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EDITORIAL
Dear readers,
This is Volume 2, second issue, of our scientific journal Acta Geotechnica Slovenica. The Editorial Board is pleased that the journal has been approved by numerous readers who find its contents topical and wide-ranging. Eleven scientific articles have been published up to now, including those in the present issue. We would like to thank the authors for excellent presentations of their achievements in scientific and professional fields. We also sincerely appreciate the work done by the proof-readers who have greatly contributed to the quality of the journal and its timely publication.
Four articles are published in this issue.
Helena Vrecl Kojc presents the optimization of a pile wall, economical differences between cantilever and anchored pile walls, and the influence of individual wall parameters on the results. The optimization, which uses mathematical non-linear programming, gives an optimal solution to geometry and to the layout of individual structural elements by minimizing the objective function. The objective function is an economic function which considers total costs, i. e. material and construction costs.
Andrej Štrukelj and co-authors present the results of static and dynamic loading tests performed on a test pile located at a pier of a bridge across the Drava river near Maribor. The measurement results served to determine the axial force as well as its distribution across the pile skin and the pile toe.
Gregor Ficko and Bojan Žlender present the results of analyses of permanent deformations that occurred on gravel from the Mura region due to cyclic triaxial tests which simulated traffic loading. The analysis is aimed at predicting the development of permanent normalized axial deformations caused by load cycles and the appurtenant stress states in cyclic loadings.
Drago Ocepek concentrates on new approaches to the characterization of rock masses which can be successfully applied in the design of geotechnical structures.
Allow me to use this occasion to congratulate the organizers of the 6th Šuklje Days held in Rogaška Slatina on 21 October 2005. This traditional meeting has been organized by the Slovene Geotechnical Society from 2000 onwards in the memory of the academic Luj Šuklje. This year, interesting invited lectures were delivered by Prof. Dr. Stephan Semprich on the topic of »Ground Improvement Techniques of Tunnelling in Urban Areas«, Prof. Dr. Bojan Majes, who spoke about »Gradual Repair of Large Landslides in Slovenia«, and Borut Macuh, M. Sc., who presented a paper on »Limit Analysis Applying the Upper Bound Theorem«.
Next year, the XIIIth Danube Conference will take place in Ljubljana from 29 May to 1 June, and the Šuklje Memorial Lecture will be given on 29 May. It will focus on solutions proposed for active geotechnical designs in the development of infrastructures. The Slovenian Geotechnical Society is the main organizer and is pleased to invite you to participate as speakers to this event.
Ludvik Trauner Editor-in-chief
ACTA GGOTGCHNICA SLOVENICA, 2005/2 25.