Where Geosynthetics Meet Mining Geotechnics: Part of the Mining Engineer's Toolbox
From enhancing stability to providing environmental containment, geosynthetic materials play an important role in mining projects and geotechnics in general. While often overlooked, advancements in geosynthetic...
Earthquake-Resistant Bricks Could Improve Structural Performance
An extraordinary tree-covered, mixed-use structure that crosses a highway on the outskirts of Paris has been chosen as the winning design for the Pershing site (16/24 boulevard Pershing – avenue de la parte des Ternes) of the Reinventing Paris competition, a city initiative that has opened up 23 sites for innovative, modern developments conceived by architects and urban planners...
Novel Tube-Based Fish Passage System Offers Alternative to Ladders, Lifts, and Hauling
Church Building Design Features Sweeping Curves and Connection to Nature
Seven Questions: Wisdom and Guidance for Successful Career Building: An interview with Tim Chapman, CEng, on artificial intelligence and civil and structural engineering
Historic House Restoration Will Feature Stabilization and New Glass Structure
Nature Sides with the Hidden Flaw: Lessons Learned from Failures of Earth-Support Systems
In recent years, the demand for excavations and fills of significant height has increased due to many factors, including requirements for below-grade parking for urban buildings and the need to construct...
Emergency Retaining Wall Replacement: The East 26th Street Slide Repair in Baltimore, MD
During a record rainfall on April 30, 2014, a century-old, stone retaining wall between a dense urban roadway (26th Street) and the CSXT railroad track in Baltimore, MD, failed. The stone retaining wall...
Highway Retaining Walls are Assets: A Risk-Based Approach for Managing Them
Throughout history, retaining walls (RWs) have served a vital role in supporting civil infrastructure. The ruins of dry stone walls that purportedly supported the hills and slopes of ancient Rome can be...
Geotechnical Aspects of Pavements: There's More to Roads than Asphalt and Concrete!
When you jump on the highway to make that commute to work, do you think much about what's under the surface you ride on? Pavements are layered systems designed to provide a strong structure to support...
Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering: What Can It Do for You?
There's been a lot of talk, and some confusion, lately about performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE). Many geotechnical engineers wonder -- what is it, how does it differ from what I've been doing,...
The 2010-2011 Canterbury, New Zealand, Earthquake Sequence: Impetus for Rethinking the Way We Evaluate and Mitigate Liquefaction
Liquefaction is a common cause of ground failure during earthquakes and is directly responsible for tremendous damage to infrastructure. Evidence of the impact of liquefaction includes failure of bridge...
You Designed It for the Big One, Right? Illustrating and Communicating Uncertainty in a Deterministic Seismic Hazard Analysis
In seismic regions of the U.S. and worldwide, engineers design structures to withstand seismic ground motions resulting from a large, rare earthquake. But definitions of "large" and "rare" depend on who...
Construction Begins on Major Shore Protection System on New Jersey Island
Bioretention Systems Protect Sensitive Aquatic Species from Runoff, Studies Show
National Usage of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil to Support Bridges
The Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge System (GRS IBS) was developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) almost 20 years ago to help meet the demand for the next...
Very Long-Term Care of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Berms: Limiting the Liability of Future Stakeholders
Since their development over 50 years ago, civil engineering applications of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) berms have significantly increased. When used as a component of an asset...
Long-Term Performance Monitoring of a Hillside Retaining Wall
To accommodate expansion of the West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle, WA, a 3,000-ft-long soldier pile, tieback-anchored retaining wall was constructed from May 1991 to May 1992. An oblique...
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