Articles

Technical articles about geotechnical engineering, engineering
geology, hydrogeology, geophysics, geoenvironmental and related fields.
Interested in publishing here? We encourage contributions in all
disciplines! Read more about submitting content on GeoPrac.

Typical pile driving analyzer or PDA setup
Articles

The Use of the Pile Driving Analyzer for Installing Pile Foundations

March 2, 2011 Scott A Barnhill Comments Off on The Use of the Pile Driving Analyzer for Installing Pile Foundations

Typical pile driving analyzer or PDA setup

[Editor] The pile driving analyzer or PDA is used to measure the response of piles during driving. It was originally developed to analyze pile drivability, but is sometimes used as a substitute for pile static load tests to determine . Mr. Scott A. Barnhill, P.E., Executive Vice President of consulting firm GeoEnvironmental Resources, Inc. located in Virginia Beach, Virginia has seen PDA being used and misused over his 33-year career. In this article, Mr. Barnhill describes pitfalls in relying solely on the PDA for pile capacities, and also describes what PDA is good at and how it can be used successfully. [/Editor]

[…]

Kleinfelder CEO Bill Siegel
Articles

We must not sell ourselves short: Engineering is an honorable profession

June 21, 2010 Bill Siegel, Kleinfelder CEO 5

Kleinfelder CEO Bill Siegel

[Editor] Do we as geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists realize the impact of what it is that we do in our professions? Kleinfelder CEO Bill Siegel thinks we need to step back once and a while and look at the significance of our work. In this article contributed to GeoPrac.net, Mr. Siegel describes his observations at more than 50 Kleinfelder offices in this regard. I think I for one will have to work at taking his advice. Click through for Mr. Siegel’s excellent article. [/Editor]

[…]

Geofoam used on Pacific Street Bridge Project in Omaha, Nebraska
Articles

Geofoam Offers Performance and Efficiency, Streamlining Nebraska Traffic

August 25, 2009 Nico Sutmoller 3

Geofoam used on Pacific Street Bridge Project in Omaha, Nebraska[Editor] Geofoam is a great tool to have in your geotechnical toolbox. It can be used to reduce vertical loads to control settlement or to reduce lateral loads on bridge abutments or other structures. The Pacific Street Bridge Project in Omaha, Nebraska is one project that used geofoam for both of these purposes. In this article, author Nico Sutmoller, Geofoam Specialist with Insulfoam, LLC describes this excellent case study in the application of geofoam to meet the project objectives and provide aditional efficiencies during the construction phase. Nico, thanks for sharing with us! [/Editor]

[…]

Monte Carlo Simulation in Excel using VBA
Articles

VBA and Excel for Engineers and Scientists – Part 3

June 10, 2009 rockman Comments Off on VBA and Excel for Engineers and Scientists – Part 3

Monte Carlo Simulation in Excel using VBAIn this third and final installment of the popular VBA and Excel for Engineers and Scientists series, we will look at one of the most important techniques for extending Excel with VBA, the Range Object. I’ll show you the best way to refer to single cells, multiple cells, how to get values from them and put values back into ranges using the VBA. And we’ll program up a simple Monte Carlo Simulation example and lastly we’ll look at how to read and write to text files and to manipulate files and folders in Windows.

[…]

gINT colors
Articles

Variable Colours for Reports in gINT Part 1

April 30, 2009 Miles Davis Comments Off on Variable Colours for Reports in gINT Part 1

gINT colors[Editor] Miles Davis of Quantum Geotechnical Ltd. and gINTDev gives us a sneak peak at a "future feature" in gINT. Of course, gINT Software is a Premier Sponsor of GeoPrac, and the article has been published with the complete knowledge of the company. We welcome this first contribution from Miles and look forward to Part 2 and future articles sharing his gINT expertise! [/Editor]

[…]

Completed side-hill retaining wall for the SR 264 Second Mesa project in Arizona. Photo by Bharat Khandel, ADOT by way of NCS Consultants, LLC
Articles

Side Hill Retaining Walls – Part 2

April 2, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Side Hill Retaining Walls – Part 2

Completed side-hill retaining wall for the SR 264 Second Mesa project in Arizona. Photo by Bharat Khandel, ADOT by way of NCS Consultants, LLCIn this part 2 of 2, various types of retaining walls are examined as possible alternatives in a side-hill retaining wall situation. These include conventional wall types such as CIP walls, MSE walls, gravity walls and soldier pile walls and some less conventional approaches such as lighweight concrete fill, hybrid soil-nail and geofoam wall systems, ground improvement and micropile walls.

Part 1 of this Side Hill Retaining Wall article covered the definition, significance, problems and failure modes, investigation techniques, analysis, and construction considerations of side hill walls. A PDF version is now available for download as well. Click through for the article and the download link!

[…]

Completed side-hill retaining wall for the SR 264 Second Mesa project in Arizona. Photo by Bharat Khandel, ADOT by way of NCS Consultants, LLC
Articles

Side Hill Retaining Walls – Part 1

March 12, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Side Hill Retaining Walls – Part 1

Completed side-hill retaining wall for the SR 264 Second Mesa project in Arizona. Photo by Bharat Khandel, ADOT by way of NCS Consultants, LLCSide-hill retaining walls refer primarily to fill-walls built partway down the sides of an existing slope or embankment. They are encountered in roadway and rail widening projects as well as site development but usually in steep terrain. This article provides an overview of the problems, failure mechanisms, investigation approaches, analysis tools and wall type alternatives for these structures. Click through to read the article!

[…]

Geotaggng images
Articles

Geotagging Images for Geoengineers

July 10, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Geotagging Images for Geoengineers

Geotaggng images

Geotagging is the process of adding geographic metadata (ie. latitude, longitude and sometimes elevation and bearing) to digital photos or other media. In this article, I will examine the equipment needed, the software to help with the process and what you can do with your geotagged photos.

[…]