There are two notable geotechnical engineers among the recipients of the 2016 ASCE Opal Outstanding Projects and Leaders awards. Rudolph Bonaparte, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE, NAE, the president and CEO of Geosyntec, will receive the award for design. Jerry A. DiMaggio, P.E., D.GE, M.ASCE, will receive the award for government for his many years of service as the FHWA’s lead geotechnical engineer. [Source: Read more about the award and bios for the recipients at the ASCE Roundup Blog. Image: ASCE Roundup]
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Calibration of Resistance Factors for Drilled Shafts for the New FHWA Design Method
The Louisiana Transportation Research Center has released a report that presents the reliability-based analyses for the calibration of the resistance factor for load and resistance factor design of axially loaded drilled shafts. Here is the […]
FHWA NHI Manual: Drilled Shafts Construction Procedures and LRFD Design Methods
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.
ADSC Joins with FHWA to Conduct Hollow Core Soil Nail Research
The ADSC [Editor] (Association of Drilled Shaft Contractors) [/Editor] will join the FHWA as co-sponsors of a research project to develop a database of the available grout-to-ground bond stress of Hollow Core Anchors (HCAs) and to determine if correlations exist with traditional solid bar, drill and grout soil nails. The FHWA and the ADSC are interested in documenting the performance of HCAs in soil nail wall type construction and identifying methods of quality assurance so that HCAs can be specified with confidence in appropriate applications, both temporary and permanent. [Editor] Photo of hollow core nail installation underneath an existing bridge abutment, courtesy of NCS Consultants, LLC. Read on for the rest of the release. [/Editor]