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Open research questions in Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics

130 gap statements mined from Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 1,792 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • The paper highlights the need for further research on the design of offshore wind turbine foundations in India. The paper identifies a gap in the use of centrifuge modeling for geotechnical engineering applications.

    Offshore Wind Energy in India: Foundation Design and Challenges · 2026 · DOI

  • While the data of these variables shows robust trends, further studies should investigate a possible resolution dependence of these measures, i. e., a dependence on voxel size. As suction is not measured in the current design of the presented experiment, further research should investigate local suction changes, e. g., by studying local changes in mean curvature (Milatz et al. 2022) in highly-resolved CT images.

    Grain and Pore Scale Insights into Direct Shearing of Partially Saturated Sand · 2026 · DOI

  • The size-dependent cone tip resistance is a widely reported phenomenon, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood, - There is a need for a theoretical approach to capturing the size-dependent cone tip resistance.

    Experimental and Theoretical Study on Size-Dependent Cone Tip Resistance in Sand · 2026 · DOI

  • To address these limitations, future research should consider three-dimensional simulations that explicitly model the helical geometry, advanced soil constitutive models capable of capturing strain-softening and collapsibility, layered soil profiles, and dynamic or seismic loading conditions. In addition, numerical approaches capable of representing large soil deformation and installation effects should be explored.

    Bearing mechanism and design optimization of screw piles in loess area · 2026 · DOI

  • The limited quantity of experimental data obtained from laboratory triaxial tests poses a significant constraint. The study uses a finite element model to simulate loess triaxial shear tests under various conditions to overcome this limitation.

    Prediction of loess shear strength using triaxial test and artificial neural network · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a reliable method for predicting cyclic resistance of sands with non-plastic fines. The need for a density measure that effectively normalizes fines effects in silty sands.

    A machine learning framework for evaluating cyclic resistance of sands with non-plastic fines · 2026 · DOI

  • The transferability of these calibrated relationships to other soil types, especially silty sands, sands with significant fines content, or gravelly soils, remains to be systematically investigated.

    Identification Method of Soil Liquefaction Based on Thixotropic-Induced Excess Pore Pressure Fluid Model · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies can investigate the effects of other loading parameters and pile parameters on the dynamic response of piles near slopes. The dynamic p-y curve model can be extended to consider other types of soils and loading conditions.

    Dynamic p-y Model for Laterally Loaded Piles near Clay Slope · 2026 · DOI

  • Existing models for predicting the resilient modulus of subgrade soils have limitations. The models cannot predict modulus values within the no-dynamic stress zone. There is a need for a comprehensive methodology for determining the resilient modulus of subgrade soil under a wide range of stress states.

    Characteristics of subgrade soil resilient modulus considering wide-range stress state · 2026 · DOI

  • Although the present study provides valuable insights into the behaviour of piled raft foundations on clayey soils and demonstrates the applicability of machine learning models for predicting foundation performance, certain limitations must be acknowledged.

    Experimental and predictive analysis of pile raft foundation in clayey soils using machine learning and MATLAB tools · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for a comprehensive assessment of soil liquefaction hazard in Osmaniye, Türkiye. The lack of detailed studies on the spatial and depth-dependent liquefaction potential in the region.

    Assessment of soil liquefaction hazard using the liquefaction potential and severity index in Osmaniye, Türkiye · 2026 · DOI

  • The inability of the soil to resist tensile stress and the importance of downward skin friction and self-weight of the piles are not well understood. Prior numerical models have limitations in capturing the behavior of tension piles. There is a need for a numerical model that can accurately analyze the response of vertical piles subjected to tensile loads.

    Analysis of Tension Piles Supporting Large Structures Using Parabolic Soil Model and Elastic–Perfectly Plastic Pile Material · 2026 · DOI

  • The number of measurements does not allow excluding an error of 10%. The study used a limited number of experiments. The program used for determining changes in soil color had limitations.

    Study of the contours of moving soil masses during stamp introduction · 2026 · DOI

  • Capturing large-deformation kinematics, solid-fluid coupling, and evolving contact conditions in a single computational framework remains a central challenge. High-fidelity analysis of quasi-static pile jacking still faces efficiency and stability trade-offs.

    An implicit two-phase material point method for simulating pile penetration in soft soils · 2026 · DOI

  • The study does not mention any specific limitations. However, it can be inferred that the study is limited to simulated experiments and may not reflect real-world scenarios.

    Experimental study on piling and penetration behavior of jack-up offshore platforms on layered seabed foundations · 2026 · DOI

  • The study does not consider all possible soil types and conditions. The numerical simulations are limited to a specific domain size and discretisation.

    Stochastic numerical approach to the bearing capacity of adjacent footings on spatially variable soils · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap is due to the limitations of traditional deterministic methods in capturing the complex interactions arising from spatial variability.

    Stochastic numerical approach to the bearing capacity of adjacent footings on spatially variable soils · 2026 · DOI

  • Pronounced subjectivity and limited repeatability of the standard thread-rolling test. Complexity of determining the plastic limit. Need for a standardised, mechanical, more reliable and reproducible method.

    Determining the plastic limit of soil using the fall cone test and undrained shear strength · 2026 · DOI

  • The study is limited to quaternary sediments, comprising both alluvial and aeolian deposits.

    Determining the plastic limit of soil using the fall cone test and undrained shear strength · 2026 · DOI

  • The solution of the local nonlinear system to compute the plastic multiplier may not be attained in the case of a large load step. The complexity of the tangent operator of the sub-stepping scheme is high.

    Implicit sub-stepping scheme for critical state soil models · 2026 · DOI

  • The sub-stepping convergence behavior shown in Table 6 indicates variable activation of sub-stepping across different lift percentages (0-32 sub-steps for some conditions, 0 for others). The criteria governing when sub-stepping is triggered and optimal sub-step sizing strategies for minimizing computational cost while maintaining accuracy are not explicitly characterized.

    Implicit sub-stepping scheme for critical state soil models · 2026 · DOI

  • Further investigation of the size-dependent cone tip resistance in different soil types, - Development of more advanced theoretical models to capture the size-dependent cone tip resistance.

    Experimental and Theoretical Study on Size-Dependent Cone Tip Resistance in Sand · 2026 · DOI

  • Further investigation of the influence of other material parameters on shear strength. Development of more advanced models to predict loess shear strength. Application of the proposed method to other types of soils.

    Prediction of loess shear strength using triaxial test and artificial neural network · 2026 · DOI

  • Further development of the method for more complex soil models and constitutive laws. Application of the method to other geotechnical problems, such as tunneling and excavation. Investigation of the method's performance under different loading conditions and soil properties.

    An implicit two-phase material point method for simulating pile penetration in soft soils · 2026 · DOI

  • The complex and variable geological conditions on the seabed - The risk of punch-through failure - The need for accurate simulation of the piling and penetration behavior of jack-up offshore…

    Experimental study on piling and penetration behavior of jack-up offshore platforms on layered seabed foundations · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) While the data of these variables shows robust trends, further studies should investigate a possible resolution dependence of these measures, i. e., a dependence on voxel size (“Grain and Pore Scale Insights into Direct Shearing of Partially Saturated Sand”, 2026); (2) The size-dependent cone tip resistance is a widely reported phenomenon, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood, - There is a need for a theoretical approach to capturing the size-dependent cone tip resistance (“Experimental and Theoretical Study on Size-Dependent Cone Tip Resistance in Sand”, 2026); (3) The lack of a reliable method for predicting cyclic resistance of sands with non-plastic fines (“A machine learning framework for evaluating cyclic resistance of sands with…”, 2026); (4) The transferability of these calibrated relationships to other soil types, especially silty sands, sands with significant fines content, or gravelly soils, remains to be systematically investigated (“Identification Method of Soil Liquefaction Based on Thixotropic-Induced Excess…”, 2026); (5) There is a need for a comprehensive methodology for determining the resilient modulus of subgrade soil under a wide range of stress states (“Characteristics of subgrade soil resilient modulus considering wide-range…”, 2026). 130 gap statements have been mined from Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 1,792 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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