Materials Laboratory Archives

It Starts in the Soils: Initial Phases of Ground Storage Tank Construction Design, Testing, and Inspection

By Kevin Williams | February 10, 2021

In the first part of this series, we will discuss initial phases of design and construction inspection for storage tank construction. The Concept As you lay out of your tanks, whether they are in a grid, located along a specific topographic contour, or simply organized to fit to the shape of your property, you will start to see a picture of what your tank farm will eventually look like. Of course, you will also consider tank size, how the product will enter and exit the tanks, and how much they will weigh once in use. As you plan, do you...

Building Storage Tanks? What You Need to Know about Testing and Inspections

January 27, 2021

geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, laboratory testing, and non-destructive examinations involved in storage tanks.

When: Thursday, March 25th @ 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 a.m. (CST) Where: GoToWebinar A storage tank project is a major investment with little room for error. As oil and natural gas prices continue to remain low, tanks and underground storage options have become key to making the informed decisions that sellers and buyers are making to sustain profitability in these markets. If you are currently building storage tanks or considering it as a future option, do you know all the considerations necessary for testing and inspections prior to and during construction? Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach can produce a more holistic...

USACE-validated and AASHTO-accredited Geotechnical and CMT Laboratories in Louisiana

July 10, 2020

Braun Intertec is proud to offer our clients in Sulphur, Lafayette and Baton Rouge, Louisiana full-service local soils, aggregate, concrete and masonry materials laboratories. Our laboratories and licensed engineering staff serve the Acadiana, southwest and central Louisiana, and Baton Rouge metropolitan area. What sets Braun Intertec apart from other local Louisiana materials laboratories is our licensed engineers’ hands-on approach to the laboratory work on their projects. From the initial field exploration to the issuance of engineering reports or materials analysis, our employee-owners work closely together to deliver best-in-class service to clients on every project. “We are always back in the...

Sulfate and Chloride Soil Corrosivity Testing Services in Texas and Beyond

June 18, 2020

The Braun Intertec materials laboratory in La Porte, Texas has established a set of corrosivity tests for chloride and sulfate ions, PH and resistivity testing in soils and concrete with rapid test turnaround times—often in as little as 48 hours. Soil Corrosivity Testing Corrosivity tests are often run as part of a larger suite of geotechnical soils properties tests during the preconstruction phase of a project or to account for corrosion control measures required on an aboveground oil storage tank, important structure or pipeline. In addition to PH and resistivity testing, the added corrosivity testing capabilities follow ASTM guidelines for...

Employee-Owner Spotlight: Thomas Dunnam, Materials Lab Manager, La Porte, Texas

May 12, 2020

This spring we met with Thomas Dunnam, Materials Lab Manager for our La Porte, Texas location about his new role, how he built his laboratory to include specialty sulfate and chloride soil testing and what it means to him to be an employee-owner. How long have you been the La Porte Materials Lab Manager with Braun Intertec?I’ve been here since May 2019. Before that I worked in materials labs in the La Porte area for almost five years. What is your background?I got a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Texas Tech University in 2011 and then I went on to...

Meet the Team: Houston Office Spotlight

July 29, 2019

Who We Are Braun Intertec introduced itself in Houston, Texas in 2017 and has rapidly grown to offer a wide range of professional services and industry expertise. With the support of our nationwide employee network and technical resources, we provide professional consulting services which include: Geotechnical EngineeringConstruction Materials Testing and InspectionsEnvironmental ConsultingBuilding and Structure Sciences Consulting Services Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, with a population of more than 4.5 million throughout the greater Houston area. Due to its massive size and rapid growth, the city has a great need for infrastructure development and construction of...

Employee-Owner Spotlight: Meet Rosalie Balderaz

July 17, 2019

Rosalie Balderaz: Houston Materials Lab Coordinator We sat down with Rosalie Balderaz, who is a materials lab coordinator working from our office in Houston, Texas. We interviewed her to learn more about her professional background, role and experience as a Braun Intertec employee. What is your role at Braun Intertec and how long have you been working here? I started at Braun Intertec almost two years ago as a level three geotechnical lab technician, and I recently got promoted as the materials lab coordinator, which means I essentially run the geotechnical lab. Currently, I am learning how to do specialty...

New, Custom-Built Mobile Materials Laboratory at Braun Intertec

October 29, 2018

Cost-efficient and convenient construction materials laboratory Whether it’s on the windswept North Dakota prairie delivering soils to test in -30F degree weather or analyzing pavement samples in the 115F heat of a scorching summer day on the Texas plains, we’ve got you covered. At first glance this sounds both miserable and impossible, but as our Materials Laboratory Manager Thor Stangebye informs us, neither has to be true when you’re working with the Braun Intertec Materials Laboratory. That’s because we custom build mobile laboratories for these exact conditions. “We asked people, ‘If you see anything we can do better with our...

Meet Our Geotechnical Engineers and Construction Materials Testing Consultants in Arlington, Texas

September 5, 2018

Who We Are Home to approximately 25 geotechnical engineers and construction materials testing consultants in Arlington, Texas, our local team members offer a wide range of services to our clients. Arlington’s primary service categories include: Geotechnical engineering Construction materials testing Nondestructive testing Unmanned aerial systems Cone penetration testing Environmental consulting Drilling Currently, our Arlington office’s largest and most high-profile project is the new Texas Rangers Stadium, for which we are proud to provide construction materials testing and structural steel inspections. In addition, Arlington’s talented team has also worked on projects for the University of North Texas, City of Rockville, Fort...

NASA Launches InSight Mars Lander

May 7, 2018

Over the weekend NASA launched the Mars lander InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This lander will be the first space robotic explorer to conduct an in-depth study on Mars’ crust, mantle and core. The Braun Intertec team was fortunate to play a role in the initial phases of this mission’s development which lands on Mars Nov. 26, 2018. In preparation for this launch, Braun Intertec provided soil and aggregate testing for NASA as they tested the InSight lander’s equipment designed for this mission. NASA wanted to...