Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) for
Geotechnical Engineering Features
(The Design Platform for the 21st Century)

Register Online!

October 1 &2, 2009

LOCATION:
University of Delaware Campus

(1.6 ceu's or 16 professional development hours awarded for full participation)

Course Description

The traditional design platform for geotechnical features, including structural foundations, retaining walls and earthworks has been based on an allowable stress and a global safety factor approach.  These approaches are generally based on experience and do not result in uniform or consistent levels of safety for various components of a structure.  Although this approach has many advantages including simplicity and a long successful history, it has many limitations.  

The load and resistance factor design (LRFD) platform has long been preferred in the structural and geotechnical communities worldwide, and is clearly the design platform for 21st century civil engineering designers.  What makes LRFD the superior choice, particularly in the geotechnical context?

• LRFD brings uniform consideration of uncertainty and application of reliability-based principles in a practical and rational fashion.
• LRFD enables assessment of cost implications that can be confirmed and quantified for public or private owners and clients.
• LRFD requires improved communication, providing a common language between structural and geotechnical specialists, leading to project success as well as professional growth for both technical disciplines.
• LRFD recognizes and incorporates into the final project design those geotechnical features that are revealed during construction monitoring, thereby providing rational guidance for construction engineers and geotechnical contractors alike, resulting in a successful finished product.

The current edition of AASHTO’s LRFD Specifications, which are the most comprehensive in the industry, provides the baseline reference for this course.  The principles and learning outcomes are generically based and will prove extremely valuable for structural and geotechnical professionals in both public and private practice of any segment of civil design and construction.  Specifically, the workshop addresses the LRFD issues associated with the design and construction control of geotechnical features including:

• subsurface investigations,
• shallow foundations,
• earth retaining structures, and
• deep foundations.

Who Should Attend:

Geotechnical, structural and construction professionals involved in the design and construction of earth retaining structures, shallow foundations, and both drilled and driven deep foundations.  Experience and knowledge in LRFD principles is not a prerequisite.  The workshop is directed to professionals with 0-25 years of practical experience in design and construction of civil engineering facilities.       

Agenda:

Each day:
7:30 a.m. continental breakfast
Class Times:
Thurs. & Fri., October 1 & 2: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Using a combination of lectures, example problems, student exercises and discussion, this course covers the following topics:

• AASHTO Specification Background
• Fundamentals of LRFD
• Limit States and Serviceability
• Loads and Load Combinations
• Subsurface Explorations of Soil and Rock Testing
• Shallow Foundations
• Deep Foundations
• Gravity and Semi Gravity Walls
• Non Gravity Cantilever / Anchor Walls
• MSE Walls

THE PRESENTERS
Jerry A. DiMaggio, P.E., is a principal of Jerry A. DiMaggio Consulting, LLC, a specialized consulting firm serving the civil engineering and construction industry related to design, construction, monitoring and disputes resolution of structural foundations, earth retaining structures, ground improvement techniques and earthworks.  Mr. DiMaggio has also served on a number of projects related to Load Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), risk management assessment/ mitigation plans, value engineering, innovative contracting and accelerated construction. He is the retired (2008) Principal Bridge Engineer – Geotechnical and National Program Manager with the U.S. DOT, Federal Highway Administration in Washington D.C.  Holding the BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from Clarkson University, he is a registered professional engineer in several states, as well as a certified Master Trainer and licensed Contract Arbitrator (AAA).  He has provided consulting services related design, construction and contract matters in all 50 states, throughout Central and South America, several Middle Eastern countries and Australia, and he serves on several national committees and task forces for development of technical guidelines, specifications and testing standards related to geotechnical and foundation practice.  He has served as an adjunct faculty at the University of Delaware, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and The University of Akron in Ohio, and has authored numerous technical papers and publications.  An extremely popular and always well-received speaker, Mr. DiMaggio is recipient of a long list of honors, including the International Geosynthetics Society Achievement Medal, FHWA’s “Engineer for the Year”, and recently (2007-8) he received special awards for his career contributions from the Transportation Research Board, the 2007 Schnabel Engineering Lecturer of the Year, and The International Association for Foundation Drilling, and in was the subject of a featured article in the Spring 2008 issue of “Deep Foundations.”

Dov Leshchinsky is a professor of civil engineering at the University of Delaware. He has developed design methods, including geosynthetic reinforced slopes and walls that are being used worldwide. Dr. Leshchinsky holds the PhD in geotechnical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago, as well as bachelor and master's degrees in civil engineering from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. His research interests are in the areas of soil-structure interaction, slope stability engineering, soil reinforcing and ground improvement. Prior to joining Delaware's faculty, he was a research engineer with the Association of American Railroads.

Registration and General Information

Program Fee includes extensive course notes; continental breakfasts and all breaks.

Group Registrations: $645/person when 3 or more registrants are from the same company
Individual Registrations: $695 per person

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Wednesday, September 16, 2009.
REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION:  A confirmation letter including directions to campus and parking will be mailed to your home on or before September 16, 2009

CANCELLATIONS and SUBSTITUTIONS: Refunds granted if the request is received in writing by September 16, 2009. No refunds after September 16, but substitutions are permitted up to the first day of class.

ACCOMMODATIONS and TRANSPORTATION: Participants are responsible for making their own housing and transportation arrangements.  Air transportation should be arranged to either Philadelphia or Baltimore airport. 
Call early and ask if the University of Delaware affiliated rates are available for the dates you are requesting from the following hotels:
Courtyard by Marriott - UD Campus Hotel - 400 Pencader Way, Newark, DE, 1-302-737-0900
The following are each about one mile from campus:
Sleep Inn - 630 S. College Ave.(Rt.896N), Newark, DE, 1-302-453-1700
Howard Johnson Inn - 1119 S. College Ave., Newark, DE, 1-302-368-8521