I am involved in a forensic case, and I have a question about a possible fix. What happened was that a developer constructed buildings above an old timber bulkhead. The buildings overlap the back (land) side of the bulkhead by about two to three meters, with the buildings being constructed...
Does anybody know where I can get an electronic version of this map? It was issued by some forerunner of the Coast Guard or the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. Thanks.
Does anybody have a design method for designing heel blocks? They have different names in different parts of the world, but in the New York City area a heel block is a concrete block which supports a raker which in turn supports a temporary wall.
The problem is that heel blocks seem to be able...
I am looking for a paper published by the Army Corps of Engineers titled "Engineering and Design, Settlement Analysis: Engineering Manual No. 1110-1904." This paper is not listed on the Corps' website, and calls to the section that handles document requests results in repeated busy signals...
Can anybody suggest or refer me to a simplified layer and lineweight standard for preparing AutoCAD drawings for a geotechnical engineering firm? I know that there is an architectural standard for AutoCAD drawing layers, but it is probably way too complicated for our purposes. It has to be...
Can anybody suggest or refer me to a simplified layer and lineweight standard for preparing AutoCAD drawings for a geotechnical engineering firm? I know that there is an architectural standard for AutoCAD drawing layers, but it is probably way too complicated for our purposes. It has to be...
What precautions should be taken when handling samples during geotechnical investigations? The reason I am asking this question is that I recently had to prepare a Health and Safety Plan (HASP) for a project involving a local utility in the New York City area. The safety requirements the...
Is there any place where I can get a good description of all of the AutoCAD system variables? I am using AutoCAD Light 2007, and the version I got didn't come with a manual. I can use the SETVAR command, but this command doesn't describe what each system variable does. The help menu has a...
Can anybody suggest any good references on soft-ground engineering? I am specifically looking for information pertaining to surcharging and draining soft soils. Thank you for your responses.
Our firm is representing a homeowner's association for a development that was built on a deposit of miscellaneous fill and organic silt. The fill was as much as thirty feet thick, and the organic silt was as much as forty feet thick. The project consists of two-story attached units supported...
How do you specify the dimension lineweight in AutoCAD? When I specify a dimension lineweight (say 0.25 mm for example) in the lines tab of the dimension style box, then close the dimension box, the dimension setting always reverts to the default lineweight. I can get around this by choosing a...
What are the economics of using different size fillet welds in steel using shielded metal arc (stick) welding? I am designing the wales (steel beams placed against the excavation wall to support the wall) for an excavation, and the specifications require us to develop the full moment and shear...
I am having trouble figuring out how to calculate Kp when designing heel blocks that resist raker loads (a heel block is a concrete block that supports rakers, primarily through passive resistance) . What assumptions are usually made about the wall friction angle when computing Kp? Is the...
What rule of thumb should be used for setting linetype scales when using hidden, center, dashed, and phantom lines in AutoCAD? For example, if I am drawing at a 1" = 10' scale, what linetype scale should I use for a dashed line? Thank you for your responses.
This may be a very basic question, but what are the accepted standards for drawing center, dashed, phantom, and hidden lines? For dashed and hidden lines, how long should the lines be and what should the gap between the lines be? For center and hidden lines, how long should the long and short...
I'm looking for some guidance on designing heel or foot blocks, concrete blocks that support rakers through passive soil resistance. One option would be to design the heel block as a retaining wall. If I do this, what assumptions should I make for wall friction? I also have a copy of an...
We're involved in a job which calls for existing pile cap to be lowered. The piles in the pile cap are concrete piles. The contractor is removing the piles with a jackhammer, which from what I understand is destroying the piles. Is there an easier and better way to cut down concrete piles...
Does anybody having any experience in installing earth anchors underneath buildings? I don't have a project where we are thinking of doing this, but I was wondering if anyone out there has done this and how they prevented soil loss while installing the anchors. Thanks for your responses.
Could people on the board recommend a program for doing steel, concrete, and timber design? I am primarily looking for software that will solve statically indeterminate beams. I have used Enercalc in the past, but I wasn't that impressed with the program because the program had some bugs in...
I just got off the phone with the U.S. Government Printing Office, and they said that they no longer publish Foundation and Earth Structures Design Manual 7.2. A check on Amazon.com didn't show that they had any copies available either. Does anyone know where I can find a couple of copies of...
