Seismic Solutions (formerly Ellington Cross, LLC) is a geotechnical contracting firm specializing in liquefaction mitigation. We are North America’s leader in Earthquake Drain design and installation.
In 1996, Scott Ellington began working with Dr. Bob Goughnour on a new concept for mitigating liquefaction using prefabricated vertical drains. Up until that time, liquefaction was typically mitigated using piles to carry structural loads to deeper bearing strata or by trying to densify loose materials in place using
Over the next two years, we worked collaboratively with the Earthquake Engineering Research Center (EERC) at the University of California, Berkeley to develop the numerical analysis and design methodology currently used with this technology. The design software and manual are distributed and maintained by the EERC.
In December of 1998, the United States Patent Office awarded a utility patent based on the process and, in 2000, Mr. Ellington formed Ellington Cross (named after his grandfathers) to focus on establishing the process as a viable liquefaction mitigation alternative to deep foundations and traditional ground improvement methods.
Over the next twenty-three years, the process (which we named “Earthquake Drains”) has become the preferred liquefaction mitigation technique employed across the Southeast United States. Since formation of the company, Seismic Solutions has installed over 10,000,000 linear feet of Earthquake Drains. If laid end-to-end, those drains would stretch from Charleston, South Carolina to Denver, Colorado.