What are the best free references for geotechnical forensic expertise ?

[killswitchengage]

Hi i hope you guys are doing great

I was hoping if you could provide me with a document that helps me interpret cracks on building caused by soil deformations as in settlement , heave and shrinking using drawing or something

Thank you

 

[dik]

You need a good structural engineer and/or geotekkie... and, I mean good. You often get what you pay for. Lots of questions they will ask:
[ul]
[li]What is the distribution of the cracking?[/li]
[li]Is the cracking confined to a single wall?[/li]
[li]How large is the cracking?[/li]
[li]What is the duration of the Cracking? Is it recent, or ancient?[/li]
[li]What is the soil type? What has the weather been like? This may affect highly plastic or swelling soils.[/li]
[li]What is the loading?[/li]
[li]What changes has the building been subjected to? Recent renovation? Past renovation?[/li]
[li]Has there been any recent renovations adjacent to the building site?[/li]
[/ul]

The guys here (binary term for PC) can likely add a few more to the list. Just too many questions.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[killswitchengage]

Well I am a geotech in case you didn't notice. But my fellow structural engineers in my company are not true engineers they don't exhibit engineering judgment. Anyway, aside from the questions you mentioned above, are there any guides or documents in this matter?

 

[dik]

Sorry... I caught the (Geotechnical) reference, but from the question, I assumed there was a lack of experience... my apologies... If your fellow employees cannot address this, you may be in for some future issues.

The above are a few of the problems you can encounter; there likely are others. Just for the above there are likely a hundred, or more, good articles. You need to contact a good structural engineer in your local so he can look at the problem and in conjunction with your geotechnical expertise, come up with an explanation. Can you share a few photos of the damage?

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[killswitchengage]

I've currently working for a company who tries to be an expert firm at diagnosing and fixing building, all the engineers here are structural and none have solid knowledge in Geotechnical engineering.
So it's not about a specific project but tomorrow I will post some pictures of my recent project I am dealing with right now

 

[GordonGeo]

https://hinarratives.com/field-guide-to-crack-patterns-in-buildings/

I have a great reference book by Harry S. Audell. Looks like its not in print anymore. The above link may help though.

 

[killswitchengage]

gordongeo that guide looks interesting thank you

 

[killswitchengage]

bumping this thread for another question , i don't want to spam another thread

Are there any softwares that help you draw cracks on a building in 3D?

Thanks