Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes
now including
LRFD and Allowable Stress Wall Design Sections
(Based on AASHTO LRFD Specifications, 4th Edition, 2007 )

Register Online!

November 11, 12, 13, 2009

LOCATION:
University of Delaware Campus

(2.4 ceu's or 24 professional development hours awarded for full participation)

This popular course, MSEW & RSS, presents the latest national recommendations for design and construction practice for reinforced soil structures AND it now includes the latest wall design guidance on LRFD and ASD design plus hands-on instruction in using two powerful software packages, MSEW and ReSSA, licensed to the FHWA as well as State DOT's.
Note that the AASHTO LRFD Specifications, 4th Edition, 2007 became federally mandated as of October 2007. This is YOUR chance to be at the forefront!

Course Description

This practical training program, based on AASHTO and FHWA technical specifications and design and construction recommendations on soil reinforcement, is presented by two nationally known geotechnical experts who will help YOU appreciate and implement mechanically stabilized earth walls and reinforced soil slopes (MSEW/RSS). Discussions will involve civil and geotechnical design issues. You will learn how to combine soil reinforcing materials made of steel and polymers with an appropriate facing to produce a composite structure with improved engineering properties. These earth fill construction methods are extremely cost effective and aesthetically pleasing, and they provide substantial construction time-savings compared to conventional types of earth retaining systems used in the transportation community. Registration will be limited in order to facilitate discussion and learning that takes place not only through lectures, but also through working with your peers on sample problems and getting hands-on experience with the MSEW and ReSSA software. (You should bring a calculator for problem-solving sessions and your laptop computer, on which the software will be temporarily loaded to run on Windows operating system.)

Who Should Attend

Design specialists (geotechnical, structural, roadway), engineering geologists and senior construction engineers; consulting engineers; industry, technical representatives and academic community representatives who work on earth retaining structure selection, design and contracting will also find this course extremely valuable. Attendees should have a basic knowledge of soil mechanics and roadway design.

Benefits

• This course enables you to gain practical knowledge in all areas of mechanically stabilized earth walls and reinforced soil slopes, including:
• selection
• design(LRFD, Allowable Stress for MSE Walls, designs beyond AASHTO)
• construction
• monitoring
• contractual aspects
• Use sophisticated MSEW and ReSSA software, temporarily loaded on your own laptop, to perform hands-on exercises -- even using the software as a forensic tool.
• Understand the advantages and limitations of each reinforcement system.

The Presenters

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.

James G. Collin, PhD, P.E. has been teaching courses for the Federal Highway Administration and the National Highway Institute since 1995.  Specifically, he has taught Designing with Geosynthetics for 13 years. He is also a certified instructor for the NHI courses on MSEW and RSS Design and Construction, Inspection of MSEW and RSS,  and Earth Retaining Structures. Dr. Collin also teaches a one-day courses on Segmental Retaining Wall Design for the National Concrete Masonry Association. He has also been involved with the development of four new courses: Shallow Foundations, Soil Slope and Embankment Design, Ground Improvement, and Slope Maintenance. In addition to his vast teaching experience, Dr Collin has been involved with the design and construction of over hundreds of reinforced soil slopes and retaining walls. He has conducted forensic analysis of over 50 MSE wall failures and written numerous articles on the subject. He is currently working on the design of MSE walls with polymer sheet piling as the facing for water front structures on the “World Project” in Dubai.

Agenda

Each day:
7:30 a.m. continental breakfast
Class Times:
Wed., Thurs. & Fri., November 11, 12, 13: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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

• MSE wall systems, applications and description
• Site & project evaluation
• Construction methods
• Soil reinforcement principles
• System design properties
• Reinforced Soil Slopes: project evaluation
• Specifications and Contracting Methods
• Field Inspection and Monitoring
• Multiple student exercises dealing with MSE Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes
• Hands-on exercises using ReSSA software, including one on global stability of MSE Walls
• Design of MSE Walls (ASD & LRFD) - including numerous student exercises
• Design of Walls with Complex Geometries
• Hands-on exercises using MSEW software applying the AASHTO LRFD Specifications

Registration and General Information

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

Registration is limited due to the highly interactive nature of this course and computer lab space.

Group Registrations: $795/person when 3 or more registrants are from the same company

Individual Registrations: $895 per person

A 10% discount coupon toward the purchase of MSEW and ReSSA software packages will be available to all participants in these courses.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Tuesday, October 27, 2009.
REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION:  A confirmation letter including directions to campus and parking will be mailed to your home on or before October 27, 2009

CANCELLATIONS and SUBSTITUTIONS: Refunds granted if the request is received in writing by October 27, 2009. No refunds after October 27, 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 less than two miles 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