LABORATORY OF INVESTIGATION OF SOIL
AND ROCK COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES

Chief: Valeriy Nikolaevich Kutergin
Cand. Sci.(Geology and Mineralogy)
Chernoe ozero str., 15, Moscow,
Tel/Fax: (495) 700-72-61
Email: vank@bk.ru

Valeriy Nikolaevich Kutergin

The laboratory has obtained substantial experience in the study of soils and rocks in the basement of important engineering structures, e.g., nuclear power plants, heat stations, hydraulic power plants, oil and gas offshore platforms, artery pipelines, etc.

SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES

• Theoretical and experimental studies in soil and rock composition and physico-mechanical properties and their changes under the influence of natural and human-induced fac tors (seismic impacts, vibrations, watering, leaching, temperature fluctuations, etc).
• Integrated assessment of engineering geological conditions of ground massifs according to the results of laboratory and field research and the determination of their stress-strain state and its variation under natural and technonatural impacts.
• Development of new methods and modification of the standard methods, procedures and facilities for the study of composition and properties of soils and rocks under static and dynamic loads.
• Development of methodical and code documentation for scientific investigations and industrial practice.
• Scientific maintenance of engineering geological research at important objects, in industrial zones, at continental shelf, and in the regions with specific soils.

FIELD AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS

• The study of composition, physical and chemical properties of soils and rocks;
• The study of physico-mechanical (deformation, strength, and rheology) properties of sediments, dispersed systems, and soils under:
  – static and dynamic loads;
  – watering and leaching;
  – temperature fluctuations and other influences.
• The study of physico-mechanical properties of rocks;
• Die tests.;
• Pillar displacements;
• Pressure measuring tests of soils in boreholes.

THE MAIN PROJECTS

• The study of composition and physico-mechanical properties of soils at the Caspian Sea shelf as the basement of oil and gas offshore platforms (site Morskaya, Rakushechnaya-4, Korchagin field, and LSP-2 site).
• Laboratory study of strength and deformability of sediments in the Azov sea shelf using triaxial compression units (site Gelendgik-1).
• Laboratory study of the cooled soil from the Arctic sea shelf by modeling of their natural stress-strain state (site of the shipping terminal, Varandeiskoe deposit).
• The study of the shelf soil strength upon cyclic test by modeling the storm-wave and ice impacts.
• Integrated assessment of engineering geological conditions of high-rise building foundation soils (Moscow International
  Business Center – CITY site).
• Development of the triaxial compression equipment with software control and automatic registration of experimental parameters for test ing soils according to the assigned load trajectory under the conditions of natural stressstrain state and measured pore pressure.
• Development of method and equipment for shift tests with measuring of pore pressure (patent RU 2275628 of 27.04.2006).
  

EQUIPMENT

The laboratory is equipped with standard and modern, both foreign and homemade equipment for testing soils and rocks according to wellknown and new procedures and according to the foreign standards.

The test instruments includes the following:

• modern automatic devices of triaxial compression;
• compression and shiftt devices by Controls;
• circular shift programmable device that provides measuring of pore pressure;
• devices for chemical analyses of soils.

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