TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES DFI Technical Committees are tackling technical projects, collaborating with other groups, and organizing events that educate and increase awareness of new technologies. Read the reports below and watch this space for the most current updates on DFI technical activities. Please contact me at [email protected] to get involved. We are always seeking new members, ideas and suggestions. COMMITTEE CHAIR DAN STEVENSON Codes and Standards Committee I am happy to report that we had a very suc- cessful experience at the International Code Council (ICC) Committee Action Hearings in Albuquerque, N.M., in May. All 17 code change proposals submitted by the Geo- Coalition Code Committee were approved. Dale Biggers, Lori Simpson, P.E., G.E., Langan, and I represented the GeoCoalition Code Committee and defended the code proposals, which were broadcast live from the code hearings. The GeoCoalition Code Committee is an industry-wide working group comprising members from DFI, ADSC-IAFD, ASCE GeoInstitute and PDCA. DFI member Dale Biggers, P.E., of Boh Bros. leads this committee. Since 2016, the committee has worked COMMITTEE CHAIR DAVID MILLER, P.E. Soil Mixing Committee Members of the Soil Mixing Committee have been active in initiatives and support of other conferences on behalf of DFI. In June, committee members participated in a one-day workshop for the City of Toronto. This was organized by DFI at the city’s request as part of the City of Toronto Groundwater Management Strategy Program. The workshop included presentations from the city on issues related to the groundwater regime and management policy in Toronto and presentations from DFI members on “watertight” foundation solutions. Also, in June, I had the pleasure of being a keynote speaker at SEFE9 in São Paulo, Brazil. SEFE had reached out to DFI and the Soil Mixing Committee to submit abstracts and offered to sponsor speakers. I was able to present on the developments of the soil mixing industry within the U.S. along with a couple of case studies involving excavation support by soil mixing techniques. In August, S3: Slope – Support – Stabilization was held in Minneapolis, Minn., with several papers given regarding slope stabilization. Our research funds were put to good use in 2018, as George Onorato and Giovanni Bonita, Ph.D., P.E., P.G., of GEI Consultants completed the first phase of their research entitled “The effect of curing stresses on the mechanical properties of soil-cement mixed materials.” Onorato delivered a summary of the work so far during his presentation to the committee during the DFI Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif., in October 2018. In just seven months, there was substantial progress towards meeting the project goals. GEI secured commitments from ConeTec, Geokon, Keller and Geotechnics, and several other industry practitioners for the project. These commitments ranged from providing equipment for monitoring, testing, laboratory analysis and field data collection. The response from these companies has been impressive. The project developed an in-situ testing plan. The team has developed and fabricated a prototype field consolidometer apparatus and started field testing. Data is being collected related to the application of stresses to a wet grab sample during curing. This is underway at most of the project sites. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2019 • 67 to modify 17 of the proposals that were originally submitted by this group but disapproved at the 2016 hearings. The list of all code proposals and resolutions are posted on the ICC website. A link is posted on the committee web page under the ‘Groups’ tab at www.dfi.org. Code change proposals approved in Albuquerque included increased allowable stresses for deep foundation elements, modified splice requirements for driven piles, new nondestructive testing methods, and other topics related to foundations. The code change proposals were open for public comment after hearing until July 24, 2019. The next step in the code development process is the public comment hearings in Clark County, Nev., October 23-30, 2019. Representatives from the GeoCoalition Code Committee will attend these hearings and defend the proposals. Mary Ellen Bruce Large, P.E., D.GE Director of Technical Activities [email protected]
