Up until recently, the biggest steel H-Pile section you could get was an HP14 weighing up to 177 lb/ft. But ENR reports that manufacturers are now rolling steel H-Piles in 16 and 18 inch depths. The HP16 sections range from 88 to 183 lb/ft and the HP18 are available in 135 to 204 lb/ft. These new sections open up a range of possibilities for deep foundations, shoring systems and excavation bracing. The American Institute of Steel Construction listed these products in their 2010 manual and they have also been approved by ASTM. They can be found in the product literature of Nucor-Yamato Steel. [Source: ENR. Image: http://taesancorporation.trustpass.alibaba.com/productshowimg/111392582-101499462/H_Bearing_Pile.html]
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ASTM Updates August 2009
Another busy month for ASTM with 66 new, revised or otherwise updated standards related to geotechnical and geological engineering (although not as busy as last month). A couple that caught my eye include brand new standards for geospatial data requirements related to abandoned mines, a new standard for sampling of EPS or geofoam, updated standards for mortar and cement, flexural strength of concrete, LA Abrasion test for aggregates, acceptance testing of geosynthetic clay liners, electrical methods for leak detection of geomembranes with earth cover and classification of soils and soil-aggregate mixtures for highway construction purpose (AASHTO classification).
Those involved in the materials testing side of the business should take a close look at the full list as there are also a number of updated standards relating to various asphalt and and aggregate tests, capping of concrete cyllinders and other related testing standards.
For my practice, perhaps the most significant standard that was updated was D 2488 – Standard Practice for Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-Manual Procedure) which we rely on for our field USCS classifications. I’ll be curious to see what those changes entail. Click through for the full list.