TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES MANAGER, MARY ELLEN BRUCE Upcoming Activity: International Workshop During March, the National Science Foundation is sponsoring a 2.5-day International Workshop on Thermoactive Geotechnical Systems to explore and advance the use of thermoactive geotechnical systems for near-surface geothermal energy as a sustainable geoengineering practice. The workshop will be at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, March 25-27. The event addresses engineering researchers, practitioners, scientists, equipment/material manufacturers, non-profit organizations and public agency policy makers to discuss barriers to implementation of thermoactive geotechnical systems. The organizers expect that the cross-disciplinary and international backgrounds of the attendees will help transfer practical experience from other countries that have successfully implemented this technology. The International Advisory Committee includes Prof. Guney Olgun (Virginia Tech, U.S.), Prof. John McCartney (University of Colorado Boulder, U.S.), Prof. Lyesse Laloui (EPFL, Switzerland) and Kenichi Soga (University of Cambridge, UK). Industry liaisons are Prof. James Martin (Virginia Tech, U.S.) and Mary Ellen Bruce (Deep Foundations Institute, U.S.). The workshop has a discussion forum format beginning with several introductory presentations outlining the state of research and knowledge on energy foundations. The breakout sessions and discussions focus on the following: • Identification of major research thrust areas and technical challenges • Identification of best practices for installation, laboratory testing, field testing • Building codes, green certification and implementation issues, market challenges • New technologies, applications, materials and equipment in near surface geothermal systems • Characterization of thermo-mechanical soil behavior • Soil-structure interaction in energy foundations • Validation of design tools for thermoactive geotechnical systems • Environmental impact calculations, life-cycle cost analysis • Educating the new generation of engineers for sustainable practices Summary reports from the workshop for each session and workshop minutes will be available on the workshop website http://www.olgun.cee.vt.edu/workshop/. Synthesis documents will be prepared and published from the collective summary reports. COMMITTEE CHAIR TOM GURTOWSKI Codes and Standards Committee The Codes and Standards Committee is leading an industry-wide effort to review and prepare proposals to revise the 2015 International Building Code (IBC) Chapter 18 “Foundations” (to be implemented in 2018 IBC). Committee members are collaborating with representatives from the Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA), GeoInstitute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), ASFE: The GeoProfessional Business Association, and ADSC: The International Association for Foundation Drilling to provide industry-agreed proposed changes to the building codes. Traditionally, this code has been written by structural engineers. The geotechnical community is working together to affect change that reflects the expertise and knowledge of geoprofessionals. The group is paying particular attention to the following sections of Chapter 18 (societies taking the lead are shown in parentheses): 1803 Geotechnical Investigations (ASCE/GI, ASFE, DFI) 1804 Excavation, Grading and Fill (ASCE/GI, ASFE, DFI) 1806 Presumptive Load-Bearing Values of Soils (DFI, ASCE/GI, ASFE) 1807 Foundation Walls, Retaining Walls and Embedded Posts, and Poles (DFI, ASCE/GI; ASFE) 1808 Foundations (DFI, ASCE/GI, ASFE, ADSC) Expansive Soils (ASCE/GI, ASFE), Concrete Foundations (DFI) 1809 Shallow Foundations (ASCE/GI, ASFE) 1810 Deep Foundations (PDCA, DFI, ASCE/GI, ADSC) New sections and additions to Chapter 18 sections being considered include foundation testing, expansive and collapsible fills, and ground improvement. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAR/APR 2013 • 65
