Professor Paul Hughes

Professor in the Department of Engineering

What do you do?

I am a geotechnical engineer (a civil engineer with a particular interest in the engineering properties of the ground). My research and teaching has focussed on how parts of the ground that underpins our transportation networks (road and railway embankments and cuttings) can become unstable leading to landslides and what can be done to stabilise these before they form. I also work on developing low carbon construction materials.

How are you involved in this area of science? 

I have worked on a number of UK and European projects investigating the impacts of climate change on our transportation networks.

In particular these have looked at how more extreme periods of rain and drought occurring in cycles change the properties of engineered soils (the soil that is compacted to form the foundations for highways and railways) causing them to lose strength over time.

The work has involved setting up instrumented field sites to monitor ground conditions and ambient weather data then simulating storm events using sprinkler systems to measure ground response.

In addition to this I have developed soil amendments based on waste materials and biopolymers which can be mixed with vulnerable soils to make them stronger and more resistant to weathering. As a result of this work I have contributed to two climate change evidence reports for the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC).

What do you like about this topic?

Investigating the complex interplay of forces and environmental factors that can lead to slope failures on our transport networks is both challenging and rewarding. There's something very satisfying about understanding how the ground behaves and applying that knowledge to real-world problems.

How does this work deliver real-world impact?

The work we have done at Durham on the behaviour of engineered soils has informed the way that infrastructure asset owners (such as Network rail and National Highways ) monitor and manage transport networks. The knowledge we have acquired helps to reduce disruption to these networks. The work we continue to do on developing low carbon methods to stabilise the ground underpinning these networks will ultimately provide more sustainable solutions to these types of engineering problems.