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By Seth L. Pearlman

Pin Piles are small diameter high capacity drilled and grouted piles also called minipiles or micropiles. They are ideal for building foundations on sites with poor ground conditions, sensitive surroundings, restricted vertical clearance, or difficult access. They are also well suited to foundation underpinning, arresting ground movements, and increasing the capacity of existing foundations. The major factors for selection of Pin Piles are reviewed; drilling, grouting, and design fundamentals are summarized; and a major case history is presented for the underpinning of the 43 story elevator core at the recently opened Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

Jan 1, 2000

By Masaki Kitazume

"Abstract The wet type and dry type of deep mixing methods have been developed and widely applied for on-land and marine constructions in Japan. The quality assurance (QA) of the methods has been usually carried out by unconfined compression test on field stabilized soil sampled by core boring in Japan. In some other countries, stabilized soil excavated by the wet grab sampling instead of core sampling is often subjected to unconfined compression test for quality assurance. There are several merits and demerits in each method, but few studies have been carried out to compare the stabilized soil strength of these two types of specimens to discuss their applicability to practical construction. The author has conducted a series of field and laboratory tests to compare the stabilized soil strength and discuss the applicability of wet grab sampling to QA for wet and dry types of deep mixing method.In this study, the wet grab sampling was carried out at two road embankment construction sites where the wet type and dry type of deep mixing were applied. The cement stabilized soil was excavated at the three depths by a wet grab sampler soon after the DM column construction. The test result is compared with the other test data in the previous study to discuss the applicability of the web grab sampling method for QA of cement stabilized soil.IntroductionThe Deep Mixing Method (DMM), an in-situ soil stabilization technique using cement and/or lime as a binder, is often employed to improve soft soils (Kitazume and Terashi, 2013). A variety of factors and their interactions affect the eventual strength of a deep-mixed column, while some of which are controllable (e.g. binder type and dose) by engineers while the others are not (e.g. soil types, ground temperature, etc.; Babasaki et al., 1997). In addition to laboratory mix tests, which in essence are a parametric study to estimate the influence of these factors on a particular soil’s strength, the quality assurance (QA) practice in Japan usually involves unconfined compression test on sampling cores from the stabilized columns after a given curing period. It has been recognized, however, that the ‘field strength’, or the strength of the retrieved core, quf is on average lower than the ‘laboratory strength’, qul, evaluated by laboratory mix test. Also allowing for the inevitable variability, existing guidelines (for example, PWRC, 2004 and CDIT, 2008) recommend the design quf /qul values of, for example, 0.5-1.0 for the CDM (Cement Deep Mixing; a wet-type technique, in which binder is added as slurry) and 0.2-0.33 for the DJM (Dry Jet Mixing; a dry-type technique, in which binder is added as powder)."

Jan 1, 2014

By Brian R. Zuckerman

The Capitol Area East End Complex is currently being constructed under contract with the State of California Department of General Services on two sites adjacent to the grounds of the California State Capitol Building in downtown Sacramento. The complex will consolidate the headquarters of the Departments of Health Services and Education, which currently occupy several facilities located throughout Sacramento. When completed in 2003, the complex will be the largest civic office project in California history, with approximately 1.5 million square feet of office space and housing nearly 6,300 state workers. The total project is being constructed on five separate blocks in downtown Sacramento, Blocks 171 through 174 and 225. Separate design/build contracts were executed for the construction on Blocks 171 through 174 and the construction on Block 225. The scope of this paper is limited to construction on Blocks 171 through 174, which comprise a square, two blocks on a side, bounded by 15th, 17th, L, and N streets, located immediately to the east of Capitol Park and the State Capitol Building, as pictured in the image shown below.

Jan 1, 2002

By Steffen Schweizer, Tadeusz Brzozowski, Alfred Koller, Michał Topolnicki, Jürgen Wäger, Grzegorz Sołtys

A full scale test has been conducted to determine ground bearing pressure under rig tracks. The track loads were recorded in real time using Liebherr's Ground Pressure Visualisation system, and the vertical stress induced in the ground was measured with pressure cells embedded in the ground. It has been found that the recommendation of EN 16228 regarding determination of the track length is oversimplified. The contact length should dependent on the susceptibility of the working platform. It has been also demonstrated that the corrected pressure distributions under the tracks influence the dimensioning of the working platforms. As a result, the designed working platform may actually be less secure than is shown by conventional calculations.

May 1, 2022

By Liqun Liang

Various nondestructive testing (NDT) inspection methods are available to evaluate the structural integrity of cast-in-place shafts. The widely used methods include Cross Hole Sonic Logging Testing and Low Strain Testing. Due to its advantages such as low cost, easy operation, quickness and flexibility (no need to plan ahead and prepare inspection tubes or other devices), Low Strain Test is frequently specified in quality assurance programs of many countries or when doubts arise as to the integrity of the finished shafts/piles. The method is well suited for small to middle sized shafts. However it is an indirect NDT testing method and has certain limitations. Data interpretation requires proper training, experience and judgment and, therefore, inconsistent conclusions and reporting may be provided by different testers. To avoid or reduce such inconsistencies, it is best to follow a standardized data interpretation and record classification system. In this paper, a new classification method is presented with examples. A step-by-step data evaluation and interpretation procedure is proposed with examples of real cases to help understand the LST data. The paper also makes recommendations for measures to be taken when anomalies are detected in tested production piles.

Jan 1, 2011

By Dennis J. Riley

A. This outline addresses what a sub-contractor, or a subsub-contractor should do to get paid in the event the general contractor or building owner files for bankruptcy. B. Negotiating payment terms. Progress payments vs. "pay when paid". How a sub or subsub can avoid financing the contract. C. Court interpretation of "pay when paid" clauses allow postponement not excusal of payment. See, e.g., Seal Tite Corporation v. Ehret. Inc., 589 F. Supp. 701 (D.N.J. 1984) (where the court held that the general contractor could not delay payment indefinitely to the subcontractor in the event of non-payment from the owner); United Plate Glass Co. v. Metal Industries. Inc., 525 A.2d 468 (Commw. Ct. Pa. 1987) (where the court held that payment from owner was not a condition precedent to paying subcontractor but instead a timing mechanism indicating when payment should be made); But see. Straham v. Landis Construction Co., 499 So. 2d 417 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1986) (where the court strictly interpreted the "pay when paid" clause).

Jan 1, 1991

By Mario A. Terceros Herrera, Mario Terceros Arce, Antonio Marinucci

This paper describes the general principles of the expander body with post-grouting (EBI) system, and how it is similar in nature to a large-scale pressuremeter device. The results from the installation of an EBI can be used to provide information about the stress-strain characteristics of the soil adjacent to the device and to compute estimates of nominal axial resistance. As the EBI expands during grouting, pressure is applied to the in-situ soil surrounding the device thereby compacting/densifying the soil. The nominal axial resistance for small diameter piles/ground anchors can be increased due to the greater soil stiffness and shear strength around the device, larger surface and end area, and improved soil-to-EBI interaction in side resistance. The shape of the response curves depends on the geotechnical conditions of the soil (e.g., in-situ stress state, strength, and stiffness) and the installation method of the piling/ground anchor. This technique has been used successfully with different pile types and ground anchors in a wide range of conditions from very loose sands/silts to very dense sands and medium-dense gravels as well as in soft to stiff clays. This paper also describes a mini case history in which 80 piles were installed to support an office building, and the results of the static axial compression load tests performed on a production FDP+EBI pile is also included.

By Mohamad Hussein

Low strain dynamic tests are performed to evaluate the structural integrity of driven or cast-in-place concrete piles. This type of testing requires minimal pile preparation, and is simply performed by attaching an accelerometer to the pile head and striking the pile head with a hand held hammer. The measured data is processed by a dedicated system, inspected for wave reflections, and interpreted based on one dimensional wave propagation theory. Piles are normally tested shortly after installation so that problems can be identified early and corrective measures taken before construction of the superstructure. However, evaluation of existing foundations is occasionally required. Often, pile installation records are not available rendering impossible any rational foundation reanalysis. This paper discusses three case histories where low strain dynamic measurements allowed determination of pile lengths and structural integrity under existing structures where pile heads were not accessible.

Jan 1, 1992

By Brian Wilson, Megan Atkinson, Richard Diggle, Nathan Sweeney

"Ruskin Dam, located near Mission, British Columbia, was constructed in 1929 and 1930 and comprises of a concrete gravity dam structure founded on bedrock. At the right abutment, which consists mostly of dense to very dense sands and silt, the dam abuts against overburden soils, and connects to a cutoff wall system consisting of sloping concrete slabs. Significant seepage and piping issues were encountered during first filling of the reservoir in 1930. In 2012, BC Hydro, the owner of the dam, awarded a contract for the construction of seepage control measures at the right abutment, including construction of a plastic concrete cut-off wall extending upstream of the dam, a plastic concrete seepage training wall extending downstream of the dam, tie-in of the new cutoff wall to the dam, consisting of jet grouting of the soils adjacent to the dam to allow for the construction of the special cutoff connecting the cutoff wall to the dam, and construction of additional jet-grouting ground improvement downstream of the dam.Integral to the upgrade was the requirement for the special tie-in cutoff wall, consisting of a highly flexible, impermeable membrane to connect the concrete dam to the new, 1 m thick plastic concrete cutoff wall. The tie-in extends vertically into bedrock through the dam and jet grout columns constructed adjacent and beneath the overhanging portion of the dam at the right abutment. The membrane is required to survive the anticipated earthquake induced deformation between the dam and the abutment soils.This paper describes the processes used to develop a material suitable to meet the specified flexibility and permeability criteria, as well as the innovative construction techniques utilized to construct the slot and place the bituminous material within it. The final dimensions of the slot were in the order of 7 m long by 25 m deep by 0.17 m wide. The bituminous material was placed under a head of water which was required to maintain stability of the slot, and was placed at temperatures in excess of 120 degrees Celsius."

Jan 1, 2017

By Fabrice Mathieu

The Cutter Soil Mixing (CSM) provides a cost effective solution for the rapid construction of retaining and cut-off walls using new equipment developed from diaphragm wall cutter technology. CSM consists of cutting and mixing drums mounted on compact hydraulic motors. Soletanche Bachy CSM has been designed to leave the space above the tool free, thereby mixing the soil efficiently during all the phases of the wall construction, with high penetration rates. The precise positioning and verticality of the wall is achieved using a kelly bar and full monitoring. Soletanche Bachy CSM is a versatile equipment which can be mounted on various carriers: pile rigs, hydraulic crane, carrier equipped with telescopic mast. The major phases of Soletanche Bachy CSM development are presented, including the results of an extensive trial carried out in Le Havre (France). The soil consists of hydraulic fill with soft soil lenses overlying sandy deposits. 20m deep panels were constructed to support a rectangular shaft. During the construction, and after its completion, the shaft was subjected to an extensive series of tests followed by a partial excavation. The paper discusses also the future development of the technique and its potential applications.

Jan 1, 2006

By Eric M. Klein

As part of the Woodrow Wilson Replacement Bridge project several damaged wetland and environmental areas were to be mitigated. One of the mitigation projects consisted of constructing a Denil fish ladder around Peirce Mill Dam in Rock Creek National Park, Washington, D.C. The dam is a historic structure operated by the National Park Service. The fish ladder is located between the east abutment of the dam and Beach Drive, a major collector road. Construction of the fish ladder required removal of a portion of the east abutment and an excavation that extended about 22-ft below the pavement of Beach Ave. It was not possible to close Beach Drive except for very brief intervals or at night; therefore, a support of excavation system that would minimize disruption to the public was required. The high groundwater required that the groundwater be cut off prior to excavation; the random rubble and soil fill, and shallow but erratic rock surface precluded driving sheet piling. A jet grout system was selected because the grout probe could penetrate the rubble fill, stabilize a variety of soil conditions, and cut off the ground water prior to excavation. It was not possible to construct a stable wall without tiebacks or soil nails. Given the schedule and tight working conditions it was decided that soil nails through the jet grout wall facing would be the most cost effective method, as it did not reduce the working space as rakers would and would be more cost effective than prestressed tiebacks.

Jan 1, 2006

By Philip J. Daynes

As part of the regeneration of the centre of Dublin, a multi-functional development is being constructed on the site of the historic Smithfield Fruit Market. The site is being developed in three phases, and includes one of the deepest basements (10m) constructed in Ireland to date. Until the recent improved economic climate, there has been little requirement for deep basements in Dublin, and this is the first to be constructed entirely within fluvio-glacial gravels and boulders. The difficult ground conditions led to the adoption of a diaphragm wall solution to ensure a watertight construction. Tie-back anchorages are utilised in the temporary case, and the wall is propped by floor slabs in the permanent case. Where required by high bedrock levels, the diaphragm wall is dowelled into limestone bedrock to ensure toe stability. The recorded lateral movement of the wall is significantly below that calculated by numerical analysis. Temporary bentonite cut-off walls were installed to divide the site into discrete sections. The basement was constructed as a tanked structure, and is subject to uplift water pressure. Passive tension minipiles provides an innovative alternative to the standard stressed anchorage solution. This paper describes:- design and construction aspects of the diaphragm wall, tie-back anchorages, and anti-flotation minipiles, together with recorded lateral wall movements,

Jan 1, 2003

By Philip Bonanno

The first major project in Boston's new access to Logan Airport was an Immersed Tube Tunnel which extended 3,600 ft. from South Boston to East Boston across Boston Harbor. Twelve tube sections, 300 ft. long x 80 ft. wide x 40 ft. high, were lowered into an excavated trench which was then backfilled. The depth of the trench at mid-channel was approximately 100 ft. below mean high tide. At the East Boston end the tube terminated close to the present shoreline. At the South Boston end the tube terminated approximately 600 ft. inland from the shore line where a ventilation building was required. The depth to subgrade from existing ground at the ventilation structure was approximately 85 ft. The soil profile at this location consisted of 50 ft. of miscellaneous rubble fill, 25 ft. of Boston blue clay, and 10 ft. of glacial till. A small amount of weathered argellite existed at the north end of the structure. Part of the Morrison Knudsen, Interbeton, J.F. White, Joint Venture contract to construct the Immersed Tube Tunnel (ITT) was the construction of a cofferdam at the tube/ventilation building interface. The ventilation building was to be built as part of another contract. The construction of the cofferdam and the excavation to the building subgrade was the responsibility of J.F. White Contracting Company.

Jan 1, 1994

By S. Bang

In recent years, suction piles and suction anchors have been used as underwater foundations for various offshore structures. They have been proven very versatile, effective, and environmentally friendly. This paper describes the load resisting mechanism, installation, and design of suction piles and suction anchors. Also included are brief descriptions of three offshore structures that have recently been constructed using suction piles and suction anchors. They include: a new breakwater system utilizing gravity-type concrete caisson superstructure on top of concrete suction piles; a floating breakwater system utilizing embedded suction anchors; and a foundation system utilizing suction piles for temporary mooring of underwater tunnel elements.

Jan 1, 2009

By John B. Tieder

Arbitration is a legally recognized alternate litigation for the resolution of civil disputes. The parties agree, either before or after a dispute arises, to submit that dispute to an independent third party for resolution. The decision of that third party is binding on the parties. A decision of an arbitral tribunal, typically referred to as an "award," cannot be reviewed by a court except on very limited grounds, such as fraud. See, e.g., Va. Code 8.01-581.010. Indeed, an arbitral award is typically less subject to judicial review than the decision of a trial court, whose decisions are almost always subject to appellate review as a matter of right. Arbitration is typically the result of a contractual agreement between the parties to submit disputes to arbitration. On occasion, arbitration can be required by statute. For example, the California Department of Transportation requires the arbitration of all disputes arising under its contracts. Public Contract Code, Article 7.1 (§§10240-10240.13). There may be a question whether statutorily required arbitration is truly arbitration or an administrative law disputes resolution procedure. The significance of the difference is that the decisions of administrative law bodies are typically reviewable by a court of law as a matter of right while, as set forth above, arbitral awards are almost never reviewable.

Jan 1, 1988

By W. Y. Xu

In comparison with shallow foundation, usually higher bearing capacity, smaller average settlement and better stability are the engineering characteristics of pile foundation. Besides, a smaller differential settlement and a lower settlement rate which will converge quickly are more important characteristics. The superstructure of the building with pile foundation may not meet with significant differential settlement. In this paper, settlement records and other data of different kinds of buildings are chosen to illustrate the characteristics of pile foundation. Moreover, some technical problems in connection with foundation engineering solved in consideration of the above mentioned characteristics of pile foundation are also introduced.

Jan 1, 2010

By H. F. Cowie

Britain's first pressurised water reactor (PWR) Nuclear Power Station is now under construction at Sizewell on the Suffolk coast. A linear cut-off wall was proposed to ensure that the drawdown of water to some 14m below sea level in the overlying sands during construction of the new power station would not affect the existing adjacent nuclear power station. The low permeability cut-off wall was constructed by diaphragm walling techniques by excavating a continuous deep trench supported by bentonite mud and then dis­placing the bentonite by a plastic concrete to form the "impermeable" membrane. The paper describes the automated digging apparatus ("Hydrofraise") with the extensive support facilities required to achieve completion within programme, control methods used to obtain the high vertical tolerances and the properties of the plastic concrete and the production plant used for its production.

Jan 1, 1989

By Seyyed Mehdi Radeghi Mehrjou

It is important to study structures and their retrofitting techniques in order to avoid earthquake-induced seismic damage within countries that are prone to earthquakes. Todays, micro piles are employed as useful structural components for seismic behavior improvement. The present study analyzes inclined micro piles subjected to seismic loading by using the three-dimensional finite difference method (FDM). FDM assumes an idealized three-dimensional soil-micro pile model to perform logical behavior evaluation in the event of an earthquake. Linear and elastic micro piles and elastoplastic soil were employed in this study. The Mohr-Coulomb criterion was employed in the failure control of the micro piles. The micro piles were subjected to the 1978 Tubas earthquake records. The numerical results were compared to experimental data. The comparison revealed good agreement between the numerical results and experimental data. The inclined micro piles were found to sufficiently enhance soil strength under seismic loading, inducing smaller displacements than vertical micro piles. Furthermore, the soil and inclined micro piles showed salient interaction.

Sep 1, 2022

By William M. Dalrymple, William P. Owen, Benjamin S. Rivers

For the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), geophysical applications have played an important role as part of a successful multidisciplinary approach to subsurface characterization for the design of high value structures. Since at least the 1950’s, geophysical methods have been deployed to guide the exploration drilling program and to maximize the return on drilling investment by increasing the amount of data obtained from test borings. Geophysical applications saw increased use beginning in the 1990’s, during the seismic retrofit of the state’s toll bridges and the replacement of the west span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Over the intervening years, increases in computing power and increasingly sophisticated commercial off-the-shelf software applications have allowed Caltrans to leverage advancements and perform geophysical investigations of increasing complexity and scale. Ultimately, the goal of these efforts is to maximize return on investment, whereby increased investigation costs at the design phase are offset by reduced uncertainty regarding subsurface conditions, leading to reduced cost overruns related to change orders and unforeseen site conditions during construction. These objectives are consistent with the recent Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative to incorporate Advanced Geotechnical Methods in Exploration (A-GaME) into routine engineering practice. Caltrans is an implementation partner of the A-GaME initiative, and Caltrans’ practices represent a model toward the institutionalized geophysical site characterization practices for other transportation organizations. The authors provide a retrospective on 70 years of experience with geophysical applications for transportation infrastructure, with examples and observations on potential future direction of the industry.

By Jean Balech

This paper presents some results of dynamic loading tests performed on concrete piles driven in soft clay formation. The load transfer mechanism, measured in the dynamic increasing energy test (DIET), under blows of growing energy, is described in terms of mobilized normal forces diagrams and unitary local friction and displacements. It was observed that the lateral skin friction grows up to a maximum, in the soft clay layer and, gradually diminishes to a residual value when the system presents the maximum mobilized resistance. It may be concluded that the rupture load is not equal to the maximum mobilized point resistance plus the maximum mobilized local friction as suggested by most of static bearing capacity formulae.

Jan 1, 2002