| John S. Horvath, Ph.D., P.E. Consulting Engineer - Copyright 2008-2010 by John S. Horvath. All rights reserved. - This page was last revised on 21 August 2010. |
What's new...
July 2010...An advanced copy of a paper by Prof. David Arellano, Ph.D., P.E. of the University of Memphis that addresses the
use of EPS-block geofoam as lightweight fill in levees and other earth-based hydraulic structures can now be downloaded from
the publications page of this website. This paper will be presented at the 27th annual conference of the Association of State Dam
Safety Officials that will be held in September 2010 in Seattle, Washington. This paper continues and significantly advances work
on this innovative but underused geofoam application that has been done and championed by Dr. Horvath since the 1990s. This
paper is particularly timely given the interest in levees in recent years.
July 2010...Digital copies of a 2001 slide presentation and accompanying narration notes that together provide an introductory
overview of cellular geosynthetics (geofoams and geocombs) can now be downloaded from the continuing education page of this
website. Please note that these files are provided gratis as a professional courtesy so no warranty is expressed or
implied for their use nor will technical support be provided for them. The material is suitable for presentation to a wide
range of audiences from college and university students to practicing design professionals (civil engineers and architects),
construction contractors, and those in the geosynthetics industry.
June 2010...A galley-proof copy of a paper by Dr. Horvath that was published in the July-August 2010 issue of ASCE's "Journal
of Performance of Constructed Facilities" has been posted on the publications page of this website (click here to access ASCE's
page with the official abstract and other publication details). This paper details the broad, generic causes of failures of EPS-block
geofoam fills and then focuses on apparent reasons for the increase in failures in recent years in the U.S. The goal of this paper
is for all concerned in the design and implementation of lightweight fills using block-molded EPS to have a better, objective
perspective of the critical issues that tend to cause failures and that thus should be addressed with particular care during the
design and construction phases of a project.
May 2010...A galley-proof copy of a technical note by Dr. Horvath that was published in the June 2010 issue of ASCE's "Journal
of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering" has been posted on the publications page of this website (click here to
access ASCE's page with the official abstract and other publication details). This note presents a new analytical model for
apportioning axial stresses in piles with multicomponent cross sections, with a particular focus on micropiles. The last several
years have seen increasing interest in the issue of whether or not the radial confinement within micropiles affects how allowable
stresses in the various pile components (shell, grout core, center rebar) are determined. This has become a hot-button topic
among contractors in particular as there are important economic impacts in terms of allowable axial structural capacity for a pile
of a given diameter. It is hoped that the contents of this note, although theoretical in nature, will be a useful contribution to this
ongoing discussion in practice.
April 2010...A copy of a paper by Dr. Horvath that was published as part of the proceedings of the ASCE ER2010: Earth
Retention Conference 3 held in August 2010 in Washington State has been posted on the publications page of this website. This
paper is the latest in an extensive series of publications that document Dr. Horvath's research that began in 1987 into the use of
various geofoam materials and products to reduce loads on a wide variety of earth-retaining structures. This application for
geofoams, especially expanded polystyrene (EPS) and derivative and related materials such as resilient (elasticized) EPS and
polystyrene porous block, remains significantly and surprisingly underutilized in practice as well as under-researched by
academics despite its potential to revolutionize how earth-retaining structures are designed, built, and maintained. This latest
paper focuses on some of the common misconceptions in the use of geofoams with earth-retaining structures, especially for
"seismic buffers", an area that has seen an increase in research interest in recent years.
March 2010...A technical paper containing an outline of key results from the Interim (Phase I) report for the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project No. 24-11(02) titled "Geofoam Applications in Slope Stability Projects"
that was issued on 14 January 2009 was accepted for publication in the Transportation Research Board's (TRB's) premier
scholarly journal, the Transportation Research Record. Dr. Horvath is a co-Principal Investigator on this project as well as a
co-author of this paper. A pre-publication copy of this paper can be downloaded from the publications page of this website. This
paper was previously presented at the TRB's 89th Annual Meeting held in January 2010 in Washington, DC. A preprint copy was
available in the Annual Meeting proceedings as well on the publications page of this website.
July 2010...An advanced copy of a paper by Prof. David Arellano, Ph.D., P.E. of the University of Memphis that addresses the
use of EPS-block geofoam as lightweight fill in levees and other earth-based hydraulic structures can now be downloaded from
the publications page of this website. This paper will be presented at the 27th annual conference of the Association of State Dam
Safety Officials that will be held in September 2010 in Seattle, Washington. This paper continues and significantly advances work
on this innovative but underused geofoam application that has been done and championed by Dr. Horvath since the 1990s. This
paper is particularly timely given the interest in levees in recent years.
July 2010...Digital copies of a 2001 slide presentation and accompanying narration notes that together provide an introductory
overview of cellular geosynthetics (geofoams and geocombs) can now be downloaded from the continuing education page of this
website. Please note that these files are provided gratis as a professional courtesy so no warranty is expressed or
implied for their use nor will technical support be provided for them. The material is suitable for presentation to a wide
range of audiences from college and university students to practicing design professionals (civil engineers and architects),
construction contractors, and those in the geosynthetics industry.
June 2010...A galley-proof copy of a paper by Dr. Horvath that was published in the July-August 2010 issue of ASCE's "Journal
of Performance of Constructed Facilities" has been posted on the publications page of this website (click here to access ASCE's
page with the official abstract and other publication details). This paper details the broad, generic causes of failures of EPS-block
geofoam fills and then focuses on apparent reasons for the increase in failures in recent years in the U.S. The goal of this paper
is for all concerned in the design and implementation of lightweight fills using block-molded EPS to have a better, objective
perspective of the critical issues that tend to cause failures and that thus should be addressed with particular care during the
design and construction phases of a project.
May 2010...A galley-proof copy of a technical note by Dr. Horvath that was published in the June 2010 issue of ASCE's "Journal
of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering" has been posted on the publications page of this website (click here to
access ASCE's page with the official abstract and other publication details). This note presents a new analytical model for
apportioning axial stresses in piles with multicomponent cross sections, with a particular focus on micropiles. The last several
years have seen increasing interest in the issue of whether or not the radial confinement within micropiles affects how allowable
stresses in the various pile components (shell, grout core, center rebar) are determined. This has become a hot-button topic
among contractors in particular as there are important economic impacts in terms of allowable axial structural capacity for a pile
of a given diameter. It is hoped that the contents of this note, although theoretical in nature, will be a useful contribution to this
ongoing discussion in practice.
April 2010...A copy of a paper by Dr. Horvath that was published as part of the proceedings of the ASCE ER2010: Earth
Retention Conference 3 held in August 2010 in Washington State has been posted on the publications page of this website. This
paper is the latest in an extensive series of publications that document Dr. Horvath's research that began in 1987 into the use of
various geofoam materials and products to reduce loads on a wide variety of earth-retaining structures. This application for
geofoams, especially expanded polystyrene (EPS) and derivative and related materials such as resilient (elasticized) EPS and
polystyrene porous block, remains significantly and surprisingly underutilized in practice as well as under-researched by
academics despite its potential to revolutionize how earth-retaining structures are designed, built, and maintained. This latest
paper focuses on some of the common misconceptions in the use of geofoams with earth-retaining structures, especially for
"seismic buffers", an area that has seen an increase in research interest in recent years.
March 2010...A technical paper containing an outline of key results from the Interim (Phase I) report for the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project No. 24-11(02) titled "Geofoam Applications in Slope Stability Projects"
that was issued on 14 January 2009 was accepted for publication in the Transportation Research Board's (TRB's) premier
scholarly journal, the Transportation Research Record. Dr. Horvath is a co-Principal Investigator on this project as well as a
co-author of this paper. A pre-publication copy of this paper can be downloaded from the publications page of this website. This
paper was previously presented at the TRB's 89th Annual Meeting held in January 2010 in Washington, DC. A preprint copy was
available in the Annual Meeting proceedings as well on the publications page of this website.
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