Dr Tiago Gaspar

Department of Civil and Structural Engineering

Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering

A photo of a man smiling at the camera. He has dark hair and a beard, and is wearing a white collared shirt.

t.a.gaspar@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 5110

Sir Frederick Mappin Building (Broad Lane Building)

Full contact details

Dr Tiago Gaspar
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering
Sir Frederick Mappin Building (Broad Lane Building)
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD

Profile

My research aims to better understand the hydromechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils, and its influence on civil infrastructure under changing climatic conditions,

Dr Tiago Gaspar

Tiago received his PhD from the University of Pretoria in 2020. As part of his doctoral studies, he led the element testing and centrifuge modelling aspects of an international research project, which aimed to investigate the design of wind turbine foundations constructed in expansive clays. During this time, he was a recipient of the Newton Fund UnsatPractice PhD exchange programme with Durham University, and conducted some work as a geotechnical consultant looking at issues related to swelling clays and piled foundations.

Following completion of his PhD, Tiago spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at Durham University. In this position he gained experience in constitutive modelling of unsaturated soils, field instrumentation for the purposes of slope stability/landslide investigations, and developed advanced laboratory equipment for the element testing of unsaturated soils. He is also involved with a project in collaboration with the National University of Malaysia to investigate rainfall induced landslides. Tiago is also a member of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) Journal Editorial Panel.

Tiago joined the department in 2023. His research is aimed at understanding the hydromechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils under changing climatic conditions. Specifically, the investigation of rainfall induced landslides, the stability of tailings storage facilities, and the performance of various infrastructure constructed on/in swelling/shrinking clays. His research is conducted by incorporating a combination of centrifuge modelling, element testing, and field monitoring. His work also involves collaboration with institutions across the UK, Europe, Southeast Asia, and South Africa.

Research Themes

Infrastructure

Hazards

Research interests

Unsaturated soil mechanics

Centrifuge modelling

Advanced element testing

Long-term field monitoring

The structure of soils

Stability of slopes, embankments, and tailings dams in response to climate change

Publications

Journal articles

Gaspar TAV, Jacobsz SW, Smit G, Gens A, Toll DG & Osman AS (2023) Centrifuge modelling of an expansive clay profile using artificial fissuring to accelerate swell. Engineering Geology, 312.
Gaspar TAV, Jacobsz SW, Heymann G, Toll DG, Gens A & Osman AS (2022) The mechanical properties of a high plasticity expansive clay. Engineering Geology, 303.
Gaspar TAV & Jacobsz SW (2021) Brazilian Tensile Strength Test Conducted on Ductile Unsaturated Soil Samples. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 44(3), 20190078-20190078.
Broekman A, Willem Jacobsz S, Louw H, Kearsley E, Gaspar T & Da Silva Burke TS (2020) Fly-by-Pi: open source closed-loop control for geotechnical centrifuge testing applications. HardwareX, 8.
Gaspar TAV, Jacobsz S, Smit G & Osman AS () Centrifuge modelling of piled foundations in swelling clays. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 0(ja).

Conference proceedings papers

Gaspar TAV, Smit G, Louw H, Broekman A, Jacobsz SW, Elsabe K & Ashraf SO (2022) Vertical cyclic loading of piled foundations in expansive clays. 10th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics. KAIST, Daejon, Korea
Murison R, Jacobsz SW, da Silva Burke T, Gaspar TAV & Osman AS (2022) Monitoring bending moment distributions in large-scale laterally loaded piles using fibre Bragg gratings and vibrating wire strain gauges. 10th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics. KAIST, Daejon, Korea
Gaspar T, Murison RA, Jacobsz SW, da Silba Burke T & Osman AS (2022) Comparison of swell behaviour of highly expansive clay through field monitoring and centrifuge modelling. Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Sydney, Australia
Gaspar TAV, Osman AS, Augarde CE, Coombs WM, Toll DG, Moghaddasi H, Charlton TJ, Jacobsz SW, Smit G, da Silva Burke T , Murison RA et al (2022) Performance-based design of pile foundations for wind turbines in African unsaturated expansive soils. Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
Gaspar T, Schulz-Poblete M & Van der Merwe F (2022) Installation of a low-cost unsaturated soil monitoring system in Howick, South Africa. Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 1 April 2022.

Research group

Geotechnical Engineering

Geotechnical Centrifuges

PhD opportunities: If you're interested in a PhD project, please contact Tiago at the above email. Current PhD opportunities in the department can be viewed here.