December 31, 2008 - Happy New Year and Looking Forward

Happy New Year to our clients, colleagues and visitors! 2008 has been a busy year (hence no news posts since May!) and we have some exciting updates for the coming year!

New FHWA MSE Wall Manual

The 2001 FHWA manual titled “Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes” has been the benchmark document for design and construction of MSE walls throughout the United States and in many countries.  FHWA is currently updating this manual to incorporate the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) approach as well as new applications for MSE walls such as shored and stable feature systems.  NCS is part of the Ryan R. Berg team that has been retained by the FHWA for the manual revision.  The key team members are Ryan R. Berg of Ryan R. Berg and Associates (RRBA) in Minnesota, Barry R. Christopher of Christopher Consultants in Atlanta and Naresh C. Samtani of NCS.  At the current time, it is anticipated that the new manual will be available for general distribution in late summer/early fall of 2009.

AASHTO LRFD Service Limit State Calibration

All transportation projects with federal funding are required to implement the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) methodology as included in the AASHTO Bridge Design Specifications.  At the current time the LRFD procedures have been calibrated for Strength I limit state.  NCS is part of a team led by Modjeski and Masters (M&M) (www.modjeski.com) to develop new design codes that incorporate a rational approach based on service limit state (SLS) for durability and performance of bridge systems, subsystems, components, and details that are critical to reaching the expected service life and assuring an actual service life beyond 100 years.  Led by Dr. John M. Kulicki, PE, of M&M, the key team members include Dr. Wagdy G. Wassef, PE, of M&M, Dr. Dennis R. Mertz, PE, of University of Delaware, Dr. Andrzej S. Nowak, PE, of University of Nebraska and Dr. Naresh C. Samtani, PE, of NCS.  The results of this work will be available in early 2012.  The project is funded as part of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) of the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

ASCE Webinars on Geotechnical Topics in LRFD

Starting January 2009, Naresh Samtani and Jerry DiMaggio will present a series of webinars for the GeoInstitute of ASCE on a variety of geotechnical topics based on Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) methodology. The first offering is a two-part webinar titled Load & Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) for Geotechnical Engineering Features with Part 1 being on Friday, January 16, 2009 and Part 2 on Friday, January 30. More info is available at the webinar website or download an informational brochure.

North American Steel Sheet Piling Association (NASSPA) University Professors Workshop

An NCS team that includes Jerry A. DiMaggio, PE, was chosen by the North American Steel Sheet Piling Association (NASSPA) to develop a University Professors Workshop (UPW).  The primary goal of the UPW “is to assist educators in finding the tools and resources needed to successfully conduct classes in steel sheet piling, thereby producing more knowledgeable young professionals in relation to steel sheet pile wall design and construction.”  It is anticipated that the UPW will be offered by NASSPA in late Summer or early Fall of 2009.

NCS Welcomes Tyler Carstensen!

In June of 2008, NCS hired Tyler Carstensen to the position of Engineering Intern. Tyler is a Junior at the University of Arizona, majoring in Mining Engineering with an expected graduation date of May 2010. In his short 6-months with NCS, he has already been a valuable asset to our company and we look forward to great things him. Welcome aboard Tyler!

Over 7,500 Downloads

Since the creation of our downloads section, there have been over 7,500 downloads of our technical papers, presentations and other files. The Soils and Foundations Manual continues to be the most popular item, accounting for more than 50% of the total downloads.

May 19, 2008 - New Photo Gallery and Project Updates

NCS has added a photo gallery to our website and drastically improved the user experience for browsing photos from our unique projects! We also modified our menu to make the downloads more accessible in addition to the new photo gallery. On a side note, we have passed the 5,500 mark for downloads of our papers, presentations and miscellaneous other information from our site.

Project pages that have been updated with many additional photos include the I-10 Widening Project (St. Mary's to 29th), the SR 89a Banjo Bill Rockfall Containment Project (recently completed in April of this year), and the Mt. Lemmon emergency wall repairs project. In the coming weeks we hope to add several more project profiles along with the corresponding photos.

May 2, 2008 - New Office Location! And updated LRFD Policy Memoranda

As-of Thursday May 1, 2008, NCS is located at 1790 E. River Road, Suite 205, Tucson, AZ 85718. Our phone and fax numbers have not changed, and our primary contact address for contract correspondence and other official business is still 640 W. Paseo Rio Grande, Tucson, AZ 85737.

NCS LRFD Policy Memo 1 - Development of Factored Bearing Resistance Chart by a Geotechnical Engineer for Use by a Bridge Engineer to Size Spread Footings on Soils Based on Service and Strength Limit States has been revised as of 3/18/2008. Sorry for the delay in posting the revision.

March 6, 2008 - ADOT LRFD Policy Memoranda Developed by NCS Now Available for Download!

As part of our On-Call Geotechnical Services contract with the Arizona Department of Transportation, NCS was tasked with reviewing and implementing the AASHTO Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Bridge Design Specifications as it pertains to geotechnical engineering.  NCS’ scope of work included the comparison of new methods prescribed in the LRFD specifications with the current state of the practice, and the preparation of policy memoranda that would form the baseline of the new standard of practice for geotechnical engineering in Arizona. Three (3) of these memoranda were issued in February of 2008 and are discussed in more on our ADOT LRFD Policy Memoranda page.

February 28, 2008 - 56th Annual Minnesota Geotechnical Engineering Conference Presentation

Naresh gave a presentation at the 56th Annual Minnesota Geotechnical Engineering Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota titled Some Practical Considerations for LRFD Implementation for Geotechnical Features. This presentation, though similarly titled, was completely different from the TRB presentation presented back in January. The conference was sponsored by the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Geotechnical Society and the Geo-Institute of ASCE.

February 4, 2008 - I-10 Widening Project Presentation

Randy Post presented to the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Arizona on the topic of the Geotechnical Engineering of the I-10 Widening Project - St. Mary's to 29th St. Segment. It was meant to provide students interested in geotech an overview of what is involved in a large transportation related geotechnical project. Slide notes can be downloaded at the link above.

January 16, 2008 - TRB LRFD Presentation, 5 Years of Service, Download Stats

Naresh was recently in Washington D.C. at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Conference. On Wednesday the 16th he gave a presentation titled Practical Suggestions for Implementation of LRFD Specifications for Geotechnical Features. In it he shared the approach adopted by NCS, ADOT and others to implement the LRFD code in Arizona and provided a general roadmap to other agencies for how to go about similar work in their jurisdiction. Slide notes can be downloaded from the previous link.

On a separate note, this week marks the 5-year anniversary of NCS Consultants, LLC. We look forward to continuing to provide our clients the highest quality service for the next 5 years and beyond!

Finally, the downloads section of our web site continues to be very popular. There have been over 3,700 downloads since we started counting in June of 2006. In particular, the Soils and Foundations Manual has been downloaded over 1,100 times by both U.S. and foreign individuals representing a broad range of consulting firms, agencies, universities and contractors.

June 15, 2007 - New LRFD Article and 1 Year of Downloads

Naresh has written his second in a series of articles on LRFD entitled LRFD for Substructures - Concept of Failure and Reliability Index. An html version is available on the GeoPrac.net web site.

One year ago is when we started keeping track of the downloads we offer on this site. In the last year, we have had over 1,200 downloads, including over 370 downloads of the FHWA Soils and Foundations manual. We are pleased with the response we have received with our PDF offerings, and we have no plans to let up!

June 4 , 2007 - Geotechnical Engineering on the Moon?

At the beginning of his engineering career in July of 1966, Ed Nowatzki took a position with Grumman Aircraft Engineering Company, NASA's prime contractor for the lunar excursion module (LEM or LM) for the Apollo missions. While there he worked on the geotechnical aspects of the LM as a member of the Apollo 11 team, which ultimately produced first successful landing on the Moon. Ed recently wrote a retrospective article for publication at GeoPrac.net on this work entitled The Greatest Geotechnical Engineering Challenge. We are pleased to offer a PDF version of this fascinating article for download here on the NCS Web site.

May 8, 2007 - LRFD for Bridge Substructures Presentation

Naresh Samtani, PE, PhD gave a presentation titled LRFD for Bridge Substructures to the Bridge Technical Committee of the Arizona Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (AzSCE). You can download the slide notes from our downloads section. Note: Slide notes were updated on May 18, 2007.

May 1, 2007 - New Downloads and LRFD Corner

LRFD is a hot topic in geotechnical engineering right now, and NCS is at the forefront on both a national, and local level. We have added the LRFD Corner section on our home page to call attention to new developments and downloads on this topic. You can still visit our LRFD page for more details and resources.

Two new downloads have been posted in our Downloads Section:

• LRFD Article 1: LRFD for Substructures - Limit States and Interaction between Structural and Geotechnical Specialists - by Naresh Samtani. Revised May 8, 2007 (R0). NCS Article #: 01-0507-R0. HTML version also published at GeoPrac.net.
• Geotechnical Remediation for a Highway Crossing an Earth Fissure (November, 2006) - Slide notes from a Naresh Samtani

March 1, 2007 - Ed Nowatzki receives Southern Arizona Engineer of the Year Award

Congratulations to Ed on this very prestigious award! He was selected from a distinguished field of nominees by a committee from the Arizona Society of Professional Engineers. The actual award was presented at the Southern Arizona Engineer's Week Banquet on February 20, 2007. Read more on our awards page.

January 4, 2007 - Soils and Foundations Reference Manual available for download

The Soils and Foundations Reference Manual published by the Federal Highway Administration is available for download here on the NCS website. Naresh Samtani and Ed Nowatzki of NCS are the authors of this manual, a comprehensive update to the previous versions. Read more about the manual. Don't forget to take a look at the other downloads we have to offer on the NCS website.

January 4 , 2007 - Happy New Year to all our colleagues and friends!

2006 was a fantastic year for NCS, and we look forward to the many exciting and challenging projects of 2007. Here are two highlights from the end of 2006.

• NCS is pleased to announce that Randy Post has passed his GIT Exam, and is now a Geologist In Training in Arizona in addition to being a registered Civil PE. Congratulations Randy!
• In late October, NCS and the rest of the project team for the SR 264: Second Mesa Project were awarded the 2006 ACEC Grand Award by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona. We invite you to read more about the award or about the project.

October 13, 2006 - New Featured Project: SR 264 at Second Mesa, Geofoam Wall

How do you build a retaining wall out of styrofoam? That is essentially what was done on the SR 264 project at Second Mesa. A complex hybrid system with geofoam fill, a soil nail retaining wall and a precast concrete facing wall was used...all on a steep side hill, with full traffic loading above it. Read more about the latest featured project on the NCS website.

October 5, 2006 - Many Announcements!

It has been a while since we posted any news or announcements, so there is a great deal to report!

• Several new featured projects have been added: The US 60: Pinto Valley project, the Ft. Grant TI deep soil mixing project, and the Mt. Lemmon Emergency Retaining Wall and Slope Repair Project. We also added a few projects to the Brief Project Overviews, and updated the U of A Science Center Project page.
• NCS has been working on a complete and comprehensive revision of he FHWA Soils & Foundations Manual, the "textbook" for the course of the same name that is one of the FHWA's most popular geotechnical courses. The manual is now over 1,000 pages and is nearing completion. The pilot presentation of the new course will be December 11-15 in Baton Rougue, LA in a course for the LADOTD. Watch here for a download link once the manual is made public or read more about the manual.
• NCS has been awarded the 2006 Marvin M. Black Award by the Associated General Contractors of America. Read more on the awards page.
• We are pleased to welcome Juan Lopez to our full-time staff! Juan has been working part time with us since 2004, and is very near completion of his M.S. Thesis.
• NCS is leading the team for Ryan R. Berg and Associates, Inc. that was selected to teach the LRFD for Highway Bridge Substructures and Earth Retaining Structures courses for the FHWA National Highway Institute (NHI, course No. 130082).
• Finally posted a few photos from the Red Mountain Freeway Earth Fissure Field Trip promised 2 months ago!

June 29, 2006 - Earth Fissure Field Trip

NCS, with the permission of ADOT, conducted a field trip on 6/29 to view the exposed earth fissure at the project site of the Red Mountain Freeway (Loop 202) between University Dr. and Southern Ave. in Mesa, AZ which is currently under construction. Groups/agencies that attended included ADOT, AzGS, ADWR, AEG, ALSG, ASU, Maricopa County, City of Goodyear, City of Scottsdale and personnel from over 10 local consultants. Download the fieldtrip handout or read more about the project. Look for photos next week.

June 14 , 2006 - FHWA Document: Hollow-Core Soil Nails State-of-the-Practice

Naresh Samtani and Ed Nowatzki have authored a document for the FHWA commenting on the use of hollow-core soil nailing based on their experience.

June 14 , 2006 - New downloads page

We have added a new downloads page that collects all the various downloads scattered around our site into one location. You can download technical papers, presentation handouts and other good stuff. In the fall of 2006, look for downloads related to ADOT's implementation of the AASHTO LRFD code.

February 21 , 2006 - Website Updates, New Featured Projects

We just finished a round of updates to our website, including the addition of three more featured projects: U of A Science Center, MC Contract, and US 191 Coronado Trail. We also added some new photos on the I-10: St. Mary's to 29th St. Project and several projects and some new photos on the Brief Project Overviews page.

January 10, 2006 - LRFD Presentation at AzSCE Bridge Technical Committee Meeting

Thank you to everyone who attended the presentation by Naresh Samtani on the topic of "A Primer on LRFD ". Feel free to download a copy of the presentation handout (3.8 MB).

January 6, 2006 - Wolfgang Fritz, PE!

NCS is very pleased to announce that Dr. Wolfgang Fritz has passed his PE Exam, and is now a registered Civil Engineer in Arizona! Congratulations Wolfgang.

November 21, 2005 - NCS Recognized for VMO Project

At the dedication ceremony of the Veterans Memorial Overpass in Tucson, NCS was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for their contributions. Read more on our awards page.

November 10, 2005 - ADSC GEO³ Paper

Download a copy of "Integrity testing of drilled shafts - existing and new techniques" by N.C. Samtani, F. Jalinoos and D.M. Poland. The paper was presented by Dr. Samtani at ADSC's GEO³ conference in Dallas, TX November 6-9, 2005.

November 7, 2005 - NCS President & Principal Honored

At the Centennial Celebration of the University of Arizona's Civil Engineering department, two members of NCS were honored with awards. Read more on our awards page.

October 7, 2005 - NCS Has a New Office!

As-of Monday October 3, 2005, NCS is located at 1840 E. River Road, Suite 201, Tucson, AZ 85718. Our phone and fax numbers have not changed, and our primary contact address is still 640 W. Paseo Rio Grande, Tucson, AZ 85737.

July 12, 2005 - AzSCE Bridge Technical Committee Meeting

Thank you to everyone who attended the presentation by Naresh Samtani on the topic of "ADOT and MSE Walls - What is the latest?". Feel free to download a copy of the presentation handout (3.1 MB).

May 9, 2005 - Roads & Streets Conference Wrap-up

Thank you to everyone who attended the session presented by Ed Nowatzki on the Veterans Memorial Overpass (VMO) project. And a special thank you to those who accompanied us to the site to see what properly constructed mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls can look like! You can download the notes from Ed's presentation or read more about the project at our VMO project page.

May 2, 2005 - Announcing Geotechnical Training Courses

NCS has developed and conducted geotechnical training courses for a variety of agencies. Read more on the Training Courses page, or download our PDF Geotechnical Training Courses brochure.