Articles

Technical articles about geotechnical engineering, engineering
geology, hydrogeology, geophysics, geoenvironmental and related fields.
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Articles

Bertha – The World’s Largest Tunnel Boring Machine

November 27, 2013 rockman 1

clip_image002Perhaps you’ve heard of Bertha, the World’s Largest Tunnel Boring Machine or TBM? She’s currently working her way underneath Downtown Seattle, excavating the Alaska Way Bored Tunnel to replace the aging Alaska Way Viaduct. This $2 Billion megaproject is an incredible feat of engineering on so many levels. I was in Seattle in September for the Association of Engineering Geologists annual meeting, and was fortunate enough to attend a field trip to see the launch pit and Bertha before she began her tunnel drive. It was an unforgettable experience for this engineer! In this article I give an overview of the project and Bertha herself, discuss some of the geotechnical features, and share my photos and video. Check it out!

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The DeWind one-pass trenching machine
Articles

One-pass trencher installs slurry wall through hard soils

July 2, 2013 Lis Smith Comments Off on One-pass trencher installs slurry wall through hard soils

The DeWind one-pass trenching machine

[Editor] The DeWind One-Pass Trenching company specializes in installing groundwater control or remedial systems underground, under the water table in a single pass. They have been in business for over 25 years and design, build, and operate these specialized one-of-a-kind machines.

In this contributed article by Lis Smith of DeWind, she describes a project to construct a soil/bentonite slurry wall around the perimeter of a site which was once a pre-World War II munitions factory. The groundwater contamination, difficult ground conditions and special project requirements were a perfect application of the DeWind One-Pass Trenching technology. Read on for more about this interesting project and technology. [/Editor]

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Articles

Solid Foundation for Grain Storage

December 13, 2012 Ty Taylor 2

Solid Foundation for Grain Storage

URETEK ICR was contacted regarding settlement in two identical 1.5 million bushel grain flat storage buildings.   The overall structure dimensions were 600 ft. long by 135 ft. wide with a Quonset style roof . Below the floor of the storage buildings, a tunnel with conveyance system and a series of aeration tunnels were installed to facilitate moisture control and grain transport. 

[Editor] Check out the rest of this contributed Article from Ty Taylor of URETEK ICR, a GeoPrac.net sponsor. Ty describes how the foundations were lifted and stabilized using the URETEK Method®  [/Editor]

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Geologic map of Southern Florida
Articles

How to Find Existing Geotechnical Subsurface Information

September 26, 2012 Rey Villa 2

Geologic map of Southern Florida

So, you’ve landed a job as a Geotechnical Engineer. What now? We all know that before performing any site investigation it is prudent to gather as much information that you can about the project site. There are so many resources out there that can help us get an idea of what the subsurface conditions are so that we can select the appropriate subsurface exploration techniques.

Below is a list of extremely useful sites that can help you gain some indication as to what the subsurface conditions are before planning the subsurface exploration program.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of this contributed article from Rey Villa. [/Editor]

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Articles

High Octane Solution Solves Raceway Dips

July 25, 2012 Ty Taylor Comments Off on High Octane Solution Solves Raceway Dips

High Octane Solution Solves Raceway Dips

The modern race car being driven on the professional circuit today is an aerodynamic wonder. With mere inches of ground clearance, the car is designed to utilize airflow over the body of the car to force the tires down firmly against the pavement, maximizing traction. The objective, of course, is to safely maximize speed.

Professional race car drivers criticized Texas Motor Speedway regarding“bumps” in the 1.5-mile track between turns one and two. They said that these bumps limited them from running “multiple grooves” on the track (the “side-by-side” racing that NASCAR fans crave) and made it difficult to control cars coming out of turn one.

Texas Motor Speedway responded to this criticism immediately, engaging surveyors to shoot elevations across the track to detect any track deficiencies. It was determined that the unlevel areas were not “bumps”; to the contrary, the problem was, in fact, areas of settlement, dubbed “Dale’s Dips” by the press.

[Editor] Read on for more on this interesting project from GeoPrac sponsor URETEK ICR. [/Editor]

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Articles

Environmental Data Management for Site Holders

April 9, 2012 EarthScience Information Systems Pty Ltd. (EScIS) Comments Off on Environmental Data Management for Site Holders

Many site-holders engage a variety of consultants, laboratories, and in-house staff to collect, manage and report their environmental data.

Unfortunately this often results in data being trapped in various pdf reports, GIS layers, emails, excel workbooks, or even in hard copy. This data becomes increasingly difficult and time consuming to manage and retrieve as more data is collected and as legislative reporting requirements become more rigorous.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of this interesting article. [/Editor]

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Articles

Stabilizing Wind Energy

February 7, 2012 Ty Taylor Comments Off on Stabilizing Wind Energy

Generic wind turbine photo

Recently, URETEK ICR was asked to review a project involving lifting and stabilization of 10 precast transformer pads at a wind farm located in South Dakota.

The pads had settled to varying degrees with 8 of the 10 having settled 1 (±0.5) inch and requiring only stabilization and the two remaining, with settlement in excess of 3.5 inches, requiring lift and stabilization.

[Editor] Click through for more on this interesting project by GeoPrac.net sponsor, URETEK ICR! [/Editor]

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Articles

Environmental Data Management for Groundwater Contamination

October 3, 2011 EarthScience Information Systems Pty Ltd. (EScIS) Comments Off on Environmental Data Management for Groundwater Contamination

ESdatESdat Environmental Data Management Software has been used to manage and report on large datasets generated from an investigation of groundwater contamination on an industrial facility in Adelaide. ESdat was used in managing site data and the maintenance of conceptual model and time series outputs at a complex site over an extended period. [Editor] Click through for the rest of the article. [/Editor]

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Articles

Ever get that sinkhole feeling?

August 23, 2011 Ty Taylor Comments Off on Ever get that sinkhole feeling?

Ever Get that Sinkhole Feeling?

It takes planning and good leadership to decide on an effective solution to problems associated with a building asset. Recently, a large wholesale warehouse facility in Cincinnati began to experience large sinkholes across a significant portion of their customer parking lot. Unable to determine the problem at that time, store management was forced to close a portion of the parking lot, inconveniencing their customers. This particular parking lot is unusual in that a drainage system is located directly under the parking lot, consisting of a network of pipes spanning 250 feet in length and 12” in diameter. Joint separations in the underground drainage piping had caused enough soil erosion to create sinkholes in the asphalt. Engineers were concerned that other unknown sinkholes could cave in anytime, resulting in further costly damage, and potentially posing safety hazards to customers.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of the article. [/Editor]

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