Articles by rockman

Water infrastructure tunnel - Copyright Black and Veatch
Press Releases

Black & Veatch to design Chicago’s McCook Reservoir tunnel connection for USACE

August 6, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Black & Veatch to design Chicago’s McCook Reservoir tunnel connection for USACE

Water infrastructure tunnel - Copyright Black and Veatch

Kansas City, Mo. (Aug. 5, 2009) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has selected Black & Veatch as the design engineer for the McCook Reservoir Main Tunnel. The new tunnel will connect the future McCook Reservoir to Chicago’s Deep Tunnel system, which is aimed at improving water quality in area rivers and Lake Michigan and reducing flood risk for the city of Chicago and suburban communities. [Editor] Read on for the rest of the press release. Photo copyright Black and Veatch[/Editor] […]

Cannon Place office building in London
Project Related

Innovative Foundation System for London Office Building

August 3, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Innovative Foundation System for London Office Building

Cannon Place office building in London This has to be one of the most complex geotechnical engineering problems I’ve heard of for a building, if not for any kind of project. For starters, beneath the proposed 10-story office building referred to as Cannon Place lies the Cannon Street Train Station built in 1868. Also beneath the site are walls and foundations of a Roman Governor’s palace. In order to accommodate these features, the building has 21-m cantilevers at each end, with the load bearing happening over two groupings of columns at the 1/3 points. In section it looks quite like a 3-span bridge…without the abutments and stacked 10-stories tall! More after the break. (Images by New Civil Engineer) […]

Geotubes to protect Grand Isle Louisiana
Project Related

Video: Sand Filled Geotextile Tubes To Protect Grand Isle Louisiana

July 31, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Video: Sand Filled Geotextile Tubes To Protect Grand Isle Louisiana

Geotubes to protect Grand Isle Louisiana In this ENR.com video, a US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) project to protect Grand Isle Louisiana from the erosional effects of a large storm surge is described. 5.7 miles of sand filled geotextile tubes or geotubes 30-ft in diameter are used to form the core of a dune along with a geotextile erosion apron held in place by anchor tubes. The design is aimed to prevent devastating erosion in the event that a large storm surge overtops the protective dunes. The sand is screened on site and mixed with water to form a slurry that is pumped into the tube. Once the tubes are in place, additional sand will be placed over the top and the dune revegetated. If the topping sand is eroded away, the Corps hopes the fix will be easier to perform with the tubes. Click through for the video.

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No Picture
Geologic Hazards

Landslides in China – Sichuan and Guangxi

July 30, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Landslides in China – Sichuan and Guangxi

In Sichuan Province, China, they were still in the recovery process from the devastating 2008 earthquake when a series of landslides, rockfall, mudslides and flooding has hit the region. Dave’s Landslide Blog has excellent coverage as usual on the slide pictured here, which blocked a major road, hindering rescue efforts. (Photo Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

A remarkable video of the aftermath of a bridge destroyed by one of these rockfall / landslide events is shown below. The destruction is pretty profound. (Via Geology.com)

Also on Dave’s blog, a landslide in Guangxi caused a train to derail, killing 4 people and injuring 50. My heart truly goes out to the people of those portions of China, particularly in Sichuan as they have been through so much.

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Dataforensics, Inc. Logo
Press Releases

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Kentucky Geological Survey Utilized Dataforensics’ PLog Enterprise for their Publicly Searchable Geotechnical Database

July 28, 2009 rockman Comments Off on The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Kentucky Geological Survey Utilized Dataforensics’ PLog Enterprise for their Publicly Searchable Geotechnical Database

Dataforensics, Inc. Logo

Norcross, Georgia, July 28, 2009 – In a joint project between the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) and the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS), PLog Enterprise was chosen as a key software component in developing a web-based, searchable database of geotechnical investigation data. [Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]

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American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTM
Standards and Codes

ASTM Updates July 2009

July 28, 2009 rockman Comments Off on ASTM Updates July 2009

American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTMRevised, new, and reapproved ASTM standards for the month of July. This month was a busy one for the various comittees with 108 standards  related to concrete, geotechnical lab testing, asphalt, lab testing and other standards updated. Read on for the list.

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Rockman's Ramblings

Indefinite “Temporary” Nuclear Waste Storage and the Need for Nuclear Power

July 24, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Indefinite “Temporary” Nuclear Waste Storage and the Need for Nuclear Power

image Since the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository has gotten the axe from President Obama, nuclear power plants around the country are faced with the prospect of virtually indefinite "temporary" storage of their nuclear waste in the form of spent fuel rods. The US Department of Energy has a legal obligation to find a permanent disposal facility for the spent fuel, and the agreements currently in place presumed that Yucca Mountain would be accepting nuclear waste by 2025 which clearly won’t happen. (Photo of dry cask temporary storage method for spent nuclear fuel from Connecticut Yankee). More after the break. […]