faculty.Tomasz Hueckel

Tomasz Hueckel, Professor

Tomasz Hueckel received his master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Technology in Gdansk, Poland, in 1968, his Ph.D. in applied mechanics from the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, in 1974, and the D.Sc. in physical sciences from the University of Grenoble, France, in 1985. He started his research career at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, then taught at the University of Rome and the University of Technology in Milan before joining ISMES, a research institute in Bergamo, Italy, where he was responsible for research on geomechanical aspects of nuclear waste disposal in clays, a subject in which he continues to be strongly involved. He came to Duke in 1987.

Dr. Hueckel's research interest is in theoretical soil mechanics, rock mechanics, and environmental geomechanics, as well as in theory of plasticity. His current projects deal with thermo-plasticity and chemo-plasticity of clays, and in general in mechanics of materials composed of chemically reacting solids and liquids. He is interested in fundamental aspects of soil drying and cracking, and processes of soil aging and healing. The above subjects involve mathematical modeling and model driven laboratory experiments. He also is interested in basic aspects of theory of plasticity, such as stability and localization. His research is applied to hydraulic geo-barriers affected either by chemically hazardous liquids or nuclear waste heat, to prediction of petroleum production induced compaction and subsidence, as well as detection of buried objects.

Dr. Hueckel has published in International Journal of Solids and Structures, International Journal of Engineering Science, Pure and Applied Geophysics, Surveys in Geophysics, Engineering Geology, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Engineering, International Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, Computers and Geotechnics, International Journal of Soils and Foundations, Journal de Mecanique, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Meccanica, Ingenieur- Archiv, and the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical Engineering. He has also contributed to numerous books on the state of the art. Dr. Hueckel is heavily involved in international research cooperation, collaborating and co-authoring with Italian, French, Polish, and Spanish researchers. He is or was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, the Archive of Applied Mechanics and of the International Journal of Mechanics of Cohesive and Frictional Materials, ASCE Journals of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering and ASCE International Journal of Geomechanics, Italian Geotechnical Journal and Studia Geotechnica et Mechanica (Polish).

Education

• D.Sc. Physical Sciences, University and National Polytechnical Institute at Grenoble, France 1985
• Ph.D. Applied Mechanics, Polish Academy of Sciences 1974
• MS Civil Engineering, University of Gdansk 1968

Professional Experience

• Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University (2003-present)
• Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University (1987-2003)
• Senior Investigator ISMES Bergamo, Italy (1983-1987)
• Contract Professor of Geotechnics University of Technology, Milan, Italy (1983-1985)
• Contract Professor of Soil Mechanics University of Rome, Italy (1982-1983)
• Assistant Professor Polish Academy of Sciences (1972-1981)
• Assistant Professor University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland (1968-1972)

Sample Publications [complete publication list]

T. Hueckel, 2002, Reactive Plasticity for Clays during Dehydration and Rehydration. Part I: Concepts and Options, International Journal of Plasticity , 18, 3, 281 - 312

T. Hueckel and R. Pellegrini, 2002, Reactive Plasticity for Clays. Part II: Application to a natural analog of long-term geomechanical effects of nuclear waste disposal, E ngineering Geology , 64, 2-3, 195 – 216

B. Loret, T. Hueckel, A. Gajo, 2002, Chemo-mechanical coupling in saturated porous media: elasto-plastic behaviour of homoionic expansive clays, International Journal of Solids and Structures , 39, 2773-2806

T. Hueckel, G. Cassiani , Fan Tao , A. Pellegrino and V. Fioravante, 2001, Aging of Oil/gas Bearing Sediments, their Compressibility and Subsidence, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering , ASCE, 127, 11, 926 - 938

M. Kaczmarek and T. Hueckel, 1998, Chemo-Mechanical Consolidation of Clays: Analytical Solutions for a Linearized One-dimensional Problem, Transport in Porous Media , 32, 1, 49 – 74

Courses Taught

• EGR 75L. Mechanics of Solids
• CE 139L. Introduction to Soil Mechanics
• CE 202. Continuum Mechanics
• CE 203. Plasticity
• CE 237. Advanced Soil Mechanics
• CE 238. Environmental Geomechanics

Honors and Awards

• National Science Foundation, Civil and Mechanical Systems Program, Grant Award "Desiccation Cracks and Their Effects on Permeability in Clays," PI, 2003-2006
• International Committee on Land Subsidence, Eni (Italian National Board for Hydrocarbons), member, 2002-2004
• Fellowship of Excellence for Visiting Professors and Researchers, Government of Catalonia, Spain, 01-07/2004
• Fellowship, Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique, Belgium, 2003, 2002
• Fellowship, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, 2002
• Senior Resident Fellowship by the French Government, Ministry of Research for the work on chemo-mechanics of geomaterials, Summer 2000
• Member of the Scientific Committee of the International Workshop on Environmental Geomechanics, Ascona, Switzerland, July 2002.
• Member of the Scientific Advisory Board, International Conference on Geomechanics of Nuclear Waste Disposal, Organized by French National Nuclear Waste Disposal Agency, Andra, Paris, France, 2000
• Senior Resident Fellowship by the French Government, Ministry of Research for the work on chemo-mechanics of geomaterials, 2000
• Member of International Committee of 4th International Symposium on Environmental Geotechnology and Global Sustainable Development, Boston, Massachusetts, 1998.
• Member of Scientific Committee of 4th International Workshop on Thermo-hydro-mechanics of Clay Barriers, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 1995.
• Award of the Secretary General of the Polish Academy of Sciences for papers on cyclic behavior of soils (with Roberto Nova), 1980
• Fellow of Italian National Council of Research, 3 months, University of Technology, Milan, Italy, 1977
• Fellow, Italian National Council of Research, 12 months, University of Technology, Milan, Italy, 1975
• 1st prize in the National Annual Competition for "Most Interesting Polish Paper in Mechanics, 1972" by Polish Association for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, 1972
• Scholarship of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 2 years, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Warsaw, Poland, 1970-1972

Professional and Service Activities

• The Clay Minerals Society, Member (1989-present)
• American Academy of Mechanics, Member (1992- present)
• International Society of Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, member (2000- present)
• American Society of Civil Engineers, Member (1992- present) (Publication Committee, Member, 1998-present)
• International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Member (1992-present)
• American Geophysical Union, Member (1995- present)
• European Geophysical Society, Member (1993 - present)
• Chi Epsilon, Civil Engineers Honor Society, Member (1989-present)
• Societe' Historique et Literaire Polonais, Paris, Member (1988-present)
• Polish Association for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Member (1972-1981)

Current and Ongoing Research

• Environmental Mechanics: thermo-mechanics and thermo-plasticity of soils and rocks, chemo-mechanics and chemo-plasticity of porous media, transport through chemically sensitive materials, chemical consolidation of clays, geological disposal of nuclear and hazardous waste, aging of soils, swelling of clays
• Mechanics of engineering and geo-materials: constitutive modeling of material behavior, plasticity, mechanics of porous media and mixtures, mechanics of sediments, subsidence of deep marine sediments due to petroleum and gas extraction, cementized and destructuring soils, thermo-plasticity of crustal rocks during subduction