Foundation construction for spread wall footings normally involves constructing formwork, placing reinforcement, and pouring and curing concrete, regardless of footing size or the amount of anticipated load. Recently, the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) has developed a complete foundation system called the Footer Block system. It was designed to reduce the costs of foundation construction for 1 and 2 story buildings. The footer black system consists of interlocking concrete blocks 10.2 x 40.6 x 20.3 cm (4 x 16 x 8 in). Because they are placed with no mortar, delays associated with the curing process or providing access for concrete are unnecessary. / Master of Science

The first part of this study was the development of a simplified procedure for analyzing laterally loaded piles and drilled shafts. A computer program that can be used to estimate deflections and maximum bending moments in single fixed-head piles (or drilled shafts) and in groups of fixed-head piles (or drilled shafts) was developed. Using this program, charts were developed for estimating deflections and maximum bending moments directly in some of the more common types of single piles and drilled shafts. The computer program was also used to perform parametric studies of groups of piles and drilled shafts, from which simple formulae for amplifying single pile (or drilled shaft) deflections and moments to those of the group were derived. These simple formulae enable the analysis and design of groups of deep foundations to be done more efficiently. The simplified procedure was used to analyze four well documented and well instrumented case histories of laterally loaded pile groups. Comparison of the predicted and measured results indicate that the simplified procedure provides a method of analyzing laterally loaded groups of deep foundations that yield quite accurate predictions of group deflections and moments in some cases, and values that are conservative in other cases. The second part of the research was to establish load factor design procedures for incorporating margins of safety for axially loaded deep foundations. Values of performance factors were developed for load factor design of axially loaded driven piles and drilled shafts. This was achieved by analyzing statistical information for loads and resistances, and determining the levels of reliability inherent in current designs, through the use of probability theory. Using these results, a target reliability level in the form of a reliability index was selected. Values of performance factors were then obtained for use with the current AASHTO (1989) code for bridges and the ASCE Standard 7-88 (1990) for buildings and other structures. The issues involved in a probabilistic analysis of groups of deep foundations were also discussed. / Ph. D.

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In addition to vertical loads, the foundations of offshore structures are subjected to horizontal loads and overturning moments as a result of environmental (wind and wave) loading. The behaviour of circular footings on cohesive soil under conditions of combined vertical, horizontal and moment (V, H, M) loading is the primary concern of this thesis. A programme of physical model tests, involving combined loading of circular footings on reconstituted Speswhite kaolin, is reported. The shape of footing used is typical of the "spudcan" foundations of independent leg jack-up drilling platforms. Previous experience with combined loading of footings on sand has revealed that the observed load:displacement behaviour is best understood, and theoretically modelled, in terms of work hardening plasticity theory. The present tests on clay confirm this, and the results are interpreted to give empirical expressions for (i) the combined load yield surface in V:H:M space, and (ii) a suitable flow rule to allow prediction of the corresponding footing displacements (z, h, θ) during yielding. Extension to a complete plasticity model is achieved using theoretical stiffness factors to define elastic behaviour, and theoretical lower bound bearing capacity factors (derived specifically for this work) to define the size of the yield surface as a function of vertical penetration. The predictive capabilities of the numerical model are evaluated by retrospective simulation of various footing tests. Finally some plane frame structural analyses of a representative jack-up unit are described; some of these analyses incorporate the plasticity-based numerical model of spudcan footing behaviour under combined loads.

The problem of this study was the relative value and importance of perceived benefits of active foundations of public community colleges. The purposes were to identify a list of benefits; determine the importance of these benefits as perceived by presidents and foundation executive directors; assess the degree to which the level of importance of the benefits was affected by college or foundation demographics or foundation executive director characteristics; and to determine if presidents and foundation executive directors differ in their perceptions of the importance of the benefits. Survey instruments were mailed to presidents and foundation executive directors of colleges determined to have active foundations. Both instruments contained seven categories listing potential benefits to the community colleges of an active foundation. The foundation executive directors' instruments also requested college and foundation demographic data. Respondents were asked to rate the benefits according to their level of importance. Analysis of variance tests were performed to determine whether the categories of benefits were affected by any of the demographic data, when a level of significance emerged, a Scheffe' test was performed to determine the source of significance. Major findings were that the most important single benefit to the community colleges of active foundations is the provision of student scholarships. The "Public Relations/Political Influence" role of the active foundation is the most important category of benefits. The more fund-raising activities held and the greater the amount of contributions, the more positively community college administrators felt about the role of their active foundations in terms of external relations. Highly experienced foundation executive directors were more positive about the importance of the public relations role of their active foundations than were their inexperienced counterparts. The major conclusion of this study was that community colleges benefit from having active foundations, both monetarily and through the role of the foundation in enhancing the college's image.

It is inevitable that works on waqf written in English will employ terms from Anglo-American law to describe that institution. This study will endeavour to provide a proper understanding of these terms in order to clear up longstanding misconceptions of the nature of waqf. Through a detailed history of the Anglo-American law of endowments and its terminology, this study will create a framework through which it may be possible to obtain a clearer understanding of waqf. The study will also address two historical events in which the Islamic and Anglo-American legal conceptions of endowments have been at odds, as well as address the objections that have been raised to the continued existence of waqf , both from within Muslim society and from without. It is hoped that through this study a better appreciation of the utility of waqf for Muslim society will be achieved.

This thesis is a theoretical study, using both finite element and boundary element methods, of the behaviour of single-piles and pile groups under vertical and lateral loading. It offers an improved understanding of the soil-structure interaction that occurs in pile groups, particularly closely spaced piles subjected to lateral loads. The potential of a two- dimensional idealisation of what is a three-dimensional problem is demonstrated by achieving real insight into the complex nature of pile-soil and pile-soil-pile interaction in pile groups. A new load transfer mechanism is presented for a rigid, axially loaded vertical pile. From this an improvement is then derived to the analytical solution for pile head settlement given by Randolph and Wroth (1978). The improved mechanism has the further merit that it can be applied also to solutions for flexible piles and pile groups. The improved analytical solution is further adapted in the development of two correcting layers specifically for vertically loaded piles to model infinite boundaries in the finite element model. The correcting layers help in establishing superiority of the finite element method over the boundary element method. To model pile-soil interaction, a purely cohesive interface element is developed and then validated by performing various two-dimensional test problems, including stability analysis of flat surface footings. Footing-soil interface tension is successfully modelled in this way - an outcome that entails a significant modification to the Hansen (1970) bearing capacity solution. Stability analysis is also carried out of conical footings using a three-dimensional finite element model: the results help to explain the applicability of the existing bearing capacity theories to conical footings. The ultimate lateral soil reaction is determined and various pile loading stages are investigated through parametric studies. Study of the stage immediately following pile installation (i.e. the consolidation stage) highlights the need to develop an effective stress analysis for laterally loaded piles. Pile-soil interaction is studied using the cohesive interface element presented earlier, which proves to be quite successful in smoothing out the stress discontinuities around the pile. A new material model for frictional soils is presented, and validated by using it to model an extension test: it captures well post-peak behaviour and takes care of the effects of dilation on the response of laterally loaded piles. Finally, mechanisms of interaction in closely spaced pile groups are studied. Simple analytical expressions are derived which quantify the effects of interaction. A new method of analysis is presented for single-piles and pile groups which offers a considerable degree of reliability without having to do either impossibly expensive full scale field tests or prohibitively expensive full three-dimensional analysis using the currently available computers.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2007. / Department of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Advisor(s): William Brescia, Frances A. Huehls, Dwight Burlingame. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-113).

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no / The title The Demons of Science may at first appear like a contradiction in terms. Demons are associated with the forces of darkness; science represents the power of light. One could assume, therefore, that science has no time for demons. This book aims to destroy this assumption. Science opens its gates to demons as long as they play a rational rather than an evil part. They are put to work. Demons are figures of thought: they belong to the category of thought experiments, which are routinely employed in science and philosophy. As they are cast as agents with superhuman abilities, we may expect that demons provide us with valuable—albeit non-empirical—clues about the constitution of the physical world. But I am interested in exploring not only what the demons tell us but also what they do not tell us about our world. They are cast as superhuman actors but even demons have their limitations. The following chapters contain, I believe, the first systematic study of the role of demons in scientific and philosophical reasoning about the external world.