Nicholas Sitar

Geotechnical earthquake engineering, characterization and behavior of weakly cemented soils, static and seismic slope stability, ground improvement, seismic stability of mechanically stabilized slopes and embankments, stability of rock slopes and rock masses, application of stochastic methods in Geoengineering, applications of ubiquitous wireless sensor networks in environmental and seismic monitoring.

Analysis and simulation of micro-mechanical characteristics of granular materials.

Analysis of the influence of depositional factors on properties of coarse sediments, sands and silts, deposited in different geologic settings using X-Ray tomography and a numerical modeling using advanced DEM algorithms.

Stability of discontinuous - jointed and fractured rock masses and rock-water interaction.

Application of 3D DEM coupled with Lattice Boltzmann method to analyze stability of rock masses and rock scour by flowing water in unlined rock channels, wave-solid interaction, and other complex phenomena.

Earthquake Engineering 

Performance of natural slopes under seismic loading. Dynamic properties of naturally deposited coarse sediments.

Debris flow and granular flow runout analysis

Debris flows initiated by intense rainfall represent a major hazard in many settings. The emphasis is on the application of the Material Point Method (MPM) on the analysis of runout under different channel configurations in order to develop better prediction capabilities for delineating potential hazard zones.