Geotechnical Aspects of the Christchurch Earthquakes 2010 and 2011

Synopsis

On 4 September 2010, Christchurch, New Zealand was struck by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. The city was struck again on 22 February 2011, this time by a magnitude 6.3 aftershock, which resulted in over 150 deaths. In both cases, much of the damage was caused by liquefaction of the alluvial soils which underlie large areas of the city. This talk will start off with a brief background on earthquakes in general and on the Christchurch earthquakes in particular. The talk will then move on to a discussion of the geotechnical aspects of the earthquake, focusing on liquefaction:

• What is liquefaction?
• What are the effects of liquefaction on structures?
• How can Engineers design their way around liquefaction, focusing on applications in the nuclear industry?

Speaker

Dr Des Andrews (Technical Director) 

Further information

This meeting is organised by the Nuclear Institute, Central & South Scotland (CASS). This talk will conclude with an open question and answer session. The event will start at 6:30pm with tea, coffee and cakes at 6pm. Parking is available in the City Park visitors car park. Please see the CASS website for more info.