Dan Brown and Associates, PLLC » Drilled Piles

Events Calendar Updated for 2010

Robert Thompson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:06:57 +0000

I have updated our calendar for 2010 to include many events in the geotechnical and foundation engineering world that may be of interest, plus known speaking/teaching appearances by Dan. I’ll put in a plug for the events calendars and listings for ADSC, DFI, Geo-Institute, and PDCA. I get most of my information from them.

Some, but not all events,(in addition to my previous post) are:

DFI Helical Foundations & Tiebacks Specialty Seminar – Feb 1

Geo-Florida 2010 – Feb 20-24

DFI and PDCA – A Joint Conference on Driven Pile – Mar 12

ADSC Drilled Shaft Foundations Seminar – Mar 19

PDCA 14th Annual International Conference and Expo – May 6-8

2nd International Symposium on Cone Penetration Testing – May 9-11

International Bridge Conference 2010 – June 6-10

DFI Super Pile – June 10-11

Earth Retention 2010 – Aug 1-4

DFI 34th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations – Oct 12-15

TRB 7th International Bridge Conference – Dec 1-2

kcICON Bond Bridge Update – Drilled Shafts Complete!

Robert Thompson — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:57:06 +0000

UPDATE (5/19/09): Here is an article the Kansas City Star on-line. It has links to photos and video.

Main Pylon under construction for Bond Bridge, Kansas City, MO

Work by DBA is all but compete on the kcICON project. All drilled shafts have been installed and base grouted. Construction of the shafts went very well, with no significant issues. Hayes Drilling installed all of the land-based shafts. AFT performed all of the base grouting.

The main pylon in the river continues to take shape. It won’t be long before PCC will have it looking like a bridge!

Paul has been “enjoying” observing drilled shafts at night and base grouting during the day. A collection of some of his photos from the last bits of shaft construction are below. He got some great shots of the pylon, including some out in the river.

More pictures here.

Previous post here.

Audubon (JJA) Bridge Construction Update – April 09

Robert Thompson — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:26:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of making two trips to the Audubon Bridge site in April to help Steve. I got to observe the excavation of two of the shafts on the West High Approach (on land!), observe base grouting of some of the West High Approach shafts, and base grouting of the test shaft on the East High Approach. While there, I got to see both of the river pier cofferdams. They were something else to see with all of the bracing and sheet piles. I did not get to see them installed, but I understand it was quite an interesting process as the cofferdams were “jacked down” into place. While I was there, they were cutting of the permanent casing that sticks up above the seal slab of the pier.

As usual, some pictures from this trip are below.

More pictures here.

Previous posts here.

While not as current, the project web site has a photo gallery with interesting photos, including from the high water of April, 2008.

West Pier and West High Approach Construction

East Pier and East High Approach Construction

Technorati Tags: Drilled Shaft Construction,Deep Foundations,Load Testing,Bridge Foundations,Base Grouting

IFCEE 09 Wrap-up and Papers Posted

Robert Thompson — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:21:28 +0000

Last week’s International Foundation Congress and Equipment Exposition was a huge success! Dan gave a keynote address on Tuesday on managing risk in deep foundations within the design-build delivery model. Paul, Erik, and I also had papers to present. The technical sessions were excellent, the indoor exhibits were excellent, and the outdoor exhibits of foundation equipment were outstanding! The ADSC, Geo-Institute, and PDCA were the co-organizers of the event. A big hats off to all of the staff of all three organizations that made the event a huge success! Thanks and “atta boy” go to Mohamad Hussein, P.E. (Conference Chair) and to Dan (Technical Program Chair) for all of their work, as well as the rest of the organizing committee.

I have also blogged about the conference here at GeoPrac.net.

Here are some pictures of the outdoor exhibits:

There were over 300 papers included in the conference. The proceedings were published as three Geotechnical Special Publications:

GSP 185: Contemporary Topics in Deep Foundations

GSP 186: Contemporary Topics in In-Situ Testing, Analysis, and Reliability of Foundations

GSP 187: Contemporary Topics in Ground Modification, Problem Soils, and Geo-Support

The editors, Magued Iskander, Ph.D., P.E. (Polytechnic Institute of New York University), Debra Laefer, Ph.D. (University College Dublin, Ireland), and Mohamad Hussein, P.E. (GRL) all had their work cut out for them.

I have added all seven papers authored by DBA team members to our site. The links are below, or you can go to our Publications page.

Axtell, P.J., Stark, T.D., and Dillon, J.C., 2009. “Strength Difference Between Clam-Shell and Long-Reach Excavator Constructed Cement-Bentonite Self-Hardening Slurry Walls”, 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, Contemporary Topics in Ground Modification, Problem Soils, and Geo-Support, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 187, ASCE, pp. 297-304.

Brown, D.A., 2009. “Management of Risk in Deep Foundations with Design-Build”, 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, Contemporary Topics in Deep Foundations, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 185, ASCE, pp. 1-11. Brown, D.A. and Thompson, W.R., 2009. “Drilled Shaft Performance in Cemented Calcareous Formations in the Southeast United States”, 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, Contemporary Topics in Deep Foundations, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 185, ASCE, pp. 119-126.

Loehr, J.E and Huaco, D.R., 2009. “Probabilistic Calibration of Resistance Factors for Slope Stability”, 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, Contemporary Topics in In-Situ Testing, Analysis, and Reliability of Foundations, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 186, ASCE, pp. 297-304.

Parsons, R.L., Pierson, M., Han, J., Brennan, J.J., and Brown, D.A., 2009. “Lateral Load Capacity of Cast-in-Place Shafts Behind an MSE Wall”, 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, Contemporary Topics in In-Situ Testing, Analysis, and Reliability of Foundations, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 186, ASCE, pp. 560-567.

Rollins, K.M., Adsero, M.E., and Brown, D.A., 2009. “Jet Grouting to Increase Lateral Resistance of Pile Group in Soft Clay”, 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, Contemporary Topics in Ground Modification, Problem Soils, and Geo-Support, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 187, ASCE, pp. 265-272.

Thompson, W.R., Hill, J.R., and Loehr, J. E., 2009. “Case History: Value Engineering of Driven H-Piles for Slope Stability on the Missouri River”, 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, Contemporary Topics in Deep Foundations, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 185, ASCE, pp207-214.

Technorati Tags: Foundation Engineering,Geotechnical Engineering,Foundation Construction,Deep Foundations,Drilled Shafts,Driven Piles,Engineering Research

Audubon (JJA) Bridge Construction Update

Robert Thompson — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:48:57 +0000

I have been too busy to post more photos from my trips to New Roads, LA in the fall to help Steve with the work at the Audubon Bridge project. It has been a flurry of activity as they worked to finish installing, tip-routing, and load testing all of the shafts in the river (done in December!). They have also completed and tested the land test shaft on the west side of the river and begun installing the land shafts. Throw in a lot of pile driving, including some 5-foot diameter pipe piles for temporary bents, and it has been a very busy site. All of the various tip-grouting, O-cell load tests on drilled shafts, and PDA testing of the pre-cast piles has been successful. As of today, the Mississippi River has come up and slowed things down a bit, but they should get all of the foundation completed within the next couple of months.

Some pictures I took on some of my trips are setup below. I have also experimented with embedding some video I took with my camera. The camera was not set on a very high video capture resolution, but I think they are good enough for you to get the idea of the shaft excavation and the pile driving activities.

More pictures here.

Previous posts here.

East Pier Construction – September 2008:

East Temporary Bent Pile Driving – September 2008:

West Side Construction and Other Stuff – October 2008:

Excavating Shaft 5E with airlift.

Driving 5′ dia. pipe pile for East Temprary Bent

Extracting casing at Shaft 21W

Technorati Tags: Drilled Shafts,Drilled Shaft Construction,Deep Foundations,Bridge Foundations,Geotechnical Engineering

Updated – GEC No. 8: Design and Construction of Continuous Flight Auger Piles – It’s Finally Here!

Robert Thompson — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:30:38 +0000

11/30-07 Update! – GEC No. 8 is now up on the FHWA web site. You can download it here.

Yes, folks, GEC 8 is finally complete! The publication version of Geotechnical Engineering Circular No.8: Design and Construction of Continuous Flight Auger Piles will soon be available from the FHWA Geotechnical Web Site. If you want an official sneak peek at GEC 8, just click here to get the PDF (approx. 10 MB). This circular is part of FHWA’s efforts to implement the use of CFA piles as a viable foundation alternative for transportation structures. We’ll post a notice when GEC 8 is on the FHWA web site.

International Foundation Congress & Equipment Expo 2009

Robert Thompson — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 04:19:00 +0000

A preliminary call for papers has been released for the International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo 2009 (IFCEE ’09) to be held in Orlando, Florida March 15-19, 2009. The meeting is a joint venture of The Geo-Institute of ASCE (GI), The International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC) and The Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA).

Information about the call for papers is here.

I’ll have links to the conference web site once it is up and running, as well as blogging additionla information when available. This promises to be a great conference much like the 2004 Geo-Support Conference.

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Engineering Research, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering

Dan to speak at ADSC Drilled Shaft Foundation Seminar

Robert Thompson — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:13:01 +0000

Dan will be one of eleven speakers at the ADSC’s Northeast Chapter Drilled Shaft Foundation Seminar. From the ADSC’s August 2007 edition of The Hole Story:

” The seminar will be held by the ADSC Northeast Chapter on November 14, in East Elmhurst, NY,at the Wyndham Garden Hotel, located at LaGuardia Airport. Eleven presenters drawn from the ranks of the nation’s top design, construction and testing practitioners will cover drilled shaft design, specifications, construction, concrete design, testing, as well as geotechnical investigation, and remediation techniques. An opportunity to visit with exhibitors will add to the seminar’s value. Among the featured presenters will be Dr. Dan Brown, P.E., Auburn University; Silas Nichols of the FHWA; Dr. Bernie Hertlein, P.E., STS Consultants; and Fred Rhyner, P.E., Mueser Rutledge. Internationally prominent design engineer Clyde Baker, STS Consultants will moderate a Q&A Panel. PDH credits are offered. For information including registration details, contact Ralph Capelli, 712/353-9616 or rcapelli@posillicorp.com.”

Technorati : Case History, Deep Foundations, Drilled Piles, Drilled Shafts, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering

Added Link to International Society for Micropiles

Robert Thompson — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 22:10:24 +0000

I have added a link to the International Society for Micropiles in our links area. I have also linked the upcoming 8th International Workshop on Micropiles in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 26-30.

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Micropiles

Publications on IGM (intermediate geomaterials) added to site

Robert Thompson — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 05:01:13 +0000

I have added a couple of publications to the site that cover intermediate geomaterials, or IGM. The first is a paper Dan and I published from my master’s thesis in 1994 which I presented at the 25th Ohio River Valley Soils Seminar in Lexington, Kentucky.: The second one is a report of axial and lateral load tests for drilled shaft foundations in shale for a bridge in Alabama. The loadtests, analysis, and design recommendations were done as part of a research project on drilled shafts Dan was doing for ALDOT. My thesis work was part of the research project.

I am slowly working on getting as many of our publications on the site as possible. Thank you for your patience!

Thompson, W.R. and Brown, D.A., 1994. “Axial Response of Drilled Shafts in Intermediate Geomaterials in the Southeast,” Recent Advances in Deep Foundations – Proceedings, Ohio River Valley Soils Seminar XXV, Lexington, Kentucky, pp 3-1 – 3-10.

Brown,D.A. and Thompson, W.R., 1994. Drilled Shaft Foundation Testing and Design Recommendations, I-65 over Mulberry Fork of the Warrior River, Blount/Cullman Counties,Alabama,Highway Research Center, Auburn University, Alabama, January, 1994.

Technorati : Bridge Foundations, Deep Foundations, Drilled Shafts, Engineering Research, Foundation Construction, Geotechnical Engineering, Load Test, Test Shaft