Category Archives: DBA News

DBA on winning team for landmark bridge in Kansas City, MO!

November 27, 2007 Robert Thompson

DBA is part of the winning team for the kcICON project in Kansas City, Missouri. The $245 million project includes a new landmark bridge over the Missouri River. The winning joint venture is Passeo Corridor Constructors consisting of Massman Construction Company, Clarkson Construction Company, and Kiewit Construction. Parsons Transportation Group and Transystems are the major design firms working for the joint venture. DBA will be the geotechncial engineer for the river bridge while Terracon will provide geotechnical services for the remainder of the project.

The kcICON project area covers about four miles of I-29/35 in Kansas City. The project features a landmark cable-stay Missouri River bridge and will upgrade Interstate 29/35 to six lanes (expandable to eight lanes) from north of the Route 210/Armour Road interchange to Independence Ave. Construction will begin in Spring 2008. Full service to all lanes will be restored by June 1, 2011 and final construction completed by July 31, 2011.

The cable-stayed bridge will be approximately 1700 feet long, with the two cable-stayed spans supported by a single pylon. The main channel span will be 550 feet and the back span will be about 450 feet. Approach spans will vary from 110 to 165 feet. Drilled shafts will be utilized to support the bridge, with 11-foot diameter shafts planned for the main pylon. The shafts will be socketed in to shale bedrock.

The complete news release announcing the project award is here.

An ENR story is here.

The kcICON project website is here.

A link to the project website will be added to our project links area on the left side bar. We’ll be posting updates as things get moving next year.

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

DBA News, Terzaghi & History

Happy Karl Terzaghi’s Birthday!!!

October 1, 2007 Robert Thompson

Karl von Terzaghi (October 2, 1883 – October 25, 1963)

Photograph From the World Wide Web of Geotechnical Engineering Hall of Fame (http://www.ejge.com/People/Terzaghi/Terzaghi.htm)

Yes, my friends, another year has passed and it is once again that joyous day amongst geotechnical engineers and the geo-industryâ€¦Karl Terzaghi’s Birthday! Today marks the 124^th year since the birth of the Father of Modern Soil Mechanics. As I pondered what to say today to mark the occasion, I pulled my copy of “Karl Terzaghi – The Engineer as Artist” by Richard E. Goodman off my shelf for inspiration.

As I flipped through the pages covering Professor Terzaghi’s early life, I found the section on his service in WWI. Since we are at war, and as a veteran U.S. Army Combat Engineer (Essayons!), I felt it appropriate to highlight Professor Terzaghi’s service as an engineer in the Austrian Army. He received a commission as Oberleutnant and was placed in charge of a 250-man engineer brigade, one of four within a “Land Storm” battalion. He quickly took the reigns of leadership and organized his men into a disciplined and effective unit, so well, in fact, that he was made Land Storm Commander in charge of the entire 1,000 man battalion. While on the Serbian front, he was tested as a designer and builder of trenches, works, and fortifications due to the soft soils and high groundwater conditions. After a time in
Serbia

, he was reassigned to manage an airfield where he completed his military service.

So today, as you raise your mug, glass, bottle, or can to toast Professor Terzaghi the Engineer, remember that he also took the path of countless others in honorable service to their country. (And, as we are honoring Professor Terzaghi, we will not today entertain discussions or debates of the geo-political events of his day, including the many causes of WWI and the side on which
Austria

was involved).

Some links of interest for you today: a list of Terzaghi quotes , a post about his honorary doctorate at the Instanbul Technical University, advice from Professor Terzaghi, and the World Wide Web of Geotechnical Engineering Hall of Fame,

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day working in the greatest and most fun field in civil engineering. Just think, you get to be a geotechnical engineer (or geo-professional)!!!!!!!!

Robert

Technorati : Engineering Research, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Soil Mechanics

DBA News, Drilled Piles, Drilled Shafts

Dan to speak at ADSC Drilled Shaft Foundation Seminar

August 17, 2007 Robert Thompson

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

DBA News, Drilled Piles, Drilled Shafts

Dan leads team updating the FHWA Drilled Shaft Manual

June 18, 2007 Robert Thompson

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

DBA News, Driven Piles

Dr. Steve Dapp lecturing at PDCA Professor’s Driven Pile Institute

May 18, 2007 Robert Thompson

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

DBA News, Drilled Shafts, Site updates

Tip grouting research paper added to site

May 14, 2007 Robert Thompson

I have added a paper on tip-grouting of drilled shafts to the site. Steve was coauthor with Dr. Gray Mullins, P.E. and Danny Winters of the University of South Florida. The paper was published in the April edition of the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.

Mullins, G., Winters, D., and Dapp, S., 2006. “Predicting End Bearing Capacity of Post-Grouted Drilled Shaft in Cohesionless Soils ,” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Volume 132, No. 4, ASCE, pp478-487.

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Drilled Piles, Drilled Shafts, Engineering Research, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Post-grouted Drilled Shafts, Test Shaft, Tip-grout

DBA News, Drilled Shafts

ADSC’s Design and Construction of Drilled Shafts coming in May

April 19, 2007 Robert Thompson

Dan will be one of the instructors at the ADSC Design and Construction of Drilled Shafts seminar May 18, 2007 in Columbus, Ohio. Information is here.

Ron Erb, P.E., of BBCM Engineering will also be an instructor.

Cooperating organizations include the ADSC Ohio Valley Chapter, ASFE, DFI, and the Geo-Institute of ASCE.

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Drilled Shafts, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering

DBA News, Drilled Shafts

First Test Shaft Started at Audubon Bridge

March 7, 2007 Robert Thompson

The first test shaft was begun recently at the John James Audubon Bridge in Louisiana. DBA’s Steve Dapp, Ph.D., P.E. had the pleasure to make a site visit last week and this week to observe progress. The shaft is the first shaft to be excavated on the project and is at the west pier in the Mississippi River. Excavation of the shaft is being done using a Toyo 1600 gpm pump. The shaft will be about 200 feet deep below the river level, will be tip-grouted, and will be load tested using an O-cell load device. Some photos below.

Toyo pump being lowered into the shaft:

Excavating the shaft with Toyo pump:

Wire cable casing cleaner used to clean out the casing:

Mini-SID (Shaft Inspection Device) being lowered into the shaft:

Technorati : Bridge Foundations, Deep Foundations, Drilled Piles, Drilled Shafts, Foundation Construction, Foundations, Geotechnical Engineering, Post-grouted Drilled Shafts, Test Shaft, Tip-grout

DBA News

Dr. Dan Brown co-chair of ADSC Civil Engineering Faculty Workshop scheduled for 2008

February 20, 2007 Robert Thompson

The ADSC has announced that Dan will co-chair their popular Civil Engineering Faculty Workshop in June, 2008 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Allen Cadden, P.E., Director of Engineering and Vice President of Schnabel Engineering will be co-chair with Dan. The 5-day course includes full-scale field demonstrations of drilled foundations and earth retention technologies. A press release from ADSC is here. We’ll post more links when ADSC posts more information, including applications.

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

DBA News

Dr. Dan Brown selected for 2nd Annual Mike O’Neill Lecture

December 27, 2006 Robert Thompson

Dan has been selected to give the 2nd Annual Mike O’Neill Lecture at the CIGMAT 2007 Conference at the University of Houston, Texas. The lecture was instituted in honor and memory of Dr. Mike O’Neill of the University of Houston, one of the “heroes” of deep foundation engineering and research. CIGMAT is the Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology. The 2007 conference will be held March 1st and 2nd, 2007. Dan will deliver the O’Neill Lecture at 1 p.m. on the 2nd. More information on the lecture and the conference will be posted soon at the CIGMAT web site.

Congratulations to Dan for this honor!

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Enginering Research, Geotechnical Engineering

Dan Brown and Associates, LLC