by Dr. Thanh Nguyen and his team around the use of natural materials including jute & coconut fibre, bamboo and biopolymers for soil stabilisation under coastal and transport infrastructure. Multiple angles from microscale features and model tests in laboratory to field scale investigations will be presented. Not only achievements, but existing challenges will also be discussed. The talk will hope to promote understanding of the great potential of using naturally occurring materials for geotechnical applications and thereby extend research collaboration.

Short bio:

Dr Nguyen is a Senior Lecturer at University of Technology Sydney. He is leading a research team focusing on developing eco-friendly solutions for stabilising soil under coastal and transport infrastructure. He has gained considerable experience in soft soil, soil stabilisation and transportation geotechnics through major industry and research projects across Vietnam, Japan, Singapore and Australia since 2009, between which he received M.Eng (Japan) and PhD (Australia). Dr. Nguyen has secured approx. AUD$ 4 million research funding across multiple schemes, among which, he received 3 prestigious fellowships Japan JSPS 2020, UTS Chancellor’s and ARC-DECRA 2023. His research has received several reputed Awards and Recognitions for significant contributions in geotechnical engineering such as CGJ Editor’s Choice Paper 2020, Rober Quigley Award 2021, John Carter Award 2022, ISSMGE Bright Spark Lecture 2022, ASCE-JGGE Editor’s Choice 2025, among others. Dr. Nguyen is currently a member of geotechnical societies in Australia, Japan and Vietnam.