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...
West Virginia’s Airport In The Clouds: Response to a Massive Slope Failure at Runway’s End
Although the small and scenic Mountain State ranked 40 out of 50 in population according to a July 2017 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, it boasts seven airports. Yeager Airport (CRW), billed as "West Virginia’s...
Highway Embankment Failure on Soft Clay: Bad Input = Bad Output
Our ability to analyze and compute 2D and 3D factors of safety for embankments and slopes, including finite element and finite difference analyses, has increased greatly in the last decade. However, use...
Learning From Pile Driving Failures: Out of Sight Can't be Out of Mind
The design of driven pile foundations for static service and strength limit state loading conditions is meaningless if the piles cannot be driven to the required depth and nominal resistance without sustaining...
In the Wake of the Mount Polley Mine Tailings Breach: Tailings Dam Design, Innovation, and Practice Changes
The Mount Polley tailings dam in British Columbia (BC), Canada, failed in 2014, spilling approximately 21 million m3 of water and tailings (estimated as approximately 50/50 water and tailings) into Hazeltine...
Seeing into the Subsurface: Harnessing Geophysics to Remotely Monitor the Condition of Earthworks
Condition assessment of geotechnical structures is essential for cost-effective maintenance and prevention of hazardous failure events. Early identification of deteriorating conditions generally allows...
Failure Has Consequences
Correction to "Highway Embankment Failure on Soft Clay — Bad Input = Bad Output"
Michigan Dam Failures Prompt Investigations, Lawsuits, and Safety Concerns
The Genoa Approach
The Morandi Bridge (formally known as the Polcevera Viaduct) was more than just a critical part of the infrastructure of Genoa, Italy; it was part of the fabric of the city itself. When the bridge partially...
Nebraska Dam Failure Highlights Dangers of Ice Runs, Report Says
Embankment, Dams, and Slopes (EDS) Technical Committee Performs Reconnaissance on Dam Failures
Geo-Forensics — Lessons Learned From Dam Failures
Failures Inspire Progress: Protecting Sensitive Buildings from Tunnelling
Tunnelling in urban areas is always a challenge, and it’s especially so when construction is proximate to densely populated districts. Such was the case on January 25, 2005, when a 10-m length of a Barcelona...
Ethics is the Linchpin for Avoiding Failure
From Fame to Failure: The St. Francis Dam (Part 2)
In the July/August issue, History Lesson examined the construction of California's St. Francis Dam and its catastrophic failure in 1928. This month's instalment examines the causes and aftermath of the...
Geotechnical Aspects Of Coastal Impacts During Hurricanes Harvey And Irma: Logistical and Technical Challenges During Reconnaissance
As designers and managers for society’s infrastructure, civil engineers, including the geotechnical community, must understand and predict the most severe expected loadings from physical or environmental...
Innovation and Ideas against the Failure of Imagination
The Transcona Grain Elevator Failure Revisited: A Modern Perspective a Century Later
More than a century ago, a seminal event in the then world of foundation engineering took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, when the mat-foundation-supported Transcona Grain Elevator underwent catastrophic...
From Fame to Failure: The St. Francis Dam (Part 1)
One of the most devastating engineering disasters in American history, the 1928 St. Francis Dam failure has had a lasting impact on the profession of civil engineering....
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