The FHWA’s Advanced Geotechnical Methods in Exploration (A-GaME) series of webinars is part of their Every Day Counts Initiative. For the past year and a half or so, they have been organizing these excellent webinars on the state of the art and practice in geotechnical investigations. Now, those webinars are on YouTube courtesy of the Deep Foundations Institute. There are currently 10 A-GaME webinars posted, including one of my favorites on Measure While Drilling or MWD technology (see below). For more information and to subscribe to their mailing list, visit the FHWA’s A-GaME page.
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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]
Notable Geotechnical Engineers Among 2016 ASCE OPAL Award Recipients
Changes in Geotechnical Engineering Practice in Arizona
[Editor] Note: NCS Consultants, LLC is Randy Post’s full time employer…ie. my day job! [/Editor]
There are some significant changes being made to the state of the practice in geotechnical engineering in Arizona. NCS Consultants, LLC has prepared three policy memoranda for the Arizona Department of Transportation or ADOT that have been issued to consultants all over the State. These memos are on the topics of bearing capacity and settlement of spread footings and retaining walls, the design of drilled shaft foundations in gravelly soils, and the preparation of drilled shaft axial capacity charts for use by bridge engineers.
Although primarily applicable to upcoming ADOT projects implementing the AASHTO 2007 LRFD code, the memos will have a ripple effect down through other local agencies within the state who frequently defer to ADOT guidelines for geotechnical engineering. Also, the memos and the ADOT/NCS approach to LRFD implementation in geotechnical engineering were presented by NCS at the 2008 TRB Conference in Washington D.C., and many other state DOTs and the FHWA were very excited about the memos. The approach used if not the exact content may become a model for other agencies. More info and links to download the policy memoranda are provided after the break.