Welcome to the Granular Materials Laboratory at UC Davis
The overarching goal of the Granular Materials Laboratory (GML) at UC Davis is to advance the understanding of the behavior of soils and between soils and other objects such as civil structures, sensors, and organisms. We seek to make contributions in fundamental aspects of soil behavior and in their application to engineered systems in geotechnical and civil engineering. Our research searches for new and innovative alternatives to address existing challenges, including the need to improve the performance of geotechnical infrastructure and our ability characterization of soils in situ and in the laboratory. We use different tools to understand the physics of soil behavior, including laboratory experiments, particle-scale numerical simulations, centrifuge modeling, and field testing. We integrate different disciplines with geotechnical engineering to pursue our research, such as biology, bioinspired design, mechanical engineering and material science.
Our current research topics include bio-inspired geotechnics for foundation and anchorage elements, site characterization, and soil penetration and excavation, fundamental aspects of granular material behavior such as the effect of particle shape and gradation on the deformation characteristics of soil, the stability and runout behavior of industrial and mine wastes, and the development of new alternatives for onshore and offshore foundations. The GML is composed of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate and undergraduate students. Please browse our website and contact PI Alejandro Martinez if you have interest in joining or collaborating with the GML.
