Eng. Mauricio Coto (MYV) was invited to participate in the VI Latin American Conference on Geosynthetics organized by PAVCO. On September 10th, Eng. Coto presented the lecture titled: “Foundation of the Ramada Jacó Bay Project: Case Study on the use of stiff inclusions as ground reinforcement”. A special mention deserves the participation of Dr. Robert Holtz as Key Speaker (see picture below), who is Professor at the University of Washington, and also a pioneer in the development of design methods for geotechnical structures reinforced with geosynthetics.

19 a 21/08/2009MYV attended the X Costa Rican Conference on Geotechnics that was held at Barceló San José Palacio Hotel. On the side of MYV, attendees were: Eng. Luis Vargas, Eng. Mauricio Coto, Eng. Christian Valerio and Geol. Carlos Vargas. On August 21st, MYV presented the lecture titled: “Foundation of the Ramada Jacó Bay Project: Case Study on the use of stiff inclusions as ground reinforcement”. The authors of this paper were: Eng. Mauricio Coto, Eng. Luis Vargas, Eng. Mauricio Alpízar (Structural Engineer) and Eng. Silvio Chavarría (Chief of the Engineering Department at ESCOSA).

MYV acquires PFM5 technology (Profometer 5+, Scanlog) for the detection of rebar systems in concrete elements. PFM5 technology for rebar detection system brings the power of non-destructive pulse-induction technology to the detection and analysis of rebar systems. PFM5 allows the detection of reinforcement bars and mesh, to measure their cover depth and to determine the bar diameter. PFM includes correction functions for the influence of neighboring bars. Model SCANLOG, acquired by MYV, is especially suited for large areas and when comprehensive reporting is required.

Upon the request of the CCAICR, MYV prepared and taught a professional course to a group of members, both Architects and Engineers, with the aim of introducing basic principles in geotechnical exploration and geotechnical analysis. The topics of the course were: a) Geotechnical Exploration, b) Importance of Geology, c) Foundation Performance and d) Special Problematic Soils (collapsible soils, expansive soils, liquefiable soils, and non-engineered fills). In total, approximately 30 people attended the course that was given on three separate days: July 4th, July 11th, and July 18th.

Engs. Luis A. Vargas and Mauricio Coto (MYV) visited A.P. van den Berg’s factory which is located at Heerenveen (The Netherlands). A.P. is a worldwide leading company in the design and manufacturing of equipment for static cone penetration testing (CPT/CPTU). Inside the factory, the tour was guided by Engs. Onne Storteboom (Chief of the Engineering Department) and, Tjeeerd Hoekstra (Mechanical Engineer and Designer). MYV learned of the whole manufacturing process for the CPT equipment, ranging from cones themselves to trucks and crawlers, as well as offshore seabed penetrometers. A.P. representatives kindly assisted MYV in the analysis of the CPTU set up more suitable for current MYV’s needs.