1. Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Federal Univ. of Rio Grande do Sul, Ave. Osvaldo Aranha 99–3 andar, Porto Alegre, RS 90035-190, Brazil (corresponding author).
2. Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Federal Univ. of Rio Grande do Sul, Ave. Osvaldo Aranha 99–3 andar, Porto Alegre, RS 90035-190, Brazil.
3. Research Assistant, Dept. of Computer Science, Catholic Univ. of Rio Grande do Sul, Ave. Ipiranga 6681, Porto Alegre, RS 90619-900, Brazil.
4. Director, Multisolos Piles and InSitu Testing, Rua Bento Gonçalves 578/903, Passo Fundo, RS 99010-010, Brazil; formerly, D.Sc. Student at Dept. of Civil Engineering, Federal Univ. of Rio Grande do Sul.