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Research Collaboration Projects NTU & PWD
Research Collaboration Projects NTU & HDB-BRI
Research Collaboration Projects NTU & NParks
Research Collaboration Projects NTU, BCA & SLA

Housing Development Board-Building Research Institute (HDB-BRI)

Further comprehensive research was carried out by NTU and Building & Infrastructure Group (BIG), the Housing Development Board (HDB), to study the effect of the geological setting, soil properties and local climatic conditions on slope stability. Principles of saturated and unsaturated soil mechanics were applied in the establishment of engineering design protocols. Guidelines were established for the prevention and improvement of slope stability under imposed rainfall conditions. The study included laboratory tests, numerical analyses and comprehensive slope instrumentations. The results showed that slope failures can be attributed to several factors such as climatic conditions, geological features, topography, vegetation or a combination of these factors. These factors and their contribution to slope instability vary with the geographical location. The monitoring results of the field instrumentation indicated that the new slope preventive measure based on unsaturated soil mechanics principle, (i.e. Capillary Barrier System (CBS) and vegetative covers), are effective in minimizing rainwater infiltration into the underlying soil layers. Observations showed that slopes protected with a CBS and a vegetative cover had a higher factor of safety during rainfall than those where a CBS and vegetative cover was not used. Moving forward, NTU is collaborating with the Building Research Institute, HDB (HDB-BRI) to develop a new system called the Geobarrier system based on the principles of unsaturated soil mechanics. The Geobarrier system can be innovatively applied to the construction of multi-level wall-free underground structures such as multi-level basement car parks. The research project is funded by the Ministry of National Development Research fund on Sustainable Urban Living (MNDRF-SUL). It is expected that the new system will provide resource use alternatives through the use of recycled materials. The end result is a cost effective means of providing efficient slope protection and a retaining system to create additional useable spaces at ground level. The proposed system will also have the additional benefit of reducing run-off during rainfall