Purdue Geotechnical Society

13th Leonards Lecture (2015) Dr. Richard E. Goodman presented the 13th Leonards Lecture on Karl Terzaghi (1883-1963), Geotechnical Engineer and Founder of Soil Mechanics The Purdue Geotechnical Society was founded in May 2003 to enhance the strong bond and working relationship among alumni, faculty, students, and staff of the Geotechnical Engineering group at Purdue University for the benefit of all. A Celebration Honoring the 100th Anniversary of Professor Leonards’ Birthday April 29, 2021 – 2pm EDT We invite you to celebrate Prof. Gerald A. Leonards’ birthday through an informal event to be held online on the afternoon of April 29th. This will be about a 2.5-hour session using ZOOM. There will be short presentations by six of Jerry's former colleagues or students that will highlight his legacy and connect it to the state of practice today and the future of our profession. Purdue Geotechnical Society - Purdue University

Foundation, Geotechnical

A Midwest leader in foundation, geotechnical, and bridge construction Specializes in a wide array of foundation piles, auger cast piles, micropiles, earth retention systems, geotechnical, and marine construction. Hardman line of services can be used in any situation there’s a need — from a one-day job to a multimillion-dollar project. Select a service to see the work they do. Deep Foundations Auger Cast Piles Displacement Piles Drilled Shafts Driven Pile Helical Piles Micropiles Push Piles Sheet Piling Earth Retention Earth Anchors Secant Walls Soil Nail Walls Soldier Piles Shotcrete Tangent Auger Cast Walls Ground Improvements Compaction Grouting Soil Grouting Geotechnical

Long-Term Testing Of Concrete Bond Durability

Source: Long-Term Testing Of Concrete Bond Durability   The definition of concrete durability can be explained as the ability of a specimen to resist any form of weathering action, namely abrasion, chemical, physical, or any other process of deterioration. In other words, the durability of concrete can also be defined as the ability to last a long period of time without significant deterioration or failure. Image Credit: Peshkova/Shutterstock.com Types of weathering include mechanical, physical, and chemical weathering of concrete including the alkali-aggregate reaction of sulfate attack and chloride attack. Different long-term testing methods have been used over the years and more research has been done to improve the existing methods to be more economical and environmental. Consideration has also gone into methods that reduce the time in which these tests can be completed and assessed. The Importance Of Long-Term Durability Testing It is important to test for the durability of concrete bonds because of the following reasons. Firstly, concrete testing will allow the designers to determine accurately the lifespan of a specific structure according to its specific needs or requirements. If a structure is intended to last a specific period of time, long-term concrete testing can reveal the combination that is required for it to last that long. There can be economic and environmental benefits to this testing. Economically, constant rehabilitation and patching up of structures are very expensive. Hence, long-term testing can reveal the right combination of concrete mixtures for durable structures, thereby reducing the number of times for rehabilitation. Environmentally, constant rehabilitation will require more use of natural resources such as sources of energy, gypsum, or steel to continuously rehabilitate worn-out structures. Continued rehabilitation increases the carbon footprint, which is not environmentally friendly. Developments In Concrete Bond Materials New studies have revealed that the addition of carbon fibers amounting [...]

Crews wrap up yearslong landslide project on Columbia Parkway in Cincinnati, Ohio

Source: Columbia Parkway Hillside Stabilization - Transportation & Engineering Source: Crews wrap up yearslong landslide project on Columbia Parkway Crews have wrapped up construction on a years long project to stabilize a large swath of hillside along Columbia Parkway in Cincinnati, Ohio — a stretch that has long been a landslide risk. Contractor crews officially wrapped up the $17.6 million project this week, city officials announced. The project’s footprint extends over two miles on the uphill side of the parkway from Bains Street near downtown to just east of the William Howard Taft Road-Torrence Parkway intersection in East Walnut Hills. Cincinnati’s Department of Transportation & Engineering began developing a long-term stabilization plan for the parkway in the spring of 2019 following a series of landslides in multiple locations along the uphill side. Landslides in the area began increasing in frequency and significance in recent years, peaking in the winter and early spring of 2019. The threat to public safety also was increasing with mud and debris frequently spilling over existing retaining walls onto the roadway, prompting emergency closures along the five-lane thoroughfare that carries approximately 30,000 vehicles a day from the city’s east side into downtown. The parkway was built in the late 1930s as a Depression-era public works project situated along a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. The Ohio River traces a path along Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Mitigation efforts in the 1990s helped reduce the impact of landslides on the downhill side of the parkway but didn’t address the uphill side. City council approved funding for an emergency mitigation project in late spring 2019 and it started to take shape that summer once Canton-based Beaver Excavating was selected as the prime contractor. The proposed dual solution including soil nailing for the steepest sections, and [...]

Using Torque Testing for Better Designs

Source: Using Torque Testing for Better Designs All Engineers can relate to an experience we’ve had where what we designed was not how it turned out in “the real world”. Rarely does a project end up being exactly as what we put down on paper. Soil testing for foundation supports is no exception and unfortunately these differences almost never end on the positive side of a cost estimate. One way to mitigate those differences is to use a testing process which directly relates with the type of foundation being used. For helical piles, while there are well-established trends between ASTM D1586 N60 blow count N values and potential pile length, even the slightest variations in testing methods and/or soil description can create significant differences in the “design” versus “reality”. The more accurate method for a helical pile foundation design would be to do actual torque tests (a.k.a. helical probe tests) at the site. While most designs initially begin with a Geotechnical Report including boring logs, for helical piles using an actual torque test prior to start of work instead will provide a much more accurate picture of soil capacity and allow for a finite design. Even with boring logs and N60 blow counts being used for preliminary designs, a torque test can be used to “fine-tune” the foundation design. Many owners might think that the additional cost associated with a site torque test, albeit nominal, is not needed. However, time and time again, the small additional cost has proven to save substantial money on the foundation project by allowing the engineer to confirm and enhance their foundation design. In addition, site torque tests can be incorporated directly into a design created in the HeliCAP® v3.0 Helical Capacity Design software to provide real time updates to designs giving better solutions with more confidence. Adding actual [...]

Ohio Geotechnical engineering faculty to develop course with Japanese colleagues

Source: Geotechnical engineering faculty to develop course with Japanese colleagues | Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering Geotechnical engineering faculty to develop course with Japanese colleagues Posted: July 20, 2020 Thanks to an award granted by a partnership of The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Institute for Innovative Global Education, Ohio State faculty and students will have soon have the opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues and peers at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. The two universities were selected by ACE to participate in the U.S.-Japan Rapid Response Virtual Exchange / Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Transformation Lab. The COIL program fosters U.S.-Japan higher education ties through the development of new and innovative courses. Daniel Pradel Daniel Pradel, professor of practice in geotechnical engineering, will collaborate with Takashi Matsushima, professor of engineering information and systems at the University of Tsukuba, to adapt a current Ohio State course called, “Learning from disasters: Extreme events and their impact on infrastructure, engineering, and society.” Professor Pradel previously participated in several post-disaster, engineering reconnaissance teams, including the 2015 Ghorka Earthquake in Nepal, the 2011 Tohuku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan and 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. He said that studying the response to these and other extreme events will reinforce, to students, the importance of resilience in designing and developing infrastructure. "Historical decisions in planning, engineering and/or urban development play important roles that often magnify the destructive effects of extreme events," Pradel said in a statement. He went on to emphasize the other challenges these events present. "In developing countries, where resources tend to be limited, extreme events such as earthquakes and typhoons often result in medical threats from infectious diseases due to the limited availability of clean water and emergency medical services." Daniel Pradel surveys landslide damage caused by Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico, 2017. While international travel is not possible during [...]

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Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Consumption Market Size to Witness Huge Growth by 2027 | By Top Leading Vendors – Keller, Fugro, Nova Metrix, Geokon, Geocomp, Sisgeo, Cowi – The Daily Chronicle

Source: Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Consumption Market Size to Witness Huge Growth by 2027 | By Top Leading Vendors – Keller, Fugro, Nova Metrix, Geokon, Geocomp, Sisgeo, Cowi – The Daily Chronicle

Grow your Business by Increasing your Geotechnical Services

If you're looking for ways to help grow your business, consider expanding your geotechnical services. By increasing the geotechnical services your company offers, you'll be able to expand your current client base and increase your workload. To realize these benefits, you'll first have to decide which geotechnical services you can offer, which you could offer more in-depth, how it would affect your current workload, and how it can increase your revenue. What Geotechnical Services Can your Business Offer? Rental and sales of equipment Field exploration (soil and rock sampling, test boring, core drilling, electro-magnetic surveying, etc.) Site evaluation (for pavement/ sub grades, alternative site and route studies, definition of critical geotechnical parameters) Engineering analysis and design (slope stability evaluation, hillside grading recommendations, earth retaining structure design, earthquake damage analysis) Laboratory testing services (soil classification, shear strength, permeability, consolidation characteristics, resistivity) Some of these services may be a more natural fit for your current business than others. However, it's worth considering the environment your business is located in, as well as the environmental factors that have an affect on construction. This will help you to hone in on the services that are in demand. Also research any potential competition in your area to see what they do or do not offer, and consider filling any void you discover. For example, if you notice a void in your area's laboratory testing services, consider hiring an expert internally. Between the equipment and manpower you already hold, adding an additional employee may prove profitable. If you're not sure how to gauge demand in your area, consider who you could be marketing your geotechnical services to. Potential customers include: Developers Realtors Architects Engineers Construction companies Utilities Manufacturing companies Financial institutions Federal, state and municipal organizations With a little research and a keen eye, you may [...]

Beyond the Basics: Contamination Detection and Other Applications of CPT Equipment

Cone Penetration Testing equipment was originally designed – and is still most commonly used – to characterize subsurface soil behavior types. But when you invest in CPT equipment, you are getting the capability to do much more. A variety of sensors and in-situ samplers can be integrated into CPT modules, making CPT equipment a versatile and efficient choice for contamination detection, environmental site assessment, and other field applications. CPT equipment has several advantages over conventional hollow stem auger drilling and percussion drilling based methods, especially in contaminated soils. Specialized CPT tests can identify contaminants and determine the physical extent of the contamination with minimal disturbance of the soil, thus avoiding costly disposal of drill cuttings and minimizing contact between field personnel and potentially hazardous materials. Here’s an overview of some tests and technologies that you can harness via CPT equipment: Temperature: Temperature data is obviously useful in locating zones of different ground temperature, for example frozen soil. However, it can also help to identify soil contaminants that generate heat due to chemical or biological activity. Electrical Resistivity: The electrical properties of soil are changed when the soil is contaminated. For example, soils containing non-aqueous-phase (NAPL) compounds exhibit higher resistivity than normal, while soils containing dissolved organic compounds such as can be found in landfill leachates have significantly lower resistivity. Fluorescence Detection: Most hydrocarbons produce fluorescence when irradiated with certain kinds of light. Thus, hydrocarbon contamination can be efficiently detected by integrating LEDs of a particular wavelength (or sometimes lasers) into CPT cone modules. The detected wavelength of the fluorescent response to the excitation source is graphed in real time and is used to determine the areas of interest and further define contaminants. The integrated camera or video camera module can also be used to visually inspect in-situ characteristics such as [...]

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