On the afternoon of October 26, the School of Urban Railway Transportation invited Professor Li Jie from the Department of Civil Engineering of RMIT University, Australia, to make an academic lecture entitled Influence of trees on expansive soils for the teachers and students of the college. The lecture was held in Room 8A534, the Modern Traffic Engineering Center , and was chaired by Professor Wang Lei.
At the meeting, Professor Li Jie introduced the influence of local trees on the dry and wet changes of expansive soil and related civil engineering structures in Australia. The uneven settlement of expansive soil foundation leads to structural damage in civil engineering is a very common engineering problem, and trees have a significant impact on the dry and wet changes of expansive soil, but the current relevant engineering standards and codes cannot provide any guidance on the potential impact of different tree species on the dry and wet changes of soil. In addition, due to a lack of understanding of the water requirements of different tree species, engineers often fail to take into account the additional ground subsidence caused by tree water absorption when designing structures. Professor Li gave an overview of the urban greening rate and the distribution of expansive soil in Australia, and then explained the principle of trees using soil water to grow, the basic mechanism of foundation settlement caused by the reduction of expansive soil water, the experimental method used to determine the water absorption capacity of different parts of trees and the settlement of different locations of houses under the influence of surrounding trees. In addition, Professor Li described a case of a house that was damaged by the movement of expansive soil caused by dry tree roots. Professor Li's rich knowledge, unique ideas for solving scientific problems, and vivid style of explanation greatly inspired the teachers and students present.
After the meeting, the teachers and students who participated in the academic lecture actively discussed with Professor Li Jie the theory of expansive soil and the related problems of establishing the finite element model of expansive soil and its analysis. The atmosphere of the meeting was warm, the teachers and students present listened carefully to the content of the lecture, which further broadened their academic vision.
Professor Li Jie is a professor and Deputy Director of the Department of Civil Engineering, RMIT University, Australia. He has been engaged in the research of unsaturated soil, building materials and other fields for a long time. Part of his research on expansive soil properties and their interaction with foundations has been incorporated into the Australian Ground Foundation Specification AS287. He has published more than 160 papers in international academic journals. The Scopus h-index is 37. His team has made a very influential contribution in the field of the application of recycled waste, which has been widely concerned and highly valued by international peers. Professor Li Jie has supervised 16 doctoral students and 5 master students to complete their studies. Chair and co-chair a number of projects funded by the Australian Research Council, including ARC DP, ARC LP and ARC ITTC, as well as a number of Australian local government and industry projects.