GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Devise has completed geotechnical investigations in Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley, Kenai Peninsula, and more - all throughout the state of Alaska, and the lower 48. We tailor our work to consider the client's scope, budget, and good engineering practices. 

We can design, observe, or test shallow or deep foundations. We have designed foundations in soil, rock, warm and cold permafrost, and liquefiable soils. We excel at finding the right solution for the project considering the site-specific conditions. We are also proficient in pile driving/wave equation analyses and full-scale load tests for deep foundation construction. 

We have experience designing in cold regions using steady-state or transient thermal analyses, assessing frost heaving, and evaluating permafrost conditions, all while considering climate change. Our geotechnical engineers have worked in Anchorage, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, North Slope, Fairbanks, Canada, and even Russia. 

Living in a high seismic region like Alaska, we understand the impacts of earthquake ground motions, liquefaction, lateral spreading, landslides, and faulting on design. Our engineers have analyzed and designed both shallow and deep foundations for liquefiable conditions and overcome numerous challenges working with challenging soils. 

We've designed it all - concrete, MSE, sheet pile, modular block, Bin walls, and many more. The high seismicity in Anchorage and many other locations throughout Alaska presents unique challenges to performing stability analysis and our engineers have the skills to overcome these challenges.  

We have performed both inspection and analysis of existing and new slopes in Anchorage, including evaluations of the Fourth Avenue slide area. Our analyses employ either Limit Equilibrium and Finite Element, as appropriate, in various drain and undrained conditions along with temporary and post-earthquake situations. 

We have designed several engineered excavation plans and multiple shoring designs to aid contractors in their work in Anchorage or wherever else in Alaska their work takes them. 

Whether an Alaskan parking lot, collector road, highway, or aircraft pavement, we can aid you in optimizing your pavement design considering frost depth, layer thicknesses, and cost to save money on your project. 

Our geotechnical design experience includes several ground improvement projects focusing primarily on vibro-compaction, prefabricated vertical drains, surcharges and monitoring, rigid inclusions, and stone columns. Additionally, we've aided in vibration monitoring, pile driving - observations and high-strain dynamic testing (HSDT), and limited inspections throughout Alaska. 

We employ engineers with over 10 years of experience in periodic safety inspections and dam design including support services on the design of earthfill, tailings, concrete gravity, and concrete arch dams including large dam and levee peer review and PSI services throughout Alaska. Devise has performed these services for various cities, counties, boroughs, and municipal agencies. We are very familiar with the state statues and requirements of Department of Natural Resources Dam Safety which allows us to efficiently and cost effectively perform work for this agency.