Abdalla is an accomplished geo-structural engineer with extensive expertise in designing earth and water retaining structures. His diverse skills also extend to creating foundation systems for high-rise buildings and bridges, showcasing his deep understanding of complex engineering challenges. With over a decade of consulting experience in both Canada and the US, Abdalla is known for delivering tailored solutions that not only meet the highest standards of quality and safety but also strictly adhere to relevant design standards while accommodating the unique constraints of each client. His exceptional interpersonal skills foster effective communication and collaboration with clients, ensuring strong and lasting partnerships throughout the project lifecycle.
Educational Background
- B.A.Sc., Honors, Geological Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2012
Registered Professional Engineer
Professional Engineer: Texas, Nevada, Ontario, British Columbia
Selected Projects
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Masjid Al-Farooq, 935 Eglinton Avenue West, Mississauga, ON: This project involved expanding an existing structure, which required designing a sophisticated temporary shoring system to support a 12.5m deep excavation. The system included secant pile walls, soldier piles and lagging walls, reinforced with post-grouted tieback anchors, inclined rakers (used in areas where encroachment agreements were unattainable on adjacent lands), and HSS pipe struts. Abdalla took on the role of Engineer of Record for the temporary shoring system, overseeing the complex design process. During construction, he conducted interim field review site visits to ensure alignment with the working drawings.
794 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario: The project’s scope included engineering the design of a caisson foundation system to transfer structural loads from a 6-storey residential building to competent shale bedrock. As the Engineer of Record, Abdalla was tasked with developing a detailed caisson foundation design. This design strategically integrated skin friction and end bearing mechanisms to counteract compression, tension, and lateral wind loads from the building.
Skin friction maximized the interaction between the caisson’s surface and the surrounding soil to resist axial loads, while end bearing utilized the caisson’s base to counteract vertical loads. This dual approach ensured stability and structural integrity throughout the foundation system.
During construction, Abdalla conducted interim field review site visits to oversee the installation process by the foundation contractor, ensuring adherence to design specifications and working drawings.
Vendome Condos, 7 Clegg Road, Markham, Ontario: As the design lead for the temporary shoring system on this project, Abdalla customized a shoring system to retain a significant 10-meter excavation, essential for a high-rise condominium development in Markham, Ontario. The design incorporated soldier pile and lagging walls, reinforced laterally with two rows of post-grouted tieback anchors to ensure structural stability. Rigorous performance testing was conducted on sacrificial test tiebacks to verify grout-to-soil adhesion, followed by the installation of the remaining tiebacks upon confirmation of adhesion values.
In addition to his roles as the design engineer and Engineer of Record, Abdalla formulated a comprehensive vibration control plan and developed an extensive vibration monitoring program for adjacent structures susceptible to potential vibration impacts. Abdalla also led a team of junior engineers, overseeing tieback inspections and shoring movement monitoring. Throughout construction, he conducted interim field review site visits to ensure adherence to working drawings and specifications.
7 Erie St., Brantford, Ontario: For this project, Abdalla took on the lead design engineer role for the foundation system of an 8-storey building. His main focus was on designing a driven H-pile foundation system capable of withstanding axial compression and lateral wind loads, crucial for the building’s structural integrity and stability. Additionally, Abdalla provided leadership to a team of junior field engineers tasked with overseeing H-pile construction. Their responsibilities included ensuring strict adherence to design and specification standards. Abdalla’s coordination and guidance played a vital role in ensuring the constructed foundation system precisely matched engineering design and performance requirements.
East to West Diversion Sanitary Trunk Sewer Project, Mississauga, Ontario:
This project entailed designing and supervising the construction of 8 tunneling launching and receiving shafts. As the lead design engineer for the shafts, Abdalla was responsible for designing all 8 shafts, each varying in diameter and depth (up to 26m deep). These shafts facilitated the launching and receiving of the tunnel boring machine required for constructing the sanitary trunk sewer associated with the project.
The designs for the tunneling shafts primarily consisted of secant piles arranged in a circular configuration, based on the application of the ring compression theory. This theory suggests that all lateral forces compressing the shaft are uniformly resolved through axial compression around the circumference of the ring. Abdalla conducted additional analyses and checks to address asymmetrical loading conditions around the shaft, including considerations for crane surcharges.
During the construction phase, Abdalla conducted on-site field reviews to ensure that the construction of the shafts adhered to the working drawings and specifications.