North American Geotechnical Co. (NAGS) is focused to application of technology developed in the geophysics industry to locate hydrocarbon deposits to the civil engineering area of foundation analysis by non-destructive methods. Since inception, North American Geotechnical has worked closely with the Allied Geophysical Laboratory and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at The University of Houston. Current research project is demonstrattion that the Vertical Magnetometer Survey can provide both depth and an assessment of the state of corrossion of in-situ sheet piles. North American has been granted three patents in the field of scour detection, one patent in the field of determining the depth of unknown foundations, and one patent in the field of pavement evaluation. The most recent award, a Phase I Award # 0338922, A Pneumatic Scour Detection System, in 2004. The $100,000 grant was executed over the period 1/1/04 to 7/1/04. The Pneumatic Scour Detection System is a unique method of measuring depth of scour around bridge piers under flood conditions. The results of this Phase I project were published in August, 2006 (Mercado and Rao, 2006). The Phase I project, The Pneumatic Scour Detection System (PSDS), has now been successfully marketed with an initial order from Oregon Dept. Of Transportation. Its successful installation, scheduled for mid 2007, will immediately open the door for multiple installations from other State Dept.'s of Transportation that are observing this initial installation.
