DFI Magazine March/April 2020 - 71

FHWA National Geotechnical Team Update
by Silas Nichols, P.E., FHWA
Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA)
National Geotechnical Team (NGT)
continues to be busy and productive. In
2018, the NGT completed work on the
following documents by the program office,
which are currently being prepared for
electronic publication:
* GEC-9 - Design, Analysis, and Testing of Laterally Loaded Deep
Foundations that Support Transportation Facilities (FHWA-HIF18-031)
* GEC-10 - Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and Design
Methods (FHWA-NHI-18-024)
* Evaluation of Limit Equilibrium Analysis Methods for Design of Soil
Nail Walls (FHWA-NHI-17-068)
* Incorporation of Foundation Movements in AASHTO LRFD Bridge
Design Process - Second Edition (FHWA-HIF-18-007)
* Implementation Report - Expanded Database for Service Limit
State Calibration of Immediate Settlement of Bridge Foundations on
Soil (FHWA-HIF-18-008)
* Risk-Based Protocol for Asset Management of Metallically
Reinforced Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls (FHWAHIF-18-065)
In 2019, FHWA funded the following research activities:
* Service Limit State Design and Analysis of Engineered Fills for
Bridge Support (completed and awaiting publication decision)
* Strength Characterization of Geotechnical Materials (Phase I
completed. FHWA-HRT-18-048)
* Bearing Resistance of Large Diameter Open Ended Piles (completed
in spring 2019, awaiting publication. FHWA-HRT-20-011)
* High Performance Concrete for Geotechnical Applications
(draft report due )
* Development of Geohazards Program Framework (completed
fall 2019, awaiting publication. FHWA-HIF-19-090)
* Communication of Data Sets and Data Protocols (completed
2019)
* Geotechnical Aspects of Pavements
* Evaluation of Geosynthetics for Use in Pavement Design
* Dry Cast Block Durability Assessment (draft report under review)
* Develop Baseline Soil Constitutive Models for Open-Graded
Aggregates (drafted a manuscript on initial efforts, submitted to
Computer Geotechnics journal)

* Evaluation of Bridge Approach Transitions using Inertial
Profilers (completed spring 2020, awaiting synthesis report
publication. FHWA-HRT-20-021)
* Advanced Automated Geotechnical Data Collection and
Instrumentation (developed research report titled
"Instrumentation and 5-Year Performance Monitoring of a
GRS-IBS in St. Lawrence County, NY")
* Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil-Integrated Bridge System - Bid
Price Analysis and Cost Comparisons with Alternative Foundation Systems (completed winter 2019. FHWA-HRT-19-024)
2020 NGT initiatives include:
* Having the Advanced Geotechnical Methods for Exploration
(A-GaME) up and running, with more than 40 champion states.
The objective of A-GaME is to promote the use of underutilized
site investigation tools (cone penetration testing [CPT],
measurement while drilling [MWD], geophysical methods, and
televiewers) to improve the quality of geotechnical site
characterization programs and reduce risks due to underground
uncertainty in project delivery. The NGT is conducting training,
outreach and demonstration projects around the country for
state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), in conjunction
with regional and national conferences and workshops.
* Completing implementation of two 2nd Strategic Highway
Research Program (SHRP2) products in 2019: GeoTechTools, a
popular website tool that provides geotechnical solutions for
project delivery problems, and the Service Limit State
Calibration framework for the consideration of foundation
movements in the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications,
including calibration procedures for the load factor for
settlement. In 2018, the AASHTO Committee on Bridges and
Structures approved a ballot for a new specification for
recommended bridge foundation settlement estimations based
on this research effort. National Highway Institute's (NHI) selfpaced, web-based training course (NHI 132100) provides users
with step-by-step procedures for developing local calibrations at
the service limit state.
* The NGT is partnering with Geo-Institute of the American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to administer GeoTechTools,
IDEA (a technical evaluation protocol for earth-retaining
systems), and DIGGS (a transfer protocol for geotechnical data).
* The NGT also partners with Committee on Geological and
Geotechnical Engineering (COGGE) at National Academies of
Sciences on a study investigating corrosion in buried steel
elements. Degradation of steel due to corrosion is one of the
geotechnical discipline's biggest risk items, and in
transportation, there is no structural or geotechnical asset that
is not at risk. This will be one of the most important studies that
the NGT will be involved with over the next few years.

DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAR/APR 2020 * 71
DFI Magazine March/April 2020

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