Dan to speak at ADSC Drilled Shaft Foundation Seminar

By Robert Thompson, on August 17th, 2007

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

By Robert Thompson, on July 21st, 2007

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

By Robert Thompson, on June 29th, 2007

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

Dan leads team updating the FHWA Drilled Shaft Manual

By Robert Thompson, on June 18th, 2007

Dan is leading a technical team that is updating the FHWA drilled shaft manual “Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and Design Methods”, FHWA Publication Number IF-99-025, by Dr. Michael W. O’ Neil, P.E. and Dr. Lyman C. Reese, P.E.. The manual was first published in 1988. An updated version was published in 1999. A new edition is now underway in order to incorporate advances in design and construction of drilled shaft foundations. The effort will include a comprehensive review and analysis of load test results from all over the country in a variety of soil and rock formations in order to review and modify the recommended design methodologies. The team of authors that has been assembled includes:

Dr. Dan Brown, P.E. – Auburn University and DBA

Dr. John Turner, P.E. – University of Wyoming

Dr. Jim Long, P.E. – University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)

Ray Castelli, P.E. – PB (Parsons Brinckerhoff)

The author team will be assisted by Dr. Tom Sandford, P.E. of the University of Maine as well as graduate and post-doc students at the various universities. The team will also rely on input from designers and contractors in the drilled shaft industry. PB (Parsons Brinckerhoff) is the contract administrator for the manual update project. Jeremy Hung, P.E. is the PB project manager. The revised manual is planned to be available sometime in 2008.

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

Drilled foundation construction in the Piedmont – Dan’s 2002 paper from JGGE

By Robert Thompson, on May 14th, 2007

Dan’s paper from the December, 2002 issue of the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering has been added to our Publications page.

Brown, D.A., 2002. “Effect of Construction on Axial Capacity of Drilled Foundations in Piedmont Soils,” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Volume 128, No. 12, ASCE, pp967-973.

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Drilled Piles, Drilled Shafts, Engineering Research, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Technical Journal, Test Shaft

Speaker at 10th International Conference on Piling and Deep Foundations

By Robert Thompson, on April 26th, 2006

Dr. Dan Brown, P.E.Â will be speaking at the 10^th International Conference on Piling and Deep Foundations organized by The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and the European Federation of Foundation Contractors (EFFC).Â The meeting will be held May 31^st through June 2^nd, 2006 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Â Dan will also serve as moderator for a session on monitoring and testing of deep foundations.Â Papers co-authored by the DBA team include a paper on base grouting of drilled shafts in the southeatern U.S.Â byÂ Dan, Dr. Steve Dapp, P.E. of DBA, and Mike Muchard, P.E. of Applied Foundation Testing, Inc.Â , and a paper on performance based specifications for continues flight auger (CFA) or augercast piles by Dan, Robert Thompson, P.E. of DBA, and Silas Nichols, P.E.Â with theÂ Geotechnical Engineering Section of FHWAÂ These papers will be available on this web site after the conference.

Final Draft of FHWA GEC No. 8 is in for review!

By Robert Thompson, on February 7th, 2006

DBA has recently submitted the final draft of FHWA Geotechnical Circular No. 8 – Augered Cast-In-Place and Continuous Flight Auger Piles. The document is under final review by FHWA and should be released for publication late this year. This manual will provide the technical information for the selection, design, construction, and inspection of drilled piles (auger-cast, continuous flight auger, drilled displacement piles, etc.) for the transportation industry. A model performance-based specification is included in the manual. We’ll post information on the release date and how to obtain copies once it goes to publication.