Supporting ANCOLD’s Course on Earthquake Eng & Liquefaction

Legion Drilling was the major sponsor of the intensive course on Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Liquefaction organised by the Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) in Sydney in March 2025. This was followed by a second session in Brisbane.

The event attracted an exceptional turnout, with geotechnical and tailings engineers travelling from across Australia and internationally to learn from leading experts in the field.

The course featured distinguished instructors, including:

• Ross W. Boulanger, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at University of California, Davis

  Prof. Boulanger is a world leader in liquefaction assessment and dam engineering. With 300+ publications and roles on major infrastructure review boards, his pioneering work earned top honors (Casagrande Award, Huber Prize, Norman Medal, ASCE’s Peck Award, the Ishihara Lecture from the ISSMGE, and election to the US National Academy of Engineering). As former Director of UC Davis’ Center for Geotechnical Modeling, he bridged advanced research with practical engineering solutions, which had direct implications for ground investigations, including several studies on Standard Penetration Testing (SPT), Cone Penetration Testing (CPT), and sonic and geotechnical drilling methods.

• Katerina Ziotopoulou, Associate Professor at University of California, Davis

  Dr. Ziotopoulou specialises in geotechnical earthquake engineering with an emphasis on the investigation of ground failure due to earthquake-induced liquefaction and cyclic softening, and its mitigation. She combines the development of advanced numerical tools with multiscale experimental methods and data analytics, the establishment of validation protocols, and the upscaling to system-level analyses of case histories. She is passionate about teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and has been honoured with the Casagrande Professional Development Award, and the ISSMGE Young Researcher Award.

• Alfonso Cerna-Diaz, Geotechnical Engineer at AECOM (Denver, CO)

  Dr. Cerna-Diaz works in mining projects for large tailings dam facilities in the US and worldwide. Alfonso has focused most of his practice and research on geotechnical engineering for dams, including topics as material characterisation, soil liquefaction triggering estimation and mitigation, nonlinear site response analysis, static liquefaction and instrumentation, in-situ testing, and slope stability under static and dynamic conditions. Alfonso’s practice and research also includes validation and back-analysis of tailings dam case histories using 2D/3D advanced coupled numerical modelling to enhance performance-based design evaluations.

Attendees gained valuable insights into liquefaction assessment, site characterisation methods, and advanced techniques for non-linear dynamic analyses. A key focus was the application of PM4Sand and PM4Silt constitutive models, developed by the instructors and integrated into FLAC/FLAC2D. One of the case studies illustrated the application of these models in contractive tailings.

At Legion Drilling, we recognise the importance of high-quality drilling and in-situ testing data for seismic risk assessments and tailings storage facility (TSF) design, particularly in earthquake-prone areas like the Hunter Valley in NSW. Our high-performance sonic drilling, geotechnical drilling, and Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) rigs provide engineers with the precision needed for reliable site investigations.

By sponsoring this event, we reaffirm our commitment to industry education and innovation in geotechnical engineering. Legion Drilling remains a trusted partner for geotechnical and tailings investigations, providing advanced drilling technologies that empower engineers to make informed, safety-driven decisions.

Exceptional turnout of geotechnical and tailings engineers not only from Sydney but also from other states and countries

Legion Drilling opened the event briefly showcasing our capabilities for sonic and geotechnical drilling as well as Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) and in-situ testing