This is the first time I have heard of this type of consolidation/permeability testing. I won't try to summarize myself, here's a bit of a description from their newsletter:

Hydraulic consolidation cells, a.k.a. Rowe-Braden consolidation cells, can be used to carry out a variety of vertical and radial consolidation and permeability tests. A main advantage is that the vertical stress is applied by a water-filled pressurized rubber membrane in contact with the top of the test specimen. Therefore, large diameter soil samples can be tested without the use of dead weights, mechanical or pneumatic loading frames or compression machines. The relatively large sample diameter enables the effect of soil fabric (stratigraphy, varves, fissures, bedding planes) on drainage to be examined. Permeability in either vertical or horizontal direction can be reliably determined along with values of void ratio, pore pressure and effective stress to closely simulate field conditions.

Today is the first day of the Earth Retention Conference 3 or ER2010 conference in Bellevue, Washington.  Sponsored by ASCE’s Geo-Institute, this is the third conference in a series that occurs every 20 years! I’ll be spending the next couple of days blogging, tweeting and posting to GeoPrac’s facebook page about the various plenary speakers, technical sessions, exhibitors and even field trips. So follow geoprac on Twitter (and if you tweet, I propose the #er2010 hashtag) and visit our Facebook page to keep up!

Randy

[Photo of Seattle’s seismically deficient Alaskan Way Viaduct, got to drive on top, and park underneath it!]

ESRI has recently released an iPhone and iPad app that will allow developers to bring content derived from ArcGIS to the popular iOS platforms. According to ESRI's website, the ArcGIS app will allow users to find and share maps from ArcGIS Online, use tools to search, identify, measure, and query and eventually (after some future update), to collect and update GIS features and attributes and perform GIS analysis by accessing geoprocessing tasks. I think this is a major game changer for engineers and geologists and all manner of public works departments. I can't wait to see what developers come up with for this. [Source: Slashgeo. Image: ESRI]

A federal judge in Seattle dismissed a lawsuit Friday aimed at stopping construction of a tunnel replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Judge John Coughenour said the people who brought the suit in September hadn't established their standing. In his ruling he said they hadn't specified how they'd be damaged by the lack of a full environmental-impact statement on all of the viaduct construction projects. [Source: SeattlePI via AGC SmartBrief]

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The FHWA has released for download a comprehensive update to the 1999 O’Neil and Reese manual “Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and Design Methods”, lovingly referred to in the industry as the “Brown Book” or the “Drilled Shaft Bible”.  This 2010 manual from the National Highway Institute (NHI) of the FHWA is entitled “Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures Procedures and LRFD Design Methods” and was authored by Dan A. Brown, Ph.D, P.E. of Dan Brown and Associates, John P. Turner, Ph.D, P.E. of the University of Wyoming, and Raymond J. Castelli, P.E. From an FHWA Memo on the manual:

Distributed with this memorandum is the publication entitled "Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and LRFD Design Methods" (FHWA-NHI-10-016). This manual is the reference text used for the National Highway Institute (NHI) course numbered 132014 on Drilled Shafts. The publication will become the tenth in the series of geotechnical engineering guidelines called "Geotechnical Engineering Circulars." Geotechnical Engineering Circular (GEC) No. 10 is prepared as a significant revision and update to "Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and Design Methods" (FHWA IF-99-025), and reflects the standard of practice for the design, construction and inspection of these features. The guidance is developed following Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) procedures and will enable engineers to identify and evaluate technical feasibility and potential applications. The text is developed with a sufficiently broad scope to be of value to a wide range of transportation specialists responsible for assisting with selection, design, development of materials specifications, construction monitoring, and contracting methods for Drilled Shafts.

Click through for the download link and some preliminary comments on what has been updated in this significant new publication in the drilled shaft construction industry as well as the geotechnical engineering profession.

You can download the EPA's KMZ file for use in Google Earth and view locations of water, air, sediment, and waste samples, view aerial imagery taken by the EPA and satellite imagery from NOAA, NASA and others. [Source: Google Earth Blog. Image: Google Earth Blog]

'TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 651: LRFD Design and Construction of Shallow Foundations for Highway Bridge Structures explores recommended changes to Section 10 of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Load Resistance Factor Design Bridge Design Specifications for the strength limit state design of shallow foundations.' [Source: TRB. Image: TRB]

The Jefferson Memorial itself is supported on a network of 600+ concrete piles and drilled shafts that penetrate through soft Patomac River sediments and dredged material into bedrock between 80 and 138-ft below ground. However, the seawall is supported on timber pilings that are estimated to be 65 to 75-ft long, stopping short of the bedrock. The wall has been settling below the level of the adjacent plaza since about 2006 as reported by GeoPrac back in 2007. At that time Schnabel was preparing a report for the National Park Service, but I never heard anything else about it. General contractor Clark Construction Company has been working on a $12.4M repair project that includes constructing a temporary cofferdam, deconstructing the existing seawall while salvaging the historic stone facing, installing 4-ft drilled shafts into bedrock and battered concrete-filled pipe piles to support a new seawall. The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2011. [Source: Washington Post via ASCE SmartBrief. Image: The Washington Post]

These geologic maps just released from the California Geologic Survey mark the 150th anniversary of the CGS. They can be viewed online in a very easy to use Google Maps interface. The previous Geologic Map of California was published in 1977 and later issued in digital form in 2000. This version seeks to correct distortions from the 1977 version and bring it in line with the latest version of the Fault Map. The Fault Map was last published in 1994 prior to this release.

From insidebayarea.com:

It's no surprise that much of California is lined with faults, but the state's top geologist says the new maps will be an important and more accurate tool for planners, businesses and others looking at potential geologic hazards. "This will enhance the ability of the general public to look at fault maps," said John Parrish, the state geologist.

More info can be found on the CGS Website or you can jump right to the online versions of the Geologic Map of California or the Fault Activity Map of California.

Hot on the heals of the revised MSE Wall Manual, the FHWA has released another manual, this one on Spread Footings. Selection of Spread Footings on Soils to Support Highway Bridge Structures was authored by Naresh C. Samtani, PE, PhD, Edward A Nowatzki, PE, PhD and Dennis R. Mertz, PE, PhD. So what is this manual all about? I think the foreword by Scott Anderson, PE, PhD of the FHWA Resource Center says it best:

The much anticipated LRFD update to the MSE Wall and Reinforced Soil Slope Manual is now available for download from the FHWA’s website. The full title of the document is Design of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes and it was authored by Ryan R. Berg, P.E.; Barry R. Christopher, Ph.D., P.E. and Naresh C. Samtani, Ph.D., P.E. Find the abstract and download link below. As time permits, I’ll try to post more about some of the changes in this important geotechnical publication.

At GPSWorld.com in the Defense / Warfighter category, Don Jewell posted a very nice review of the Trimble Yuma Rugged Tablet PC. Jewell is a 30-yr veteran of the Air Force, involved in GPS systems virtually from their inception and currently a consultant for the government on various technical advisory boards for the Air Force and the Defense Scientific Advisory Board. (Photo from GPSWorld.com)

Everything I’ve read about the Yuma so far sounds pretty awesome. It’s got all the tech buzz words crammed onto it’s little 2.5-lb form factor, like GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, two cameras (one forward facing, one rear facing) and a solid state hard drive all contained in a dust-proof, water-proof, extreme temperature tolerant case. Of course it will set you back nearly $4k, but it’s not too hard to see why the Military and first responders are looking at the Yuma for mission critical computing.

But I think it will see much use beyond these obvious field applications. For example GIS and perhaps even geotechnical and geological professionals may find uses for the machine. Field mapping, interfacing with well dataloggers or deformation monitoring instruments or perhaps just logging soil borings. But I can also see various municipal agencies using this to track infrastructure such as manhole locations, bridge inspection info and even more.