Interaction UCL-Japan: a new approach to fundamental soil mechanics

The UCL Soil Mechanics group has a strong interest in researching the fundamental behaviour of soils, in particular soil crushability, soil anisotropy and soil time-dependent behaviour. These areas of research are being investigated in selected research groups in Japan. It is proposed to visit three active research groups at the Universities of Tokyo, Kobe and Yamaguchi to discuss new avenues of research in fundamental soil mechanics and possible collaboration between our respective institutions. It is believed that the combination of different approaches to the subject and complementary facilities will contribute to advance significantly the understanding of time effects on soils and how particle crushing and anisotropy can also affect their behaviour. Preliminary contacts with the potential hosts have shown that the enthusiasm for collaborating is shared with our Japanese colleagues.