Miscellaneous

Have some GeoNews that doesn't fit in another category? Here's the place. Try to keep it at least somewhat on topic.

Drilling equipment at the 2009 IFCEE
Miscellaneous

2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Exposition

March 25, 2009 Robert Thompson, P.E. Comments Off on 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Exposition

Drilling equipment at the 2009 IFCEE[Editor] Last week was the International Foundation Congress and Equipment Exposition in Orlando, Florida. The event was co-sponsored by the Geo-Institute, ADSC and PDCA. Perhaps at the next event I’ll be able to attend and provide some comprehesive coverage via GeoPrac. In the meantime, I am very appreciative of Robert Thompson of Dan Brown and Associates, PLLC. who was among the attendees (and a presenter?). He was kind enough to provide GeoPrac readers a summary of the event. Click through for more on this tremendous conference. (Photo by Robert Thompson, Dan Brown and Associates, Inc. ) [/Editor]

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International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo
Miscellaneous

IFCEE 2009 This Week in Orlando, FL

March 17, 2009 rockman Comments Off on IFCEE 2009 This Week in Orlando, FL

The International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo is underway in Orlando, FL. This is one of the biggest geo-conferences out there and is sponsored by ADSC, The Geo-Institute and PDCA with the cooperation of 15 […]

LNG Tanker
Miscellaneous

LNG Outlook is Good

February 18, 2009 rockman Comments Off on LNG Outlook is Good

A recent Reuters article described how Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG projects are weathering the global recession better than other industries. It states that one reason is the continuing global demand for natural gas and […]

Science fair winners
Miscellaneous

Kids Saying No to Engineering Careers

February 9, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Kids Saying No to Engineering Careers

That’s the title of a blog post by Loren Faulkner of California Builder and Engineer, an Associated Construction Publication. He cites a recent survey by the American Society for Quality (ASQ). ASQ/Harris conducted its survey […]

hydraulic fracuturing for natural gas extraction
Miscellaneous

Fracking Chemicals in Your Water

November 18, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Fracking Chemicals in Your Water

The good folks at Geology.com have pointed out a very interesting and alarming article on hazardous chemicals that may be used in the Hydrofrac process of natural gas extraction and their impact on groundwater. The […]

Peridotite, possible means of carbon sequestration
Miscellaneous

Carbon Sequestration as Hard Rock

November 6, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Carbon Sequestration as Hard Rock

Most carbon sequestration approaches focus on injecting CO2 underground for storage in porous aquifers and hoping the gas doesn’t escape. There are other problems with this approach as well, including chemical reactions that create Carbonic […]

Miscellaneous

Geotechnical Engineer Dives to Inspect Bridges

September 3, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Geotechnical Engineer Dives to Inspect Bridges

The Progressive Engineer website has an interesting article profiling Colwyn Sayers, a geotechnical engineer with the Lexington, Kentucky office of Stantec. His specialty is inspecting underwater bridge foundations which requires either wetsuit or drysuit diving using topside air sources. Occasionally a hyperbaric chamber is required as well. (Photo credit: Progressive Engineer)

On a typical dive, Sayers looks for signs of deterioration that may cause instability or even collapse of the bridge. This includes scour, undermining from flowing water that erodes the streambed, deterioration, cracks, section loss, and impact and abrasion damage from trees. Tree debris caught in the bridge leads to scour and erosion. “It depends on the construction type as well as the materials on the bridge,” he states.

 

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Miscellaneous

Tight Pipe Supplies Pinch Drillers

August 20, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Tight Pipe Supplies Pinch Drillers

According to Reuters, there is a shortage of steel pipe that the drilling industry uses to drill and case wells. I presume the shortage also applies to geotechnical and well drilling as well. The run on the pipe has been spurred by the increased surge in the U.S. onshore oil and natural gas drilling market. The situation is not helped by record high steel prices as well. (Photo by yak23flora)

I talked to our local geotechnical/geoenvironmental drilling contractor to see if he has been affected by this shortage, and he said that he had, but that the supply shortages on all manner of drilling equipment and parts has been even more challenging. He cited the booming mining sector and their desire for exploration holes as a major source of his problem. He said one of his rigs had a broken overshot for an NQ coring system, that’s the device that attaches to the wireline and retrieves the inner tube from the drill stem while coring. He said there wasn’t a single overshot in North America that he could buy!

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