Prof. Stefan Larsson
Biography
I have more than 35 years of experience as a civil engineering contractor, consultant, and scholar in the construction sector, and have been involved in numerous infrastructure projects and research initiatives. Since 2010, I have served as a Full Professor in Geotechnology and Head of the Division of Soil and Rock Mechanics at KTH. Prior to that, I held a joint position as an Associate Professor at KTH and Technical Manager of the Foundation Region at Skanska Sweden AB. I also spent 10 years at Tyréns as a geotechnical specialist and industrial doctoral student. I also work in my own company with expert consulting in various roles.
My research interests primarily concern ground improvement methods such as deep mixing, vertical drains and soil compaction, risk and reliability analysis for design and construction in soil and rock, and, more recently, discrete element modelling of railway embankments, artificial intelligence applications, and life-cycle cost (LCC/LCCA) analyses in geotechnics. https://www.kth.se/profile/stelar/publications
The Division of Soil and Rock Mechanics conducts research across a broad spectrum and collaborates with many funding bodies, including the Swedish Transport Administration, SBUF (the Swedish Construction Industry’s Development Fund), BeFo (Rock Engineering Research Foundation), SVC (Swedish Hydropower Centre), SKB (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co.), the Swedish Research Council Formas, as well as several consulting, contracting, and manufacturing companies such as Tyréns, ELU, Sweco, Itasca, Skanska, Peab, Dynapac, and others.
I have supervised 21 PhD and Licentiate graduates and have been the supervisor or examiner for more than 140 MSc theses students. I am also responsible for several courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. I am passionate about education and currently serve as Director of Third-Cycle Education (PhD education) at the School of Architecture and the Built Environment at KTH, where I am also a member of the School Management Advisory Board (ABE).
The Nordic Dry Deep Mixing method for infrastructure development
The Nordic Dry Deep Mixing (DDM) technique has been successfully used since the mid-1970s. Initially developed for lime-treated columns with ductile behaviour, the method has since evolved toward cement-based binders that produce stiffer, more brittle columns, introducing new design challenges. In recent decades, alternative binders, including industrial by-products, have been increasingly adopted for sustainable ground improvement.
This paper reviews 25 years of Nordic experience with DDM, covering design approaches for infrastructure projects, analyses in the ultimate and serviceability limit states, reliability-based methods, engineering properties, production control, and lessons learned. The review is based on selected theses, reports, and research papers illustrating the method’s development and current practice.