Tag Archives: PDCA

DBA News

NEW PUBLICATIONS ADDED AND UPDATES TO THE WEBSITE

It’s been a while since we have updated everyone on some of the various publications we have added to our website, so I wanted to provide a few links to some of the newer additions to our Publications tab.  One magazine that members of DBA contribute to fairly regularly is Geostrata Magazine.  The Geostrata Magazine is a bi-monthly publication of the Geo-Institute.  You can join the Geo-Institute and gain access to the magazine by following this link:  https://www.geoinstitute.org/publications/geostrata.  Dr. Dan Brown published an article in the May-June 2020 edition about lessons learned from failures during pile installation with regards to driving stresses.  In the January-February 2021 edition, Dr. Erik Loehr contributed an article about recognizing the inherent value in site characterization.  Links for the articles are below.

Brown, D., E. (2020). “Learning from Pile Driving Failures,” Geostrata, May-June 2020.

Loehr, J. E. (2021). “Recognizing Value in Site Characterization – How Cool Would That Be?”, Geostrata, January-February 2021.

Speaking of the Geo Institute, Dan Ding and Erik Loehr recently co-authored a paper in the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (see link below).

Ding, D., Loehr, J. E. (2019). “Variability and Bias in Undrained Shear Strength from Different Sampling and Testing Methods,”Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Volume 145, Issue 10, October 2019.

An organization that we actively publish papers with is the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI).  We have added papers from the last three years for the DFI Annual Conference as well as the The Journal of the Deep Foundations Institute.  Links to the papers are below.  To join DFI or learn more , click the DFI logo located in the left sidebar.

T.C. Siegel, T. J. Day, B. Turner & P. Faust (2019) “Measured end resistance of CFA and drilled displacement piles in San Francisco Area alluvial clay”,DFI Journal – The Journal of the Deep Foundations Institute, 12:3, pp 186-189.

Graham, D.S. and Axtell, P.J. (2019). “Case History: Comparison of CSL Results to Physical Observations,” Proceedings: Deep Foundations Institute 44th Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, USA, pp 420-427.

Axtell, P.J., Graham, D.S., and Jackson, J. (2018). “Drilled Shaft Difficulties and a Micropile Solution,” Proceedings: Deep Foundations Institute 43rd Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA, USA, pp 93-103.

Graham, D.S., Axtell, P.J., and Iverson, N. W. (2017). “Case History: Large Diameter Micropiles for the Highway 53 Relocation Project,” Proceedings: Deep Foundations Institute 42nd Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, USA.

Dr. Dan Brown has also recently submitted an article to Pile Driver Magazine, which is a bi-monthly publication of the Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA).  To learn more about the PDCA or become a member, click on logo on the left sidebar. The magazine is free to access and can be found by clicking here while the link for Dr. Brown’s article can be found below.

Brown, D. (2020). “A comparison of factors affecting the static axial resistance of drilled and driven piles”, Pile Driver Issue 4 2020, Volume 17 No. 4, pp 60-78.

We have also added a few older papers that David Graham and Paul Axtell have published.  One, a case history for a micropile project, was for the International Society of Micropiles.  The other was for the 34th annual International Bridge Conference.  The links for  the papers are found below.

Axtell, P.J., Graham, D.S., and Bailey, J. D. (2017). “Statnamic Load Testing on a 406mm (16 in) Diameter Micropile,” International Society of Micropiles, Chicago, IL, USA.

Graham, D.S., Hasbrouck, G.T., Axtell, P.J., and Turner, J.P. (2017). “Reducing Longitudinal Demands on Tall Bridge Piers with an Anchored Abutment”, Proceedings of the 34th International Bridge Conference, 2017, National Harbor, MD, USA, pp 668-672.

Finally, we have also updated our About Us tab to reflect the change in leadership announced back in April of 2020 and provide an updated view of our current staff here at DBA.  The names of each individual are links to their respective resume. 

Drilled Shafts, Driven Piles, Foundation Design, Foundation Testing, Industry News and Events

Deep Foundations Events Update–October 2013

As involved as we are in the deep foundations industry (and just returning from the DFI annual conference), it seemed appropriate to take time to highlight several upcoming events in the industry.  All of these are great opportunities to get PDH credits, do some networking, and build relationships in the deep foundations industry.  Most are cooperative efforts of one or more of the G-I, DFI, PDCA, and ADSC.  All of them have a line-up of great speakers that are leaders in the industry.  Click on the links below to learn more about each one. 

 

14th Annual Design and Installation of Cost-Efficient Piles Conference
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Sheraton North Houston, Houston, TX

The DICEP conference will present modern approaches to maximize Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy (E3) of driven piles through a series of presentations including driven pile design, testing, evaluation and case studies.  Steel sheet pile design and corrosion protection are also addressed.

 

 

Drilled Shaft Foundations Seminar – Reliability in Drilled Shaft Foundations
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Hilton Midtown, New York, NY

The program will feature presentations by leading industry design engineers and civil engineering contractors on some problems encountered with drilled shaft foundations and how those problems were solved.

 

 

Driven Pile – A Foundation for the 21st Century
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, Nashville, TN

  • A one-day specialty seminar on driven piles
  • Featuring 11 presentations by key industry professionals
  • Provides 6 PDH credits for all participants, including 1 PDH on Ethics  

 

 

Here are few open Calls for Abstracts (by order of due date):

IFCEE 2015 – March 17-21, 2015 – San Antoniio, TX – Due October 28, 2013

DFI 39th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations – October 21-24, 2014 – Atlanta, GA – Due January 10, 2014

DFI Superpile 2014 – June 19-20, 2014 – Cambridge, MA – Due February 3, 2014

Industry News and Events

Call for Abstracts – 2015 International Foundations Congress and Equipment Exposition (IFCEE 2015)

IFCEE 2015 logo_150

Although 2015 seems like a long way away, when you are planning the largest foundation engineering and construction conference in the U.S., you need to get started early!  The organizing committee for the  the 2015 International Foundations Congress and Equipment Exposition (IFCEE 2015) has released the Call for Abstracts here at the conference website.

This conference will be at the JW Marriott in San Antonio, Texas, March 17-21, 2015 and is hosted by a joint effort of ADSC: The International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC), Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), Geo-Institute of the ASCE (G-I), and Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA).  The program will include technical paper sessions (as poster or podium presentations), panel discussions and debates, indoor exhibits, an outdoor equipment exposition, educational short courses, technical committee meetings, and networking events.

DBA News, Drilled Piles, Drilled Shafts, Driven Piles, Micropiles, Miscellaneous, Site updates

Events Calendar Updated for 2010

 

I have updated our calendar for 2010 to include many events in the geotechnical and foundation engineering world that may be of interest, plus known speaking/teaching appearances by Dan.  I’ll put in a plug for the events calendars and listings for ADSC, DFI, Geo-Institute, and PDCA.  I get most of my information from them.

 

Some, but not all events,(in addition to my previous post) are:

 

DFI Helical Foundations & Tiebacks Specialty Seminar – Feb 1

 

geo_header_2009    Geo-Florida 2010 – Feb 20-24

 

DFI and PDCA – A Joint Conference on Driven Pile – Mar 12

 

adsc_logo_color_small1 ADSC Drilled Shaft Foundations Seminar – Mar 19

 

PDCALogo PDCA 14th Annual International Conference and Expo – May 6-8

 

2nd International Symposium on Cone Penetration Testing – May 9-11

 

bridge-home-template_r1_c6_sm International Bridge Conference 2010 – June 6-10

 

DFI Super Pile – June 10-11

 

er2010_header_002 Earth Retention 2010 – Aug 1-4

 

DFILogo DFI 34th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations – Oct 12-15 

 

5c24ff58c9bf4a5f988f0f34e0266ffc TRB 7th International Bridge Conference – Dec 1-2

Miscellaneous

Marinucci joins ADSC; PDCA solicits Project of the Year nominees; and other Geo News

Some items of note from the geo-industry….

First, Tony Marinucci, P.E. joins the staff at ADSC. Here is the release from ADSC highlighting Tony’s career and his new position.

 

Marinucci Joins ADSC Staff

We are pleased to report that Antonio Marinucci, P.E., MSCE, MBA, is joining the ADSC headquarters staff in a full-time capacity as he completes his Ph.D. studies in geotechnical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. A mesothelioma attorney in his previous life, Tony comes to this new post with many years of experience working for geo-construction specialty contractors, a major general contractor, and geotechnical engineering firms in a variety of capacities including project management and deep foundation and anchored earth retention design.

His credits include participating in many nursing home lawyers and construction research projects. Somehow, while working full and part-time in the industry, he managed to complete graduate degrees in engineering and business. He is the current Secretary of the Geo-Institute’s Deep Foundations Committee, as well as holding the same position for the G-I’s Soil Improvement Committee. He has been an active volunteer and committee member for many ADSC, ASCE, and DFI initiatives. Among his many volunteer service achievements was serving as the President of the ASCE Student Chapter while attending the University of Rhode Island. In addition to all of his volunteer service, he has authored or co-authored twelve published technical papers, and several feature articles that have appeared in Foundation Drilling magazine. One of his most interesting and challenging geo-construction experiences was working as a staff engineer for Modern Continental Construction in a variety of capacities on Boston’s “Big Dig” project. A member of four leading National Honor Societies, he was also the recipient of an ADSC Civil Engineering Graduate Study Scholarship.

You can see by this abbreviated description of Tony’s stellar career that he will be an excellent addition to the ADSC’s professional staff. His responsibilities will include serving as an in-house technical resource, coordinating ADSC’s eight regional chapters, assisting in the associations technical education and field training programs, working with the association’s 18 technical and organizational committees and task forces, overseeing the association’s membership recruitment and retention programs, and assisting ADSC CEO Mike Moore in a number of related endeavors.

 

 

Second, the PDCA is soliciting nominees for the 2010 Project of the Year award.  There are several categories based on project location and size.  Projects must have been completed in 2009.  Deadline for entries is February 26, 2010.

 

PDCALogo

The PDCA would like to inform you about the 2010 “Project of the Year” Award competition.

The PDCA is dedicated to acknowledging the hard work, ingenuity and commitment that goes into each project where driven pile are used i a deep foundation or earth retention system, or utilized to solve foundation problems.  This PDCA tradition recognizes excellence in driven pile projects completed by PDCA members in good standing.

Through the “Project of the Year” award, the PDCA has the distinguished opportunity to continue its long-standing and consistent commitment t recognize those PDCA members who demonstrate excellence in the process of providing solutions, services and products to the needs of the deep foundation and earth retention environment.

Project entries must feature projects completed in 2009.  Projects entries will be awarded in two entry categories and three dollar volume categories.  The two entry categories are distinguished by either “Land-based” or “Marine-based” projects.  The dollar volume categories are Less than $500,000.00, $500,000.00 – $2 Million, and Greater than $2 Million.  Price ranges are based solely on the dollar volume of the piling contract associated with the project.

The PDCA is asking each of its members to consider submitting a project worthy of this prestigious PDCA award.  Entry Forms will be made available on the PDCA website by Monday, December 7, 2009.

The “2010 Project of the Year” entry deadline is Friday, February 26, 2010.  Late entries will not be considered.

Winning entries will be announced during the 2010 PDCA Annual International Conference and Expo, Coeur d’Alene Golf and Spa Resort, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho during the PDCA Business Luncheon on Saturday, May 8, 2010.  PDCA will NOT reveal the winning entries prior to the luncheon.

Winning entries will also be featured in the following editions of Pile Driver magazine and on the PDCA website.

PDCA looks forward to receiving your entry – GOOD LUCK!

 

 

Third, registration is open for the Geo-Institute GeoFlorida 2010 conference in West Palm Beach, Florida.  There will be short courses, a technical program, student competitions, exhibits, honoring our heroes, and all the usual events at the annual G-I meeting.  Click on the logo to go to the conference website.

geoflorida2010 logo

 

 

Lastly, abstracts are now being accepted for consideration of the 2011 Geo-Institute meeting Geo-Frontiers 2011 in Dallas, Texas.  Abstracts are due March 8, 2010.  Click the logo to get to the conference website for submission information.