Digital Commons Network^™

Geotechnical Problems Of Dam Sites And Their Solution With Reference To The Projects Of Eastern India, S. Gangopadhyay

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Geotechnical problems of dam construction are associated with adverse geological conditions of the dam site like soft rock, fault, shear zone, joints, weathering, permeable bouldery deposit, soluble rocks, ancient slide etc. In many of the dam sites of eastern India where one or more of such adverse conditions exist, the dam could be safely constructed by treatment of foundation defects. In some cases, however, a new site with less geologic problem was chosen with consequent modification in the project scheme.

Applications Of The Band-Limited-White Noise Source Model For Predicting Site-Specific Strong Ground Motions, Ivan G. Wong, Walter J. Silva, Robert B. Darragh, Cathy Stark, Douglas H. Wright

International Conferences on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics

Since the Band-Limited-White-Noise (BLWN) source model coupled with random vibration theory (RVT) was first developed in the early 1980's, it has been used successfully to predict strong ground motions at rock sites in different tectonic regimes. The BLWN-RVT methodology is appropriate for an engineering characterization of strong ground motions at a site since the method captures the important features of these motions in terms of peak acceleration and spectral composition and requires a minimum of input parameters. Recently, the capability to estimate strong ground motions at soil sites has been incorporated into the methodology by using RVT and plane-wave propagators …

Structural Damage In A Populated Area Due To An Active Fault, N. Kalteziotis, N. Sabatakakis, G. Koukis, H. Zervogiannis, G. Tsiambaos

International Conferences on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics

The city of Patras was struck in August 1989 by a shallow earthquake of M_S= 4.8 which caused a surface rupture and serious structural damage to several buildings located in a narrow elongated zone. A detailed investigation programme was carried out including geological mapping, drilling of boreholes, in situ and laboratory testing and monitoring of horizontal and vertical movements. It was found that the surface rupture, about 1500 m long, was closely related with the reactivation of a preexisting normal fault. The structural damage of buildings was found to be limited mainly in a narrow zone 50 m …

Geotechnical And Groundwater Site Characterization On The Umtra Project, J. A. Caldwell, R. A. Rager, L. Coons

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Reclamation of 24 inactive uranium mill tailngs piles involves remedial work to stabilize the piles for 1000 years. Site characterization of geotechnical and groundwater conditions at each site is undertaken prior to remedial action design. This paper describes the approach to UMTRA Project site characterization. A case history, Green River, is described. Details of site characterization costs for most sites are provided.

Hazardous Waste Disposal Site Hydrogeologic Characterization, S. M. Testa

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A major hazardous waste disposal facility near Arlington, Oregon serving the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Alaska maintains numerous favorable environmental characteristics for siting of a hazardous waste disposal facility. The risk of contamination as a result of potential leakage from a waste management unit via primary pathways to surface water, groundwater or by direct contact and/or ingestion is thus reasonably low. However, these same characteristics which make the site most suitable for hazardous waste disposal often conflict with: 1) the demonstration of the groundwater monitoring system's ability to adequately perform immediate leak detection monitoring as mandated under the Resource Conservation …

A Study Of A Road Landslide In Puerto Rico, C. Rodriguez-Pérez, L. Vázquez Castillo, C. Rodriguez-Molina, A. Vázquez Castillo

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Numerous landslides have plagued the construction of a 1.3 mile road sector in the mountainous region of central Puerto Rico. The area is underlain by a sequence of landslide deposits overlying a muddy limestone and hard overconsolidated clayey soils. Landslides have occurred in both cuts and fills that have delayed the road construction for a period of more than two years, bringing as a result, great economic losses for the Puerto Rico Highway Authority. The landslide trigger mechanism has been intimately related to high rainfall, commonly observed in this region. The geotechnical and geological studies performed previous to the construction …

Rock Mass Behaviour Assessment For Large Cavern In Rock, A. K. Dube, B. Singh

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A large power house cavern (22m x 50m x 250m) is proposed to be excavated for installing a 1000 MW hydroelectric power plant for Tehri Dam Project. The gorge chosen for the dam is very narrow and the topography is rugged and inhospitable. This dampened the process of preconstruction investigations. A number of tunnels were constructed for various project structures in the vicinity of the cavern. This provided an excellent opportunity to study the rock mass behaviour. Tunnel closure and rock loads were monitored with the help of instruments. Deformation moduli were also determined for different rock grades with the …

Slope Stabilization Measures For Kirkwood Penstock, Early Intake, California, K. D. Weaver, D. J. Gross, L. T. Bauer

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Kirkwood Penstock, located in a deep, steep-sided canyon near .Yosemite National Park, California, is an integral part of the Hetch Hetchy system, which conveys water from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the city of San Francisco, California. A heavy rainfall approximately 17 years following construction of the facility triggered settlement of the foundation. Measures undertaken to arrest this settlement included consolidation grouting, construction of facilities to divert surface runoff away from the penstock, and installation of a geomembrane to prevent infiltration of rainfall and snow melt in the vicinity of the penstock. No evidence of further settlement has been detected …

Study Of Some Debris Avalanches In Garwal Himalaya, India, H. C. Nainwal, Y. P. Sundriyal, C. Prasad

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

This study was carried out in the Alaknanda - Dhauliganga catchment area, located in the north and northeast of Joshimath in the Garfiwal Himalaya. The snow fields, cirques and the related glaciers are located above the altitude approximate 4000 meters, while the river valley have a mean altitude of around 2000 meters. The strategic roads viz. Joshimath-Badrinath and Joshimath-Nitipass pass through this area with a number of villages along with their cultivated land are located along the roads. These roads are often blocked on huge debris avalanches not only damage the road, but also the cultivated land and forests. The …

Subsidence Movements And Structural Damage Related To An Abandoned Coal Mine, Y. P. Chugh, K. Chandrashekhar, R. J. Missavage

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

An area in southwestern Illinois has been experiencing surface and subsurface movements with associated damage to surface structures. The area is underlain by an abandoned, partially extracted room-and-pillar underground coal mine. Instrumentation included TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry), Inclinometers, Sondex, Tiltplates, and precision land surveys. This paper presents the results of a 16-month cooperative study between the Department of Mining Engineering at SIUC and a local coal company.

A Case Of Singular Geotechnical Failure For Industrial Structures In The Peruvian Andes, A. Carillo Gil, R. Torres Vega

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

During the rainy season of 1982, foundation distress was occurred at several recently completed and still incomplete structures of an important mine project located in the Peruvian Andes. When the tailings thickener was tested an unexpected settlement started, some cracking was observed in the slab, and the central pier settled and tilted. The nature of the distress suggested the failure occurred as the result of the combined effect of a long term seepage under the bearing foundation soil and due to its different degree of compaction. This paper presents the characteristics of these problems as both foundation and fill materials, …

The Geology Of Maine's Coastline : A Handbook For Resource Planners, Developers, And Managers, Maine State Planning Office

Maine Collection

The Geology of Maine's Coastline : A Handbook for Resource Planners, Developers, and Managers

Executive Department, Maine State Planning Office, Augusta, Maine, June 1983.

Contents: List of Figures / Introduction: The Geological Connection / Chapter 1: Using the Marine Environments Maps / Chapter 2: Perspectives of the Maine Coast / Chapter 3: The Building Blocks of Maine's Coast / Chapter 4: The Disappearing Shoreline / Where to Go for Help / Some Planning Considerations for Development in Coastal Geologic Environments / Land Use Laws of Special Interest to Individual Coastal Property Owners

Carrying Water To Newcastle, Lloyd Lore Wartes

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

Western coals, now being shipped by unit trains to eastern and southern markets, contain from 13% to 32% moisture. Drying of these coals at the mine would reduce the cost of coal to the utilities from 10% to 16% IF the railroads do not materially increase rates on higher BTU coal.

The spontaneous combustion of dry coal can be inhibited, and the savings per unit train should range from $1,375,000 to $4,129,000 per year according to the various minimum tonnage rates. The shipment of dried coal will reduce the tonnages being shipped by 15%, or increase the railroad carrying capacity …

Oil Shale Energy And The Environment, Stephen Utter

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

Shale oil can be produced from oil shale by true In situ, modified in situ, and surface retorting methods. Both modified in situ and surface methods require mining of the oil shale. The environmental Implications of an oil shale mining industry are reviewed and the impacts upon land use, air and water quality, and ecological systems discussed. The Bureau's mining environmental research program is described and the results to date summarized.

A Rock Evaluation Schema For Transporting Planning In Kentucky, C. D. Tockstein, M. W. Palmer

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The initial goal was to devise an engineering classification system for intact rock samples based on simple index tests which could be used to categorize Kentucky surface and near-surface rock types and assist Kentucky Department of Transportation personnel in planning for transportation facilities. While conducting the literature survey, several facts become apparent:

1. a large number of rock classification systems, geologic and technical, general and specific, already existed;
2. an equally large number of index tests had been devised; and
3. there was a lack of communication among those involved in specialized areas of rock-related work (geologists, civil engineers, mining engineers, etc.), and, …

Simulation Of The Hydrologic-Economic Flow System In An Agricultural Area, Murland R. Packer, J. Paul Riley, Harold H. Hiskey, Eugene K. Israelsen

Reports

Like the allocation of water resources among water users, the distribution of allocated water to the subusers requires an estimate of the economic costs and benefits from a number of distribution alternatives. The most satisfactory solution maximizes the benefit cost ratio. This study is based on the premise that equitable water distribution to agricultural subusers can be more easily accomplished through the use of a technique to predict the marginal value of agricultural water. A hydro-economic model is formulated to distribute the water supply to the crops and to determine the unit value of water for the given supply. By …

Urban Geology—A Need And A Challenge, William J. Wayne

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Urban land uses are rapidly converting open land into intensively used land. Generally, in planning those uses, a comprehensive study has included everything except an evaluation of the land in three dimensions. Geologists are eminently well equipped to supply the missing data, but they must also be aware of the needs of the urban community and the kinds of information needed by planners if they are to write reports usable by planners. Urban and environmental geology is a newly expanding field in the use of geologic data to help solve some urban problems in the planning stage. It is likely …

A Simplified Method Of Estimating Drilling And Blasting Costs Of A Highway Through-Cut Excavation In Rock, Donald J. Roberts

Masters Theses

"The development of cost estimating methods has been the most neglected phase of highway engineering. Overlooked in particular has been the development of an easily understood and easily applied method of estimating the costs of the drilling and blasting operations involved in a highway through-cut excavation in rock.

This investigation developed such a method by adapting and applying recent developments in the blasting planning field. The study was limited to small diameter blastholes and excavations in lifts of less than thirty feet. Normal efficient construction practices were presumed.

It was found from the investigation that the blast geometry and, subsequently, …

Mineralogy Of The Silver King Mine Of Park City, Utah, Pierce D. Parker

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

Except for the early work of Boutwell and Irving, little has been published on the geology of the Park City mining district. For this reason and because of the availability of a selected suite of ores from the Silver King mine of this area, this writer chose the mineralogy of the Silver King mine as a senior thesis for the de­partment of Geology of the Montana School of Mines.

Studies Of Antimony Occurrence With Special Relation To Its Effective Extraction, San Jose Antimony Mines, Wadley, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, J. C. Archibald Jr.

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The mines at San Jose which are within the Wadley unit are the largest antimony mines in Mexico. These mines produce more than half of the antimony produced by the company from its mining operations. Since the time of the author's connection with the company, a number of changes have been made in planning of development work, handling of labor, methods of mine development, cost improvement, and other problems inherent in the successful guidance of an operation.

Physiographic Surfaces And Weathering Near Butte, Gordon B. Brox

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

Three cycles of erosion have modified the Boulder batholith. The earliest cycle produced a peneplaination that has been largely obliterated by a partially completed intermediate cycle, and the recent cycle now in progress.

Geology And Geological Structure Of The Alberta And Saskatchewan Plains, William E. Topley

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

Alberta, responsible for ninety per cent of Canada's output, had, by 1947 entered into her fifth year of production decline. Only ten per cent of Canada's oil requirements were secured from home fields. Ninety per cent had to be imported, mainly from the United States. How long could imports be maintained on present levels? During the year, the United States had started rationing; in one sector of its domain. Would this become general? If so, what was the answer for Canada?

Geology And Ore Deposits Of The Salt Chuck-Rush And Brown Mine Area Prince Of Wales Island, Alaska, Judson H. Whitman

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The Salt Chuck, Rush and Brown, and adjacent mines and claims form an area of approximately 15 square miles near the head of Kasaan Bay about 10 miles northwest of the village of Kasaan on Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska. It is an area of moderate relief in which the hills rise from the water’s edge to heights of some 500 feet. Most of the area is covered with dense vegetation and muskeg.

A Geological Report On An Area Five Miles Southeast Of Renova, Montana, And On An Area Seven Miles South Of Jefferson Island, Montana, Herman Neibauer

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

This trip was conducted to give those students working for their respective degrees an excellent opportunity to work under actual field conditions. A total of three weeks was taken to complete the required work. Two weeks were spent in the field gathering data, and making maps, and the last week was spent in the drawing room at the college preparing the final map.

Geology And Ore Deposits Of The Golden Messenger Mine, Lewis And Clark County, Helena, Montana., John C. Archibald Jr.

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The Golden Messenger Mine which is approximately twenty-three miles northeast of Helena, Montana, near York, on Trout Creek, has long presented several problems of both theoretical and practical interest.

Geology And Ore Deposits Of The Butte-Highland Gold Mine., Stockton Veazey Jr.

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The Butte-Highland mine is situated at the head of Basin Creek, in the Highland mining district, Silver Bow County, about 14 miles south of Butte. The tunnel portal and present surface plant are at an elevation of about 7350 feet above sea level, facing westward across the head of Basin Creek valley. The "ghost" mining town of Highland lies a mile to the east, near the forks of Fish Creek. Access to the mine is obtained at present from Beaudine's siding, 12 miles west. The property may also be reached, with difficulty, over poor roads from Limekiln hill, or from …