(949) 379-2450 9307 Research Drive, Irvine, CA 92618
Thevachandran Shenthan
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Thevachandran Shenthan, PhD, PE, GE
Principal Engineer

Dr. Shenthan has 26 years of experience in advanced geotechnical engineering applied to design and construction services for landfill projects and other public works projects in water resources and transportation fields. He has performed foundation design, slope stability analyses, site-specific seismic hazard and site response evaluations, seismic deformation analyses, liquefaction evaluation, seepage analyses, numerical modeling and settlement analyses for a wide variety of projects.

Dr. Shenthan provides CQA Engineer/oversight services for all of AES’ landfill liners and final cover construction projects including review of all conformance tests and construction tests results for geosynthetics and earthworks and prepares CQA certification reports. He is an expert at hydrologic modeling and design of ET covers and has performed equivalence demonstration and analysis for dozens of alternative final cover design. His CQA project experience includes over 20 composite liner projects and 10+ landfill closure projects for Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, and Kern Counties and other Landfill Owners. For the past 10 years, he has been serving as the Project Manager for AES’ on-call services contracts with the Sanitation Districts including water reclamation plants and landfill projects.

Education, Professional Certifications

  • Ph.D., Geotechnical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2006
  • M.S., Geotechnical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2001
  • B.Sc. (Hons.), Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 1998
  • Professional Civil Engineer, California, 2006, #69547
  • Geotechnical Engineer, California, 2010, #2883
  • GSI Certified CCL and Geosynthetics CQA Inspector
  • 40-Hour OSHA Trained, 29 CFR 1910.120(e)(2)/8 CCR 5192
  • ASCE Geo-Institute – Embankments, Dams, and Slopes Committee
  • ASTM – D18 Soil and Rock and D35 Geosynthetics Committees
  • Geosynthetics Institute
  • CalGeo

Major Experience

Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
  • Scholl Canyon Landfill – geotechnical characterization and UNSAT-H modeling of 126-acre side slope and 67-acre top deck final cover and evaluation of its suitability as an evapotranspirative (ET) final cover; CQA services for 17-acre GCL final cover.
  • Calabasas Landfill – geotechnical characterization and UNSAT-H modeling of 174-acre side slope final cover and evaluate its suitability as an ET final cover; CQA services during composite liner repairs.
  • San Jose Creek Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) – geotechnical exploration, analysis, and CQA for 4-million-gallon, 100’x360’ underground Flow Equalization Tanks with and 400+ tie-down anchors.
  • Saugus and Valencia WRPs – geotechnical investigation for power distribution system modifications; CQA services during construction of UV Disinfection and Advanced Water Treatment facilities.
  • Puente Hills Landfill – geotechnical recommendations, and CQA services for the new recycling equipment at the MRF; geotechnical explorations for Storm Water Capture Project at Gas-to-Energy facility.
  • A. K. Warren Water Resource Facility – geotechnical explorations for the Ocean Outfall and the Biogas Pipeline at Figueroa Street.
    Tulare Lake Composting Facility – shallow and pile foundations design, ground modification design, static and seismic settlement analyses for the facility involving 52 acres of improvement; pavement design for the 39-acre composting pad and access roads using Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) and KENLAYER programs.
  • Mesquite Regional Landfill – developed site-specific methodology for oversize correction for unsaturated hydraulic modeling of gravelly soils; CQA services during Cell 1 Composite Liner project.
Orange County, OC Waste & Recycling
  • Frank R. Bowerman Landfill – geotechnical studies, landslide remediation, seismic analyses; filed instrumentation using inclinometers and vibrating wire piezometers; CQA services during six phases of landfill expansion.
  • Olinda-Alpha Landfill – CQA services for partial closure for two phases of side slope closures.
  • Coyote Canyon Landfill – CQA services for final cover repairs; preparation of Non-Water Release Corrective Action Plan (NWRCAP).
San Bernardino County, Solid Waste Management Division
  • NWRCAPs for about a dozen landfills.
  • San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill – seismic hazard evaluations; design support and CQA services for 3 phases.
  • Colton Landfill – CM/CQA services for final closure of 90-acre landfill using 4+ million sq. ft. Closure-TurfTM.
San Joaquin County Department of Public Works
  • North County and Foothill Landfills – CQA services for 3 phases of North County and 2 phases of Foothill.
Kern County Department of Public Works
  • Geotechnical exploration, LCRS equivalency evaluation, and design for Taft, Mojave-Rosamund, and Shafter-Wasco Landfill expansions.
Riverside County Waste Management Department
  • CQA services for one phase of Lamb Canyon landfill expansion.
Other Projects
  • State Route 22 Freeway Widening – review of reports for 33 bridge foundations and several miles of retaining walls.
  • Casmalia Superfund Site – CQA services for 25-acre CDA Cap and 40-acre Area 3 grading.
  • OII Landfill – slope stability, geogrid integrity, and long-term settlement evaluations for 30-acre North Parcel and 145-acre South Parcel.
  • Aquarium of Pacific – Geotechnical Engineer on Record for Animal Care Center and Watershed Exhibit expansion projects, both met United States Green Building Council (USGBC)’s LEED Platinum Standards.

Publications

Shenthan, T., Khilnani, K., and Stark, T.D., 2021, “Comparison of Post-Peak Strengths and Shear Displacements for Multi-Layer and Single Interface Tests for Composite Liner Systems,” IFAI Geosynthetics Conf., Kansas City, MO, Feb. 21-24, 2021.

Shenthan, T., Khilnani, K., and Stark, T.D., 2019, “Case Histories of Multi-Layer Interface Tests for Composite Liners and Comparison to Single Interface Tests,” Geo-Congress 2019 – The Eighth Intl. Conf. on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, Philadelphia, PA, March 24–27, 2019.

Somasundaram, S., Shenthan, T., Khilnani, K., and Irvine, J., 2013, “Characterization and Settlement Modeling of Deep Inert Debris Fills”, Proc., 18th Intl. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris, France, Sept. 2013.

Somasundaram, S., Shenthan, T., Stark, T.D., and Wright, T.D., 2012, “Shear Strength Characterization and Back Analysis for a Landslide Complex”, Proc., Geo-Congress 2012: State of the Art and Practice in Geotechnical Engineering, Oakland, California, March 2012.

Somasundaram, S., Shenthan, T., Benson, C., and Nannapaneni, S., 2010, “Unsaturated Hydraulic Characteristics of Soil with Significant Oversize Particles”, Proceedings, 5th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Barcelona, Spain, September 2010.

Shenthan, T., Thevanayagam, S., and Martin, G.R. (2006) “Numerical simulation of densification using vibro-stone columns,” Proc., Geo-Congress 2006, Geo-Institute, Atlanta, GA: Feb.26-Mar.1, 2006.

Shenthan, T., Nashed, R., Thevanayagam, S., and Martin, G.R. (2004) “Liquefaction mitigation in silty soils using stone columns and dynamic compaction,” J. Earthq. Eng. & Eng. Vibration. 3 (1), Inst. of Eng. Mech., China.