Mason Ghafghazi

Assistant Professor

Background

My research focuses on addressing the practical issues that industry faces when dealing with soils, or soil-like materials that do not have the typical characteristics of clean quartz sands, or plastic clays. I use advanced laboratory element testing, large scale testing, and constitutive and numerical modelling to address these problems.

My research group works on quantifying the response of non-classic geomaterials such as widely graded gravelly soils, tailings and silts. The work starts by characterizing the fundamental behaviour of different materials through element testing in our lab and continues by developing constitutive models, analyzing the problems and validating them through large scale tests. The results are being utilized to analyze field characterization tools such as the Cone Penetrometer, to demonstrate how the interpretation of these tests would be affected by different soil properties. Once the in-situ soil conditions are known, full scale problems, including documented case histories of performance under extreme events are analyzed to investigate the influence of material-specific behaviour on system performance.

Professional Background

Project Scientist, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Davis, 2014-2015
Lecturer and Post-Doctoral Scholar, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Davis, 2012-2014
Geotechnical Engineer, BC Hydro, Vancouver, Canada, 2008-2012

Experience

Mason has eight years of experience working as a geotechnical engineer before joining the faculty at the University of Toronto. He has worked on a range of projects involving embankment dams, lifelines, bridges and mines for BC Hydro, California Department of Water Resources, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, California Department of Transportation and Golder Associates. His areas of expertise are monotonic and cyclic response of soils, liquefaction assessment, sampling and laboratory testing of soils, field investigation and site characterization, instrumentation, dynamic testing of piles, and numerical modelling.

Education and Designations

PhD, University of British Columbia (2011)
MSc, Sharif University of Technology (2004)
BSc, Isfahan University of Technology (2002)

My Research Group

I am always looking for outstanding and motivated graduate students. Feel free to contact me with your resumes throughout the year.

Research Interests

Numerical and physical modelling of geotechnical processes

Constitutive modelling of soils

Behaviour of gravelly soils

Assessment of liquefaction potential and post-cyclic response of tailings

Geotechnical field investigation

Publications


1. Ghafghazi M., DeJong J.T., Sturm A.P. and Temple C.E. 2017. Instrumented Becker Penetration Test, II: iBPT-SPT correlation for characterization and liquefaction assessment in gravelly soils. J. of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 143(9).
2. DeJong J.T., Ghafghazi M., Sturm A.P., Wilson D.W, denDulk J., Perez A., and Davis C. 2017. Instrumented Becker Penetration Test, I: Equipment, operation, and performance. J. of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 143(9).
3. Ghafghazi M., DeJong J.T., and Wilson D.W. 2017. Evaluation of Becker Penetration Test interpretation methods for liquefaction assessment in gravelly soils. Canadian Geotechnical Journal.
4. Kuei K., Ghafghazi M., and DeJong J.T. 2017. Pile driving mechanics at the base as informed by direct measurements. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 143(9).
5. DeJong J.T., Sturm A.P. and Ghafghazi M. 2016. Characterization of gravelly alluvium. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 91: 104-115.
6. Ghafghazi M., Shuttle D.A., and DeJong J.T. 2014. Particle breakage and the critical state of sand. Soils and Foundations, 54(3): 451-461.
7. Ghafghazi M., and Shuttle D.A. 2009. Confidence and accuracy in determination of the critical state friction angle. Soils and Foundations, 49(3): 391-395.
8. Ghafghazi M., and Shuttle D.A. 2008. Interpretation of sand state from cone penetration resistance. Géotechnique, 58(8): 623-634.
9. Ghafghazi M., and Shuttle D.A. 2008. Evaluation of soil state from SBP and CPT: A case history. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 45(6): 824-844.
10. Ghafghazi M., Shuttle D.A., and DeJong J.T. 2014. Closure to Particle breakage and the critical state of sand. Soils and Foundations, 55(1): 223-225.

Teaching

Course Code	Title & Description	Session	Day(s)	Start Time	End	Section
CIV324H	Geotechnical Engineering II Geotechnical Engineering II Building on CME321, more complex aspects of geotechnical analysis and design are considered. Topics include: mineralogy; soil identification and classification; laboratory- and field-based soil index tests; correlations of index test results to engineering properties; vertical stress distribution; soil-foundation interaction; volume change and consolidation of clay and settlement. Shear strength of soil and slope stability analysis are also discussed. Laboratories are held for soil identification and classification, and confined triaxial compression tests of clay and sand. View full course description in the Engineering Undergrad Academic Calendar.	Winter	Scheduled by the Office of the Faculty Registrar.
CIV1498H	Specials Studies in Civil Engineering: Constitutive Modelling in Geomaterials	Fall 2022	Thursday	14:00	17:00	LEC0101
CIV1499H	Special Studies in Civil Engineering: Geotechnical Seminars Special Studies in Civil Engineering: Geotechnical Seminars Special studies courses are offered when a professor is available to instruct on a new or unusual topic. Each topic offered constitutes one normal half-course. Special studies course codes may be taken more than once provided that the topic is different each time.	NOT OFFERED 2021-2022				LEC0301
CIV1499H	Special Studies in Civil Engineering: Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Special Studies in Civil Engineering: Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Special studies courses are offered when a professor is available to instruct on a new or unusual topic. Each topic offered constitutes one normal half-course. Special studies course codes may be taken more than once provided that the topic is different each time. Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Students will learn about the physical processes that cause earthquakes and how they are used to quantify the effects of earthquakes on built environment. Basic dynamics concepts will be introduced and used to understand how site effects influence the load transferred to structures. Liquefaction will be introduced as a primary source of earthquake-induced damaged to all types of structures and various methods of assessing its potential and consequences will be studied. This course is a necessity for anyone working in geotechnical engineering concerning seismically active parts of the world, and useful to those in earthquake structural engineering area.	Fall 2022	Wednesday	12:00	15:00	LEC0101

Contact

Mason Ghafghazi
Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering
University of Toronto
35 St. George St.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada, M5S 1A4

Office: GB319L

416 978-5972

mason.ghafghazi@utoronto.ca