Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)

Developing policy guidelines for the design of drilled shafts and spread footings for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

Developing policy guidelines for the evaluation of scour in the LRFD context for Pima County Department of Transportation (PCDOT).

Teaching the geotechnical-related components of the 3-day, 4-day and 5-day versions of the course “LRFD for Highway Bridge Substructures and Retaining Walls” for the National Highway Institute (NHI) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under a subcontract to Ryan R. Berg and Associates.

Contributing to the development of the LRFD aspects of the NHI’s new course on Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes. This manual was issued by FHWA as Geotechnical Engineering Circular (GEC) #11.

Developing policy guidelines for the design of MSE walls for the Arizona Department of Transportation. This effort includes the development of comprehensive specifications and detailed example problems, which are also included in the 2009 NHI/FHWA manual on MSE walls.

Developing comprehensive examples problems to illustrate the use of LRFD methodology for the design of standard cast-in-place retaining walls for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

Co-developing an 11-part series of webinars for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) under the general heading of “Practical Implementation of LRFD for Geotechnical Engineering Features.” This series of webinars was developed in collaboration with Jerry A. DiMaggio who is a retired Principal Bridge Engineer and National Program Manager with the FHWA in Washington D.C.

As part of a team led by Modjeski and Masters (M&M), developing new design codes that incorporate a rational approach to the evaluation of the expected service life of highway bridges 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 from Transportation Research Board (TRB) in early 2012. The project is funded as part of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) of the TRB.

Developing a comprehensive guidance manual for the the Resource Center Technology Deployment Program of the FHWA, titled “Selection of Spread Footings on Soils to Support Highway Bridge Structures.” Written by Drs. Naresh Samtani and Ed Nowatzki of NCS and Dr. Dennis Mertz of the University of Delaware, this manual provides the geotechnical engineer and structural engineer with LRFD-based design aids and guidance for the use of spread footings for highway bridges on competent soils.

Helping the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and the University of New Mexico (UNM) in calibration of resistance factors for drilled shafts in New Mexico soils.

Contributing to the development and teaching of a practitioner-led, semester-long, senior/graduate level 3-unit course, “Integrated Highway Bridge Design Using LRFD Methodology”, for the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, University of Arizona, Tucson.

Making numerous invited presentations on various LRFD topics.