Dan Brown and Associates, LLC

I have been slow in posting on the progress of our part in the kcICON project (see here for background and here for latest project images by MoDOT). The exploratory drilling went very well with a short pause due to ice in the river in late January. The crews from Terracon did an outstanding job getting the borings completed, overcoming the occasional problems with drilling tools deciding they did not want to come out of the hole.

Design work by Parsons on the main bridge proceeded (and is still ongoing) through the rest of winter and into the spring. In late April, PCC installed the test shaft in the middle of the pylon foundation with a 6-foot diameter rock socket 20 feet long. The shaft was tested using a group of 3 O-cells placed near the bottom of the shaft. The test yielded excellent results in both side shear and end bearing in the shale socket. Look for us to include the results in a future technical paper or journal article.

Design is continuing with the pylon shafts anticipated to be started in early July. The abutments and approach piers are schedule to be started later this summer or early fall.

The slide show embedded below has some photos of the exploratory drilling and the test shaft installation. Enjoy!

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

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

Dr. Jorj Osterberg, inventor of the Osterberg Cell (or O-Cell) load testing device, passed away on June 1, 2008. Information on his life and achievements can be found at geoprac.net, at the Geo-Institute, or at Loadtest, Inc. The O-Cell has been used worldwide to test drilled shaft and other deep foundations. Tributes to Dr. Osterberg are planned in the ADSC’s Foundation Drilling magazine and possibly other publications. (Photo credit: Geo-Institute of ASCE)

Technorati : Bridge Foundations, Deep Foundations, Drilled Shafts, Engineering Research, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering

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

DBA will be hosting the field demonstration day for the ADSC Foundation Engineering Faculty Workshop on Friday, June 13th. Long Foundation and Hayward Baker have installed examples of several foundation and retaining structures, including drilled shafts, micropiles, and soil nails. During the field day demonstrations, the attendees will observe additional installations, load tests, and non-destructive testing. The activities are all being held on the grounds of the Trials Training Center (Dan’s “hobby”) in scenic Sequatchie, Tennessee, which is also the location of the DBA Corporate Office (or as we like to call it: DBA World HQ). Dan took the photos below of Long Foundation and Hayward Baker at work getting ready for the demonstration day. You can see the TTC lodge in the background of some of the pics.

HB installing micropiles (L) and HB installing soil nails (R)

Tieback retaining wall (L) and Long Foundation drilling a shaft (R)

Some info on the workshop from ADSC:

The Workshop offers classroom and field work. It will provide the participants with all the tools needed to teach the fundamentals of drilled shaft and anchored earth retention design for foundation engineering studies at the undergraduate and graduate level. The program focus will be on drilled shafts, anchors, and micropiles. In addition to the classroom experience attendees will participate in hands-on field demonstrations of the latest construction and testing techniques. Each participant will be provided with a complete take-home Teaching Package including texts, manuals, and audio visual aids all in electronic format..

A list of the workshop faculty, composed of many experts in the field of geotechnical engineering and construction:

Lead presenters are top experts in the fields of deep foundation and earth retention design and construction. In addition to Dr. Brown the teaching faculty includes Dr. John Turner P.E., University of Wyoming, Dr. Jim Long, P.E., University of Illinois, Dr. Dave Weatherby, P.E., Schnabel Foundation, Dr. Don Bruce, P.E., Geosystems, Inc., Dr. Eric Loehr, P.E., University of Missouri, as well as Allen Cadden, P.E., Schnabel Engineering, Jerry DiMaggio, P.E., FHWA, Alan Macnab, P.Eng., Condon-Johnson& Associates, Tom Armour, P.E., DBM Contractors; Dr. Tom Witherspoon, P.E., S&W Foundation, John Wolosick, P.E., Hayward Baker, and many other deep foundation academicians and practitioners.

We’ll have more after the workshop.

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Drilled Piles, Drilled Shafts, Engineering Research, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Load Test, Micropiles, Slope Stabilization, Soil Mechanics, Test Shaft