Get the New FHWA Drilled Shaft Manual
Get the NCHRP Synthesis 418 – Pile Criteria From Test Pile Data
Dan’s Speaking Schedule March 16, 2012 - "Advanced" Design and Construction Issues with Drilled Shaft Foundations; Case Histories - ADSC Equipment EXPO and Technical Conference - San Antonio, Texas
March 26-28, 2012 - State of the Art and Practice for Drilled Foundations - GeoCongress 2012 - ASCE/Geo-Institute - San Francisco, California
Other DBA Team Speaking Appearances
Tim Siegel (January 22, 2012): Innovative Techniques for Characterizing Karst Terrain, Workshop on Geo-innovation in Subsurface Exploration, TRB Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.
John Turner and Robert Thompson (February 21-23, 2012): NHI Drilled Shaft Course - Kansas DOT, Topeka, Kansas
Robert Thompson (February 24, 2012): Conservatism in Drilled Shaft Design When
Utilizing Rock Sockets, Alabama Transportation Conference, Montgomery, Alabama
Tim Siegel (March 15, 2012): Micropile Design Installation and Performance for the Foothills Parkway, ADSC Equipment EXPO and Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas
Robert Thompson (March 15, 2012): Full-Scale Load Tests on Drilled Shafts in Tennessee and Georgia, ADSC Equipment EXPO and Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas
Erik Loehr (March 15, 2012): Slope Stabilization Using Micropiles, ADSC Equipment EXPO and Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas
John Turner (March 27, 2012): Foundations for the Bridge at Pitkins Curve - GeoCongress 2012 - ASCE/Geo-Institute - Oakland, California
TBA (April 10-12, 2012): NHI Drilled Shaft Course - South Carolina DOT, Columbia, South Carolina
John Turner (May 7-10, 2012): Highway Geology Symposium, Redding, CA
Conferences, Meetings, Seminars, Workshops
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By Robert Thompson, on May 25th, 2010
As geotechnical/foundation engineers, we don’t usually get to see much of what happens on a project after the foundations are completed, especially a project like a large bridge that can take years to complete. Technology such as the Internet, webcams, and digital photography have made it easy for us to see how things are progressing on projects, as well as maybe get images of the completed structure. As I have noted before, some projects are using Twitter and Facebook to keep the public informed on closures, delays or overall project progress as part of good public relations. Her are some updates on a few of our recent projects.
kcICON:
The main span is well underway, including the cables. The kcICON Facebook page is here.
 
Audubon Bridge:
Check out the webcam. You can download images if you like. YOu can also do a time-lapse from Day 1 of construction.
 
Beck Street Bridge:
Part of the I-15 Express Link project in Salt Lake City, UT. The photos below I obtained from the photos page on the project web site. We were involved in the design and construction of the foundations for the Beck Street Bridge only.
  
By Robert Thompson, on May 10th, 2010
Our support of Kiewit Engineering and two Kiewit joint ventures working on the flood control projects around New Orleans has completed. I posted on the support work we provided for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway – West Closure Project here. The JV for that project is Gulf Intracoastal Constructors (GIC), a joint venture of Kiewit and Traylor Brothers.
Another project we worked on is the Chalmette Levee Loop Improvements LPV-145 project. The joint venture for this project is Chalmette Levee Constructors (CLC), a joint venture of Kiewit, Massman, and Traylor Brothers. Some information about the project can be found at Traylor Brothers website here. This project consists of building over 5 miles of T-wall on the levee. A test pile program with piles at 4 tests sites was completed, including static and dynamic tests on H-piles and open-ended pipe piles. Dynamic, static compression, and static tension tests were performed at 3 of the 4 sites. One site had only dynamic tests during driving. Our newest staff engineer, Aaron Hudson begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, started his tenure at DBA by heading to New Orleans to help me with our work on this project.
During the test pile program, the project location was accessible only by boat. A temporary bridge has been constructed over Bayou Bienvenue to provide better access. The bridge is a pre-engineered bridge kit similar to the Bailey Bridge sets used by the U.S. Army starting in WWII, and still in use today by the Army and the private sector all over the world. I had some experience as an Army Engineer officer planning and executing the assembly and launch of Bailey Bridges. In the Army labor is plentiful, so there are not near as many cranes and other equipment available when assembling a bridge kit as there are on a modern construction site. Compare this photo from a training exercise near Fort Polk, Louisiana in 1989 (from my Army days) with one in our show below and at the website of the current Bailey Bridge manufacturer.
I have posted some photos from our visits there to our Picassa Albums (linked below). There are pictures of the test piles and the temporary bridge. Also included are some photos I took of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Barrier project. This project is amazing with 66-inch diameter cylinder piles and 18” pre-stressed concrete piles making up the bulk of the structure. Project photos at the Corps of Engineers site are here.
Update 7/25/10: Webcams of the West Closure Project are here. The Corps’ Team New Orleans has a Flickr page here with lots of great photos.
By Robert Thompson, on December 18th, 2009
By Robert Thompson, on October 30th, 2009
Who says we only work on drilled shafts?? Robert had the opportunity to work for Kiewit Engineering Company providing geotechnical engineering support to Gulf Intracoastal Constructors (GIC), a joint venture of Kiewit and Traylor Brothers on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure Project near Belle Chase, Louisiana. The project is part of the overall flood protection system improvements that are supposed to protect New Orleans from future hurricanes. The key components of this particular project are a massive gate and pump station across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Go For more information on the project, go here, here, and here (video from Corps of Engineers).
Robert spent a good part of the summer in New Orleans doing a variety of geotechnical engineering tasks to support the construction efforts of GIC. The main thing he worked on was the test pile program. The project included a massive test pile program with 24 test piles spread among 5 test sites with various combinations of dynamic, static axial, static tension, and static lateral tests. The piles were mostly open-ended steel pipe piles varying from 18” to 54” in diameter. A few 18” x 18” pre-stressed precast concrete piles were also thrown in for good measure. In addition to performing drivability studies and evaluating tests data, Robert got to spend some time in the wonderful June and July weather in southern Louisiana on the site observing pile installation and testing. And as always, he came back with a lot of pictures. Here are a few to enjoy.
By Robert Thompson, on March 25th, 2009
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.
By Robert Thompson, on June 15th, 2008
Here are the latest publication I have added to our Publication Page:
Brown, D.A. and Thompson, W.R. 2008. “Performance of Drilled Shafts in Cemented Calcareous Formations in the Southeast”, Foundation Drilling, Vol. 29, No.3 March/April 2008
Brown, D.A. and Thompson, W.R., 2008. “BRF-00008(536) Drilled Shaft Load Test Assessment, Sumter County”, Report for the Alabama Department of Transportation.
Axtell, P.J., Loehr, J.E., and Jones, D.J. “Case History: Multiple Axial Statnamic Tests on a Drilled Shaft Embedded in Shale” Deep Foundations Institute 31st Annual Conference, October 4-6, 2006, Washington, D.C.
Brown, D.A. and R. Thompson, 2006. “Report of the Evaluation of Foundation Response to Storm Surge Loading, U.S. 90 Biloxi Bay Bridge” Coastal Research Institute, Univ. of South Alabama.
Axtell, P.J., Owen, J.W., and Vollink, S.D. “Increase in Pile Capacity with Time in Missouri River Alluvium” Fifth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, April 13-17, 2004, New York, NY.
Technorati : Case History, Deep Foundations, Drilled Shafts, Driven Piles, Engineering Research, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Load Test, Test Pile, Test Shaft
By Robert Thompson, on November 27th, 2007
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
By Robert Thompson, on July 21st, 2007
By Robert Thompson, on May 18th, 2007
Steve will be one of the presenters at the PDCA Professor’s Driven Pile Institute June 18th through 22nd at Utah State University. Steve’s lecture will be comparing the capacity of driven piles to cast-in-situ piles. He will also be assisting with the axial and lateral load test demonstrations. For more information or to contribute to the funding of the Institute, click here.
Technorati : Deep Foundations, Driven Piles, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Load Test, Test Pile
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By Robert Thompson, on May 8th, 2007
The PDCA is holding the Professors’ Driven Pile Institute in Logan, Utah on June 18-22, 2007. This institute will provide information on design and construction of driven pile foundations for 25 professors that teach deep foundations courses at universities in the U.S. For more information on supporting this institute, click here to go to the PDCA website.
Technorati : Deep Foundations, Driven Piles, Foundation Construction, Geotechnical Engineering
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ADSC Drilled Shaft Foundations Seminar – Mar 19
PDCA 14th Annual International Conference and Expo – May 6-8
TRB 7th International Bridge Conference – Dec 1-2
