Would rockfill be given an automatic seismic site class of C. If rockfill for a building site is contaminated by virtue of construction (to fill voids and create a dense matrix) with overburden soil - silt,sand and minor amounts of plastic fines, would this classification still hold. The...
What is the desirable thickness of granular material behind basement foundation walls or concrete retaining walls in general and what rationale is used to determine this thickness? Does the thickness influence your recommendation of lateral earth pressure coefficients?
Has anyone read the subject book by Andrew Schofield which points out the error made by Terzaghi on the concept of cohesion. In the foreword of the book by Mark Randolph, Terzaghi is identified amongst others as a Villain. Not sure if this was to be taken literally or in the context that he may...
Are you satisfied, really comprehend, drag load and how its is to be used in pile design. In my opinion, there there are so many conflicting methods and really no strong attempt has been made to indicate why a particular approach is better than another. We still see, modern texts and...
I recently attended a forum on Geosynthetics related to highway and environmental applications sponsored largely by by the geosynthetics community re manufacturers but endorsed by others. The speakers were internationally recognized "gurus". At the end of the day, I came away with the feeling...
It is proposed to excavate below a community building to create basement areas. The building is about 30 years old and most of the foundation elements consist of grade beam on straight shaft bored cast in-place piles. There are also two existing basement locations under the building.One was...
What is your opinion on the use of effective stress versus total stress approach in the determination of shaft resistance for the design of driven and bored pile foundations in soft and stiff soils. What are the limitations you percieve in your practice in relation to obtaining suitable...
Much needed. Thanks for the invitation. I will start by posing a question that has implications on work that geotechnical engineers are involved with with but never seemed to have been well explained.
Do we truly understand the phenomenon of arching in buried structures and how it influences...
Determining the depth of embedment of a pile (toe elevation)is one of the prerequisites for calculating its load capacity. How do you determine this depth for a driven steel pile?.
1. Do you undertake test pile driving at the site before design?.
2. Do you assess the depth from the subsurface...
