Volume 6, Issue 4

December 2021

Young Members Column
Fahim Mashroor Bhuiyan
Ph.D. Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Nevada Reno (USA)I am Fahim Mashroor Bhuiyan, a fourth-year Ph.D. Student at the University ofNevada Reno (UNR) in the U.S., and I am from Bangladesh. At the start of myundergraduate journey at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology(BUET), I chose Civil Engineering as my major. In my final year at BUET, I did myundergraduate thesis on numerical analysis on the raft foundation using Plaxis. To
make scrupulous analysis for my thesis, I had to acquire a thorough knowledge ofsoil and foundation behavior; and concurrently found my passion for geotechnicalengineering. I soon realized that the mercurial, erratic, and unpredictablebehavior of soil makes this subject more challenging and more fun to learn andwork with.
After my graduation, I got a job in a geotechnical engineering firm in Bangladesh. During my brief work experience, I
learned to implement load cell technology in static pile load tests. I worked alongside field engineers and learned a lotabout implementing engineering knowledge in the geological context of my country. I started my journey at UNR in Fall2017 under the supervision of Dr. Ramin Motamed who is one of the International Press-in Association’s Directors. I
started as a master's student in my first semester and helped my colleague in performing shake table experiments tostudy shallow foundation response due to liquefaction. In Spring 2018, I switched to the Ph.D. program and started
working on my current research project. Apart from geotechnical engineering, I have got a keen interest in computer
programming and numerical analysis tools. Implementing and refining my programming skills in geotechnical applications
have added great flavors to the research project I'm currently working on.
The project I am working on is entitled "Lateral Analysis Guidelines for Drilled
Shafts in Nevada Based on LRFD Framework". The project, which is funded by
the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), aims at developing aunique, economic, accurate, and validated tool to define LRFD (Load andResistance Factor Design) based design guidelines for large diameter drilledshaft under lateral loading. Currently, I am trying to implement advanced
MATLAB programming to develop a finite-difference tool, NVShaft, toimprove the current methodology for numerical lateral load (p-y) analysis oflarge diameter drilled shafts. NVShaft can perform a more sophisticated,unified p-y analysis by considering additional side shear and tip resistancecomponents more relevant to large diameter drilled shaft. Measured datafrom several field and centrifuge load tests have been used to validate thenew program. Aside from unified p-y analysis, like other commercial
numerical tools, NVShaft can perform axial load (t-z) analysis, lateral stability
analysis, pushover analysis, and buckling analysis of shaft-column. As of date,a total of 20 lateral resistance (p-y) models have been added to the NVShaft
library. Several axial side shear (t-z), end bearing (q-z), tip shear (vb-yb), andtip moment (mb-θb) resistant models have also been included. Anotherimportant goal of our project is to provide a robust definition of shaft pointof-fixity, a parameter that is required for the structural design of bridge pier.
By providing the means to perform a more realistic numerical lateral loadanalysis, the outcome of this research project will result in a more18Fig. 1 Numerical Winkler's springmodels of major lateral resistancecomponents in large-diameter drilledshaft.

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December 2021

homogeneous design practice and acceptable lateral performance across the state. The project is expected to increase
the savings in drilled shafts construction cost as well as improved safety due to more refined analysis and design to beused by foundation engineers.

Hoang Thi Lua
Lecturer, Thuyloi University (Vietnam)
I am Hoang Thi Lua from Vietnam. I am delighted to write this message for the IPA
Newsletter to share about myself and my main research areas. After receiving master's
degree in Geotechnical Engineering at Thuyloi University – Vietnam, in Sept. 2017, I wentto Japan to start my Ph.D. journey. Among many research areas on Geotechnicalengineering field, I decided to follow "pile foundation engineering" area because pilefoundation is always a reliable and preferred foundation for heavy structures on various
types of ground, but also a foundation type with many aspects to investigate. I started
doctoral course at Kanazawa University under the supervision of Prof. Matsumoto Tatsunori– one expert in the area of piled raft foundation as well as a Director of IPA. My Ph.D.
research topic, therefore, focuses on piled-raft foundations supported by displacement
piles - which will be one of the economical and promising foundation solutions for thefuture construction industry.
In 2020, when I was the last year Ph.D student, Prof. Matsumoto introduced me about IPA. Searching from the internet,
I found helpful information related to the IPA and understood how important the Press-in technologies is in theconstruction industry. Since that time, I registered and became "a student member" of IPA. I also got information about
the ICPE 2021, and the topics of ICPE 2021 really attracted me. I decided to submit a paper to the ICPE 2021, and luckyme, my paper was accepted. Thanks to the ICPE 2021, I was kept up with new information on the area of foundations ingeneral and displacement piles in particular. Additionally, I was awarded "The Best research paper of ICPE 2021", thissuch a great honor for me.
Currently, I graduated Ph.D. course and am now a young lecture at Thuyloi university. I am very interested in researching
the application of Press-in technologies on the area of deep foundation in particular as well as in other areas ofgeotechnical engineering because I strongly believe on prospects of press-in piling in the future. IPA and ICPE are always
reliable addresses for me to expand my knowledge, and I think that IPA is the ideal destination for all those interested in
Press-in technologies.

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