UC.PT

Address:

Departamento de Engenharia Civil - FCTUC

Rua Luís Reis Santos - Pólo II da Universidade

3030 - 788 Coimbra

Phone: 239 797 224 (422 224)

E-mail: amgpedro@dec.uc.pt

Main Research Topics

- Predicted behaviour and numerical modelling of underground structures and deep excavations;

- Fitness of soil constitutive models based on laboratory tests using optimization tools;

- Geomechanical characterisation of rock masses;

- Numerical modelling of variability in soils and rocks;

- Stabilisation with binders and bio-stabilisation of soils;

- Surrogate models applied to geotechnical applications;

Biographic Note

António Pedro graduated in Civil Engineering (MEng, 5-year degree) at the University of Coimbra (DEC-UC) in 2003, specialising in Geotechnics, with a final grade of 16/20. He completed his Master’s degree in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering at the same institution in 2007, with the thesis “Mato Forte tunnel – backanalysis of its behaviour”, and his PhD at the Geotechnical Section of Imperial College London in 2013, with the thesis “Geotechnical investigation of Ivens shaft in Lisbon”.

He has been linked to the Geotechnical Section of DEC-UC since 2002, joining the staff in 2004 as Junior Teaching Assistant, later as Assistant Lecturer and, since returning from London in 2013, as Assistant Professor. He lectures Soil Mechanics, Foundations, Rock Mechanics and Earth Retaining Structures, among other subjects, across the Bachelor, Master’s and Doctoral programmes in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and has supervised more than 20 Master’s theses in the Geotechnics and Rehabilitation fields.

His research is mainly focused on the prediction of behaviour and numerical modelling of underground structures and deep excavations in soils and rock masses, and more recently on surrogate models and optimisation tools for the calibration of advanced soil constitutive models and on the numerical modelling of soil variability. He was Research Assistant on the PISA2 project at Imperial College London (2017), which developed design methodologies for monopile foundations of offshore wind farms, and participated in the MIT-Portugal programme, working on risk analysis for high-speed rail construction and on the characterisation of sands under dynamic loading. He has authored or co-authored more than 65 refereed papers, has contributed to the development of educational software for geotechnical engineering, reviews for journals such as Géotechnique, Computers & Geotechnics and Geotechnical Testing Journal, and is the Portuguese representative on committees TC103 – Numerical Methods and TC209 – Offshore of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

He has advised geotechnical companies on projects such as the rehabilitation of the Rossio tunnel in Lisbon and the Tornada tunnel in Caldas-da-Rainha, and the design of the Mato Forte tunnel, the Socorridos pumping station in Madeira, the Beaulieu metro station in Algiers, the Zaouit Ait Mellal tunnel in Morocco, the Las Palmas tunnel in Spain and the Ivens shaft in Lisbon. He has also prepared technical reports on the safety and stability of underground and retaining structures, including the surge chamber of the Venda Nova III hydroelectric power plant, and since 2025 has been a member of the review team for the excavation works of the Portuguese high-speed rail project (Oiã-Porto section).

He served as Vice-Director of the Department of Civil Engineering from 2013 to 2015 and as Deputy Director of the Science Museum and Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra from 2019 to 2023, responsible for the museum and garden installations, including the maintenance and rehabilitation of several UNESCO World Heritage buildings, and for the technical coordination of the exhibitions “Gabinete de Curiosidades – uma interpretação” and “Éfe-Érre-Á - Momentos da Vida Académica”.

Publications

Thesis

Pedro, A. M. G. (2007) Mato Forte Tunnel – Back Analysis of Its Behaviour. MSc Thesis. University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. (in Portuguese).

Pedro, A. M. G. (2013) Geotechnical Investigation of Ivens Shaft in Lisbon. PhD Thesis. Imperial College London, London, UK.

Principal papers in international journals

1. Oliveira, P. J. V., Correia, A. A. S., Teles, J. M. N. P. C. & Pedro, A. M. G. (2017) Effect of cyclic loading on the behaviour of a chemically stabilised soft soil reinforced with steel fibres. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 92 pp. 122-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2016.10.006.
2. Pedro, A. M. G., Zdravković, L., Potts, D. & Almeida e Sousa, J. (2017) Derivation of model parameters for numerical analysis of the Ivens shaft excavation. Engineering Geology, 217 pp. 49-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2016.12.005.
3. Correia, A. A. S., Venda Oliveira, P. J., Teles, J. M. N. P. C. & Pedro, A. M. G. (2017) Strength of a stabilised soil reinforced with steel fibres. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering, 170 (4), pp. 312-321. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeen.16.00200.
4. Carmona, J. P. S. F., Venda Oliveira, P. J., Lemos, L. J. L. & Pedro, A. M. G. (2018) Improvement of a sandy soil by enzymatic calcium carbonate precipitation. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering, 171 (1), pp. 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeen.16.00138.
5. Pedro, A. M. G., Zdravković, L., Potts, D. & Almeida e Sousa, J. (2018) Geotechnical characterization of the Miocene formations at the location of Ivens shaft, Lisbon. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 51 (1), pp. 96-107. https://doi.org/10.1144/qjegh2016-139.
6. Pedro, A., Zdravković, L., Potts, D. & Almeida e Sousa, J. (2019) Numerical modelling of the Ivens shaft construction in Lisbon, Portugal. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering, 172 (3), pp. 263-282. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeen.18.00080
7. Burd, H. J., Taborda, D. M. G., Zdravković, L., Abadie, C. N., Byrne, B. W., Houlsby, G. T., Gavin, K. G., Igoe, D. J. P., Jardine, R. J., Martin, C. M., McAdam, R. A., Pedro, A. M. G. & Potts, D. M. (2020) PISA design model for monopiles for offshore wind turbines: application to a marine sand. Géotechnique, 70 (11), pp. 1048-1066. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.18.P.277
8. Burd, H. J., Abadie, C. N., Byrne, B. W., Houlsby, G. T., Martin, C. M., McAdam, R. A., Jardine, R. J., Pedro, A. M. G., Potts, D. M., Taborda, D. M. G., Zdravković, L. & ∥, M. P. A. (2020) Application of the PISA design model to monopiles embedded in layered soils. Géotechnique, 70 (11), pp. 1067-1082. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.20.PISA.009
9. Cui, W., Potts, D. M., Pedro, A. M. G. & Zdravković, L. (2020) Numerical assessment of the effects of end-restraints and a pre-existing fissure on the interpretation of triaxial tests on stiff clays. Géotechnique, 0 (0), pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.19.P.318
10. Taborda, D. M. G., Pedro, A. M. G. & Pirrone, A. I. (2022) A state parameter-dependent constitutive model for sands based on the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. Computers and Geotechnics, 148 pp. 104811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2022.104811
11. Pedro, A. M. G., Grazina, J. C. & Almeida e Sousa, J. N. (2022) Lining forces in tunnel interaction problems. Soils and Rocks, 45. https://doi.org/10.28927/SR.2022.077221
12. Pedro, A.M.G.; Taborda, D.M.G. Dataset on the behaviour of the Areolas da Estefania formation in Lisbon and its modelling using a state-dependent soil model. Data in Brief 2024, 54, 110391, doi:10.1016/j.dib.2024.110391.
13. Pedro, A.M.G.; Repsold, L.; Almeida e Sousa, J. Assessing the Sustainability of Alternative Shaft Construction Methods. Applied Sciences 2024, 14, 4476, doi:10.3390/app14114476.
14. Pedro, A. M. G. (2024) A Methodology to Evaluate the Horizontal Earth Pressure Acting on Circular Shafts Based on Its Lateral Displacements. Geotechnics, 4 (3), pp. 952-965. https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics4030048.
15. Oliveira, J. P., Araújo Santos, L., Ribeiro, J., Coelho, P. & Pedro, A. M. G. (2024) Influence of Environmental Conditions on the Behaviour of Tailings from Tungsten Mining for Sustainable Geotechnical Applications and Storage. Sustainability, 16 (24), pp. 10987. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162410987.
16. Taborda, D. M. G., Pedro, A. M. G., Xia, H. & Hardy, S. (2025) A methodology for improved predictions of surface ground movements around shafts. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering, 0 (0), pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeen.24.00258.
17. Pedro, A. M. G., Grazina, J. C. D. & Almeida e Sousa, J. (2025) Assessment of Analytical Methods for Estimating Settlements Induced by Side-by-Side Twin Tunnels. Eng, 6 (2), pp. 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/eng6020025.
18. Pedro, A. M. G., Santos, P. D., Araújo Santos, L. & Coelho, P. (2025) Sources of Uncertainty in Bender Element Testing: Execution and Interpretation Challenges in Reconstituted Sandy Soils. Geotechnics, 5 (2), pp. 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics5020039.
19. Pedro, A. M. G., Taborda, D. M. G., Repsold, L. & Sousa, J. A. e. (2025) The influence of the construction methodology on the modelled response of shafts. Soils and Rocks, 48 (4), pp. 15. https://doi.org/10.28927/SR.2025.00402
20. Taborda, D. M. G., Pedro, A. M. G., Xia, H. & Hardy, S. (2025) A methodology for improved predictions of surface ground movements around shafts. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering, 0 (0), pp. 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeen.24.00258
21. Taborda, D. M. G., Pedro, A. M. G. & Matos Fernandes, M. (2026) A nonlinear model for strut behaviour in braced excavations. Computers and Geotechnics, 197, pp. 108235. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2026.108235
22. Taborda, D. M. G., Pedro, A. M. G., Manuel, M. F. & Jorge, A. e. S. (2026) Metamodels in geotechnical engineering; an application to the back-analysis of geotechnical structures. Geotecnia, 166 (166). (in Portuguese)