First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and utmost gratitude to my supervisor, Associate Professor Tan Soon Keat, for his methodical guidance, encouragement, and continuous support. I am grateful to Prof. Tan for all the experiences gained and the opportunities that had enriched my research experience. His suggestions and recommendations have been most invaluable in this study. I would like to thank Assistant Professor Chua Hock Chye Lloyd and Dr. Adhityan Appan for their kind support and spending their valuable time listening, discussing, and making constructive comments on my research work. I am indebted to Dr. Wang Xikun for his support with the laboratory experiments. I was fortunate to have received generous support from staffs of the different laboratories: Mr. Daniel Lim; Mr. Anthony Foo; and Mr. Alwi Alkaff (Hydraulics Laboratory); and Mr. Phua Kok Soon (Construction Workshop). This work would not have been completed without the support from faculties and staffs of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Special thanks are extended to Ms. Ng Soo Ching, Ms. Ng Beng Lay, Ms. Jamillah Bte Sa'adon, Ms.