Themed sessions

The conference aims to provide a dynamic forum for academics, engineers, researchers, technicians and students, where the latest developments in modelling techniques, technologies, similitude laws, and all other aspects of physical modelling in geotechnics will be discussed.

ICPMG 2026 will offer an up-to-date overview of the latest developments in multi-scale physical modelling within the following general themes:

New facilities, new equipment, and measuring techniques
Scaling laws and fundamentals
Resilient Geotechnical Infrastructure
Sustainability in Geotechnical Systems
Energy geo-structures and foundation systems
Onshore and offshore foundation systems

Special sessions

1. Physical modelling – from Practice/Industry to Academia

Discussion on how physical modelling could help for solving questions in the “everyday life” of geotechnical engineering and in the execution of geotechnical structures with contractors. Experts in the field of geotechnical engineering from both, industry/contractors and academic institutions share ideas of how physical modelling can contribute to emerging challenges.

Organisers
André Arnold; Matthias J. Rebhan; Miguel Cabrera

2. Seismic behaviour of offshore foundations from dynamic centrifuge testing

This special session collects the latest findings from dynamic centrifuge testing of offshore foundations. The session will highlight advances in modelling soil-structure interaction during earthquakes, providing insights into foundation performance. Discussion of the experimental data will provide useful information about the design of resilient offshore wind turbines in seismic areas.

Organisers
Domenico Gaudio; Gopal Santana Phani Madabhushi; Miguel Angel Cabrera

3. Physical Modelling of Installation of Fixed OWT Foundations

This session explores recent advances in physical modelling techniques for installation in of foundations supporting fixed offshore wind turbines. It aims to highlight experimental methods—including centrifuge and 1g testing—support the validation of numerical models, and foster collaboration between academia and industry to advance offshore wind infrastructure.

Organisers
Shengjie Rui; Phil Watson; Miguel Cabrera; Ross McAdam

4. Innovative Methods for Offshore Foundation Installation

This session focuses on innovative offshore foundation installation methods addressing noise emissions, drivability challenges, and challenging soil conditions. We invite contributions on experimental research and field applications, including but not limited to vibratory, suction, and jetting techniques, that promote environmentally responsible and efficient solutions for the future of offshore engineering.

Organisers
Evangelos Kementzetzidis; Britta Bienen; Huan Wang

5. Combination of numerical and physical modelling

This session will explore how physical and numerical approaches can be effectively combined to bridge the gap between observed behavior and predictive modeling. This session aims to highlight the potential of the combined approach to address the challenges in geotechnical engineering, including foundations, slopes, tunnels, ground improvement, retaining structures, etc.

Organisers
Zheng Li; Anna Chiaradonna; Zefeng Zhou; Huan Wang; Kyohei Ueda; Xiaohui Cheng; Yinghui Tian; Rui Wang; Yi Hong

6. Physical modelling for life-cycle foundation management

This session highlights the role of physical modelling in supporting the life-cycle management of onshore and offshore foundations. Centrifuge and small-scale 1g testing offer accelerated insight into time-dependent soil–structure interaction, enabling optimised design, risk-informed decisions, and strategies for recertification, life extension, and decommissioning across diverse geotechnical infrastructure systems.

Organisers
Zefeng Zhou; Ci Wang; Conleth O’Loughlin; Jason T. DeJong; Michael C R Davies

7. Geotechnical seismic isolation based on sustainable geomaterials

This Special Session will offer an updated overview of eco-friendly geotechnical seismic isolation solutions for mitigating seismic and human-induced vibration risks, minimizing environmental impact in line with circular economy principles, and supporting long-term infrastructure resilience and environmental sustainability. The session will focus on physical modelling and supplemented by numerical simulation.

Organisers
Abate Glenda; Chiaro Gabriele; Flora Alessandro; Pitilakis Dimitris; Tsang Hing-Ho

8. Nature-based solution for sustainable geotechnical systems

The session will be focused on special and emerging topics regarding the soil-root mechanical and hydromechanical interactions, with applications in different kinds of civil and geotechnical engineering (like tree stability assessment, slopes and landfills analysis, etc.), by considering experimental 1g and centrifuge modelling, as well as real scale testing/monitoring.

Organisers
Andrea Galli; Anthony Leung; Enrique Romero

9. Physical Modeling for Cryosphere Applications

Regions of the earth that are below freezing for at least part of the year are naturally exposed to seasonal fluctuations that may induce substantial change to properties and behavior of natural materials. Hypergravity testing provides unique capabilities to describe the system-level response of temperature-dependent processes, tying together model predictions to field-scale observation.

Organisers
Michael Gardner; Ryley Beddoe; Jason DeJong

10. Liquefaction Experiments and Analysis Projects –Lesson Learned from LEAP-Asia-2025

The Liquefaction Experiments and Analysis Projects (LEAP) are international collaborative efforts to explore the seismic performance of geotechnical systems founded on liquefiable soils. This special session will share key findings from LEAP-Asia-2025 that leverages element tests, centrifuge experiments, and numerical simulations to investigate the seismic performance of embankments on liquefiable ground.

Organisers
Yan-Guo Zhou; Kyohei Ueda; Rui Wang; Majid T. Manzari; Mourad Zeghal; Gopal Madabhushi

11. Underground Structures in Liquefiable Ground

This special session aims to put together researchers working on the topic from and experimental, theoretical or computational point of view. Experts and researchers from all over the world are invited to present their results in this pioneering field. Element volume tests, centrifuge tests, and 1-g shaking-table tests should be presented and discussed, considering the effect of soil density, soil system response, loading path, and saturation conditions. The presentation of back analyses of the experimental results is also encouraged, especially with reference to different types of underground structures.

Organisers
Yuan Yong; Roberto Cudmani; Alessandro Flora

Technicians’ workshop

The technicians’ workshop will take place in parallel to the conference themed / special sessions, expecting contributions to the session on new facilities, new equipment, and measuring techniques. Moreover, there will be tours and forums for exchanging experiences with measuring techniques and preparation methods. These forums are open to contributions from the participants, welcoming proposals on discussion topics.