GEOTECHNICAL LABORATORY

DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES
3421 HAENICKE HALL
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
269-387-5500

Director – Dr. Ronald B. Chase
Technician – Amanda Brotz
Program Analyst – Rennie Kaunda

CAPABILITIES FOR CLASSIFICATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF STRENGTH CHARACTERISTICS FOR SOILS
(All Tests Conform to ASTM Standards)

• Physical properties and moisture contents
• Gradation analyses for all size ranges
• Atterberg limits testing
• Heavy and magnetic mineral separations and analyses
• Consolidation testing
• Permeability determinations for unconsolidated soils
• Triaxial load testing of consolidated soils (UU and CU) and establishment of failure criteria
• Shear box testing of unconsolidated soils (CD) and establishment of failure criteria
• High resolution microscopy (unpolarized and polarized) and digital photomicrography
• Limit equilibrium computer modeling using UTEXAS33, SLOPE, and GALENA
  

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EQUIPMENT ITEMS
(Support Items Are Not Listed)

• Geocomp(TM) LoadTrac II and FlowTrac II triaxial compression and consolidation system with computer and web interface
• Geocomp(TM) ShearTrac II direct shear system with computer and web interface
• Leitz and Zeiss binocular and trinocular research microscopes
• Sony digital microcamera, monitor, and capabilities for still or VCR photography
• Tyler RoTap sieve system
• Frantz Isodynamic Magnetic Separator
• Modern hood system for heavy liquid separations, settling analyses under constant air flow, and conversion to a humid space for preparation of damp or saturated soils
  

CURRENT LABORATORY ACTIVITIES

This laboratory largely supports a very large, nine-year, slope stability project conducted jointly by the Department of Geosciences at Western Michigan University and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Geotechnical data are obtained from a large area of slumping Lake Michigan coastal bluff and provide classification and strength data used for predictions as to whether segments of the bluff are stable or are susceptible to the development of slow or catastrophic landslides. Laboratory data support the following research activities:

• Correlation of soils among outcrops and drill cores
• Moisture contents of potentially failing soils
• Engineering characterization of soils and comparisons with failing soils at other sites
• Computer modeling of slope stability under a variety of ground water loading, wave erosion, and surcharge loading conditions