Project removes old, disused dams to make healthier waterways

Source: Project removes old, disused dams to make healthier waterways - VTDigger Seen through the window of Patty Smith’s home in East Bethel, James Rogers, left, and Fran Rhynhart, right, watch as Ben Canonica, of Canonica Farm and Forest, makes a buffer to protect the bank of the Second Branch of the White River while preparing to remove the Hyde Dam on Tuesday, Sept. 15. “As kids, this was our playground,” said Rhynhart. “All the East Bethel village kids would swim here.” Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News EAST BETHEL — A yellow excavator ambled over the uneven bed of the Second Branch of the White River as it rearranged boulders above the Hyde Dam earlier this month. Within weeks, the dam will be gone, opening 60 miles of waterways for fish passage. From the 1700s to the 1950s, hydropower ruled and the Hyde Dam in turn gave life to a sawmill, a gristmill, a creamery and a woolen mill that employed over 30 workers in 1860. The current dam replaced an older dam destroyed in what is known as the Great Vermont Flood of 1927. These days, industry has departed from the Second Branch. A half-acre plot of empty land on the north side of the dam gives no hint of the artifacts of production buried below. The mill that leans on the southern edge of the dam is now a home. Conservation nonprofits and state agencies worked together to remove the dam, part of a statewide effort to remove out-of-use dams to improve rivers for both wildlife and people. Greg Russ, a watershed restoration coordinator at the White River Partnership who is overseeing the project, estimated that it will cost anywhere between $120,000 and $150,000. He listed many reasons to remove the dam, for both the [...]

Construction Vibrations

Source: Construction Vibrations -NEW (7004IW2022) INSTRUCTOR:  Antonios Vytiniotis, Ph.D., P.E Participants will have access to the virtual workshop video archives and materials for 60 days from the start day of the workshop. Virtual Workshop Brief The workshop will cover a variety of issues regarding construction vibrations. It will start by describing the sources of construction vibrations, the propagation of vibrations with a soil and scatter effects. Then it will cover the effects of such vibrations in: 1) structures; 2) human perception; and 3) indirect effects of such vibrations. The workshop will cover examples of construction vibration effects in various structures and will show how conditions in structures can be evaluated to understand whether they are caused by vibrations. The workshop will show how construction vibrations can be monitored effectively by state-of-the-art equipment. Finally, this workshop will show how to analyze the data from monitoring to generate valuable insights about their effects on structures. A greater understanding of construction vibrations will help in mitigation of their damaging effects. Benefits and Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course, you will be able to: Explain sources of construction vibrations Explain effects of construction vibrations Explain causation of damage potentially associated with construction vibrations Monitor construction vibrations Mitigate construction vibrations Avoid costly adjacent construction litigation Assessment of Learning Outcomes Achievement of the learning outcomes by attendees will be assessed through online discussion and case studies. A short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions) will also be administered. Who Should Attend Geotechnical Engineers Structural Engineers Civil Design Engineers Owners Construction City Planners Workshop Outline Day 1 Construction Vibration Sources Vibration Propagation and Energy Dissipation Discussion about Literature Data Interactive discussion and quiz about sources, propagation and state of the practice Human Perception of Vibrations Direct Effects of Vibrations Interactive discussion about effects [...]

Soil Nail Walls Design and Construction

Source: Soil Nail Walls - Design and Construction -NEW (7003IW2022) INSTRUCTOR:  Naresh Samtani, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE Participants will have access to the virtual workshop video archives and materials for 60 days from the start day of the workshop. Virtual Workshop Brief Using a collaborative and interactive learning approach, this virtual workshop will help you understand the design and construction aspects for soil nail walls. You will learn newer design approaches based on the LRFD platform that is the basis for guidelines for soil nail walls by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The workshop will help you assimilate the design and construction aspects through active participation by frequent interactions throughout the workshop and real-time expert feedback. The interactions will facilitate a better understanding of the nuances of the newer design principles which would help you avoid costly design errors in real-world projects. In between the two live sessions, attendees will independently work on an application (e.g., exercises) or a reflection (e.g., reading) assignment. Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course, you will be able to: Explain the terminology for soil nail walls Explain design of soil nail walls using principles of limit state design Explain the essential elements of construction Recognize construction procedures and influence on wall design and performance Explain the importance and concepts of nail testing Identify necessary characteristics of software tools Explain corrosion considerations Discuss facing (shotcrete) analysis Identify the necessary information on plans and specifications Benefits for Participants Become familiar with the latest limit state design approaches and standards for soil nail walls Avoid common pitfalls and costly errors in analysis and design Be able to categorize and streamline limit state evaluation Recognize the importance of considering construction as part of overall design process Assessment of [...]

UD researchers study climate change impacts on soils at military installations

Source: The Ground Underfoot - Civil and Environmental Engineering UD researchers study climate change impacts on soils at military installations We walk over it, drive over it and build on it. Yet, it is probably safe to say, most of us rarely think about the ground beneath our feet. Underneath the grass, concrete, asphalt and other materials in our built environment, however, soil provides structure and stability for what lies above. The United States military wants to understand the role that climate impacts, such as flooding, storm surge or sea level rise, will have on soils at its coastal military bases and facilities, which are critical to national security. Soil conditions can affect the integrity of the ground underpinning buildings, roads, bridges and more. For example, if a soil’s pH were to rise significantly, due to increased salt content-containing ions such as sodium from storm surge, it could create saline conditions that could hamper the ground’s ability to support this necessary infrastructure. Understanding these threats will enable faster and more accurate routing and maneuverability for U.S. forces. The Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) is collaborating with the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Louisiana State University to understand how vulnerable military installations along coasts may be affected by soil changes due to sea level rise and coastal flooding. DENIN has received $3.79 million in first- and second-year funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to start this work, and is eligible for an additional $3.82 million in continued funding over the following two years. Led by DENIN Director Don Sparks, Unidel S. Hallock du Pont Chair of Soil and Environmental Chemistry in UD’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, the UD effort includes interdisciplinary collaboration with Yan Jin, Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor [...]

2021 Erosion and Sediment Control Field Days

The Southern New England Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) is hosting a 2021 Erosion & Sediment Control Field Days on Wednesday October 6th & Thursday October 7th. It will be a hybrid experience combining virtual presentations, hands-on experience, and outdoor demonstrations. Attending both sessions as a registered attendee, 6.5 hours of continuing education credits will be available. There is a 100% virtual option as well.

Parameters Variation Model Customization and Sensitivity Analyses

Source: Parameters Variation: Model Customization and Sensitivity Analyses Parameters Variation Model Customization and Sensitivity Analyses A well-known engineering challenge in the framework of finite element (FE) analysis-based design is the large number of input factors involved in geotechnical computational models. There is always a significant amount of uncertainties associated with the properties of geomaterials, being naturally highly heterogeneous materials. In the context of model calibration and validation, conducting a sensitivity analysis is very important. This can determine the key factors which govern the system and efficiently characterize the geotechnical variability for any considered design problem.   Powerful mechanisms for the consideration of parameter variation are also very interesting for speeding up FE model creation and automating results in post-processing. These are also quite useful in reducing model definition for specific types of engineering problems (excavation wall of a specific type under simple ground conditions, simple tunnel shape in uniform rock mass, etc.) to a limited number of parameters that can be inputted in a text file or Microsoft Excel spreadsheet without expert knowledge of the PLAXIS user interface and different modeling techniques and FE know-how. The sensitivity analysis and parameter variation tool in PLAXIS A sensitivity analysis determines how different values of an independent variable affect a particular dependent variable under a given set of assumptions. In other words, sensitivity analyses study how various sources of uncertainty in a mathematical model contribute to the model's overall uncertainty. The Sensitivity Analysis and Parameter Variation tool (see Figure 1) can be used to evaluate the influence of model parameters on calculation results for any particular PLAXIS FE model: The Select Parameters tab sheet will first provide information about all the parameters that can be changed to perform the sensitivity analysis. Available parameters include most model parameters of the data sets for soil and [...]

A Climate Change-Induced Disaster in Denali National Park

Source: A Climate Change-Induced Disaster in Denali National Park | Time The Times has recently showcased an article on the current rockslide situation in Denali National Park. The effects of climate change have been dramatic with the current melting of the permafrost. The National Parks Service has recently upped through gravel removal of the Pretty Rocks Landslide in an effort to keep up as the rapidly thawing permafrost picks up pace. Alaska is right now recognized as the country’s fastest-warming state. The landslide hit unprecedented speed 4 weeks ago causing the team to close the back half of the park weeks earlier than anticipated. This only signals bad news as reservations are canceled in the short term and the long term implications are yet unknown. “This is the canary in the coal mine for infrastructure disruption in Alaska,” says the Camp Denali lodge owner Simon Hamm. “If things continue on the path they’re on, it’s not going to just be Pretty Rock—it’s going to be half of the Alaskan highway system.” Rapid deterioration Denali National Park is one of the U.S.’s largest national parks at 6 million acres, and sits about four hours north of Anchorage. While the entrance to the park is certainly beautiful, many people prefer to hop on buses to access the park’s marquee attractions deep down its single 92-mile road: views of Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley), the highest peak in North America at 20,000 feet; the gleaming Wonder Lake; rolling mountainsides that contain an abundance of wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose, caribou and bighorn sheep. About halfway along the road lies the Pretty Rocks Landslide, a slowly sliding section of earth that acts more like a glacier than a rockfall. Since the 1960s, permafrost deep below the earth’s surface has thawed, causing the soil and [...]

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

Adding a Soil Testing Service to Your Drilling Business

Are you a driller looking at adding a soil testing service to your business? If you’ve been in the drilling business for any length of time, or if you’ve been involved in drilling around sites that are being prepped for construction or development - you may have crossed paths with a Cone Penetration Test (CPT) operation. If you have been curious about this service, you probably noticed that the operating conditions of CPT are pretty comfortable. You may have also heard that the daily rates or rates charged per foot of depth for CPT are usually quite a bit better than what you can get for drilling. Adding soil testing services to your business can be a good way to diversify your workload and ensure a steady income for your business and your family. What you may not know, is that the skills you’ve acquired to drill are a good basis for entering the CPT business. What do you need to get started? A good place to start is to start comprehending the reasons why customers need a soil testing service and the basics of how this type of soil testing works. This will help you to start thinking about the needs in your area and the types of things you’ll need to learn in order to be successful in the business. Why a Soil Testing Service? When engineers are in the early stages of designing infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, or foundations for buildings, they need to know the characteristics of the ground that is going to be built on. Depending upon the type of construction, they may need to understand how soil, clay and rock are layered below the surface. This can help them to decide what the construction process will look like. For instance, will blasting or [...]

Presenting CPT Data to Owners & Engineers: an Important Role of CPT

If you are considering entering the CPT business from, let’s say, operating a well-drilling business, you’ll want to prepare yourself for a few adjustments. Depending upon the type of business you are used to running or being a part of, you’ll find that the customer interactions may be different. CPT testing is all about gathering data from field tests and quickly turning that into useful information for the site owner, an engineer, construction company, government agency etc. This blog is an introduction to the basics of CPT reporting. We’ll start with what we’re trying to measure, then we’ll discuss how a CPT system, and in particular the probe, gathers specific types of useful data. Then we’ll, look at some ways that this data is interpreted to make useful information for your customer to make decisions. In real life, you’ll want to use a software application that quickly and efficiently does this interpretation for you. However, Vertek CPT believes in training it’s customer partners from the ground up (so to speak) so that you are comfortable and confident in every conversation you’ll have. What are we trying to measure? CPT is the quickest and most cost-effective way to map out what the soil conditions are under your feet. If you imagine being able to look at the ground ‘from the side’, you’d see layers something like this: For people responsible for building highways through hilly territory, or building a heavy structure, it’s important to know what’s underground before they begin planning. This is where CPT comes in. CPT lets you draw a picture of what’s underground for folks who need it. How Does a CPT Probe Gather Useful Types of Data? So let’s start with the Cone, the ‘C’ in CPT. If you look at the picture below, you can imagine [...]

Go to Top