GeoCongress 2012–Dan Gives A SOP Lecture; John Turner paper published

By Robert Thompson, on May 8th, 2012

GeoCongress 2012, Oakland, California

In addition to the ADSC EXPO 2012 earlier in March (see post here), the annual Geo-Institute meeting for 2012, GeoCongress 2012 , was held later in the month in Oakland, California. The conference featured a very large technical program with a variety of tracks covering geotechnical engineering topics. There were also the annual named lectures (Terzaghi, Peck, etc.) and other special events. Randy Post wrote about his time at the GeoCongress at his blog, GeoPrac.net. Check out all of his posts on the conference, including photos and video.

A key feature of this congress was the State of the Art (SOA) and State of the Practice (SOP) Lectures given throughout the four days. Thirty prominent engineers were invited to give the SOA/SOP lectures. Dan gave one of the SOP lectures with his highlighting advances in drilled foundation use and selection. His paper, along with all of the other SOA/SOP lectures, is included in GSP No. 226, Geotechnical Engineering State of the Art and Practice, Keynote Lectures from GeoCongress 2012. His presentation is linked on the image below.

During the regular technical sessions, John Turner presented a paper on a recent project case history on rock-socketed drilled shaft foundations used for a bridge . His paper is in the conference proceedings volume (GSP No. 225):

Turner, J.P., Duffy, J.D., Buell, R. and Zheng, X (2012). “Foundations for the Bridge at Pitkins Curve”, GeoCongress 2012 State of the Art and Practice in Geotechnical Engineering, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 225, ASCE, pp414-423.

Micropiles for Slope Stabilization

By David Graham, on December 8th, 2010

An article by Eric and Dan on the use of micropiles for slope stabilization has been added to our Publications Page. Published in the August 2010 issue of Foundation Drilling Magazine, the article summarizes key findings and recommendations from a study that reviewed and evaluated existing micropile design methods. A new design method is proposed to better predict the mobilized resistance of micropiles used for slope stabilization. The full report prepared by Eric and Dan for the joint ADSC/DFI Micropile Committee, “A Method for Predicting Mobilization Resistance for Micropiles Used in Slope Stabilization Applications”, presents the details of this study. Robert previously posted about this report here.

Loehr, J.E. and Brown, D.A. (2010). “Design of Micropiles for Slope Stabilization”, Foundation Drilling, Vol. 31, No. 6 August 2010.

IFCEE 09 Wrap-up and Papers Posted

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.

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

ADSC 2008 Faculty Workshop Field Day at DBA

By Robert Thompson, on June 16th, 2008

Well, the ADSC 2008 Faculty Workshop Field Day was a great success! A group of 46 civil engineering faculty members from across the country participated in the week-long workshop that culminated in a field demonstration day at the World Headquarters of Dan Brown and Associates in Sequatchie, Tennessee. The participants and instructors were treated to installation and testing demonstrations of drilled shaft foundations, micropile foundations, and anchored earth retention systems. The load tests included a static load test of a micropile and a Statnamic test of a drilled shaft, which provided some of the day’s excitement. Installation demonstrations of the various drilled foundations and anchors allowed the participants to observe how the various elements are installed. Even though we had to dodge an occasional thundershower, everyone had a great time and felt that they went away with a lot of valuable information for their classes back home.

More info on the Workshop here.

I put together a slide show of photos taken by myself (Robert) and Dr. Erik Lohr.

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Drilled Shafts, Engineering Research, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Micropiles, Slope Stabilization