Ground-Water Modeling Without Fear
Computerized ground-water modeling has leapt from the cloistered laboratory to the field project as more and more programs are written for the personal computer. These easy-to-understand...
Jointless Redecking
If you're redecking a bridge, why not eliminate a major cause of its corrosion at the same time? Why not remove the expansion joints? The Department of Public Works in Steuben...
Kuwait: The Incredible Shrinking Rehab
With rehabilitation estimates now just 20% of what they first were, the liberation of Kuwait has not been a cure-all for the construction industry. Firms participating in the emergency...
Update: Bridge Scour
Nearly 500 bridges have failed because of hydraulic conditions�primarily scour�since 1950, but the collapse of the Route 90 bridge over Schoharie Creek in April 1987 focused national attention...
Rehabbing the U.S.
When it comes to protecting its $1.4 trillion investment in public-works infrastructure, the U.S. has been like a homeowner who puts off fixing a leak until the ceiling lands on his head....
Pounds, Kilos and Newtons
In the U.S., an aura of mystery, like the glamour afforded the medieval priest by his mastery of Latin, surrounds the Syst�me International. This unreasonable awe, largely generated by...
Quake-Safe Housing, Again
Because so little data exist about earthquake behavior of buildings that have been strengthened to meet seismic codes, many engineers are curious about the Hotel Oakland in California...
Corrosion Below: Sewer Structures
When a sewer system fails, the cause is often not the pipe but a manhole, junction or other special-purpose structure. Most of these structures are concrete, either cast in place or precast....
MATHCAD Upgrade Does Windows and Symbols
The Soil-Rock Boundary: What is it and Where is it?
A major issue in many areas of Civil Engineering practice is the boundary between earth materials that are defined as soil and those that are defined as rock. Designers, contractors, and...
Problems with Rock Excavation Specification in Alberta
As a result of contract overruns and claims from classification, measurement, and payment for 'solid rock' excavation, Alberta Transportation and Utilities embarked...
Where Does Rock Begin Beneath Philadelphia?
Philadelphia provides an excellent example of the engineering problems associated with the interpretation of saprolite/weathered rock/sound rock profiles. The bedrock beneath the city...
Special Bedrock Conditions in Greater Boston
The Cambridge Argillite, a weakly metamorphosed shale, forms the major portion of the Boston Basin, a structural as well as topographic depression. In the greater Boston area, the argillite...
Where Does Rock Begin for Three Highway Projects?
'Where does rock begin?' was a question raised on three large highway projects in the western United States. The question was successfully answered by a variety...
Foundation Studies in a Fault Zone and a Steep Valley Slope
This paper presents two case histories which illustrate unique problems in defining the character of rock for support of structures. The first case study concerns a conventional building...
Soil-Rock Transition Zone: Uncertainties for Design and Construction
This paper addresses the problem of establishing definitions of the soil-rock boundary with regard to different engineering applications in the Piedmont geologic provinces. Three engineering...
Ground Stabilization in Shallow Depth Soft Ground Tunneling
A new approach was employed for ground stabilization to drive a semi-circular cross-section tunnel with overall dimensions of 24 ft (7.3m) wide, 12 ft (3.7m) high, and 164 ft (50.0m) long....
Rock in the Limestone Regions of the Southeastern United States
Problems often arise in the shaft drilling industry in the Southeast. The karst areas in this region have certain situations found in few other places. Erratic boulders and limestone pinnacles...
The U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) Proposed Strength-Durability Classification System
Federal regulations for the surface mining of coal stress proper design and construction of stable waste rock disposal areas. A key to the long-term stability of these excess spoil fills...
Determination and Presentation of Subsurface Conditions for Design and Construction
A major problem in the design and construction of many engineering projects is the lack of adequate geotechnical information both for design and for determining conditions to be encountered...
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