Standards and Codes

ASTM Updates for June and July 2012

July 30, 2012 rockman Comments Off

American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTM This post contains a list of new, revised and otherwise updated ASTM standards that pertain to the geotechnical engineering, materials testing and related fields. The standards for the standard proctor and modified proctor tests have been revised. There are a number of updated standards associated with cements and mortars, and curiously several standards that have been withdrawn with no replacements, including the standard for testing collapse susceptibility of soils, one pertaining to curing of concrete, and two for testing of soil-cement mixtures. Click through to see the updates to the ASTM standards.

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$22M in Geotechnical Work complete for new Tappan Zee Bridge

July 30, 2012 rockman Comments Off

70 boreholes were completed as well as 7 load test piles to characterize the geotechnical conditions for this well known bridge spanning the Hudson River in New York. No significant surprises were encountered compared to […]

High Octane Solution Solves Raceway Dips

July 25, 2012 Ty Taylor Comments Off

The modern race car being driven on the professional circuit today is an aerodynamic wonder. With mere inches of ground clearance, the car is designed to utilize airflow over the body of the car to force the tires down firmly against the pavement, maximizing traction. The objective, of course, is to safely maximize speed.

Professional race car drivers criticized Texas Motor Speedway regarding“bumps” in the 1.5-mile track between turns one and two. They said that these bumps limited them from running “multiple grooves” on the track (the “side-by-side” racing that NASCAR fans crave) and made it difficult to control cars coming out of turn one.

Texas Motor Speedway responded to this criticism immediately, engaging surveyors to shoot elevations across the track to detect any track deficiencies. It was determined that the unlevel areas were not “bumps”; to the contrary, the problem was, in fact, areas of settlement, dubbed “Dale’s Dips” by the press.

[Editor] Read on for more on this interesting project from GeoPrac sponsor URETEK ICR. [/Editor]

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