NCS cooperates with the industry and academia in practical research and development (R&D). This practical R&D is often developed out of necessity on actual projects where there is little to no guidance in published literature. In cases like this there is no margin for error and procedures that are developed are immediately validated. Following are some examples of work performed and implemented by personnel of NCS:

• Analytical procedures for axial and lateral resistance of drilled shafts in dense and cemented soils,
• Use of in situ tests and optimization of drilled shaft design in cemented soils and weak rocks,
• Integrity testing of drilled shafts,
• Field-testing procedures for hollow-core soil nails,
• Methods to incorporate soil nails in MSE walls for remediation purposes,
• Hybrid retaining wall systems (e.g., soldier-pile lagging walls in fill with MSE type panels and deadman anchors, soil nail walls in fill, geofoam infill between soil nail wall and fascia walls),
• Jet grouting in boulder laden high plasticity and expansive clays,
• Use of lightweight fill materials as retaining wall backfills,
• Mapping of rock discontinuities using digital imaging techniques,
• Mitigation of effect of ground fissuring activity on pavements and bridge foundations,
• True bridge abutments (spread foundations on top of MSE walls),
• Lateral pressure distribution on MSE wall face due to deep foundations within MSE backfill,
• Ground improvement by deep or shallow soil mixing,
• Bearing capacity of shallow foundations in soils with varying properties in the horizontal direction,
• Effect of vertical and shear stiffness of bearing pads between MSE wall panels on the seismic and non-seismic behavior of the MSE walls,
• Implementation of Load Resistance Factor Design concepts.

NCS GeoResources, LLC is the research and training arm of NCS. For more information or if you are interested in any of the above topics or wish to collaborate on similar topics, then please visit the NCS GeoResources website at http://www.ncsgeoresources.com.