Get the New FHWA Drilled Shaft Manual
Get the NCHRP Synthesis 418 – Pile Criteria From Test Pile Data
Dan’s Speaking Schedule September 12-13, 2012: Concrete used in Drilled Shaft Construction - ADSC/DFI Drilled Shaft Seminar - Denver, Colorado
October 26, 2012: Factors Affecting the Selection and Use of Drilled Shafts for Transportation Infrastructure Projects - 26th Central Pennsylvania Geotechnical Conference - ASCE/DFI - Hershey, Pennsylvania Other DBA Team Speaking Appearances John Turner (September 12-13, 2012): Analysis & Design of Drilled Shafts - ADSC/DFI Drilled Shaft Seminar - Denver, Colorado
John Turner (September 12-13, 2012): Techniques for Drilled Shaft Construction - ADSC/DFI Drilled Shaft Seminar - Denver, Colorado Conferences, Meetings, Seminars, Workshops
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By Robert Thompson, on June 16th, 2008
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
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 June 2nd, 2008
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
By Robert Thompson, on March 31st, 2008
The American Society of Civil Engineers has just published Geotechnical Special Publication (GSP) No. 180: From Research to Practice in Geotechnical Engineering. This book includes 16 papers from the career of Dr. Schmertmann and 28 invited papers on various topics.
From Research to Practice in Geotechnical Engineering, GSP 180, honors Dr. John H. Schmertmann, Professor Emeritus and P.E., for his contributions to civil engineering. It begins with his biography, a list of his students and writings, followed by reprints of his selection of 16 representative papers from his career. Twenty-eight new, mostly invited papers follow on a great variety of subjects, including: the installation and testing of piles; pile-structure interaction; liquefaction and its mitigation; case histories of settlement and landslide mitigation and capping a superfund landfill; and computer modeling. The authors include six members of the National Academy of Engineering. This GSP concludes with a paper by one of these, Dr. Schmertmann, which itself concludes with a suggestion for improving your technical writing. Everyone working in the geotechnical profession will find something interesting and useful herein.
The book is available from the ASCE Bookstore (click the image above).
Technorati : Engineering Research, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering
By Robert Thompson, on March 17th, 2008
Mark you calendars now for a really big geotechnical engineering and foundation construction “mega-event” next year – The International Foundation Congress & Equipment Expo ’09. The Geo-Institute of ASCE, the ADSC, and the PDCA are the lead organizations for the event. Many other organizations are also Cooperating Organizations.
The International Foundations Congress and Equipment Expo ’09 (IFCEE09) will provide a spectacular and comprehensive Congress. It combines the International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC), the Geo-Institute of ASCE, and the Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA) 2009 annual meetings, and will bring together varied USA and worldwide industry organizations.
As part of the technical program, engineers, foundation contractors, equipment manufacturers, suppliers of tools and services, and researchers will discuss the latest technological advances in the foundation and earth retention industry. The extensive outdoor large equipment exposition and indoor displays provide attendees an opportunity to examine the tools of foundation construction, and are an additional incentive for constructors and engineers to attend this mega-event. This expanded program builds on the highly successful 2004 Geo-Support conference and equipment exposition held in Orlando, FL.
The conference will be at the Buena Vista Palace Resort and Spa adjacent to Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World, Florida. In addition to a full program of keynote speakers, technical paperas, case histories, and panel discussions, the largest equipment exposition devoted to the foundation industry will also be held.
Information on the Call for Papers is here. Abstracts are due April 30, 2008.
Information on exhibits and sponsorships is here.
We will have a link to the conference website at the top of our right side bar until the conference date.
Technorati : Case History, Deep Foundations, Engineering Research, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Soil Mechanics
By Robert Thompson, on March 17th, 2008
Make sure and check the links on our left side bar for information on upcoming conferences, meetings, and seminars. We try to list all of the major events of organizations like the Geo-Institute of ASCE, the ADSC, the PDCA, and the DFI.
Also, check out the changes in geotechnical engineering related to transportation projects coming out in Arizona at Geoprac.net. From Randy’s post:
There are some significant changes being made to the state of the practice in geotechnical engineering in Arizona. NCS Consultants, LLC has prepared three policy memoranda for the Arizona Department of Transportation or ADOT that have been issued to consultants all over the State. These memos are on the topics of bearing capacity and settlement of spread footings and retaining walls, the design of drilled shaft foundations in gravelly soils, and the preparation of drilled shaft axial capacity charts for use by bridge engineers.
Randy does a good job of scouring the web for geotechnical related items. A link to his site is on our left sid bar and we have a feed to his posts on the right side bar.
While I am on the topic of resources, we also have a link to Geoengineer.org, another resource website for the geotechnical engineering community. A link to the site is on the left side bar, and links to their latest newsletters are on the right side bar.
Technorati : Deep Foundations, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering
By Robert Thompson, on February 20th, 2008
A great man and geotechnical engineer has passed. Dr. Ralph Peck died February 18th. His obituary:
Ralph B. Peck, Professor Emeritus of Foundation Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign died of congestive heart failure on February 18, 2008, at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was born in Winnipeg, Canada, to his American parents, Orwin K and Ethel Huyck Peck on June 23, 1912.
Ralph Peck earned a Civil Engineering Degree in 1934 and Doctor of Civil Engineering Degree in 1937, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. In 1938-39 he attended the Soil Mechanics course at Harvard University and was a laboratory assistant to Arthur Casagrande. From 1939 to 1942 Peck was an assistant subway engineer for the City of Chicago, representing Karl Terzaghi who was a consultant on the Chicago Subway Project. He joined the University of Illinois in 1942, and was a Professor of Foundation Engineering from 1948 to 1974. Since 1974, Professor Peck was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois, and a consultant in geotechnical engineering.
In 1948, together with Karl Terzaghi, Ralph Peck co-authored the most influential text book in geotechnical engineering, Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice. In 1953 with Walt Hanson and Tom Thornburn, Ralph Peck co-authored the widely used text book Foundation Engineering.
In 1942, Dr. Peck joined the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Illinois, where he remained as a teacher and mentor until his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 1974. After moving to Albuquerque, Dr. Peck continued his active consulting practice which included jobs in forty-four states in the USA and twenty-eight countries on five continents. His more than one thousand consulting projects include: the rapid transit systems in Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington; the Alaskan Pipeline System; the James Bay Project in Quebec; and the Dead Sea dikes. He authored over 250 technical publications, and served as the President of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering from 1969 to 1973. In 1974, he was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Ford. A few of his many honors include the Norman Medal, The Wellington Prize, and the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Education from the American Society of Engineers. His last project was the Rion-Antirion Bridge in Greece. It received the ASCE’s OPAL Outstanding Civil Engineering Award for 2005, and is the only project outside the United States to be so honored.
Ralph Peck married Marjorie E. Truby on June 14, 1937. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Nancy Peck (Allen) Young, and son and daughter-in-law, James (Laurie) Peck, and grandchildren, Michael Young and Maia Peck.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to: Ralph B. Peck Geotechnical Engineering Fund Univ. of Illinois Foundation 1305 West Green Street, MC-386 Urbana, Illinois, 61801.
A publication on his life and works by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute is here.
The recently published book on Dr. Peck, Ralph B. Peck – Educator and Engineer – The Essence of the Man, by John Dunnicliff and Nancy Peck young, can be found at the ASCE Bookstore.
Technorati : Geotechnical Engineering
By Robert Thompson, on January 22nd, 2008
DBA is proud to announce the newest addition to the team – Paul J. Axtell, P.E.! Paul comes to us from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District office. He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his M.S in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas. Paul’s geotechnical engineering experience includes slope analysis, ground improvement, dam engineering ,and deep foundations. One of Paul’s first projects will be the kcICON project in Kansas City. Paul’s resume is now available on the About Us page of our site.
Welcome aboard, Paul!
Technorati : Geotechnical Engineering
By Robert Thompson, on January 21st, 2008
Erik and Dan have published a final report entitled “A Method for Predicting Mobilization Resistance for Micropiles Used in Slope Stabilization Applications”. The report was prepared for the Joint ADSC/DFI Micropile Committee. This version has been submitted to the committee for review and comment. From the report:
The primary objective of the work described in this report has been to identify a method for predicting the resistance provided by micropiles used for slope stabilization that: (1) is consistent with the available field performance data, and (2) takes advantage of the improved knowledge gained from the performance observed in previous implementations. This objective has been met through review and analysis of case histories with well documented performance measurements, analysis of stability and load transfer for these case histories, development of an improved technique for predicting the resistance provided by micropiles, evaluation of the proposed technique as compared to available field performance measurements, and, finally, use of the technique to demonstrate its application for a hypothetical case and to demonstrate the implications of the technique for design of slope stabilization schemes with micropiles.
This report should be a great resource to practicing geotechnical engineers considering micropiles for slope stabilization.
Financial support for this work was provided by a grant from the H.B. Williams Industry Advancement Fund of ADSC: The International Association of Foundation Drilling.
A copy of the report can be downloaded here.
Technorati : Engineering Research, Geotechnical Engineering, Micropiles
By Robert Thompson, on January 21st, 2008
An article entitled “Historic Cable-Stayed Link Taking Shape in Louisiana” about the construction of the John James Audubon (JJA) Bridge in Louisiana is on ENR.com here. The drilled shafts actually extend much deeper than indicated in the article, for what its worth. I think they were only talking about the permanent casing, not the entire drilled shaft.
Technorati : Bridge Foundations, Deep Foundations, Drilled Shafts, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Post-grouted Drilled Shafts
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