Rockman's Ramblings
Buried in Twitter and Geo-terms Searching Fail
Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I’m a geek, I’ve been wrapped up in a new programming project with PHP and the Twitter API. Its going to be a new feature on the […]
Articles by rockman
Geologic Hazards
Rockfall Protection Videos from G.T.S.
More videos! French Company G.T.S. has posted some great videos on rockfall protection systems on their YouTube channel. I don’t speak French, so I can’t give you any more info on the company (although their website looks like it has plenty of info!). But the videos cover the preparation of, drilling for, and installation or rockfall protection fences and barriers as well as a couple of general rockfall ones. They just have video with background music, so no worries about a language barrier. You can watch the installation video below.
Geologic Hazards
Landslide Hazards along Wasatch Front in Utah – Video
Given the earthquake risk from the Wasatch Fault in Utah and the already steep landslide prone terrain in the area, there is definitely cause for concern about the potential for major landslides in the region. […]
Project Related
Micropile Underpinning of US 69 Bridge over Kansas River
A temporary micropile underpinning foundation system was used to support the abutments of the US 69 bridge over the Kansas River near Kansas City, KS while repairs to the abutment bearing devices were performed. This post is based on my notes from the presentation titled “Emergency Micropile Underpining of the U.S. 69 Truss – Kansas River Bridge” by Jim Brennan, Assistant [State?] Geotechnical Engineer with KDOT. It was the first presentation of the 34th Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference in Phoenix this week. Read on for more.
Rockman's Ramblings
Southwest Geotechnical Conference Wrapup
[Editor] Updated Thursday May 28, 2009 2:15pm [/Editor]
I was able to attend the first full day of the 34th Southwest Geotechnical Conference in Phoenix, AZ yesterday. The conference, sponsored by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the FHWA, is going on through tomorrow, and I wish I could have attended the rest of the sessions, but I had to get back to work! There were some very interesting presentations, and I made some valuable contacts that will hopefully result in some additional articles and other content for GeoPrac. Below are some of the highlights for me, some of which I plan to elaborate on in separate posts. When I do, I’ll update this post with the links. The highlights were…
Project Related
Voids Open as a Result of Tunneling Under Seattle’s Beacon Hill
The Seattle Times (hat tip to ASCE SmartBrief) has reported that seven voids have been discovered above the Beacon Hill Tunnel with one opening up at the ground surface. The tunnel is being constructed by Sound Transit, the area’s transportation agency as part of a roughly $2.6 billion (yep, billion) light-rail project connecting downtown Seattle with the University of Washington and SEA-TAC airport. The voids were a result of running sand pockets in the otherwise stable clay units that were encountered by the tunnel boring machine or TBM. These voids migrated up like a chimney with one reaching the surface, almost 160-ft above the tunnel. This void was apparently 21-ft deep and opened up in a resident’s front yard and could have easily swallowed her up as she noticed it while gardening. The other voids were discovered at a depth of 20- to 65-ft below the ground surface. More after the break. (Illustration from Seattle Times)
Available Resources
Florida Agency Using Cement-Polyurethane Foam Mix to Plug Sinkholes
Hillsborough County Florida is using a mix of expanding polyurethane foam and conventional cement grout as a more cost effective means of filling sinkholes. Officials say the mix uses 30 to 40% less grout adding […]
Geologic Hazards
Landslide Mitigation Examples in Japan
A couple of weeks ago the Landslides Under a Microscope blog had two nice posts about Landslide Mitigation examples in Japan. The author references the book “Landslides in Japan” (1996), but I’m not sure if […]
Press Releases
gINT Software Announces Enterprise Version for Centralized Subsurface Data Management
New SQL Server Version Offers Benefits for Companies with High-Volume Data
Santa Rosa, CA – May 5, 2008 – gINT Software, Inc.
gINT Software announces the release of “gINT Enterprise,” a new SQL Server version of gINT. gINT Enterprise offers unlimited centralized data storage as well as multi-project reporting and extended querying power. With the new SQL Server integration, gINT Enterprise offers a far superior range of subsurface data management capabilities above and beyond what can be done in a standard Microsoft Access™ database.
[Editor] Disclosure: gINT Software, Inc. is a sponsor of GeoPrac. All images courtesy of gINT. Read on for the rest of the press release. [/Editor] […]
Project Related
kcICON Drilled Shafts Completed
The drilled shaft foundations for the kcICON bridge over the Missouri River have been completed according to Dan Brown and Associates, LLC, the geotechnical engineers on the job. The 1700-ft long bridge conveys the I-29/35 […]