32 Geotechnical 38 Sinkhole Investigation 44 KarstIC FOUNDATION 50 Karst-Related Design over Karst and Grouting VARIABILITY Sinkholes NOVEMBER // DECEMBER 2014 INSIDE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATIONS CONGRESS AND EQUIPMENT EXPO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW PROGRAM FOUNDATIONSIFCEE 2015 CONFERENCE PREVIEW CONGRESS & EQUIPMENT March 17-21, 2015 JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa EXPO San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A. 10/22/14 11:40 AM IFCEE_Preview_Geostrata.indd 1 Karst AND Sinkholes DETECTION, REMEDIES, AND LEGAL CONSEQUENCES Proudly published by the Geo-Institute of ASCE GEOPIER IS GROUND IMPROVEMENT.™ Work with engineers worldwide to solve your ground improvement challenges. THE GEOPIER SRT SYSTEM: LOW-IMPACT SLOPE STABILITY WE HELP YOU FIX BAD GROUND. An existing slope along the high occupancy travel lanes of the I-495 Capital Beltway in Fairfax, Virginia had an For more information call 800-371-7470, unacceptable factor of safety against sliding. The slope was e-mail [email protected] or visit geopier.com. a perfect application for the Geopier SRT system. SRT is a slope reinforcement technology that uses rigid steel Plate Pile™ elements to stabilize shallow failing slopes or reinforce marginally stable slopes. The use of small, mobile equipment allowed for the work to be performed directly on the slope with no interruption of traffic. This project demonstrated that the SRT system can successfully be installed along roadways with difficult access, while decreasing construction time and earthwork operations. ©2014 Geopier Foundation Company, Inc. The Geopier® technology and brand names are protected under U.S. patents and trademarks listed at www.geopier.com/patents and other trademark applications and patents pending. Other foreign patents, patent applications, trademark registrations, and trademark applications also exist. Cavers illuminate the underground junction of Hawkins River with Logsdon River in the Mammoth Cave System. See the article, “Report from an Underground World,” on page 18. November // December 2014 Features 32 Geotechnical Design over Karst 50 Karst-Related Sinkholes It’s all about the water. Dynamic compaction as an effective By Walter G. Kutschke remediation option. By Chris Woods 38 Sinkhole Investigation and Grouting Novel recommendations for a pipeline right-of-way. 56 Sudoku and Geotechnical Solutions By John T. Pusey, Jr., and John M. Caccese Lessons from a parallel universe of limited data. By Burt Look 44 A Probabilistic Approach to Karstic Foundation Variability When a heavily loaded industrial building was expanded, a thick raft saved the day. By D. V. Gri ths, Don Dotson, and Jinsong Huang 32 Geotechnical 38 Sinkhole Investigation 44 KarstIC FOUNDATION 50 Karst-Related Design over Karst and Grouting VARIABILITY Sinkholes NOVEMBER // DECEMBER 2014 INSIDE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATIONS CONGRESS AND EQUIPMENT EXPO ON THE COVER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW PROGRAM FOUNDATIONSIFCEE 2015 CONFERENCE PREVIEW CONGRESS & EQUIPMENT March 17-21, 2015 JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa EXPO San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A. 10/22/14 11:40 AM IFCEE_Preview_Geostrata.indd 1 February 12, 2014. At the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY, a sinkhole Karst AND Sinkholes swallowed eight historic Corvettes. DETECTION, REMEDIES, AND LEGAL CONSEQUENCES Proudly published by the Geo-Institute of ASCE CONNECT WITH US www.asce.org/geo twitter.com/GeoInstitute facebook.com/GeoInstitute LinkedInGeo GeoInstituteASCE 2 GEOSTRATA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 6 Letters November // December 2014 10 President’s Letter By Allen Cadden 12 From the Editorial Board By Beth A. Gross 14 COREBITS PEOPLE Departments 16 COREBITS STUDENTS 18 As I See It: Report from an Underground World By Roger W. Brucker 22 As I See It: The Florida Sinkhole Battle By Edward Zisman 25 Geo-Legends: James K. Mitchell By Deshinka A. Bostwick, Leah D. Miramontes, Morgan L. Race, and Sean E. Salazar 62 The GeoCurmudgeon: Learn to Confront Risk—It’s the Professional Thing to Do By John P. Bachner 66 Look Who’s a D.GE An Interview with John Peirce 70 G-I ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBER NEWS By Linda Bayer 74 COREBITS EVERYTHING G-I 76 COREBITS INDUSTRY 77 COREBITS CHAPTERS 91 COREBITS CALENDAR 92 Geo-Poem: Sheet Pile Wall By Mary C. Nodine Aerial view of sinkhole near Pottstown, Pennsylvania GEOSTRATA is published by the Geo-Institute and the American Society of Civil Engineers. 4 GEOSTRATA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 SomethingBIGisHere! Contact Dataforensics to Learn More About the Future of Data Collection WE ARE HIRING! Dataforensics has an immediate need for a www.Dataforensics.net Geotechnical Engineer/Software Implementation Specialist. Call: 678.406.0106 ext. 2 ©2012 Panasonic Corporation of North America. All rights reserved. Contact [email protected] for consideration Android is a trademark of Google Inc. The Android robot is reproduced or modied from work created and shared by Google and used according to or scan the QR code for details. terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License. Letters Thoughts on the President’s Letter: A Bridge with Some Geo-Education j j I thought the July/August issue was great, and personally on-point. The day before I read the [President’s] letter, I was working on a new hospital project under an IPD contract format, discuss- ing the risks of a temporary cut slope (see picture) that the contractor had made with a room full of non-technical stakeholders. This situation was seem- ingly snatched straight out of this issue. Jessee Jacobson, PE, M.ASCE Arden, NC j j Your [President’s Letter] encourages me to keep my own antennae up and sensibilities tuned to perceive and enjoy Above: A temporary work well done. slope cut such as this Bert Miner, PE, M.ASCE one carries certain risks. Manchester, WA Left: The architect j j Here’s another example of a geotech- for this underground nical engineering “exhibit” of sorts. We auditorium designed designed an earth retention system this window into the for an underground auditorium for a pedestrian tunnel so private client. The system consisted of a visitors could see the soil 60-foot-high soil and rock nail wall with and rock nail wall built passive and post-tensioned anchors, as an earth retention with a 20-foot-high cantilever retaining system. wall on top. It was a spectacular project, and certainly bittersweet when the auditorium structure covered up our cores, rock anchors, etc. along the Colorado Section G-I Chapter Co-chair and work. However, after construction was pathway – most unusual. While the History and Heritage Committee Chair complete, we were pleased to see that bridge was a rather diffi cult project in a the architect had included a window in tough location, you might want to read j j I appreciate the recognition given to the pedestrian tunnel through which the proceedings from our Hoover Dam the geotechnical engineering consul- visitors could view the soil nail wall. 75th Anniversary History Symposium, tant, AMEC, on the bridge in Nevada. It Mary Nodine, PE, M.ASCE published by ASCE in 2010 (I was the is also appropriate that others involved Woburn, MA lead editor). Hoover Dam was a bit with the project were appropriately tougher than the bridge, partly because recognized. Geotechnical engineering j j I believe the bridge is located in the dam was designed and built about consultants on a project are frequently Nevada and Arizona (just like Hoover 70 years before the bridge. not even mentioned. However, they are Dam). I also visited the bridge and Richard L. (Dick) Wiltshire, PE, F.ASCE as important as all of the team mem- walked across it and noted the rock ASCE History and Heritage Committee, bers. The geotechnical and geological 6 GEOSTRATA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 innovation in MEMS Digital Inclinometer Systems How the best just got better. Other Inclinometers RST Inclinometer For measuring any lateral movement down in the earth, via inclinometer Interference RST’s newly developed casing, the Digital MEMS connector is by far Inclinometer System from RST Interference at connector the industry leader for Instruments Ltd. was the first, and is visibly inherent in other the least amount of is still the best, Digital MEMS inclinometers (left) while connector interference. Inclinometer System available. RST’s Digital MEMS Inclinometer (right) can Over the last 10 years, RST's clearly traverse a smaller radius bend (1.93 m) than Inclinometer systems have had the RST also provides the all other inclinometers. shortest overall length available for most robust cable on the a given base length compared to market with a breaking strength competitive inclinometers. Minimum of 5.90 kN (1325 lbs.) Undaunted, we’ve forged ahead Also, our new, non-slip, and improved on our very own Negotiable swaged cable marks are industry-leading specifications. Casing Radius unmatched in grip strength. With a new minimum negotiable casing radius of 1.93 m, RST's Other Inclinometers: Digital MEMS Inclinometer can 3.12 m still traverse a smaller radius bend OTHER INCLINOMETERS VS. RST RST Inclinometer: The compact reel system than all other inclinometers available with 50 m cable weighs a in the industry. 1.93 m very manageable 4.7 kg and can be easily held 0.5 m wheelbase probes shown in 70 mm OD with one hand. A padded inclinometer casing. carrying case is included. TILT & INCLINATION SYSTEM INCLUDES: MEMS Digital Inclinometer probe, cable NEW! system, reel with battery power, and FOR 2014 an Ultra-Rugged Field PC that functions as a wireless readout, Above, the RST Digital MEMS Inclinometer Probe analysis, and data storage device. with industry leading system accuracy of ±2 mm Includes all accessories, as shown per 25 m, is shown connected to the cable. at left. Please contact the RST sales team for complete details. The all new Ultra-Rugged Field PC2 functions as the data collector which provides a high-level user interface, "at-the-borehole" data analysis and graphical comparison to previous data sets.