The Geotechnical Society of Edmonton is pleased to present Vicki Nguyen
Date: January 23, 2025
Time: 5:30pm – 9:00pm
Location: Blue Chair Cafe, 9624 – 76 Avenue NW, Edmonton (free parking on site and across the street)
Cost: GSE/CGS Members $30, Students $15, Non-members $40
Registration @ 5:30 PM; Dinner @ 6:00 PM; Presentation @ 7:00PM with networking to follow.
Venue Sponsor: Klohn Crippen Berger
Abstract
The Site C hydroelectric project is located along the Peace River, 14 km south of Fort St. John in British Columbia. To monitor the deformation response along pre-existing bedding planes during the excavation and construction of the spillway and powerhouse structures, slope inclinometers were installed within the Shaftesbury Shale foundation. During excavation of the spillway RCC buttress slope, the slope inclinometers detected movement below the base of the shear key, founded at El. 375 m. The largest movements occurred along a bedding plane designated “BP33e”, located at approximately El. 373 m. To assess the design strength and stiffness parameters for this bedding plane, the Site C engineering design team developed numerical deformation models in FLAC3D and calibrated the material parameters by matching the simulated deformations to the measured displacement data. The calibrated parameters yielded results that were typically within 2 mm of the measured values across multiple bedding planes for most of the slope inclinometers considered. This presentation summarizes the model development, analysis methodology, and calibration results.
Bio
Vicki Nguyen, P.Eng., has over fourteen years of experience working as a geotechnical engineer (P.Eng.) in Alberta and British Columbia, after graduating from the University of Waterloo in 2010 with a BASc with Distinction in Civil Engineering. During her career, she has been involved in a wide variety of projects that include tailings dykes, dam facilities, commercial and residential buildings, retaining walls, and transportation infrastructure. As part of these projects, she has completed advanced numerical and deformation modelling, calibrated constitutive model parameters (Mohr Coulomb, hyperbolic, NorSand, PM4Silt/PM4Sand, etc.), characterized materials based on relevant data (CPT, laboratory, and/or performance), conducted probabilistic seismic hazard assessments, completed slope stability and seepage modelling, and performed liquefaction assessments.