Dr. Jean Benoit

Dr. Jean Benoit

Professor of Civil Engineering

Phone: (603) 862-1419
Email: jean.benoit@unh.edu

University of New Hampshire
Kingsbury Hall Room W177
33 Academic Way
Durham, NH 03824

 

 

Research Overview

Professor Benoît has been involved in drilling, sampling and field testing starting in the early 70’s on hydroelectric projects in Canada. His research and consulting work has been conducted throughout the US as well as in Canada and overseas including France, Italy, Egypt, Iran and Algeria.

Some significant projects include the Central Artery in Boston, Massachusetts, the Olmsted Locks and Dam in Illinois, the Loire River in France and the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

Other activities include in situ geotechnical testing, measurements while drilling, development and deployment of smart rocks for landslide studies, archiving and web dissemination of geotechnical data and harvesting wind energy from bridges.  Professor Benoît has published over 75 technical papers related to geotechnical engineering.

Selected Research Projects

Use of measurements while drilling for soil and rock stratigraphic profiling and, physical and mechanical properties.

Smart rocks for debris flow landslide evaluation.

Testing and interpretation of field measurements using a new hydraulic tool, the Perméafor.

Soil characterization using the seismic piezocone, the instrumented flat plate dilatometer, the self-boring pressuremeter and the shear vane.

Selected Publications

Sadkowski, S.S., Stetson K.P., Benoit, J. and Roche, J.T., Characterizing Subsurface Conditions Using Drilling Parameters for a Deep Foundation Project in Boston, MA, USA, GeoFlorida, 2010.


Bothner, W., Benoît, J., Birch, F., Mills, M., Sadkowski, S., Kinner, N., Davis, R. and Gonsoulin, M. “Fracture Characterization”, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Report No. EPA 600/R-10/010, January 2010.


Stepp, J.C., Ponti, D.J., Turner, L.T., Swift, J.N., Devlin, S., Zhu, Y., Benoît, J. and Bobbitt, J. “PEER Lifelines Geotechnical Virtual Data Center”, PEER Report 2009/108, Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, September 2009.


Roche, J., Rabasca, S. and Benoît, J. “In-Situ Testing of Soft Sensitive Marine Clay for a Landfill Expansion Study”, Proceedings of the Third Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-3, Taipei, Taiwan, April 1-4, 2008, pp. 517-522.


Benoît, J. and Morabito, P. “Field Test to Assess Formation Factor and Fabric Anisotropy of Cohesionless Soils”, Proceedings of the Third Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-3, Taipei, Taiwan, April 1-4, 2008, pp. 981-988.


Sadkowski, S.S., Stetson, K.P. and Benoît, J. “Investigating Rock Quality Using Drilling Parameters in Boston, MA, USA”, Proceedings of the Third Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-3, Taipei, Taiwan, April 1-4, 2008, pp. 1359-1364.


Miller, H.J., Hajduk, E.L., Stetson, K.P., Benoît, J. and Connors, P.J. “In-Situ Testing for Site Characterization & QA/QC for Deep Dynamic Compaction”, Civil Engineering Practice, Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE, Fall/Winter 2007, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 19-36.


Swift, J., J.C. Stepp, Turner, L., Ponti, D., Benoît, J., Bobbitt, J., Real. C., Squibb, M., Archuleta, R., and Steidl, J., 2006. “Overview of the COSMOS/PEER-LL Geotechnical Virtual Data Center (GVDC) - Status of Project 2L03 and Establishing Connectivity Between the COSMOS GVDC and the COSMOS VDC”. Proceedings, Site Selection, Installation and Operation of Geotechnical Strong-Motion Arrays: Workshop 2, Guidelines for Installation, Operation, and Data Archiving and Dissemination, May 17-19, 2006, San Diego Supercomputer Center, San Diego, CA.


Miller, H.J., Stetson, K.P., Benoît, J., Hajduk, E.L. and Connors, P.J., “Comparison of DMT and CPT Testing on a Deep Dynamic Compaction Project”, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer, Washington, D.C., April 2-5, 2006.


Cransac, D., Benoît, J., Sève, G. and Blivet, J.-C., “Lateral Stress Evaluation of an Unstable Slope in Sallèdes, France”, Proceedings of the International Symposium 50 Years of Pressuremeters, Gambin, Magnan and Mestat, Editors, Presses de l’ENPC/LCPC, 22-24 August, 2005, Paris, France, Vol. 1, pp. 217-226.


Blair, J.R., Stetson, K.P. and Benoît, J., “Self-Boring Pressuremeter and Instrumented Dilatometer Testing of the Connecticut Valley Varved Clay”, Proceedings of the International Symposium 50 Years of Pressuremeters, Gambin, Magnan and Mestat, Editors, Presses de l’ENPC/LCPC, 22-24 August, 2005, Paris, France, Vol. 1, pp. 591-599.


Melton, J.S., Mulukutla, G.K., Benoît, J. and de Alba, P.A., “ Dynamic Cone Penetrometer for Geotechnical Characterization of Dredged Contaminated Sediment”, Abstract for the International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 2005.


Swift, J., Turner, L., Benoît, J., Bobbitt, J., Roblee, C., Futrelle, J., Peters, A. and Stepp, C., “The Pilot Cosmos/Peer-LL Geotechnical Virtual Data Center”, Abstract for the ASCE LA Section Geotechnical Group Meeting, January 2005.


Farrell, R., de Alba, P. and Benoît, J., “Piezometer Design and Installation for Earthquake Pore Water Pressure Measurement”, Geotechnical News, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 2004, pp. 35-40.


Benoît, J., Sadkowski, S.S. and Bothner, W.A., “Rock Characterization Using Drilling Parameters”, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-2, Porto, Portugal, 19-22 September, 2004, Vol.1, pp. 665-670.


Miller, H.J., Stetson, K.P. and Benoît, J., “Site Characterization and QA/QC of Deep Dynamic Compaction Using an Instrumented Dilatometer”, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-2, Porto, Portugal, 19-22 September, 2004, Vol.1, pp. 727-732.


Sadkowski, S.S., Bothner, W.A., Benoît, J., Birch, S.B. and Escamilla-Casas, J., “Fracture Characterization at a Bedrock Bioremediation Site in New Hampshire”, Abstract for the NGWA/U.S. EPA Fractured Rock Conference: State of the Science and Measuring Success in Remediation, September 13-15, 2004, Portland, Maine.


Benoît, J., Bobbitt, J.I., Ponti, D.J. and Shimel, S.A., “Data Dictionary and Formatting Standard for Dissemination of Geotechnical Data”, Geotechnical Engineering for Transportation Projects, Yegian, M.K. and Kavazanjian, E., Editors, ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication No. 126, GeoTrans 04 Conference, Los Angeles, CA, July 27-31, 2004, Vol. 1, pp. 829-836.


Farrell, R., de Alba, P. and Benoît, J., “A Piezometer System for Measuring Earthquake-Induced Pore Water Pressures in the Ground”, 11th Intl. Conference on Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Berkeley, CA, 2004.


Miller, H.J., Stetson, K.P. and Benoît, J., “DMT Testing for Site Characterization and QA/QC on a Deep Dynamic Compaction Project”, Geotechnical Engineering for Transportation Projects, Yegian, M.K. and Kavazanjian, E., Editors, ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication No. 126, GeoTrans 04 Conference, Los Angeles, CA, July 27-31, 2004, Vol. 2, pp. 1805-1812.


Benoît, J., Bobbitt, J.I., Ponti, D.J., Shimel, S.A., Jang, D., Marr, W.A., McGuire, T., Caronna, S. and Squibb, M., “Data Dictionary and Formatting Standard for Dissemination of Geotechnical Data”, National Geotechnical Workshop on Archiving and Web Dissemination of Geotechnical Data, Sponsored by COSMOS, FHWA and PEER Lifelines Program, June 21-23, 2004, Newport Beach, CA.


Stetson, K.P., Benoît, J. and Carter, M.J., “Design of an Instrumented Flat Dilatometer”, ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal, Vol. 26, No. 3, September 2003, pp. 302-309.


Benoît, J. and Stetson, K.P., “Use of an Instrumented Flat Dilatometer in Soft Varved Clay”, ASCE Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Journal, Vol. 129, No. 12, December 2003, pp. 1159-1167.

Selected Grants

Smart Rocks for Debris-Flow Landslide Research
Principal Investigators: Barry Fussell and Jean Benoît

Funded by: National Science Foundation

 

Harvesting Wind Energy from Bridges

Principal Investigators: Jean Benoît, Erin Bell and Tat Fu

Funded by: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency4

Classes Taught

  • Soil Mechanics
  • Foundation Design I and II
  • Geoenvironmental Engineering
  • In Situ Geotechnical Testing
  • Geological Engineering
  • Advanced Soil Mechanics

    Current Geotechnical Graduate Students

    • Amy Getchell
    • Marc Gullison
    • Noah Chinburg
    • Michael Sudak
    • Evan Lonstein
    • Paul Regis
    • Mark Grenier
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      Sadkowski, S.S., Stetson K.P., Benoit, J. and Roche, J.T., Characterizing Subsurface Conditions Using Drilling Parameters for a Deep Foundation Project in Boston, MA, USA, GeoFlorida, 2010.

      Bothner, W., Benoît, J., Birch, F., Mills, M., Sadkowski, S., Kinner, N., Davis, R. and Gonsoulin, M. “Fracture Characterization”, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Report No. EPA 600/R-10/010, January 2010.

      Stepp, J.C., Ponti, D.J., Turner, L.T., Swift, J.N., Devlin, S., Zhu, Y., Benoît, J. and Bobbitt, J. “PEER Lifelines Geotechnical Virtual Data Center”, PEER Report 2009/108, Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, September 2009.

      Roche, J., Rabasca, S. and Benoît, J. “In-Situ Testing of Soft Sensitive Marine Clay for a Landfill Expansion Study”, Proceedings of the Third Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-3, Taipei, Taiwan, April 1-4, 2008, pp. 517-522.

      Benoît, J. and Morabito, P. “Field Test to Assess Formation Factor and Fabric Anisotropy of Cohesionless Soils”, Proceedings of the Third Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-3, Taipei, Taiwan, April 1-4, 2008, pp. 981-988.

      Sadkowski, S.S., Stetson, K.P. and Benoît, J. “Investigating Rock Quality Using Drilling Parameters in Boston, MA, USA”, Proceedings of the Third Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-3, Taipei, Taiwan, April 1-4, 2008, pp. 1359-1364.

      Miller, H.J., Hajduk, E.L., Stetson, K.P., Benoît, J. and Connors, P.J. “In-Situ Testing for Site Characterization & QA/QC for Deep Dynamic Compaction”, Civil Engineering Practice, Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE, Fall/Winter 2007, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 19-36.

      Swift, J., J.C. Stepp, Turner, L., Ponti, D., Benoît, J., Bobbitt, J., Real. C., Squibb, M., Archuleta, R., and Steidl, J., 2006. “Overview of the COSMOS/PEER-LL Geotechnical Virtual Data Center (GVDC) - Status of Project 2L03 and Establishing Connectivity Between the COSMOS GVDC and the COSMOS VDC”. Proceedings, Site Selection, Installation and Operation of Geotechnical Strong-Motion Arrays: Workshop 2, Guidelines for Installation, Operation, and Data Archiving and Dissemination, May 17-19, 2006, San Diego Supercomputer Center, San Diego, CA.

      Miller, H.J., Stetson, K.P., Benoît, J., Hajduk, E.L. and Connors, P.J., “Comparison of DMT and CPT Testing on a Deep Dynamic Compaction Project”, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Flat Dilatometer, Washington, D.C., April 2-5, 2006.

      Cransac, D., Benoît, J., Sève, G. and Blivet, J.-C., “Lateral Stress Evaluation of an Unstable Slope in Sallèdes, France”, Proceedings of the International Symposium 50 Years of Pressuremeters, Gambin, Magnan and Mestat, Editors, Presses de l’ENPC/LCPC, 22-24 August, 2005, Paris, France, Vol. 1, pp. 217-226.

      Blair, J.R., Stetson, K.P. and Benoît, J., “Self-Boring Pressuremeter and Instrumented Dilatometer Testing of the Connecticut Valley Varved Clay”, Proceedings of the International Symposium 50 Years of Pressuremeters, Gambin, Magnan and Mestat, Editors, Presses de l’ENPC/LCPC, 22-24 August, 2005, Paris, France, Vol. 1, pp. 591-599.

      Melton, J.S., Mulukutla, G.K., Benoît, J. and de Alba, P.A., “ Dynamic Cone Penetrometer for Geotechnical Characterization of Dredged Contaminated Sediment”, Abstract for the International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 2005.

      Swift, J., Turner, L., Benoît, J., Bobbitt, J., Roblee, C., Futrelle, J., Peters, A. and Stepp, C., “The Pilot Cosmos/Peer-LL Geotechnical Virtual Data Center”, Abstract for the ASCE LA Section Geotechnical Group Meeting, January 2005.

      Farrell, R., de Alba, P. and Benoît, J., “Piezometer Design and Installation for Earthquake Pore Water Pressure Measurement”, Geotechnical News, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 2004, pp. 35-40.

      Benoît, J., Sadkowski, S.S. and Bothner, W.A., “Rock Characterization Using Drilling Parameters”, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-2, Porto, Portugal, 19-22 September, 2004, Vol.1, pp. 665-670.

      Miller, H.J., Stetson, K.P. and Benoît, J., “Site Characterization and QA/QC of Deep Dynamic Compaction Using an Instrumented Dilatometer”, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Site Characterization ISC-2, Porto, Portugal, 19-22 September, 2004, Vol.1, pp. 727-732. 

      Sadkowski, S.S., Bothner, W.A., Benoît, J., Birch, S.B. and Escamilla-Casas, J., “Fracture Characterization at a Bedrock Bioremediation Site in New Hampshire”, Abstract for the NGWA/U.S. EPA Fractured Rock Conference: State of the Science and Measuring Success in Remediation, September 13-15, 2004, Portland, Maine.

      Benoît, J., Bobbitt, J.I., Ponti, D.J. and Shimel, S.A., “Data Dictionary and Formatting Standard for Dissemination of Geotechnical Data”, Geotechnical Engineering for Transportation Projects, Yegian, M.K. and Kavazanjian, E., Editors, ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication No. 126, GeoTrans 04 Conference, Los Angeles, CA, July 27-31, 2004, Vol. 1, pp. 829-836. 

      Farrell, R., de Alba, P. and Benoît, J., “A Piezometer System for Measuring Earthquake-Induced Pore Water Pressures in the Ground”, 11th Intl. Conference on Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Berkeley, CA, 2004.

      Miller, H.J., Stetson, K.P. and Benoît, J., “DMT Testing for Site Characterization and QA/QC on a Deep Dynamic Compaction Project”, Geotechnical Engineering for Transportation Projects, Yegian, M.K. and Kavazanjian, E., Editors, ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication No. 126, GeoTrans 04 Conference, Los Angeles, CA, July 27-31, 2004, Vol. 2, pp. 1805-1812. 

      Benoît, J., Bobbitt, J.I., Ponti, D.J., Shimel, S.A., Jang, D., Marr, W.A., McGuire, T., Caronna, S. and Squibb, M., “Data Dictionary and Formatting Standard for Dissemination of Geotechnical Data”, National Geotechnical Workshop on Archiving and Web Dissemination of Geotechnical Data, Sponsored by COSMOS, FHWA and PEER Lifelines Program, June 21-23, 2004, Newport Beach, CA.

      Stetson, K.P., Benoît, J. and Carter, M.J., “Design of an Instrumented Flat Dilatometer”, ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal, Vol. 26, No. 3, September 2003, pp. 302-309.

      Benoît, J. and Stetson, K.P., “Use of an Instrumented Flat Dilatometer in Soft Varved Clay”, ASCE Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Journal, Vol. 129, No. 12, December 2003, pp. 1159-1167.