This week, we’re continuing our story of the history of geotechnical engineering. At Thorcon Shotcrete and Shoring, we think that this next bit of history is some of the most exciting, as it takes the ancient concepts and brings them into more recent centuries. At Thorcon, we implement the most advanced methods available to service our clients in Colorado and states in the surrounding area. Here are the next few steps in the slope stabilization and geotechnical journey:
- Venice
Venice is a complicated city based on a series of canal networks. The shoring required to keep the land solid for the buildings is an impressive testament to early engineering practices. Venice is also home to a number of impressive bridges, crossing the canals. Through the years, new generations of geotechnical engineers have had to chip in and continue to protect and shore up Venice’s old foundations to keep the city, itself, from sinking.
- Mining and tunneling techniques
The precursors to modern mining techniques were invented between the 1500s and 1800s, when engineers began to focus on safe tunneling techniques, ventilation shafts, and tunnel shields which allowed tunnels to be dug even under rivers.
- Soil mechanics
Geotechnical engineering got a whole new theoretical boost with the studies of several scholars during the 1800s. By the 1900s, a mass of work had been done on the elasticity, states of stress, and deformation of different soils. During the same century, the science of slope stability analysis entered its modern phase.
- Modern mechanics
Projects such as the Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal and America’s expansive interstate system show the advancements that geotechnical engineering have made throughout the centuries. In our modern world, much of our lives take place on structures which have been shored, planned and set in strong foundations by civil and geotechnical engineers, working for the safety of the general public.
Get in touch with us today to get started on your own shotcrete, shoring or stabilization project. From our headquarters in Littleton, Colorado (near Denver), we provide custom, safety-focused solutions to life’s modern infrastructure problems.