American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTM
Standards and Codes

ASTM Updates for February 2011

American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTMRead on for updates to ASTM standards related to geotechnical engineering, materials testing and related disciplines for the month of February, 2011.  Standards associated with concrete aggregates and addmixtures / additives have been updated, as have several standards related to coring, sampling and testing of soil-lime mixtures.

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Typical pile driving analyzer or PDA setup
Articles

The Use of the Pile Driving Analyzer for Installing Pile Foundations

Typical pile driving analyzer or PDA setup

[Editor] The pile driving analyzer or PDA is used to measure the response of piles during driving. It was originally developed to analyze pile drivability, but is sometimes used as a substitute for pile static load tests to determine . Mr. Scott A. Barnhill, P.E., Executive Vice President of consulting firm GeoEnvironmental Resources, Inc. located in Virginia Beach, Virginia has seen PDA being used and misused over his 33-year career. In this article, Mr. Barnhill describes pitfalls in relying solely on the PDA for pile capacities, and also describes what PDA is good at and how it can be used successfully. [/Editor]

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Wisconsin_Rockslide_WXOW
Geologic Hazards

Video: Rockslide Damages Wisconsin Home

Wisconsin_Rockslide_WXOW A 50-ton boulder caused severe damage to a La Crosse, Wisconsin home after a rockslide event near the appropriately named Cliffwood Lane.  Residents in some adjacent houses were asked to evacuate as well.  Click through for the news coverage of the rockslide. [Source and Image: WXOW. Hat tip to USGS]

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