REConews

A design developed by The Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) which employs TechSpan arches for use as the key component of a sound, efficient and modern design alternative for constructing hardened concrete munitions storage magazines has been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers (COE). In 1998 following a formal design review process the COE and the Army Defense Ammunition Center granted approval of RECos design designating the alternative as USACE Std. 421-80-05, Magazine Precast Concrete Earth Cover. This modern magazine design, commonly referred to as munitions igloos, is further enhanced with Reinforced Earth (RE) wing walls used to retain the earth cover installed atop and alongside the arches. The TechSpan design has now been constructed at 18 military installations nationwide comprising more than 180,000 square feet of floor-space storage capacity.

TechSpan arches consist of segmental precast concrete units forming a three-hinged arch. Generally, the design approach is fixed on the concept of a funicular curve, defined as imitating a rope in tension. With this concept

in mind, FEM programs are used to develop the funicular curve equation which in turn is used to determine the optimal Techspan arch shape and cross sections based on the loading criteria for the specific application. In the case of designing for secure munitions storage, several special case conditions are addressed including blast loads which are analyzed using time-history analyses via 3-dimensional modeling.

Advantages when constructing a magazine in this manner when compared to traditional pour-in-place methodologies are:

Time and onsite resources required to achieve installation of the storage magazines primary components, the concrete arches and wing walls, is dramatically reduced.

Construction efforts are not hampered during inclement weather that would normally impact concrete placement.

TechSpan arches and RE wall are particularly well suited for use in seismically active areas.

Flexibility of the system allows for more

RECo Technology Aids U.S. ArmyMission for Weapons Accountability and Destruction

REINFORCED EARTH

In this Issue

Cover Story: RECo Technology Aids U.S. Army ......... 1

Shored Reinforced Earth Walls ............. 4

RECo Around the Globe ............................ 5

Upcoming Events ........................................ 5

HA Reinforcing Strips - RCC Dam ........ 6

Affiliation News ........................................... 7

AMSE ................................................................ 7

Meet Your Division Managers .............. 8

Spring 2012

Crown of TechSpan Munition Igloo TechSpan Construction Fort Hunter-Liggett Army Base, California

www.reinforcedearth.comContactUs@reinforcedearth.com

1.800.446.5700

Continues on page 2...

effective transfer of stress, thereby minimizing the required size of footings.

High quality of in-plant workmanship and certification thereby reducing resources needed for onsite inspections.

Ease of dismantling, salvage, and remediation work in an environmentally conscious manner.

The above advantages all combine to substantiate the efficient and cost effective means for this method of construction of storage magazines.

U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, CO

The construction of four TechSpan arch magazines has now been completed for the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives programs Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP). The project site is located at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. Unlike previous TechSpan storage magazines designed by RECo, these structures will serve a very distinct and sustainable purpose. PCAPP is being built to safely and efficiently destroy a stockpile of chemical weapons with the objective to destroy more than 2,600 tons of chemical agents in mortar rounds and projectiles.

The three magazines shown above serve to store and ready the chemical munitions elements before dismantlement and separation processes. These three structures are termed MSMs or Munitions Service Magazines. The fourth magazine, not shown, is termed the ESM, or Energetics Service Magazine. The ESM is designed to store, protect and prepare the energetic materials for the final stages of the destruction process which involves state-of-the-art neutralization and biotreatment processes.

On this project the U.S. Army and the Bechtel Pueblo Team demanded the highest level of quality control and quality assessment

requirements from RECo and their suppliers for design, materials, and technical assistance. RECo, having established an exacting project team to manage their part of the project met all demands on time and within budget. The Bechtel team consists of Bechtel National Inc. (BNI) as lead systems contractor along with teaming members URS Corporation, Parsons, and Battelle Memorial Institute. Manufacturing of the precast TechSpan arches and Reinforced Earth wing wall panels was undertaken at Castillo Ready Mix Concrete Inc., Belen, New Mexico.

Fort Hunter-Liggett Ammo Supply Point, CA

In October, 2010 RECo contracted with J & P Construction, Santa Anna, to supply the TechSpan precast concrete arches and Reinforced Earth wing walls for construction of an ammunition storage magazine for the US Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Hunter-Liggett Army Base near King City, CA. The magazine was constructed with Techspan arches forming the storage area with MSE walls at opposing ends to retain the embankment built over the arches. Once completed, the ammunition storage magazine would be 80 in length with a maximum ceiling height of 14 and span of 26. The Techspan arches are designed to provide the flexibility

required to absorb explosive energy while remaining structurally intact.

The completion of this ammunition storage magazine followed the successful construction of 3 previous magazines at the same Ammunition Supply Point (ASP), all being supplied by RECo for installation by J & P Construction. The 10-year, four-phase investment by the Forts DPW comprised replacements of outdated ASP magazines with construction in each of the years 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2010.

Because of the sheer size of the precast arches, the dimensional tolerances were very tight to ensure proper alignment of the pieces once erected at the site. This was accomplished with very close coordination between RECo and the precaster, Pro-Cast Products, Inc., Highland, CA. Erection of the 80 long TechSpan arch was completed in less than two days. RECo, the owner, and the contractor were able to partner together in all four phases, absent an outside consultant, and successfully achieve operable structures utilizing the Corps Standard Design for TechSpan Magazines. All agreed that this coordinated approach represented a significant savings in both time and labor costs when compared to the traditional cast-in-place construction method.

Munitions Service Magazines.- Pueblo Chemical Depot,, Colorado

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Continued from cover

Completed Ammunition Storage Magazine Fort Hunter-Liggett

Fort Riley Ammo Supply Point, KS

The origins of Fort Riley date back to the 1850s, conceived as a military outpost offering protection along the major routes of migration and commerce. The Fort has operated as a key training center for military personnel in all US-involved wars since the Civil War, and now since 2006 leads the Military Transition Teams, or MiTTs Training missions. Following training at Fort Riley, these 10 to 15 person teams from across the Army, Navy and Air Force in turn train in-country security forces to ensure effective military leadership following the departure of the US forces.

The infusion of the MiTTs mission conbined with the return of the 1st Infantry Division to the Fort in 2006 warranted a major upgrade to the ammunition storage facilities. In October 2009 the Corps Kansas City District advertised a request for bids to construct six new storage igloo magazines. The Corps bid documents allowed contract bidders the option of constructing the igloos either as cast-in-place or as precast. In April, 2010, the successful bidder, JRH Development, Overland Park, selected the precast option and awarded RECo a contract to provide design-build assistance and materials for the precast TechSpan arches and Reinforced Earth wing walls for the six igloos.

RECos design-build services entailed site-adapting the Corps standard precast design to meet the unique site conditions. First, the desired footprint for the ASP called for two different length igloos - four at 60 long, and two at 80 long, detached from one another and arranged in a roundabout plan. Second, the geotechnical conditions called for three distinct design parameters for structure footings with variable allowable bearing pressures of 2 TSF, 5 TSF, and 10 TSF and therefore three dissimilar footing and wing wall designs were required.

Precasting was undertaken at American Precast Inc., Omaha. The project was completed and released by JRH to the Forts DPW in August, 2011. Upon completion of the work Chris Doyle of JRH noted, RECo was definitely a pleasure to

work with and we would like the chance to build these again with RECo wherever they might exist.

Air National Guard Munitions Complex, OH

In 2008 the180th Air Force Fighter Wing based at the Ohio ANG Base adjacent to the Toledo Express Airport was selected to stand up an Air Sovereignty Alert mission. The long anticipated mission will aid in the protection of the Continental United States and Canada under the direction of the North America Air Defense Command.

RECo was contacted by the ANG Civil Engineer Squadron in 2002 to provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM) for the construction of a series of munitions storage igloos. Further along in the planning process Woolpert, Cincinnati was hired as the A/E firm to prepare the contract documents. The ANG insisted that Wooperts design meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification requirements as well as developing a Low Impact Design (LID) which would minimize disturbance to the ecological and natural resources on and around the site. During the design period RECo worked closely with Woolpert to arrive at an optimal design for the complex.

The unique design of the storage igloos comprises four TechSpan arch enclosures each 80 long and efficiently spaced in close proximity of 25 apart. The enclosure units are connected by continuous concrete walls, cast-in-place for the entry portions and Reinforced Earth MSE for the earth-filled separation portions. This optimal design footprint accomplishes the LID objectives while satisfying the Air Force explosive safety requirements and quantity distance areas for such a complex.

In June, 2011, culminating nine years of programming, planning, and design, RECo was awarded a contract from the general contractor T.B. Pennick/Nordic JV, San Diego for the design and supply of the TechSpan arches and Reinforced Earth walls. Precasting was

undertaken by Norwalk Concrete Products Inc., Norwalk, Ohio. Having previously furnished RECo precast for a similar project built for the Wisconsin ANG in 2006, the work at Norwalk assured excellence in quality control and optimized production scheduling. The overall project is scheduled for completion during the summer of 2012.

Techspan Construction - ANG Complex, Ohio

Fort Riley Ammo Supply Point, Kansas

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Location: Salt Lake County, Utah As more and more D.O.T.s are struggling to find space to accommodate the increasing traffic flows in their regions, roadway and ramp widening projects are becoming more common. This has led to the more frequent use of Shored Reinforced Earth Wall (SREW) systems. This was such the case on I-215 on-ramp to southbound I-15 ramp in Salt Lake City, UT.

The Reinforced Earth Company was contracted in early 2011 by Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction to design and supply 17,000 SF of Reinforced Earth (RE) retaining walls for the widening of the two existing ramps currently being supported by Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls. The existing walls were located merely 11-0 behind the new RE wall alignment. The wall heights range from 6 to 30 which is a width to height ratio ranging from 0.35H to 0.55H. The close proximity between the two walls required the use of a SREW system.

For this project, a sandwich connection type of SREW system was utilized. This consisted of overlapping ladder soil reinforcements that are connected to the back face of the new walls (just like conventional MSE construction), and to the front face of the existing walls via the use of mechanical anchors (clip angles). Another unique aspect of the project is the high seismic loading (0.4g) that was considered for the walls,

which was checked using a FLAC numerical analysis. Due to the high seismic loading and the close proximity of the two walls, using ladder soil reinforcements increased pullout capacity, thereby decreasing the number of soil

reinforcements required by design and number of connections needed on the existing walls. The construction began in mid 2011 and is slated for completion by mid 2012.

Existing MSE Wall with Clip Angles Attaching New Precast Panels for Lane Widening

Aerial View I-215 On-Ramp to Southbound I-15 Ramp

Shored Reinforced Earth Walls I-215 On-Ramp to Southbound I-15 Ramp Widening

4 | REConews

5Upcoming Events

RECo Around the Globe

Brazil BRT Transoeste , Rio de JaneiroOn December 2011, Terra Armada (Brazil) completed 3,300m of TerraClass walls for the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) Transoeste in Rio de Janeiro. The project consists of a 32 km express corridor that will connect Barra da Tijuca to Santa Cruz, in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro. It is part of Rios Urban Mobility Plan, designed to prepare the city for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. These RE walls (false abutments) were constructed by Odebrecht, as part of 3 viaducts designed to eliminate level crossings.

Spain - Benazaire Viaduct, BadajozAcciona Infrastructures awarded the contract for the manufacture, supply and installation of lintels and beams for the Benazaire viaduct in Badajoz to Tierra Armada Espaa. This viaduct was designed to connect the opposite banks of a branch of the Garcia Sola reservoir, replacing the old viaduct. The engineering solution consisted of six spans of 34.50 m each on lightened lintels, and adopted a double T-type beam structure. Among other features, the viaduct (of isostatic construction) was erected without intermediate expansion joints. The project was completed in October 2011.

South Africa A story of the unexpectedIn 1982 Reinforced Earth South Africa (RESA) completed a contract for two Reinforced Earth roads over river bridges in Mpumalanga Province. The bridges carry National Road 4 (N4) over the Vis and the Cairn Spruits (streams). The Visspruit abutments are 17m high while the Cairnspruit abutments are about 6m high. The structures each supported a single carriageway of the N4 and were designed to be widened by future generations when the need for two carriageways would arise. Thirty years later the future generation turned out to be the same generation for RESA which was awarded the contract for the widening in late 2011.

VTCAApril 18 - 20, 2012 - Williamsburg, VA

DBIA in Transportation April 25 - 27, 2012 - Phoenix, AZ

SEAOI Bridge Symposium April 26, 2012 - Chicago, IL

GEO Virginia April 30 - May 1, 2012 - Williamsburg, VA

Geo-Americas May 1 - 4, 2012 - Lima, Peru

37th SW Geotechnical Conference May 14 - 17, 2012 - Tulsa, OK

SAME May 22 - 25, 2012 - St. Louis, MO

17th Great Lakes Geotechnical Conference May 24, 2012 Cleveland, OH

Location: Thornton, Illinois

The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) is a multi-billion dollar construction project in Illinois that aims to reduce flooding in the metropolitan Chicago area, as well as reducing the harmful effects of flushing raw sewage into Lake Michigan by diverting storm water and sewage into temporary holding reservoirs. One of these reservoirs will be constructed in the existing Thornton Quarry located in Thornton, Illinois. The Northern lobe of the eastern area of the Thornton Quarry is being converted into a reservoir suitable for retaining combined sewer overflow (CSO) while the Main (Southern) lobe continues to be mined. This is achieved by the installation of a roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam to fill the existing gap in the rock formation so that waters in the Northern lobe are isolated from the remainder Main (Southern) lobe of the quarry.

When completed the Gap Dam in the eastern area of Thornton Quarry between the two lobes

of unexcavated rock formation which serves as the right of way of the Tri-State Tollway (I-80/I-294) will be approximately 115 feet in height, 240 feet wide at the crest, and will contain approximately 32,000 cubic yards of RCC.

RCC dams are constructed with concrete that is compacted by roller compaction and provided with a suitable facing system. In RCC, the concrete mixture must be dry enough to support a roller during compaction while allowing the sufficient distribution of the binder mortar in concrete. A number of processes have been used to construct the upstream and downstream faces of RCC Dam. For the Gap Dam, the Grout-enriched vibratable RCC (GEVR) was used for facing since GEVR enhances the workability and/or durability of RCC along the face. GEVR is no different from traditional concrete and it is produced by introducing into the placed, but uncompacted, RCC a small amount of neat cement and water grout resulting in increased workability that is

suitable for vibration with immersion vibrators.

The contract documents require that the contractor, FH Paschen/CABO Joint Venture, shall design the formwork for supporting GEVR facing during construction. The contractor elected to use the High Adherence Ribbed Reinforcing Strips (HA Strips) embedded in the RCC to internally support the climbing formwork system that will be used to construct the GEVR facing. The use of the HA Strips by The Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) ensured that the rate of RCC placement and the rise of RCC surface were not impacted by the capacity of the internal anchorage system that supports the formwork during RCC placement. Since external bracing was not a viable option, the specially developed internal bracing system employing HA Strips supplied by RECo played a major role in improving the overall constructibility of this 115-ft. tall RCC dam.

High Adherence Reinforcing StripsRoller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dam Construction

Gap Dam at Thornton Reservoir

6 | REConews

The Washington Aqueduct produces drinking water for approximately one million citizens living, working, or visiting in the District of Columbia, Arlington County, Virginia, and the City of Falls Church, Virginia, and its service area.

The Corps of Engineers designed, built, and, in 1859, began operating the Aqueduct. Since then, the Corps has substantially expanded and improved the capacity and function of the Aqueduct from its original mission of supplying raw river water to a sparsely populated District of Columbia to todays mission of providing safe drinking water to a much larger and more populous service area.

Part of the Corps continual efforts in improving the Aqueduct included repairs to the 3rd High Main Bridge over the Dalecarlia Reservoir, located in Washington, D.C. Freyssinet USA was contracted to jack a 48 water main, replace the water mains 29 supports, jack the concrete bridge supporting the water main over the reservoir and repair the concrete abutments and the four piers.

Freyssinet flat jacks were used as a design alternative to safely transfer the pipe load to new cast-in-place saddles without settlement as existing saddles were demolished. For pier and abutment jacking, high precision displacement gauges as well as a dedicated survey crew measure and confirm that deflections during jacking operations do not exceed limits. Temporary jacks were installed on a steel jacking frame at each abutment in order to support the bridge beams during the corbel demolition and replacement. At the piers, jacks were used to temporarily support the bridge beams while the existing pedestals were demolished and new bearings and pedestals were installed.

Affiliations-News Flash Washington Aqueduct 3rd High Main

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East Abutment Jacking Frame

WANT TO KNOW MORE ?

AMSEP.O. Box 9142

McLean, VA 22102703.749.3033

www.amsewalls.orginfo@amsewalls.org

AMSE works with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), state departments of transportation, consultants and owners to ensure that specifications are correct and that end users understand how steel-reinforced MSE structures behave AMSE members offer a single source of responsibility for design and supply of fully engineered MSE retaining wall systems.

AMSEs mission is to promote the use of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining structures using steel reinforcements, supplied through a single source of responsibility.

8 | REConews

Meet Your Division Managers

Jack Stewart, P.E. Southeast

Jack was employed by RECo in 1986 as an Assistant Project Manager. He was shortly thereafter promoted to Project Manager and, eventually, Operations Manager for the Southeast Division, which at the time included AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, SC, TN and Puerto Rico. In 1994, Jack became Regional Manager for the current Southeast Region. In 2006, he took on the additional responsibility of Division Manager which includes the Southeast and Florida Regions. Jack has been in the Atlanta office for his entire RECo career.

Prior to joining RECo, Jack received his BCE from the Georgia Institute of Technology and worked seven years for Georgia Department of Transportation. Jack is a registered P.E. in the state of Georgia and is an active member of ASCE.

Alex Abraham, P.E. Mid-WestAlex was employed by RECo in 1995 as a Geotechnical and Regional Engineer. Prior to joining the RECo team he had over 6 years experience in geotechnical engineering and construction. In 2000 Alex became the Mid-West Regional Manger, and in 2010 was promoted to Mid-West Division Manager, which includes the Mid-West and Great Plains Regions.

He has given presentations at several regional and national seminars and is an active member of the ASCE, GeoInstitute and APWA. He is a graduate of National Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu, India with a BSCE, University of Cincinnati with a MSCE, and Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University with a MBA. Alex is currently a licensed PE in Alaska, Hawaii and Ohio.

Tom Schick, P.E. CentralTom Schick graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1977. The first 4 years of his professional career were spent with Conrail where he gained experience in the railroad industry. Then in May of 1981, he began his current employment with RECo. Tom is currently the Vice President and Division Manger for the Central Division.

Tom has been based in RECos Dallas office for all 29 years of his tenure. During that time, Tom also earned an MBA from the University of Dallas. Toms active membership in ASCE includes service as the Fort Worth Branch President. He has also served on an AREMA structures committee. For the last 27 years, Tom has been a licensed PE in both Maryland and Texas.

Larry Novak WesternLarry joined the RECo team in April 2010 as the Western Division Manager, which includes the Western and Southwest Regions. Prior to his career at RECo Larry worked in the Sales and Estimating Department at Slaton Brothers, Inc. since 2003. Slaton Broths. is a RECo affiliate that provides construction services for earth retention, ground improvement and soil stabilization needs.

Larrys career in the retaining wall industry started in 1986. His experience up until he joined RECo was in the installation of structures and includes nearly every aspect of the business, including owner. Throughout those years he worked with RECo on numerous projects. Now with RECo he has moved into the design and supply aspect of the industry. Along with his Divisional Manager duties he is enjoying serving as the Regional Manager for the Western Region for the states of AK, WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, CO, NE, and KS.

Sam Calabrese, P.E. Mid-AtlanticSam joined RECo in 2006 through the acquisition of L.B. Foster Geotechnical Group. He is currently the Division Manager for the NE Division which includes the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic 1 and Mid-Atlantic 2 Regions. Prior to joining RECo Sam was a Division Manager for L. B. Foster where his responsibilities include estimating, negotiating contracts, cost control, billing and collections for all projects in the Northeast, and Midwest. His experience in the field of Geotechnical Engineering started in 1974. Through the past 38 years Sam has held various Engineering, Project Management and Estimating/Sales positions in companies such as Law Engineering, Driggs Corporation and Franki Foundation Company.

Sam holds a BSCE and a MSCE from State University of New York at Buffalo and is a registered professional engineer in MD, VA, NC, KY, DE, SD, NH, VT, CT, KS, WI, MO and TN. He is the holder of a U.S. patent for a method of driving a pile using an external mandrel.

Coming in Summer 2012-Meet your Engineering Managers