The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is pleased to announce that the 2017 BGA Medal has been awarded to a paper on ‘A Behavioural Framework for Fibre-reinforced Gravel’ published in Géotechnique by authors Dr Olufemi Ajayi (now with Ramboll, formerly at University of Southampton) Dr Louis Le Pen, Dr Antonis Zervos and Professor William Powrie (all of University of Southampton). The medal will be presented during the BGA Annual Conference on 19 June 2018.
The full reference for the paper is:
Ajayi, O, Le Pen, L, Zervos, A and Powrie, W (2017). A behavioural framework for fibre-reinforced gravel. Géotechnique 67, No. 1, 56–68.
The paper discusses how random fibre reinforcement of railway ballast can improve strength and ductility, and reduce the susceptibility of ballast to the ongoing settlement that necessitates periodic maintenance interventions. Based on a series of triaxial tests on scaled materials, the paper develops a behavioural framework that accounts for the additional effective confining stress in the granular matrix resulting from the fibre tensions. It has been used to specify field trials now in progress on London Underground. The work was supported financially by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Network Rail.
The BGA Medal is awarded annually (each calendar year) by the BGA to a paper substantially authored by a BGA member or BGA members published in an international journal and from BGA, ISSMGE and ISRM conferences, and submitted for consideration of the award.
