Research

Below is a detailed overview of her research interests:

1. Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Fluid Flow and Volume Change Modeling: Examining how soil properties like moisture content and temperature impact swelling, shrinkage, and other volume change behaviors.

• Expansive and Problematic Soils: Characterizing expansive clays, collapsible soils, and other problematic soil types that impact infrastructure stability.

   

1. Environmental Effects on Infrastructure

• Resilient Modulus and Pavement Design: Investigating how seasonal moisture variations and temperature gradients affect the mechanical properties of pavement subgrades and base layers.

• Climate Resiliency: Developing solutions to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events on transportation infrastructure, including flooding and frost heave.

   

1. Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design

• Integration of Soil Mechanics: Incorporating unsaturated soil behavior into pavement design models.

• Environmental Effects Modeling: Developing algorithms to represent environmental influences, such as soil-water characteristic curves (SWCC) and moisture flow under pavements.

   

1. Geotechnical Applications of Geosynthetics

• Innovative Geosynthetics for Slope Stability: Investigating materials such as wicking geotextiles and capillary barriers to stabilize highway embankments and mitigate expansive soils and frost heave.

• Numerical and Experimental Approaches: Using laboratory tests and numerical modeling to evaluate the performance of geosynthetics under various stress and moisture conditions.

   

1. Multidisciplinary Research

• Urban Heat Island Effects: Exploring how urbanization impacts soil behavior and pavement performance in arid regions like Phoenix.

• Geothermal and Pavement Interactions: Assessing thermal gradients in soils and their implications for energy efficiency and pavement integrity.

   

1. Sustainable Materials for Infrastructure

• Recycled Aerogel Composites (RaC): Developing asphalt pavement materials with improved durability by incorporating recycled materials like crumb rubber and aerogel composites.

• Guidelines for Sustainable Infrastructure: Providing practical recommendations for integrating sustainable materials into construction practices.

   

1. Experimental and Field Instrumentation

• Lab Testing: Measuring shear strength, hydraulic properties, and resilient modulus of various soil types under controlled conditions.
• Field Instrumentation: Employing advanced tools to monitor soil and pavement performance under real-world environmental loads.

1. National and International Contributions

• National Databases: Creating comprehensive catalogs of soil-water characteristic curves (SWCC) for use in pavement design across the U.S.
• Global Impact: Consulting on major geotechnical challenges, such as pavement performance in arid regions and forensic studies in Qatar.

Current Research Projects:

1. Shivangi Jain MS, PhD Candidate

   
   
   Shivangi is working on testing the effect of Enzyme-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (EICP) on the resistance of sandy clay soil against rainfall induced erosion. Her PhD project involves a rainfall simulator that is 40 ft long, 8 ft wide, and 12 inches thick. Along with erosion resistance, the soil will be tested for the unsaturated properties during the wetting-drying cycle and the analysis of infiltration during the rainfall cycle will be modelled for the untreated and treated soil bed. She is also studying the effect of slope on the erosion and infiltration properties.

2. R. A. Kalani Madushani Rajamanthri, PhD Candidate

   
   
   R. A. Kalani Madushani Rajamanthri is a Ph.D. candidate in Geotechnical Engineering, specializing in the stability of roadway embankments and the application of advanced geosynthetics. Her research focuses on evaluating the strength characteristics of expansive soils and frost-susceptible soils reinforced with geocomposites and wicking geotextiles through comprehensive laboratory testing. She investigates the performance of these materials in enhancing slope stability under seasonal climatic conditions. Additionally, her work examines the moisture retention behavior of geosynthetics under equilibrium conditions in embankment slopes, contributing valuable insights into their effectiveness in improving infrastructure resilience

3. Yasen Kashour, MS. candidate
    

   
   Yasen research focuses on developing a comprehensive mechanistic-empirical (ME) analysis framework to assess the resiliency of pavement networks against flooding. A critical issue as climate change continues to increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. Flooding poses significant challenges to transportation infrastructure, leading to accelerated pavement deterioration, reduced service life, compromised structural integrity, and increased maintenance and rehabilitation costs. My work integrates mechanistic-empirical pavement analysis procedures with hydrological, geotechnical, and climatic considerations to evaluate both the structural and functional performance of flexible pavements subjected to flood-induced distress. Specifically, I investigate the effects of pavement saturation, the associated loss of bearing capacity, post-flood recovery trends, and the long-term deterioration patterns that influence pavement performance. By incorporating advanced modeling techniques and empirical data, my research aims to develop resilient infrastructure strategies that optimize maintenance and rehabilitation plans, enhance network-level decision-making, and improve the sustainability of pavement systems in flood-prone regions. Through this work, I seek to provide transportation agencies and policymakers with data-driven insights that facilitate proactive planning, reduce lifecycle costs, and ensure the long-term functionality and safety of roadway networks in the face of increasingly frequent and intense flooding events.

4. Saleh Alothman, PhD candidate

   
   
   Saleh Alothman is a PhD candidate in Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering at Arizona State University, where he works under the guidance of Dr. Claudia E. Zapata and Dr. Edward Kavazanjian. His research focuses on investigating the applicability of enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) treatment to mitigate erosion and enhance infrastructure resilience. His work encompasses implementation strategies, climate adaptation considerations, performance monitoring, and quantitative analysis using advanced technologies such as LiDAR. As a graduate researcher at the Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG), Alothman leads sustainable treatment development for environmental protection and implements large-scale experiments for erosion control. He has also contributed to national research initiatives, serving as the lead researcher for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s study on moisture measurement for foundations and slopes. Alothman earned his MS in Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering from Arizona State University in 2022. His master’s research focused on fiber reinforcement and EICP for enhancing the use of on-site soils in infrastructure development. He completed his BSc in Civil Engineering from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, in 2018 with first-class honors. His academic excellence has been recognized through various awards, including the American Society of Civil Engineering (Geo-Institute) graduate scholarship and the Dr. Matthew W. Witczak graduate fellowship.”