COMMITTEE REPORTS Drilled Shaft Committee In my first update for Deep Foundations magazine, I want to thank Fred Rhyner for his many years of service to the committee. Fred has been an impressive leader; organizing and completing many initiatives benefiting the professional community. The Drilled Shaft Committee held its last meeting during the October 2011 DFI Annual Conference. Among the 24 attendees were 16 visitors. The committee continues to have strong support with 29 members in 2011. The FHWA has selected ADSC to conduct a research project on post-grouted drilled shafts. The 30-month contract will establish a practice synthesis on the process. The project is being led by Professor Eric Loehr from the University of Missouri, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The initial work will include an overall review and synthesis of existing projects, led by Dan Brown, Dan Brown and Associates. People having post-grouting project experience with case study documentation are encouraged to share the information with the project team. The slurry subcommittee is working with the ADSC on developing a slurry displacement construction method specification. Copies of the draft specification were handed out during the October meeting, and DFI members are encouraged to review and comment. Please forward comments to Mary Ellen Bruce ([email protected]) or Tony Marinucci ([email protected]), who are leading this effort. Technical Committee Report Changes Deep Foundations Magazine will appear six times this year. The Technical Committee Reports will appear twice per year, but in a new order. This issue features the reports from the Deep Foundations for Landslides/Slope Stabilization Committee, Drilled Shaft Committee, Driven Pile Committee, Helical Foundations and Tiebacks Committee, and the Slurry Wall/Trench Committee. The March/April issue will include Testing and Evaluation, Soil Mixing, Micro- pile, Seismic and Lateral Loads, and Sustainability. May/June will include Marine Foun- dations, ACIP Pile, Ground Improvement, Tiebacks and Soil Nailing; Codes and Standards. The process will be repeated beginning with the June/July issue. The new issues for discussion at this year’s meeting centered on structural design issues. There appear to be varying views on the Tom Hart, P.E., R.G. Committee Chair [email protected] contribution of permanent casings within the shaft design field. The Owens and Reese 1982 publication on the subject demonstrated reductions in capacity when grouting a permanent casing. With the improvements in casing installation using large vibratory hammers, casings can be installed with effectively no annulus, increasing the friction contribution. Further understanding in the industry is needed, and case histories are sorely needed on the topic. Another topic needing further research was the design of reinforcing. There appears to be a trend towards increasing the amount of steel in shaft design. Numerous factors could be contributing to this trend including increasing seismic loading and the numerous load cases required in ACI 318. Anyone wishing to speak on these subjects at upcoming DFI events is encouraged to submit abstracts. Those interested in joining this committee should write to DFI headquarters. UPCOMING EVENT: Seven DFI technical committees are Super Pile ’12 cooperating on this year’s Super Pile Conference. The two-day event will feature presentations from the committees on Driven Piles, Augered Cast-in- Place/Drilled Displacement Piles, Micropiles, Marine Foundations, Testing and Evaluation, Seismic and Lateral Loads, and Drilled Shafts. The first day will be a combined session; on the second day there will be two May 16-17, 2012 Hilton Portland & Executive Tower Portland, OR concurrent sessions, offering attendees the option to choose presentations that interest them. Hilton Portland & Executive Tower is the venue. Telephone is 503-226-1611 and their website is: http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/PDXPH HH-Hilton-Portland-Executive-Tower-Oregon/index.do For sponsorship opportunities, contact Katie Criqui at [email protected]. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2012 • 55
