We are pleased to present herein the Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Deformation Characteristics of Geomaterials, held in the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina) from 15 to 18 November 2015. IS-Buenos Aires 2015 was carried out in parallel with the 8th South-American Conference of Rock Mechanics (VIII SCRM), the 15th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (XV PCSMGE), and the 22th Argentinean Congress of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (CAMSIG XXII).

IS-Buenos Aires 2015 was organized under the support of the Argentinean Geotechnical Society (SAIG) and the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) – Technical Committee TC 101, after the successful previous Symposia first set in Hokkaido 1994, and thereafter in Torino 1999, Lyon 2003, Atlanta 2008, and most recently Seoul 2011.

This proceeding includes 7 lectures delivered by invited keynote speakers and the Third Bishop Lecture delivered by Professor Herve Di Benedetto from the University of Lyon, France, who presented a reference work on the advanced testing and modeling of bituminous bounded and unbounded granular materials. A total of 128 articles were presented and discussed during the symposium. The 118 articles selected for publication in this proceeding were peer-reviewed by an international review board and 7 additional articles were published in a special number of the Journal of Soils and Foundation.

The Symposium brought together practitioners, researchers and educators from all around the world who are engaged in the understanding of the deformation properties of geomaterials before failure, and the small strain parameters as fundamental characteristics of geomaterials. The main topics covered by the symposium include:

1. Experimental investigations from very small strains to beyond failure including multiphysical approach.

2. HTCM coupling behavior, characterization and modeling of various geomaterials and Interfaces.

3. Practical prediction and interpretation of ground response: field observation and case histories

Buenos Aires is a charming metropolis where history and modernity come together. It has a wide cultural and tourist life. IS-Buenos Aires-2015 was held at the Hilton Hotel, in one of the most fashionable and exclusive areas of the city, Puerto Madero.

We would like to express our gratitude to the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) – Technical Committee TC 101 –, the Sociedad Argentina de Ingeniería Geotécnica (SAIG), and all the sponsors and organizations who generously contributed and supported to the success of IS-Buenos Aires 2015. We also acknowledge the great effort, compromise and enthusiasm in cooperation of all members of the local organizing committee, the international advisory board and the local reviewer board. We finally thank the editorial board of the Journal of Soils and Foundations for providing and preparing a special number for this event.

Victor A. Rinaldi

Marcelo E. Zeballos

Juan Jose Clariá

Buenos Aires, 15–18 November 2015