Chairman of the Board, William (Bill) Gwyn, P.E., and Principal Engineer, Glen Andersen, ScD, P.E., of Eustis Engineering L.L.C. will speak at the 26th Annual Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference & Show on 28 and 29 September at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.
William (Bill) Gwyn, P.E.
Glen Andersen, ScD, P.E.
On 29 September, from 11 a.m. to noon, Bill will give the Buzz Hair Lecture which honors an American Society of Civil Engineers member who was killed in an automobile crash while traveling to the conference in 2000. Each year since then, a distinguished presenter for the lecture is selected by the Geotechnical Activities Committee in New Orleans.
Bill’s presentation, entitled “Engineering Geology in South Louisiana,” will outline the geology of southern Louisiana through the lens of a geotechnical engineer who has studied the area for 44 years. Bill will delve into how the area’s geology was formed, and will explore the advantages and disadvantages of various geologic features. He will then show how these features shaped the southern Louisiana landscape.
The impetus to giving this presentation stems from Bill’s concern about the reliance on geotechnical engineering computer programs without a full knowledge of the area’s geology and the geology’s effects on the ultimate solution.
“You have to understand the geology before you do the analysis,” Bill said. “You have to know how that soil got there.”
Glen will speak on 28 September from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. His presentation, entitled “Practical Method to Predict the Swell/Shrink Potential of Louisiana Expansive Clays,” will review the factors that can cause clays to shrink and swell, and have resulted in extensive damage to some facilities in southern Louisiana when they have not been recognized nor properly characterized. Although some of the Holocene Clays in Louisiana are listed as having very high swell potential, these rarely exhibit large volumetric changes because they typically exist at or near full saturation. However, there are various locations in southern Louisiana where potentially expansive soils exist in a condition where they can experience large volumetric changes and have a detrimental effect on constructed facilities.
Glen will present several case histories, along with visual evidence, of damaging movements caused by expansive soils. He will then present a simplified procedure using commonly measured soil properties to give an indication of the expansion potential at a given site.
“The difficulty in engineering to accommodate expansive soils in southern Louisiana is that these can often be difficult to identify,” Glen said. “However, there are various site conditions and soil properties that can serve to alert the engineer to potentially expansive soils.”
“The purpose of this presentation is to help make practicing geotechnical engineers more aware of site conditions consistent with expansive soils and to provide them with a simple tool to estimate the magnitude of the potential heave that can be expected,” Glen said.
Eustis Engineering is a sponsor of the conference which has become an excellent way for engineers to earn professional development hours while exploring various technical disciplines, and engineering practice and management.
For details, visit http://www.louisianacivilengineeringconference.org.