Subsurface Exploration
Laboratory Testing
Construction Services & Materials Testing
Grubbs, Hoskyn, Barton & Wyatt, Inc. has performed geotechnical studies and presented recommendations for design and construction of fossil and nuclear power plants, high rise office buildings, hotels, warehouses, schools, major highway and railroad river bridges, earth dams, retaining walls, levees, revetments, drainage structures, pumping stations, proposed and existing landfill sites, hazardous waste sites including Superfund sites, and port facilities. The project sites have been located in a variety of geologic regions including the Mississippi Embayment, Ozark Mountains, Ouachita Mountains, Gulf Coastal Plain, and Loessial terrace areas.
Engineering studies for design of structures on or adjacent to rivers and lakes have included analysis of local and ground scour potential, development of river channel and bank stabilization and analysis of deep pile and pier foundation systems. Projects involving bridge design have required engineering studies for large slurry pier and dredged caisson foundations and load testing and selection of construction specifications and procedures. Marine projects include studies on the Arkansas, Red, Ouachita, and Mississippi Rivers.
Investigations, studies and analyses frequently required detailed evaluation of groundwater conditions, soil permeability and development of data for evaluating underseepage potential and the design of seepage controls including slurry walls and dewatering systems. The studies of groundwater related problems have involved the installation of both temporary and permanent piezometers, groundwater monitoring wells, and various types of in-situ permeability tests. Evaluation of the potential for seepage in rock strata has involved the performance of pressure and flow tests using open and double packer methods.
Studies have also required analysis and monitoring of slope stability in fills and deep cuts for highway embankment and for emergency spillway areas and development of recommendations for treatment of potentially unstable soil or rock zones. Borrow area evaluations have consisted of both test pit and sample boring investigation, determination of engineering properties and development of fill placement and compaction criteria for both homogeneous and zoned embankments of soil and rock fill design. Particular attention has been given to developing methods of using available soil and rock materials from reservoir borrow areas and emergency spillway cuts in the embankments to reduce the project cost.