Geotechnical engineering for difficult ground

Expansive soils, ground improvement and forensic investigation, led by a Texas-licensed professional engineer with more than twenty years in research and practice.

US-licensed, globally available.

Email about a project See what we do
Illustrative soil profile A schematic boring log showing fill over expansive fat clay, silty sand, and weathered shale, with arrows marking swell in the clay layer. 0 ft5101520 FillMixed clay and gravel Fat clay (CH)High plasticity; swellsand shrinks with moisture Silty sand (SM)Medium dense Weathered shaleSulfate testing advised
Schematic only. The kind of profile behind most heaving slabs and cracked pavements we are asked to look at.

Services

Five areas where we can add the most. For a routine site investigation, a firm local to your project is usually the better choice, and we will say so.

  • Expansive and problematic soils

    Characterization, swell and shrinkage prediction, and stabilizer selection for high-plasticity clays, sulfate-bearing soils and collapsible soils. Mix design and durability review for lime, cement and alternative binders.

  • Forensic investigation

    Root-cause assessment of foundation, slab and pavement distress, heave, settlement and slope movement, with remedial options. Independent technical review for owners, insurers and counsel.

  • Ground improvement and pavement subgrades

    Selection and design of improvement methods for weak and reactive subgrades, including chemical, mechanical and bio-mediated (MICP) treatments, with constructability and QA/QC kept in view.

  • Independent peer review

    A second review of geotechnical reports, design calculations and specifications for engineering firms and agencies. The time-zone difference means comments are often back by your next morning.

  • Life-cycle and carbon assessment

    Comparative carbon, energy and cost assessment of ground treatment alternatives for agencies and project teams with sustainability targets, prepared by an Envision Sustainability Professional.

How engagements work

Most work is done remotely. You share boring logs, test data, drawings and reports; we review, analyze and report in writing, with calls scheduled to suit US working hours. Where a site visit or local testing is needed, we work alongside a firm in the project area.

Engineering documents for Texas projects are sealed under Texas P.E. No. 111331. For projects in other states, we work as a reviewer or advisor to the engineer of record, or obtain licensure where the scope requires it.

Principal

Every engagement is led and reviewed by the same engineer.

Bhaskar Chittoori

Bhaskar C. S. Chittoori

Ph.D., P.E., ENV SP, F.ASCE

Bhaskar Chittoori's career has moved between practice and research. He began in geotechnical design at Parsons Brinckerhoff in Dallas, working on dam, levee and retaining-wall projects, then spent more than a decade leading funded work on expansive soils and ground improvement for state transportation departments, federal agencies and industry.

He is Professor of Civil Engineering at Boise State University, currently on leave, where he chaired the department from 2022 to 2026.

Licensure
Professional Engineer, Texas No. 111331. Envision Sustainability Professional.
Education
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, 2008.
Research
About $4.5 million in funded projects as principal or co-investigator; 119 publications.
Editorial
Associate Editor, ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. Handling Editor, Transportation Research Record.
Profession
Fellow, ASCE. Former chair, Geo-Institute Committee on Sustainability in Geotechnical Engineering.

Relevant experience

These projects were carried out by the principal as a university investigator or with a previous employer, not under GES. They are listed to show the problems he has worked on.

  • Idaho Transportation DepartmentUS-95, Elephant Butte

    Laboratory characterization of a swelling clay causing recurrent pavement damage, followed by numerical modeling of alternative pavement sections.Principal investigator, 2015–2016

  • Montana Department of TransportationStatewide guidance

    Guidelines for stabilizing problematic soils with calcium-based stabilizers, including stabilizer selection and mix design.Principal investigator, 2017–2019

  • NCHRP IDEA programTransportation Research Board

    Laboratory and field trials of microbially induced calcite precipitation as a shallow treatment for expansive pavement subgrades.Principal investigator, 2016–2019

  • Idaho highway networkForensic study

    Investigation of recurrent pavement heave over expansive soil deposits, with subsurface characterization and selection of rehabilitation alternatives. Published in Transportation Research Record, 2018.Lead author

  • Tarrant Regional Water DistrictIntegrated Pipeline Project, Texas

    QA/QC protocols for controlled low-strength material made from native high-plasticity clay, allowing excavated trench soil to be reused as pipe backfill.Lead researcher, 2013–2015

  • Fugro ConsultantsPipeline alignment

    Geostatistical mapping of soluble sulfate concentrations to flag zones at risk of sulfate-induced heave.Co-principal investigator, 2012

  • Parsons Brinckerhoff, DallasDams, levees and walls

    Seepage, settlement and stability analysis for Eagle Mountain Dam, Burgess Gap Levee and the Trinity Parkway levee; external and global stability of MSE walls on the DART Blue Line extension.Engineer II, 2009–2010

Contact

Tell us about the site, the problem and your timeline. We reply within two business days.

info@gesconsultants.com

Based in
Hyderabad, India, working with clients in the United States and elsewhere.
Licensure
Texas P.E. No. 111331.