2023 Micropile Short Course Registration is Open!

REGISTER today for the June 5, 2023 MICROPILE SHORT COURSE presented by the Virginia Geo-Institute Chapter of ASCE as part of the 2023 Foundations Short Course. The event will be held at the Smithfield Center in beautiful Smithfield, VA.

The Virginia Geo-Institute Chapter of ASCE is committed to providing premier educational opportunities to the Civil Engineering communities that we serve. The Micropile Short Course represents that ethos and is a full day of comprehensive coverage of Micropile Design and Construction State of Practice.

This course is led by nationally and internationally recognized leaders in all aspects of Micropile design and construction. The course will cover Micropile fundamentals, materials, equipment, structural design, geotechnical design, testing, and new developments in the industry. This is an awesome opportunity that is not currently available anywhere else.

CLICK THIS LINK TO REGISTER!

Contact Jon Bennett with any questions at jkbennett@wagman.com or (304) 707-4840.

Check out the Program Images below:

View or download the MICROPILE SHORT COURSE Program Flyer document below:

2023-micropile-short-course-programDownload

GeoVirginia 2022 is on in Person!

GeoVirginia 2022 will take place on April 11-13, 2022 at the Smithfield Event Center in Smithfield, Virginia! We are looking forward to seeing everyone in person in April!

This will be the BEST GeoVirginia to date!

Registration will officially open on Monday, December 27, 2021. Check www.geovirginia.org for details!

GeoVirginia 2021 Postponed Until 2022

Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, the next GeoVirginia Conference has been postponed until April 11-13, 2022. The Conference will take place at the Smithfield Center in Smithfield, VA same as last time. Take care in the meantime and we will hope to see everyone soon! More details to come as we get closer to the event.

Check out our Virginia GeoInstitute website periodically for details HERE!

August 2019 ASCE Virginia Geo-Institute Meeting

Join the ASCE Geo-Institute Virginia Chapter for an evening of networking, professional education, fine dining, election of officers and updates on the upcoming Geo-Virginia Conference.

ONLY 24 spots available.

REGISTER HERE

TECHNICAL PRESENTATION TOPIC – LRFD FOR MICROPILES (1 PDH)
Speaker: Jonathan Bennett, PE, D.GE

Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) is the predominant design method utilized today for reinforced concrete and structural steel, and is the primary focus of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications. Historically, micropile design has been performed mainly with Allowable Stress Design (ASD) methodologies, and most of the micropile design manuals and specifications in existence prior to 2008 were based on ASD.

In light of this history of ASD design methodologies, and in spite of the widespread use of LRFD in general structural design disciplines, there have been a number of questions and a great deal of confusion regarding the proper use and implementation of LRFD design methodologies for micropiles. The author, as part of a DFI / ADSC Joint Micropile Committee initiative, developed a presentation in response to these questions and issues which covers the fundamentals of LRFD as it applies to micropiles, and provides an illuminating comparison with ASD methodology.

This paper is a formalized and updated snapshot of the current State of Practice of LRFD for Micropile Design based on the most current information and design codes relevant to micropiles. It will describe the fundamentals of Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), demonstrate micropile design and testing utilizing LRFD, compare the results with historical ASD design, point out the limitations of current LRFD practice relative to micropiles, and finally map out the path forward with regard to proper implementation of LRFD as a true reliability based design methodology for the design of micropiles.

2018 Engineering and Construction Exchange

Join me next Thursday in Charleston, WV for the 2018 Terracon Engineering and Construction Exchange. I will be presenting on Micropiles at the event so make sure you register below and get the latest and greatest on Micropiles! Presentation attendees will receive a PDH certificate for continuing education credit. There is no cost for registration so all the better! See you then. #micropiles #geotechnicalengineering #construction

LRFD for Micropiles – State of Practice

Check out my Article in ADSC’s Foundation Drilling Magazine on LRFD for Micropiles. You can view it HERE. I don’t work for Moretrench any more but you will still find me in the Mid-Atlantic region helping customers solve geotechnical problems and challenges as Wagman Heavy Civil, Inc.‘s Design-Build Manager.

Stay tuned for some exciting developments in what micropile.org is doing to add value in the specialty geotechnical engineering and construction space! Coming soon!

Last Chance! Submit Your Abstract for the 43rd Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Annual Conference Now.

October 24-27, 2018
Hilton Anaheim
Anaheim, CA, USA

Mastering the Challenge:
Engineering for Complex Loading Conditions in the 21st Century

The Call for Abstracts deadline has been extended by one week from December 15, 2017 to December 22, 2017 so if you haven’t submitted an Abstract already, you have a little more time to do so. Details below taken from the DFI Call for Abstracts document.

This conference will feature technical presentations on innovations and advancements that address performance based design and construction of foundations subject to increasingly challenging structural demands. The 2018 Conference will provide an international forum for a wide range of geo-professionals to present, discuss, and debate all aspects of assessment, development, design and mitigation for complex loading conditions in the 21st Century. A number of sessions will be dedicated to panel discussions in which invited specialists will interact with the audience to examine pressing issues in foundation industry practices.

Abstracts for technical papers and panel sessions can be submitted at www.dfi.org/annual2018, no later than Friday, December 22, 2017. All accepted papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings, and select papers will be presented orally by the author during the appropriate technical session. Proposals for panel sessions are welcomed and encouraged.

Abstracts for papers are welcomed on the following topics:

• Risk Assessment and Mitigation
• Lessons Learned (Case Histories / Innovations / Forensic Work)
• Seismic Design / Soil Structure Interaction / Lateral Loading
• Performance Based Deep Foundation Design
• Ground Improvement
• Innovation Techniques for Earth Retention and Stabilization
• Advancements in Instrumentation and Monitoring
• Analysis, Design and Construction for Extreme Events
• Mega Projects (Projected Work / Risk Mitigation / Contractual Aspects)
• Constructability Issues and Design Aspects
• Other Deep Foundations-Related Topics

Paper format guidelines are available on the Submission Website www.dfi.org/annual2018 and by request from DFI Headquarters. For inquiries, send an email to events@dfi.org.

Whoa! Micropile Design and Construction Just Got an Extreme Makeover!

If you haven’t visited the Micropile Design and Construction website (micropile.org) for a while, you are in for a surprise! For the first time since its inception in 2009, the site has received a much needed extreme graphical makeover. We’ve updated our website theme and ensured that it is responsive across the various devices out there today. We are really pleased with the new site!

Let us know what you think and if you have any particular topics of interest that you want to see covered in the future. Micropile Design and Construction is committed to providing the highest quality and most practical information on micropiles available in the industry. Exciting things to come in 2018, Stay tuned!

Check out the Facebook Page associated with the website as well at www.Facebook.com/Micropiles and give us a big LIKE!

Are Ductile Iron Pipe Piles Micropiles?

I saw a post recently where a company was advertising Ductile Iron Pipe Piles as “Micropiles”. I don’t consider ductile iron piles to be micropiles for the simple reason that they don’t fit the definition of a micropile. If you look back to our post on micropile definitions, you will see that micropiles are drilled and grouted “replacement piles”. Ductile iron piles are not replacement piles. They are driven, grouted “displacement” piles.

A friend of mine from north of the border told me once that “the Americans get all bent out of shape when somebody calls a helical pile (or ductile iron pile) a micropile.” Does it matter? I think it does. You would probably look at me funny if I called a car a truck. But thats just me.

Anyway, don’t get me wrong, I love ductile iron piles. I just don’t consider them micropiles. If you need to get into rock, you wont be able to do it with a ductile iron pile but you can with a good old Micropile. They are great in soil though…

Happy New Year 2013 from www.micropile.org!

Wishing a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all! May God bless you, your families, and your companies in 2013! Lets turn this ship around!

I echo my challenge from last year that we look at the situations that we face through the lens of truth and that our decisions will be based on right concepts as opposed to self interest. Let us press forward fearlessly guided by right action and truth that we might forge a better future for ourselves and those around us. Happy New Year!