Reactive Soils and Site Classification

This short course will be presented as a full-day workshop in four sessions. The aim of the course is to present an overview of the principles of site classification, as described in AS2870, Residential Slabs and Footings.

It will include both background to explain the philosophy and purpose of site classification for those with less experience, as well as explanations of some of the aspects of AS2870 that are often not well understood by those who use it.

The course will be delivered in four sessions:

  1. Principles of Site Classification
  2. Reactive Soils
  3. Site Classification and Foundation Design for Reactive Soil sites
  4. AS2870 in Practice

About the presenter

Dr Stephen Fityus Principal, Douglas Partners, Newcastle

Dr Stephen Fityus is a geotechnical engineer and engineering geologist with more than 35 years experience across a broad range of subject areas in both disciplines. The majority of his career has been spent teaching geotechnical engineering and engineering geology as a professor at the University of Newcastle, where he published more than 200 technical papers, on topics including reactive soils, unsaturated soils, shear strength in soils and rocks, rockfall phenomena, landslides, coal mine waste rock and mine subsidence. A substantial part of his career has also been spent as a consulting geologist and engineer, where most recently, he was a principal in Douglas Partners’ Newcastle office. He participated in the committees which formulated AS2870.2011 and AS1726.2017, and is currently contributing to a working group for the revision of the AGS Landslide Risk Management documents.