Publications by Gianluca Speranza

Life cycle environmental assessment of retaining walls in unsaturated soils

Retaining structures above groundwater level support soils that are usually in a state of partial saturation and subject to the actions of atmospheric agents. The current design approach considers the possible extremes of soil conditions - either totally d ...

ELSEVIER2022

Long-term performance and life cycle assessment of energy piles in three different climatic conditions

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Melis Sütman, Gianluca Speranza

The main purpose behind the use of energy piles is to enable the exploitation of geothermal energy for meeting the heating/cooling demands of buildings in an efficient and environment-friendly manner. However, the long-term performance of energy piles in d ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2020

A physical model for the interaction between unsaturated soils and retaining structures

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Gianluca Speranza

Temporary and permanent retaining structures interact with soils that are usually in unsaturated conditions. In this work, a 1g-scale physical model is presented to investigate the interactions between retaining walls and unsaturated soils. The physical mo ...

EDP Sciences2020

TERRE project: interplay between unsaturated soil mechanics and low-carbon geotechnical engineering

Alessio Ferrari, Jacopo Zannin, Gianluca Speranza

The geotechnical construction industry is a major component of the overall construction sector and is strategically important in infrastructure development (transportation, flood and landslide protection, building foundations, waste disposal). Although ind ...

E D P SCIENCES2020

Geotechnical and environmental performance of retaining structures in unsaturated soils

Gianluca Speranza

Presently, environmental issues are considered as critical aspects concerning the market competitiveness in the building and construction sector. However, the construction sector is regarded as one of the main areas contributing to CO2 emissions and resour ...

EPFL2020

An experimental investigation on the water retention behaviour of a silty soil for the computation of the lateral earth thrust on a retaining wall

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Gianluca Speranza

Retaining structures often interact with soils in unsaturated conditions and their performance is influenced by environmental actions. Currently, geotechnical analysis and design approaches mainly consider the soils either totally dry or totally saturated. ...

E3S Web of Conferences2019