Location
Arlington, Virginia
Date
11 Aug 2008, 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Abstract
Forensics in the geo-domain encompasses an extensive array of topics with specific emphasis in geotechnical related fields. A new discipline known as forensic geotechnical engineering (FGE) has been created to deal with investigations of soil-interaction related failures of engineered facilities or structures. A practicing geotechnical engineer cannot provide services without the fear of a lawsuit. Services of geotechnical engineers experienced in jurisprudence system are commissioned to investigate such failures. This paper presents two case histories where forensic geotechnical engineering was effectively utilized to identify, investigate, and remediate the problem as well assist in litigation. The first case history identifies a request from an office building owner for a forensic geotechnical engineering review of an extensive distress settlement cracking claim. The claim resulted in discovery of a relic sinkhole with neither collapse nor an injury combined with deficient foundation and slab design. The second case history illustrates how a forensic geotechnical investigation was undertaken to identify causative factors of the slope failure and to address the extent of damage. In both cases, the project owner(s) were able to recover a major portion of the loss and litigation cost from the insurance company.
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Meeting Name
6th Conference of the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Publisher
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 2008 Missouri University of Science and Technology, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Saxena, D. S. "Sax", "Case Studies in Forensic Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering" (2008). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 2.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/6icchge/session13/2
Case Studies in Forensic Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering
Arlington, Virginia
Forensics in the geo-domain encompasses an extensive array of topics with specific emphasis in geotechnical related fields. A new discipline known as forensic geotechnical engineering (FGE) has been created to deal with investigations of soil-interaction related failures of engineered facilities or structures. A practicing geotechnical engineer cannot provide services without the fear of a lawsuit. Services of geotechnical engineers experienced in jurisprudence system are commissioned to investigate such failures. This paper presents two case histories where forensic geotechnical engineering was effectively utilized to identify, investigate, and remediate the problem as well assist in litigation. The first case history identifies a request from an office building owner for a forensic geotechnical engineering review of an extensive distress settlement cracking claim. The claim resulted in discovery of a relic sinkhole with neither collapse nor an injury combined with deficient foundation and slab design. The second case history illustrates how a forensic geotechnical investigation was undertaken to identify causative factors of the slope failure and to address the extent of damage. In both cases, the project owner(s) were able to recover a major portion of the loss and litigation cost from the insurance company.
