Member $295.00 | Non-Member $395.00
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INSTRUCTOR: George R. Koerner, Ph.D., P.E., CQA
Participants will have access to the virtual workshop video archives and materials for 60 days from the start day of the workshop.
Virtual Workshop Brief
Reinforced slopes, landslide stabilization, slope enlargement, slope protection are works increasingly performed with engineering systems such as geosynthetic reinforced soil and high-performance turf reinforcement mats. These environmentally friendly solutions are safe, durable and pleasant to the eye. The advantages are countless: in addition to being a cost-effective solution in comparison with the traditional construction, they are easy to build and can be quickly implemented. Mechanically stabilized earth structures utilizing geosynthetic reinforcement were developed in the 1970's; first with geotextiles and then geogrids. This course will build on learnings from case histories. It will discuss construction on soft and marginal soils. The course will discuss inspection, monitoring and maintenance of reinforced slopes and embankments. It should be an action packed two-days with time for questions and answers.
Primary Discussion Topics
Steep reinforced slopes are designed and constructed using geosynthetic reinforcement to strengthen the mass of earth such that long term stability can be achieved. Steep reinforced slopes and embankments, when designed properly for the site, can save significant construction costs as compared to conventional structures. The course provides design guidance for the following types of projects:
- Natural and excavated soil and/or rock slopes
- Reinforced soil slopes
- Mechanically stabilized earth slopes
- Coastal, marine and riverbank shorelines
- Landslide
- Embankments over soft soils
- Roads and bridge approach embankments
The key geotechnical issues for design and construction of embankments include stability and settlement of the embankment soil and underlying soils, the impact of the stability and settlement on the construction staging and time requirements, and the impact to adjacent and nearby structures such as buildings, bridge foundations, dams and utilities. Such design and construction requires careful evaluation of both the foundation and fill soils.
In addition, an alternative for reducing the load on the subgrade is to use lightweight fill material. The type of lightweight fill (such as geofoam or ultra-light weight foamed glass aggregate) depends on the site conditions, height of fill and cost of obtaining and placing the lightweight materials. Finally, settlement can be monitored using settlement plates, piezometers and inclinometers, which will all be discussed during the course.
Benefits and Learning Outcomes
Participants will become familiar with details of geosynthetic reinforced slopes and embankments. Different modes of failure will be illustrated and design specifics will be discussed
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain about the latest technology available and also what went wrong in the past
- Examine the possibilities of designing and building better structures at lower costs
- Apply new solutions of reinforcement and drainage even with challenging soil conditions
- Determine precise instrumentation which will enable the owner to monitor the situation real time
Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Achievement of the learning outcomes by attendees will be assessed through online discussion and case studies. A short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions) will also be administered.
Who Should Attend
Owners of slopes and embankments in both the public and private sectors; federal, state and regional geotechnical, transportation, and environmental engineers; engineers from municipal districts and townships; private and municipal land developers, architectural and landscape designers; general civil consulting engineers; testing laboratories servicing these organizations; manufacturers and representatives of geosynthetic materials; contractors and installers of steep soil slopes and embankments; academic and research groups; and others desiring technically related information on this important aspect of our constructed infrastructure.
Workshop Outline
Day 1 - Wednesday, September 15, 2021 ¦ 11:30 am - 1:30 pm ET
- Introduction and Background
- Case histories
- Design
- Dimensions/loading
- Foundation soil profile & properties
- Fill properties
- FS & settlement requirements
- Bearing capacity
- Global stability
- Elastic Deformation
- Pullout or anchorage
- Lateral spreading
- Geosynthetic properties
- Estimation of settlement magnitude and rate
- Construction Planning sequencing
Day 2 - Friday, September 17, 2021 ¦ 11:30 am - 1:30 pm ET
- Inspection before during and after construction
- Monitoring
- Meetings & Observations
- Summary Comments
How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs
This virtual workshop is worth .4 CEUs/4 PDHs. To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 60 days of the virtual workshop.