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By Eric Brandner

Expansive soil formations can be found throughout the United States. When subjected to wetting, many of these formations have the potential to swell and exert large uplift forces which can significantly damage lightly-loaded structures. Designing an economical foundation that can resist uplift forces is critical to prevent damage to these structures. The current solutions to control uplift due to swelling soils, such as over-excavation and replacement of the expansive material, or drilled shafts, can be costly and problematic. Piles made from recycled polymer materials may provide a solution. Due to a lower coefficient of friction along the interface than piles made from traditional materials, solid recycled plastic piles can allow expansive soils to move nearly independently from the pile when wetted. This results in a much smaller magnitude of uplift force being transferred to the structure which minimizes the risk of significant structural damage. This paper presents the preliminary results of research conducted on the use of recycled plastic piles in an expansive shale environment. The preliminary phase of the project involved the installation of six 13 in. (330 mm) diameter recycled plastic piles at a test site on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus. The piles varied in length from 15 ft. to 25 ft. (4.6m to 7.6 m). Two of the piles were subjected to a full-scale compression load test in order to determine ultimate capacity, while the additional four piles are being subjected to long-term monitoring of uplift movement. A cast-in-place concrete pile, with a diameter of 6 in. (152 mm) and length of 15 ft. (4.6 m), was also installed at the test site for monitoring. The preliminary results indicate that the use of solid recycled plastic piles is a viable alternative for support of lightly-loaded structures in expansive soil environments.

Jan 1, 2009

By Maurice Guillaud

The most striking innovations on diaphragm-wall construction plant are those associated with continuous real-time trajectory monitoring of the excavating tool (either a grab or a hydro-cutter). The recent equipments are fitted with clinometers and gyrometers to control deflection, rotation or deviation from the vertical, thus allowing to install diaphragm-walls with a verticality accuracy of less than 0.3%. One of the greatest advantages of extensive use of on-board IT systems on the Hydrocutters and hydraulic grab machines is that it aids quality control by automatically producing complete real-time reports of all excavating data (verticality, depth, type of ground, rate of progress, stoppages, etc.). These reports are available to the Engineer, providing the total transparency required for Works Supervision and the Quality Assurance Plan. They also provide the Contractor with input data for databases used for optimising efficiency and progress criteria on future jobs.

Jan 1, 2002

By Mamdouh Hamza

The construction of 1200 m length new quay wall located 1,300 m East of the existing Suez Canal bypass and about 1,000 m south of the Mediterranean shoreline is one of the main projects currently under development in Egypt. Due to very weak foundation soil, mainly soft clay, a particular effort, both in terms of design approach and construction feasibility, has been required. The execution of "barrettes" and T-shaped" diaphragm wall panels down to a depth of 65 m and under extremely severe soil condition has been required in order to pass through the upper soft soil and to reach a competent base layer. Very critical and variable hydrological conditions have been also encountered due to the contemporary nearby channel dredging activity, thus increasing the difficulty for maintaining the stability of the slurry trenches opened in soft material. This paper gives a general overview of the project with some emphasis to the most significant design aspects and to the construction of the deep foundation elements.

Jan 1, 2002

By Wolfgang G. Brunner

Mai- Liao, in Yun Lin province of Taiwan, which was once a remote area on the coast of the South China Sea, has been developed into an offshore industrial complex. Approximately 100 million m3 of imported sand fill were used to reclaim the site from the sea with an overall area of almost 3.000 hectares. Land reclamation started in March 1994 and was completed at the end of 1998. A total of 41 industrial plants were constructed on the site, including an oil refinery, a naphta cracking plant, a cogeneration plant, a coal- fired power station, a heavy machinery plant, a boiler making plant, water purification plant, several petrochemical plants and a new harbour. From 1998 onwards, new plants were taken into operation in uninterrupted succession. The main purpose of the ground improvement by vibro- displacement, used predominantly to form the foundations of the oil storage tanks , was to reduce the liquefaction potential of the subsoil during earthquakes. The top layer across the site was treated by dynamic compaction before the installation of the stone columns. Heavy structures such as chimney- stacks and buildings were constructed on pre- cast concrete piles driven by diesel hammer. The earthquake design criteria specified an earthquake magnitude M = 7.3 and an acceleration a = 0.21 g. Stone columns were installed by the dry bottom feed process, which was controlled by an automatic monitoring system, to depths ranging from 13 to 20 m to provide flexible tank foundations. Installation of 1.500.000 linear m of stone columns commenced at the beginning of 1997 and was completed in August 2000. 60 % of the stone columns, in particular the deep ones, have been carried out by Bauer vibrators. The Chi- Chi earthquake ( M = 7.3 ) took place on 21 September 1999 and was followed by Cha- I earthquake ( M = 6.8 ) on 22 October 1999. A survey carried out after these earthquakes showed very positive results. The maximum observed settlement was 10 mm and none of the tanks suffered any damage.

Jan 1, 2002

By Alain Pecker

The choice of a design concept for a bridge foundation is guided by various factors; several of these factors are indeed of technical origin, like the environmental conditions in a broad sense, but others non technical factors may also have a profound impact on the final design concept. The foundations solutions adopted for the Rion Antirion bridge are described and an attempt is made to pinpoint the major factors that have guided the final choices. The Rion Antirion bridge is exemplar in that respect: the foundation concept combines the simplicity of capacity design, the conceptual facility of construction and enhances the foundation safety. The design of these foundations was a very challenging task which required full cooperation and close interaction with all the parties involved: concessionaire, contractor, designers and design checker.

Jan 1, 2013

By Tony Amis

There is very limited information relating to the potential impact of temperature cycles, outside the variation that occurs naturally, on the behaviour of foundation piles. Such thermal loading occurs when piles are used as heat exchange elements within a Ground Sourced Heat Pump system, in addition to carrying building loads to competent strata. An investigation has been undertaken where a conventional load test has been extended to include a period in which the load is maintained and temperature cycles applied. Instrumentation was installed in the test pile, an adjacent borehole, two of the anchor piles and the heat sink pile in order to be able to develop an understanding of the temperature variation and associated strain changes within and between the various elements. Conventional electronic strain and temperature gauges have been used in conjunction with optical fibre sensors which also measure strain and temperature changes. The results have confirmed the validity of the assumption made in the thermo-dynamic design of the system, the compatibility of the differing measurement systems and differing installation methods for the optical fibres, and initial assessment suggests that the load-settlement response of the pile is not adversely affected by the temperature cycles applied.

Jan 1, 2008

By Edwin W. Hickey

This paper briefly discusses the geologic conditions in South Florida relative to the design, construction, and performance of deep foundations. The subsurface conditions in this area are unique in that the rock layers are highly porous and often very soft, and are sandwiched between layers of typically loose, uncemented quartz fine sands. Due to the high porosity of the Miami Limestone, 4-inch diameter rock coring is often required to obtain intact samples, and dewatering of excavations is sometimes difficult or impossible. The sand layers, typically tens of feet thick, are very loose to loose in relative density and have been the cause of unexpected large, deep foundation settlements. The engineering properties of the various geologic formations are discussed, along with typical deep foundation types used in the Miami area prior to and after 1980.

Jan 1, 2003

By Jeffrey R. Hill

This paper discusses the use of micropiles for the rehabilitation of the following two structures: the Milwaukee Auditorium Theatre, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Cupples Ballpark Lofts, in St. Louis, Missouri. The paper focuses on the similarities and differences of the remediation techniques used for each structure. The discussion highlights the method of attaching the micropiles to each respective structure. Generally the paper discusses the micropile installation at each project with supporting photos, figures and data. Load testing at each project is also discussed, including the comparison of load test results for each project. The paper will focus on the load testing program at the Milwaukee Auditorium Theatre where high capacity micropiles were designed and tested as friction piles founded in stiff clays and end bearing micropiles in dolomitic limestone. The results of the test were used to determine if the micropiles on the project would be installed as end bearing or friction bearing elements. Strain gauges were used in addition to conventional deflection vs. load data for the Milwaukee Auditorium Theatre project. Other aspects of the paper will include the differences in design methodology for end bearing micropiles in massive dolomitic limestone vs. design in softer, weathered limestone.

Jan 1, 2008

By Ingrid Engeset, Solve Hov, Arnfinn Endal, Per-Anders Mortensen, Priscilla Paniagua, Bjørn Kristian Fiskvik Bache

During the last decades, it has become common practice in the Nordic countries to use dry deep mixing in soft clays with lime and cement in for example deep excavation pits in soft clay, or as a reinforcement of the passive zone within sheet pile walls. The shear strength of stabilised soils is affected by the stress conditions during curing and shearing. However, this is normally not taken into consideration. As the strength of the stabilised clay is stress dependent, excavation of the overlying soil will lead to a reduction of the confining stresses in the underlying stabilised soils which means that the shear strength will also be reduced. Under embankments on the other hand, the effect is reversed as the shear strength will be increased. In this study, laboratory tests have been performed on stabilised soils cured and tested under different stress conditions to quantify the stress effects in a Norwegian sensitive clay. In addition, direct simple shear tests on samples from in situ columns have been made with varying normal stresses. Results are presented showing an increase of shear strength of the stabilised soil with increased curing stresses, and an even higher increase with increased confining stress during shearing. The results are compared to field measurements along with a discussion of practical application of the findings.

May 1, 2022

By N. V. Nayak

Konkan Railway Project is one of the most ambitious railway construction projects in India, involving construction of a 760.km long, Broad Gauge (1676 mm), single track railway line, connecting Roha in Maharashtra State with Mangalore in Kamataka State. The railway line travels along the Western Coast of Indian subcontinent, through states of Maharashtra (382 km), Goa (105 km) and Karnataka (273 km) (Fig.1). The project alignment traverses through one of the most formidable terrains ever encountered, in the history of railway construction in India. In the State of Goa only, railway alignment is crossing 6 major rivers Terekhol, Chapora, Mandovi, Zuari, Sal and Talpona. Zuari Railway Bridge (1305.6 m), Mandovi Railway Bridges (I and II) (1182.7 m) rank as 2nd and 3rd long bridges, (first longest bridge being Sharavati Bridge (2.2 km} at Honavar) which have been constructed on Konkan Railway. All these three bridges have been constructed by M/s.Asia Foundations and Constructions Ltd. (AFCONS). This paper presents, case history of construction of pile/caisson foundations for Zuari and Mandovi Bridges.

Jan 1, 1996

By W. Morgan NeSmith

"The DFI ACIP Pile Committee, in conjunction with the Florida DOT, completed an ACIP Pile installation monitoring and performance test program in late 2016 to advance the inclusion of ACIP piles in future specifications for bridges by state agencies. Piles of different diameters were installed for compression, tension and lateral testing, and one pile was extracted for visual inspection. This paper presents the pile installation, non-destructive testing and load test results of the program.INTRODUCTION The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Augered Cast-In-Place (ACIP) Pile Committee performed a ACIP pile installation and test program in the fall of 2016 to demonstrate a fully monitored installation of 18-in and 24-in diameter ACIP piles. The program included automated and manual installation monitoring, Thermal Integrity Profiling, compression, tension and lateral load testing (including monitoring of strain gages embedded along the compression pile shaft), and post-testing extraction of an installed pile for visual inspection.PROJECT DETAILS AND FIELD EXPLORATION A general program location map along with an aerial view of the property in Okahumpka FL is shown in Figure 1. Two Cone Penetration Tests (CPT) were performed at initial reaction pile locations R-6 and R-8 (Figures 2 and 3) The results from CPT R-6 indicated very loose soil conditions at depths below 55-ft, indicating potential relic sinkhole conditions. The test layout was subsequently rotated and moved south of CPT R-8.TEST PILE INSTALLATION DETAILS Seven piles were installed to either 40-ft or 60-ft below grade. Thermal Integrity Profile (TIP) wires were installed in all piles but varied to include one wire each attached to a steel center bar or one wire attached to the steel center bar AND four additional wires (each) attached the steel reinforcing cage installed in these piles. Additionally, the 24-in lateral and compression piles had four steel or PVC casings installed next to the TIP wires for testing by thermal probe and/or wire inserted into the casing."

Jan 1, 2017

By Bill Zietlow

A micropile and soil nail underpinning system was installed to support a building immediately adjacent to a 25-ft deep excavation in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Both the building and the underpinning were instrumented to monitor deflections, rotation and crack growth. The underpinned structure consisted of a two story concrete masonry unit (CMU) building founded on shallow spread footings attached to a concrete high-rise building on spread footing two floors below grade. The face of the excavation was 10 in. in front of the underpinned building foundation wall. The underpinning system consisted of small diameter hollow bar micropiles installed with injection grouting techniques below the bottom of the excavation and attached to the underpinned structure by a concrete pile cap doweled into the existing footing. The lateral loads imposed by the soil under the underpinned structure were designed to be supported by the soil nail wall installed through the micropiles during excavation. The settlement monitoring instruments consisted of crack gages, optical survey prisms, high sensitivity vibrating wire water levels and biaxial vibrating wire tilt meters. They recorded maximum movements of approximately 0.1 in. of settlement, 0.05 deg. rotation (top of wall rotating away from excavation) and up to 0.08 in. of crack opening during the excavation until one month after the soil nails and shotcrete facing were completely installed. This movement was well within both the estimated settlement and the estimated settlement tolerance of the underpinned structure.

Jan 1, 2008

By Darrell Wilder

The Trenton Water Treatment Facility in Trenton, New Jersey, is expanding to upgrade existing facilities and to meet the increasing demands of the public. The facility sits uncomfortably between the northern bank of the Delaware River and Route 29, a busy traffic corridor. Flooding along this bank of the river occurs frequently and disrupts traffic along Route 29. The expansion plans for the facility call for several large clarifying tanks on a mat foundation covering an area of about 100 x 350 ft. The original design was to remove and replace up to 20 ft of existing fill and soft materials. Due to the close proximity to the existing structures and the Delaware River, it would be necessary to use sheet piles and tiebacks to support the proposed excavation, as well as the existing structures. The solution adopted consisted of the installation of vibro-replacement stone columns to improve the in situ soils and eliminate the need for excavation and replacement. This approach was tremendously successful. It mitigated the significant risk of flooding of the excavation, and provided a cost-effective alternative to mitigate settlement of the proposed tanks on the poor soft subgrade soils. This paper presents the details of the criteria for selection and design of the stone columns, and the process followed for installation of the stone columns and for verification of the level of soil improvement achieved. It also includes a back analysis of the results of a large scale, 10- by 10-foot plate load test performed on a group of stone columns using numerical procedures and recommendations for design and construction.

Jan 1, 2008

By Ambarish Ghosh, Subhaprasad Chakraborty

"Construction of basement floors has become necessary to meet the requirement of parking in office and residential complexes and in hospitals for radiotherapy treatment. Important projects coming up in Kolkata are mostly in closer proximity of residential buildings, office buildings and historical monuments. Sheet piling is mostly used as temporary shoring system during construction. Deep excavation in urban environment creates great problem related to construction induced vibration due to driving of sheet piles for basement, pile driving etc. which raises the chances of damage of adjacent buildings and nearby structures. Vibratory sheet-pile driving is the most common method of sheet pile installation. The knowledge of induced vibration due to this phenomenon is still very deficient. This paper presents the analysis of measured vibration data collected from different sites of Kolkata with varying soil profile. Typical two case studies of sheet pile and pile driving has been presented and the vibration values are analysed. The responses of the vibration are reported in terms of peak particle velocities (PPV). To evaluate the effects of vibration due to pile driving two aspects have been considered: the effect of the energy entering the ground from the pile and the effect of the soil condition.INTRODUCTIONIn urban areas infrastructure development projects are mainly located adjacent to existing structures like residential buildings, offices and historical structures. The construction work of such project influences the surrounding environment as well as human perception (Wiss 1981). During the construction of basement for residential complexes and hospitals sheet piling is mostly used as temporary shoring system or as to support the earth mass. The vibration induced due to driving of piles and sheet piles have been presented herein. Deep excavation projects close to existing structures increase the concern of environmental impact. For this reason the vibration assessment and prediction has become a subject of great interest. It is important to develop a site specific model for predicting the ground vibration resulting from pile and sheet pile driving at the construction sites. The developed model gives the efficacy to guide the engineer to select the construction methodology ensuring the safety of the surrounding structure. The model developed here is site specific and the parameters that has been used are dependent on the soil condition and the energy source."

Jan 1, 2015

By James D. Hussin

The Florida limestone is a relatively soft rock which presents many challenges to engineers when designing deep foundations. One alternative is micropiles which have grown significantly from their early days as very small diameter, light capacity elements. Also known as minipiles, pin piles, needle piles or root piles, micropiles offer an attractive deep foundation alternative for sites with tight access, low headroom, and where difficult subsurface conditions or obstructions necessitate a small diameter, high capacity deep foundation. The ability to confirm the competence of the limestone bearing formation by drilling in a rock socket has made micropiles a growing deep foundation selection in Florida.

Jan 1, 2003

By James C. Scott

Compression and tension load testing were performed on bored concrete piles installed to depths of 18 to 34 meters below excavation levels for a large mixed-use development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 900 mm diameter piles were installed in weathered graphitic schist bedrock. Load testing confirmed the side shear and end bearing capacities of the piles. The work formed part of the investigations for the 56,000 m2 site which includes a 79-story office tower, hotel tower, apartment tower, retail complex, and plaza area underlain by 4 to 6 basement levels. The paper provides the results of the site investigations, pile-load testing procedures, pile-load settlement behavior, and shaft load distribution.

Jan 1, 2007

By Eric J. Pederson

The down hole hammer is widely used in specialty geotechnical construction. The common uses include tie-back anchor installation, micropile installation, and general soil/bedrock drilling operations. Veit used these techniques to develop a cost effective way of installing the foundation system for University of Minnesota Football Stadium. The soils present at the site of the stadium contained layers of concentrated cobbles and boulders. The geotechnical engineer recommended a driven pile system, and the base bid outlined in the project documents consisted of an H-Pile using a 14x73 pile section. Veit submitted an innovative alternate consisting of using a rotary percussion system to install a 12? O.D. pile. This paper will show that this pile type and installation method was the correct choice for the project. The design criteria for the compression, uplift, and lateral capacities and deflections were met, while eliminating pile damage. The method resulted in a significant cost savings to the University and maintained the project schedule.

Jan 1, 2008

By X. M. Wu

The paper describes four different types of support for deep excavations, which are currently used in China. Local experiences were illustrated by presenting case histories for each type of support. For braced excavation in soft clays in Shanghai, the earth pressure against bracings were found to be in conformity with the trapizoidal estimation given by Terzaghi and Peck (1967). For tie-back support of excavations in Beijing and Shengyang, earth pressures were found to be much less than those predicted by ordinary rules. In the construction of a mining shaft in coarse sand below ground water level, high pressure jet grouting has been successfully used to form a circular impervious lining of the shaft. As an effective anti-slide measure, large diameter reinforced concrete piles constructed by open shaft method have been widely used with success.

Jan 1, 2010

By Hyung-Min Kwon

There are a number of methods available that can be used to estimate the bearing capacity of piles that are subject to lateral load, such as the theory of subgrade reaction or the elastic continuum approach. The objective of these approaches is to determine the lateral load corresponding to the allowable lateral displacement of the pile. It is important to select the appropriate soil stiffness when analyzing soil behavior within the allowable displacement of piles because the stiffness of soil is dependent on the displacement of piles. Even though pressuremeter tests can measure the stress-strain behavior within a wide strain range, pressuremeter test results have been utilized to assess only the fragmentary soil modulus based on either semi-empirical correlations or analytical approaches. This study is concerned with a methodology that can estimate the horizontal deformational property, while taking into consideration the nonlinear deformational characteristics of sandy soils. Pressuremeter tests were conducted for 15 cases using a calibration chamber. Reloading curves were employed in the estimation of horizontal deformational property in order to minimize the effect of soil disturbance caused by the installation of the probe. The shear modulus degradation characteristics were estimated from the curve fitting for the reloading curve and from extrapolation using the exponential function. In addition, the difference was taken into account between the stress state around the probe in reloading and that of the in-situ state. A consistent relationship was observed between the maximum shear modulus taken from the suggested method and the bender element tests performed in the calibration chamber, simultaneously with the pressuremeter tests. In addition, the results showed significant concurrence with the well-known empirical correlation.

Jan 1, 2008

By Andrew Cushing

This paper presents the design and construction of the foundation for a major high-rise real estate development on the west side of Manhattan. Arup was retained by Underpinning and Foundation Skanska to design a secant pile wall as excavation support for a proposed two-level basement of a new 23-story residential building located at 100 11th Avenue and West 19th Street. The secant pile wall will also act as the permanent basement retaining wall for the new building. The site is bounded on two sides by existing structures and is underlain by a thick deposit of very soft organic silt and clay. Therefore, the potential for ground movements and their impact on an adjacent structure bearing on shallow footings were of the utmost concern. This paper addresses the design and construction considerations associated with this secant wall, as well as installation details. Measured wall movements are also used to assess the validity of the pre-construction soil strength and stiffness design parameters.

Jan 1, 2008