Intelligent Geo-Construction Drilling Equipment: Delivering More Than Meets the Eye
The complexity, risk, and demands of engineered geo-structural projects have increased, seemingly exponentially, through the years. Physical and capital resources to deliver such projects, however, have...
From Good to Great: The Evolution of Cutoff Wall Quality Control and Verification Techniques
The last three decades have brought tremendous improvements to quality control (QC) procedures for construction and post-construction verification of deep cutoff walls installed in active high-hazard dams....
A Brief History of Jet Grouting in the Last 50 Years: The Story of Its Evolution
Jet grouting, a grouting soil improvement construction technique, was first developed in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s, and then introduced in Europe a few years later in the form of a proposal for soil...
Working Platforms for Specialty Geo-Construction
A major cause of rigs toppling over is the state of the "working platform" that they must work from. A working platform is a layer of material, often compacted sand or gravel, placed over the subgrade,...
Your Numerical Model Begins at the Site Investigation — Phase Improving the Suitability of Numerical Geotechnical Modeling
The success of an advanced geotechnical numerical analysis depends foremost on a thorough geologic and geotechnical understanding of the site, and thus the geometric definition and adequacy of input parameters...
When AI Meets DIGGS — The Birth of a New Site Characterization Paradigm?
Drilling and sampling to obtain borehole logs, together with various in-situ testing, are usually performed to determine subsurface soil and rock profiles and their associated engineering properties. However,...
Bring Your A-GaME! and Dominate the Field [Investigation] — As Newer Technologies Mature and Are Adopted More Widely — It’s A Whole New Ball Game Out There
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in collaboration with industry partners, is helping state DOTs take their existing geotechnical site characterization programs to the next level. Technologies...
Practical Aspects Of Routine Geotechnical Site Investigations — They Should Be Anything But Boring!
It’s likely that on any given day there are hundreds of geotechnical site investigations in progress in North America alone. While many of these investigations are carried out in support of large projects,...
Flight Plan
The new student union at Florida’s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University follows a form inspired by birds in flight. For the engineers, translating that vision into a series of exposed structural systems...
Fire & Water
Over the years, wildfires have crept out of the wild and into the urban landscape, threatening more lives, property, and infrastructure than ever before, sometimes devastating communities. In Paradise,...
Moving Down the Road of Progress: Geosynthetics Subdue Failures on Expansive Clays and Frost-susceptible Soils
Using geosynthetics in roadway projects has provided sustainable alternatives for reconstruction and maintenance and now represents a significant portion of the total geosynthetics market. Geosynthetics...
Revolutionizing Containment Applications: Geosynthetics are Amazingly Good, But Not Magical
Geotextiles and geomembranes have been around for more than 40 years and geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) for more than 25 years. During that time, they have revolutionized the containment of fluids. Their...
Bob Koerner – A Retrospective of a Giant in Geosynthetics: Perspectives from Those Who Knew Him
This article is a compilation of thoughts about Koerner from five people who knew him in different ways. Each provides one or more unique remembrances that may not be well known about this giant of our...
Sediment Pollution: Solving "Rill" Problems Using RECPs
Sediment pollution causes an estimated $16 billion in environmental damage annually. Sediment is the most common pollutant in rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs, causing such negative effects as temperature...
IoT and Big Data in Geotechnical Construction: Connecting Drill Rigs to the Cloud
It’s almost impossible these days to escape the fervor and buzz surrounding technologies and concepts such as Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI)....
What’ll They Think of Next? Dewatering Contaminated Slurries Using Geotextile Tubes
Sediment must be dredged from the bottom of waterbodies to maintain their capacity and navigability. Dredging, by its nature, involves the removal of highwater-content slurries and also helps preserve...
Terminal Velocity
The distinctive curved geometry of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport terminal was designed to withstand harsh weather while concurrently improving the overall passenger experience....
70 Years of Soil-Bentonite Slurry Walls: So, What's New
The soil-bentonite slurry wall (SBSW) is an established ground improvement technology that continues to find applications. It’s often the best and most economical vertical barrier to essentially stop lateral...
Protecting A Refuge
A series of breakwaters to protect a coastal wildlife refuge in southwestern Louisiana incorporated an innovative, lightweight design. Despite extremely poor soils and ongoing erosion that kept changing...
Pay Now, Or Pay Later — Using A Risk-Informed Mindset for Site Investigation Decisions
How much subsurface investigation is adequate to aid in the planning and design of a construction project? It’s a question every geo-professional must grapple with, particularly in an era where cost efficiency...
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