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Professor Zeljko Cabarkapa

Zeljko Cabarkapa

Professor Zeljko Cabarkapa is a geotechnical engineer with more than 34 years of experience in practice in the UK and around the world.

His area of expertise includes forensic engineering and site characterisation, ground investigation, rock slope stability, slope stabilisation, retaining wall design, groundwater flow, earthworks, embankments over soft soil, ground improvement, reclamations, foundation design, tunnel construction, seismic design, numerical analysis, and partially saturated soils. He has been involved in numerous forensic investigations and in recent years has given evidence to evidentiary hearings in many different international jurisdictions.

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View publications

  1. Cabarkapa, Z., Cuccovillo, T. and Gunn, M. (1998). A new triaxial apparatus for testing unsaturated soil. Invited paper for presentation at 2nd International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT’98, Beijing
  2. Cabarkapa, Z., Cuccovillo, T. and Gunn, M. (1999). Some aspect of the pre-failure behaviour of unsaturated soil. Invited paper for poster session for Second International Symposium on Pre-failure Deformation Characteristics of Geomaterials, IS Torino ’99
  3. Cabarkapa, Z. (2000). A multifunctional apparatus for unsaturated soil testing, Sixth Young Geotechnical Engineers Symposium, City University, London
  4. Cabarkapa, Z., Cuccovillo, T. and Gunn, M. (2001). Discussion: “A unique relationship for c for the determination of the shear strength of unsaturated soils” by N. Khalili and M.H. Khabbaz, Geotechnique Vol. 48, No.5.
  5. Cabarkapa, Z. and WHITE, M. (2002). Air-drying processes in unsaturated soils, International workshop on Environmental Geomechanics, Monte Verita, Switzerland.
  6. Cabarkapa, Z., Gunn, M. and Cuccovillo, T. (2003). Response of soil with compressible pore fluid, 2nd Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Osaka, Japan
  7. Cabarkapa, Z., Cuccovillo, T., Gunn, M. and Crilly, S.M. (2003). Discussion: “Suction in compacted states” by Vatsala, A. and Srinivasa Murthy, B.R. Geotechnique 52, No.4
  8. Cabarkapa, Z., Milligan, G.W.E., Menkiti, C.O., Murphy, J. and Potts, D.M. (2003) Design and performance of a large diameter shaft in Dublin Boulder Clay, BGA International Conference on Foundations, Dundee
  9. Nuseibeh, G.M., Higgins, K.G., Cabarkapa, Z. and Zdravkovic, L. (2005) A numerical study of the behaviour of 19th century brick-lined tunnels in London’, 11th International Conference of IACMAG, Torino, Italy, pp. 695-702
  10. Cabarkapa, Z. and Cuccovillo, T. (2006). Automated triaxial apparatus for testing unsaturated soils, ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal
  11. Boghosian, H., Cabarkapa, Z., Ferreira, B., Pedley, M. and St John, H.D. (2006) Construction of a deep basement on a sloping site in Glasgow: The Aurora Project, 10th International Conference on Pilling and Deep Foundations, Article 1348
  12. Cabarkapa, Z. (2006) Discussion in Geotechnique ‘Shear strength of cohesionless soils at low stress’. Geotechnique, Vol 56, Issue 6, pp 439-441
  13. Pedley, M., Fernie, R., St John, H.D. and Cabarkapa, Z. (2007) Design and construction of high capacity large diameter bearing piles in the soils of the London basin for top down construction, Proc. of the 14th European Conference on Soil Mechnanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Madrid, pp. 381-386
  14. Cabarkapa, Z. (2007) Discussion in ASCE ‘Drained Residual Shear strength of some claystones from Front Range, Colorado’ J. Geotech and Geoenvir. Engrg. Volume 133, Issue 9, pp 1172-1173
  15. Cabarkapa, Z. (2007) A Non-Linear Failure Envelope for Unsaturated Soils, Proc. of the 3rd Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils, China. pp. 185-190
  16. Franzius, J.N., Schroeder, F.C., Grammatikopoulou, A., Cabarkapa, Z., Higgins, K.G. & Potts, D.M. (2007). Comparison of different approaches to model compensation grouting. Proc. 1lth lnt. Conf. on Numerical Models in Geomechanics – NUMOG X, Rhodes (eds G.N. Pande & S. Pietruszczak), Taylor & Francis Group, pp 359-364
  17. Cabarkapa, Z., (2007). Compensation grouting – recent advances. Proc. 14th European Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Madrid
  18. Valstad, T., Cabarkapa, Z., and TINTO, W. (2008) Rock slide in spillway cut Projecto Trasvase Olmos in Peru. Inter. Geological Congress, Oslo, Norway
  19. Cabarkapa, Z., (2009). Influence of suction on the bearing capacity, Submitted to the 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Unsaturated Soils
  20. Zhang, X., Mavroulidou, M., Gunn, M.J. and Cabarkapa, Z. (2009) Experiences gained using various axis translation technique apparatus to determine soil water retention curve, Submitted to the 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Unsaturated Soil
  21. Zhang, X., Cabarkapa, Z., Mavroulidou, M. and Gunn, M.J. (2009) A study of the laboratory measurement of the Soil Water Retention Curve, 11th International Conference on the Environmental Science and Technology (CEST 2009), Chania, Greece
  22. Zhang, X., Mavroulidou, M., Gunn, M.J., Cabarkapa, Z., and Sutton, J. (2010) Developing a novel non-contact laser displacement transducer technique for volume change measurements of unsaturated soils, 5th International Conference on Unsaturated Soil, Barcelona
  23. Zhang, X., Mavroulidou, M., Gunn, M.J. and Cabarkapa, Z. (2010) A study of the water retention characteristics and volume change of lime treated London Clay, 5th International Conference on Unsaturated Soil, Barcelona
  24. Spasojevic, A. and Cabarkapa, Z. (2010) Extended stress field method for soils with nonlinear failure envelope, Submitted to Geotechnique
  25. Spasojevic, A. and Cabarkapa, Z. (2010) Extended stress field analysis for axisymmetric punch indentation, Submitted to Canadian Geotechnical Journal

View invited lectures

  1. Cabarkapa, Z. (1999). Unsaturated soils – from theory to practice, Kings College, University of Aberdeen
  2. Cabarkapa, Z. (2000). An experimental and numerical study of the behaviour of unsaturated soil, Soil Mechanics Colloquium, Imperial College, London.
  3. Cabarkapa, Z. (2007). Infrastructure projects – British Infrastructure Development Specialists Event, British Embassy Belgrade
  4. Cabarkapa, Z. (2008). Numerical modelling – recent advances, University of Podgorica, Montenegro
  5. Cabarkapa, Z. (2009). Geotechnical Risk – Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Bank of America HQ, London
  6. Cabarkapa, Z. (2010). Olmos Collapse – University of Bari, Italy
  7. Cabarkapa, Z. (2010). What engineers should know about investment, and investors about engineering, Real Estate Exhibition and Conference, Belgrade

View theses

  1. Cabarkapa, Z. (2001) Mechanical behaviour and modelling of unsaturated soil. PhD Thesis, South Bank University, London
  2. Cabarkapa, Z. (1996) Coefficient Nγ in the theory of bearing capacity of shallow foundations on sand, MSc dissertation, University of Belgrade

Areas of expertise

  • Ground investigation
  • Rock slope stability
  • Slope stabilisation
  • Retaining wall design
  • Groundwater flow
  • Earthworks
  • Embankments over soft soil
  • Ground improvement
  • Reclamations
  • Foundation design
  • Tunnel construction
  • Seismic design
  • Numerical analysis
  • Unsaturated and partially saturated soils
  • Forensic investigation and expert witness
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