NCFI is a U.S. polyurethane manufacturing leader in the supply of high performance polyurethane systems since 1964. Their line of TerraThane™ geotechnical polyurethanes are ideally suited for concrete lifting and leveling, soil stabilization, void fill and erosion control. TerraThane™ is used as a standalone solution to repair sunken concrete slabs, filling voids, stabilizing soils, and in combination with other soil modification techniques. Please join me in thanking them for their support of GeoPrac by reading more about their products and services on their websites – http://www.terrathane.com or http://www.ncfi.com ! Find more contact info for NCFI on the Our Sponsors page on GeoPrac.
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ASCE G-I: Proposed “Journal of Geotechnical Engineering Practice”
Most geotechs are familiar with the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (JGGE), one of the (if not the) premier journal in the industry. It’s published by the ASCE’s Geo-Institute (G-I) and accounts for about 20% of the revenue of the G-I organization.
The G-I’s President, Dr. Jean-Louis Briaud, convened a task force in early 2009 to investigate if the JGGE is “adequately serving as a venue for practice oriented papers.” According to the final report from the Proposed "Journal of Geotechnical Engineering Practice" Task Force, the reason for the task force is that:
Nortex and TerraThane Stabilize Houston Area Highways
Houston’s Highways, Some of Busiest in Nation, Use Innovative TerraThane Polyurethane Foam Technology to Repair Bad Bridge Approaches, Uneven Joints, and Roadway Depressions.
MOUNT AIRY, NC—Highways around Houston, TX, known as one the nation’s worst cities for traffic behind Los Angeles, D.C., and Atlanta, need constant repair, but can’t be closed while the work is done. Nortex Concrete Lift and Stabilization, Inc., a Ft. Worth, TX company, recently completed a whirlwind repair project on one of the city’s busiest corridors in the NE quadrant where I-10, 610 Loop, I-59, and I-69 feed millions of cars daily to, from, and around Harris County.
Normal groundwater erosion beneath the highways causes the concrete highway slabs to drop, roadway depressions, uneven bridge approaches, and uneven joints that make driving bumpy and uncomfortable, dangerous, and causes severe wear and tear on automobiles.
To make the repairs, the Texas Department of Transportation, TXDOT, brought in Nortex. The company carefully planned out the repairs for the half million pound project, and sent out four crews each with it’s own box truck rig to use a relatively new technology called “foamjacking.” Foamjacking uses high-density polyurethane foam to fill the subterranean voids, and lift the concrete slabs to proper level. “We’ve been lifting and stabilizing roadways with polyurethane foam since we got into the business back in 2003,” says Casey Derosa, asst. gen. mgr. of Nortex. “It’s a far superior method versus the old way of mudjacking.” Mudjacking is a ubiquitous term for a mix of mud, sand, cement, crushed limestone, and water hydraulically pumped into large holes drilled into the concrete slabs to fill voids and level the slabs. Mudjacking uses more and much larger equipment, and requires larger holes to be drilled. It typically requires the roadway to be closed much longer than foamjacking, and takes more time to clean up.
[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release from GeoPrac sponsor NCFI Polyurethanes. [/Editor]