DFI ACTIVITIES International Conference in Mexico City The 3 International Symposium on Deep Foundations was organized by Technical Committee TC-214 of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotech- nical Engineering (ISSMGE) through the Mexican Society of Geotechnical Engineers (SMIG), and with the collaboration of Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and Geo- Institute of ASCE. It was held on November 11-12, 2015, at the Enrique Valenzuela Canvas College of Civil Engineers of Mexico in Mexico City. Raul Aguilar Becerril, president of rd Walter Paniagua, president, TC-124 The symposium was divided into ses- sions on deep foundations, excavations and mass soil improvement. Several DFI members presented at the conference including: • Takefumi Takuma from Giken America – The Press-In-Pile Method for Low Vibration Pile and Sheet Pile Driving • Guoming Lin from Terracon – Geotechnical Challenges at Southern LNG Elba Island Terminal • Peter Deming from Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers – Foundation Design and Construction for a High-Rise Tower in Mexico City • Roger Archabal and Gustavo Langoni from Langan – Mass Improvement of Soft Materials in the Bay of Panama The conference closed with Paniagua leading a roundtable discussion on new design and construction technologies for deep foundations in Mexico. Paniagua New equipment Exhibition hall SMIG, opened the conference, and Walter Paniagua Zavala, president of TC-214 and technical lead for the symposium, followed and presented an overview of local geotechnical challenges in Mexico City. Norma Patricia López Acosta, vice president of SMIG, served as the proceedings editor, and Mary Ellen Large, technical activities manager for DFI, helped coordinate the technical program. Approximately 300 attendees joined the conference including geotechnical engineers, contractors, designers, sup- pliers, equipment and drilling machinery/ construction developers, researchers, academics, and graduate and under- graduate students. The exhibition hall included 33 exhibits showcasing products and services from construction companies, construction and laboratory equipment and tools, geotechnical design software, and others. • Charles Wilk from Allu Group – Principles and Applications of Soil Mixing for Contaminated Properties • Antonio Marinucci, Consultant – Drilled Displacement Piling Techniques • Devon Mothersille from Single Bore Multiple Anchor – SBMA Technology to Support a 25 m (82 ft) Deep Excavation in Difficult Ground • Federico Pagliacci from Soilmec – Overview of Micropiles Used Around the World for Foundation Under-pinning • Nasser Massoudi from Bechtel Cor- poration – Excavation and Stabilization of the Historic (1785) Virginia Common- wealth Capitol for the New Visitor’s Center • Daniel Pradel from Shannon & Wilson – Mechanically Stabilized Lightweight Cellular Concrete Walls • Franz-Werner Gerressen from Bauer – Summary of Soil Improvement Techniques Used asked a panel of experts and the attendees if transfer of new technologies should be initiated by project owners, designers, contractors or equipment manufacturers. The panel and participants from various backgrounds agreed that good com- munication among the entire team is needed to allow designers to dare to be innovative and to propose new techniques to owners. Equipment and material suppliers do have scope to acquire new equipment and tools, and designers do have analysis and concepts of new technologies. The entire team needs to work together to discuss risks and respon- sibilities for producing cost effective, safe projects using new technologies. Email [email protected] for proceedings in English and Spanish. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2016 • 23
