OUR SERVICES
ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, CONSULTING, AND TESTING + DESIGN FOR DAMS, NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS, AND OTHER CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
DAMS AND WATER
RESOURCES ENGINEERING
Dam engineering services have been a core component of RIZZO’s business for nearly 35 years. In that time, we have provided new and remedial design and analysis services for water supply, flood protection, hydroelectric, and grade stabilization projects involving concrete and embankment dams, and various dam appurtenances such as intake and outlet structures, penstocks, and spillways.
Our dam engineering services have also included Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Part 12D safety inspections, inspections for state dam safety programs, emergency action planning, and dam safety surveillance monitoring planning and reporting.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING AND NUCLEAR SITING
RIZZO maintains a core competency in various geotechnical engineering service areas and in various geotechnical engineering software applications (FLAC®, GeoStudio, PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3D, etc.). In particular, RIZZO has significant experience in geotechnical field investigation planning and implementation, ground improvement program design, and forensic investigations; and expertise in liquefaction potential analysis, rock mechanics analysis, seepage and slope stability analyses, settlement and bearing capacity calculation, and 2-D and 3-D static and dynamic finite element analysis of structural loading conditions.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
STRUCTURAL AND SEISMIC
ENGINEERING
RIZZO's structural engineering services primarily include steel and concrete analysis and design for conventional and extreme service conditions; and static, dynamic, time-history, linear, and non-linear analysis of structures.
Our seismic engineering services in turn include seismic load analysis and seismic design, seismic probabilistic risk assessment and fragility analysis, and seismic evaluation and qualification (including seismic walk-downs and seismic margin assessments).
RIZZO also provides forensic and diagnostic structural engineering services. Typically, these services include the assessment of event-specific damage to facilities, and corresponding repair and/or retrofit and upgrade solutions.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
GEOLOGIC AND HYDROGEOLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS
RIZZO’s geoscientists provide services that include field reconnaissance and characterization studies for dam and water resources, power generation, and infrastructure projects; geomorphology and terrain mapping and analysis; geologic hazard identification and mitigation; sedimentology and stratigraphy; and structural geology.
RIZZO’s geoscientists are similarly experienced in geospatial data system and geodatabase development and 2-D and 3-D subsurface data visualization. RIZZO can also provide expert hydrogeological services that include long-term groundwater elevation and groundwater quality monitoring, aquifer testing, and numerical groundwater modeling.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
HAZARD ANALYSIS
SERVICES
RIZZO’s team of earth scientists and engineers possess the expertise and industry experience to perform hazard analyses for natural and human-induced phenomena –- from earthquakes, floods, and climatological events to blast and aircraft impact assessments.
Using our industry-proven, in-house software and decades of experience, RIZZO delivers the full breadth of hazard analysis services to our clients, including data collection, uncertainty analysis, and calculation of annual frequencies for a given parameter (ground motion, wind speed, etc.). Clients trust RIZZO’s hazards analysis team in applications for dams, nuclear, and other critical infrastructure projects.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
HYDROLOGIC AND HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
RIZZO’s hydrologic and hydraulic engineering services include conventional and probabilistic analyses of local intense precipitation and probable maximum precipitation events; estimations of probable maximum floods on streams and rivers; and evaluation of storm, seiche, and tsunami waves and subsequent flooding.
RIZZO’s hydrologic and hydraulic engineering services also include 3-D, 2-D, and 1-D modeling of inflow design floods and design modifications for dams and other hydraulic structures, dam breach analyses, and shoreline and streambank erosion hazard evaluations and scour analyses.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
TESTING + INSPECTION SERVICES
RIZZO specializes in construction materials testing and inspection, and construction materials production quality control. In particular, our testing services include accelerated concrete curing tests, aggregate gradation tests, alkali reactivity tests, compressive strength and tensile strength testing of concrete cylinders, concrete mix design verification, modulus of elasticity testing, moisture content testing, and thermal testing.
Our field-based testing capabilities in turn include compaction control, concrete slump, plate load, pressuremeter, and static and dynamic penetrometer testing.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
“The full integration of earth sciences and civil engineering services, under one family-oriented culture, has allowed us to tackle some of the toughest challenges in the civil and construction industry.
This is why clients come to RIZZO – to deal with the unprecedented in an evolving infrastructure landscape”
EDDIE GUERRA
Sr Vice President | Civil
Infrastructure Development
RIZZO Insights