An Introduction to Excavation for Structures

J. Paul Guyer, P.E., R.A., Fellow ASCE, Fellow AEI

Course Outline

1.  Introduction
2.  Open Cuts
3.  Trenching
4.   Rock Excavation
5.  Excavation Stabilization, Monitoring, and Safety
6.  Embankment Cross-Section Design
7.  Borrow Excavation

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Learn about sloped and vertical open excavation cuts;
• Learn about the principal factors influencing trench stability;
• Learn the primary considerations for slope design in different soil types;
• Learn about the two basic types of excavations:  “open excavations” where stability is achieved by providing stable side slopes, and “braced excavations” where vertical or sloped sides are maintained with protective structural systems that can be restrained laterally by internal or external structural elements; and
• Learn about trench excavation support systems.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for civil, structural and geotechnical engineers and other design and construction professionals wanting to learn the fundamentals of excavation in soils for stability and safety.

Benefit for Attendee

This course will give geotechnical, structural and civil engineers and other design and construction professionals an introduction to safety and stability considerations in soil excavations.

Course Introduction

This course provides information about open cut excavations, trenching, rock excavation, excavation stabilization and safety, embankment cross-section design, and borrow excavation.

About Course Author

Paul Guyer is a registered mechanical engineer, civil engineer, fire protection engineer and architect with over 35 years experience in the design of buildings and related infrastructure.  For an additional 9 years he was a senior-level advisor to the California Legislature on infrastructure and capital outlay issues.  He has designed and supervised the design of hundreds of construction projects requiring the preparation of detailed working drawings and specifications for federal, state and local public agencies and private companies.  He is a graduate of Stanford University and has held numerous national, state and local positions with the American Society of Civil Engineers and National Society of Professional Engineers.

Course Content

The course content is contained in the following PDF file:

An Introduction to Excavation for Structures

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

This course will give you professional tools that will help you to address excavation requirements for projects that you routinely encounter in your company or agency office.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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