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By Mark R. Svinkin

Construction vibrations may adversely affect surrounding buildings and their effects range from human discomfort and disturbance of sensitive devices to visible structural damage. There is no unique conclusion regarding the effect of construction vibrations at every site. Measurement is usually made to monitor vibrations and control them with the vibration thresholds for disturbance of sensitive objects as well as damage to structures. To prevent potential litigation and mitigate the vibration effects on sensitive devices, people and structures, it is necessary to manage and minimize vibration problems before the beginning of construction activities or installation of vibrating machine foundations, and during construction. Pre-construction damage survey and engineering vibration investigations, including the prediction of anticipating vibrations, have to be made at most construction sites in advance of construction activities. Vibration monitoring and control have to be provided during construction. The instrumentation feedback of vibration prediction, monitoring and control provide the basis for choice of measures to prevent or mitigate vibration problems and settlement damage hazards.

Jan 1, 2002

By Michael Lane

With the success of their existing casino operation on the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the Indiana Gaming Co., LP planned a major expansion of the current facilities. This expansion includes a second 1400+/- car parking garage, a new surface parking lot, elevated walkways, and a new floating casino that will double their present square footage and consolidate all of the gaming activity to one floor. In March of 2006 Richard Goettle, Inc. was awarded the general contract to construct a 260? x 520? boat slip for the new Argosy VII floating casino. An Open Cell® bulkhead system was specified as the means for constructing the new slip. Our contract included the purchase and installation of 300,000 square feet of PS27.5 sheet pile, excavation of 230,000 cubic yards of soil, and a 3300 square foot Mechanically Stabilized Earth wall.

Jan 1, 2008

By D. A. Bruce

To check the feasibility and the quality of a very deep diaphragm wall, a tern of adjacent panels has been constructed, up to a depth of 100 m, in the Milan sandy gravelly soil by means of a hydraulically driven milling machine with reverse circulation of mud. The results of the monitoring carried out in order to evaluate the panel geometry and the quality of both joints and concrete are described. The use of instrumentation based on different physical principles allowed the cross checking of measurements as well as the evaluation of the accuracy and sensitivity of each single procedure to be performed. The trial field was successfully carried out and the feasibility of a diaphragm wall of such a depth was demonstrated and corroborated by a reasonable level of quality control.

Jan 1, 1989

By M. Hesham El Naggar, Yasser Abdelghany

"ABSTRACT: The axial and lateral monotonic and cyclic behavior of helical pile foundations was investigated and new innovative helical screw systems suitable for seismic loadings were developed and patented. More than one hundred full scale field load tests were conducted on instrumented helical screw piles installed in cohesive soil. The piles included: plain helical screw piles (P-HSP); grouted (G-HSPs); fiber reinforced polymer FRP-G-HSPs; and reinforced grouted RG-HSPs. The RG-HSP piles axial capacity was more than twice that for P-HSP, with minimal reduction after cyclic loading, and their lateral capacity was more than 3 times the P-HSPs capacity. A 3-D finite element model was established. The results of 3-D finite element modeling were used to establish the load transfer mechanism and a design methodology for the considered piles.INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEWHelical (screw) anchors have been utilized in tension loading and have gained popularity for bearing load applications. Helical piles represent an overall cost effective alternative to conventional piles for new construction and repair applications. The helical piles speed and ease of installation, less noise during installation added advantage with regards to their efficiency and reliability for underpinning including re-support and reconstruction of distressed and damaged foundations for either stabilization or rehabilitation. The “square shaft” SS175 pile is a segmented deep foundation system with helical steel bearing plates (helices) welded to a central steel shaft. Load is transferred from the shaft to the surrounding soil through these bearing plates. Segments or sections are joined with bolted couplings. Practically installed depth is limited only by soil resistance and economics. A helical bearing plate or helix is one pitch of a screw thread. All helices regardless of their diameter have a standard 75 mm pitch (Figure.1). The performance of single helical anchors and group action were studied experimentally and theoretically by several researchers, the researches focuses on the installation torque and uplift resistance. Some researches focus on the load carrying capacity with little pile response to cyclic loading effects or to instrumented full scale field testing. Helical piles axial compressive or lateral loading still is not well characterized and needs more analyses and their seismic performance was not investigated. For such this research was initiated to investigate the helical piles monotonic and cyclic performances under axial and lateral loadings to consider their usage in different applications in seismic zones. Among the several researchers, Clemence (1983); Mooney et al. (1985) conducted field and laboratory testing; Hoyt (1989), Hoyt et al. (1995), and Ghaly and Clemence (1998) conducted theoretical and experimental testing, Puri and Vijay (1984), Huang et al. (1995), Perko (2000), and Pack (2000) conducted theoretical analyses. Rao and Prasad (1993), Prasad and Rao (1994), conducted experimental testing; Vickars and Clemence (2000) studied the performance of helical piles with grouted shafts."

Jan 1, 2014

By Bernard H. Hertlein

"When the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) was founded, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) of foundation construction was rudimentary. Nondestructive testing (NDT) was a nascent technology, known to very few people, and very limited in its capabilities and applications. In the four decades since the DFI became a reality, NDT researchers and practitioners have taken advantage of technological advances to improve those existing testing and analysis techniques, and to create new ones that have all contributed to the engineering body of knowledge. This has enabled contractors to improve the quality and reliability of their products, and engineers to design more efficient foundations.Through its regular series of seminars, publications and annual meetings, the DFI has been vitally important in educating the deep foundations industry about the capabilities and benefits of NDT methods. In turn, NDT results have helped the industry identify problems in deep foundation construction, determine the causes of those problems, and improve design constructability and construction practices to increase the quality, reliability and efficiency of all types of deep foundations. This presentation reviews the evolution of several important NDT methods, and the contributions that they have made to foundation quality.THE BEGINNINGSThe Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) was incorporated in 1976 in the State of New Jersey as a 501(c)(6) non-profit association. The DFI is a consensus organization of Contractors, Engineers, Owners and Suppliers involved with the design and construction of all types of deep foundations. The purpose of the DFI was and still is to improve the planning, design and construction of deep foundations by educating all those involved, sharing best practices, and promoting the adoption of new technologies that improve quality, productivity or safety.This is well expressed in the current DFI Mission Statement: To bring together multi-disciplined individuals and organizations to find common ground and create a shared vision and a consensus voice for continual advancement in the deep foundations industry.At the time the DFI was born, nondestructive testing for verifying the quality and integrity of deep foundations was in its infancy, its growth constrained by the technology, or lack thereof. Some visionary engineers of the time understood the physics of the potential methods, and therefore the possible capabilities, but were frustrated by the lack of technology to work with. Electronic equipment was mostly analog, and the few digital data acquisition systems that were available had such slow sampling rates that they were incapable of recording rapid event sequences or short duration events such as those used in modern integrity tests. For example, Jean Paquet, a leading research engineer at the French National Construction Institute, (Centre Experimentale de Recherche et d’Etudes du Batiment et des Travaux Publics, or CEBTP) patented the frequency-based analysis procedure for the Transient Dynamic Response (TDR) method, aka Sonic Mobility or Impulse Response, in 1974, but it was not until 1977 that analog data acquisition systems became fast enough to turn his theory into a reality."

Jan 1, 2017

By A. Frits van Tol, Rodriaan Spruit, Jan H. van Dalen

"Abstract In recent years, there have been major problems with deep excavations in urban areas supported by diaphragm walls. In some cases, like the fatal Nicoll Highway collapse in Singapore the quality of the D-walls was not the cause. However in other projects, like the problems with the major leak in the walls of the Boston Big Dig and with leakage in a few projects in Belgium and The Netherlands was related to poor D-wall quality. Leakage through the D-walls at the joints in deep excavations led in these cases to very serious settlement behind the walls, in the case of the North- South line in Amsterdam, there was severe damage to historical buildings. This paper describes ongoing research that focusses i on acquiring more knowledge on and improvement of D-wall installation, in particular the flow process prior and during casting ii on the detection of anomalies prior to excavation and iii on the composition of the concrete mixture in view of a better and more sustainable concrete quality of D-walls.INTRODUCTIONIn the case of deep excavations in urban areas close to neighbouring buildings, diaphragm walls are one of the best feasible solutions for the retaining structure. Although the costs of D-walls generally exceed the costs of alternative wall solutions, the advantages are decisive in many situations. The main advantages of D-walls are the limited impact of the installation on the built environment, the high stiffness and bearing capacity and the retention of water, even at considerable depths. This makes Dwalls often the preferred solution for deep excavations Sometimes the D-walls are the temporary support while for the final stage a complete concrete box is constructed in the excavation. In many other cases the D-wall has the permanent function of retaining soil as well as groundwater.In the last ten years, there have been major problems with deep excavations in urban areas supported by diaphragm walls. In some cases, like the fatal Nicoll Highway collapse, 2004 , the quality of the Dwalls was not the cause. In other important failures like the collapse of the Archives in Cologne, 2008 and Dubai Infinity Tower Flooding, 2007 a combination of design and quality issues played a role. However, the major leak in the walls of the Boston Big Dig was related to poor D-wall quality (McNichol, 2000). Van Tol et al, (2010) describe a number of case studies in Belgium and the Netherlands, with leakage through the D-walls at stop end joints. In several cases with deep excavations these leakage caused serious surface settlements behind the walls. In the case of the North-South line in Amsterdam, there was severe damage to historical buildings. All these cases have generated considerable additional costs and delays, and subsequently public and political concern. Van Tol et al. (2010) present several possibilities to improve the quality of D-walls.Other disputes related to D-walls deal with the quality of the concrete and the sustainability of D-walls applied as a permanent wall. In particular the porosity of the concrete cover is sometimes problematic."

Jan 1, 2014

By Harpal Parmar

This paper evaluates dynamic methods of pile capacity prediction by comparing their results to static load test results. Dynamic and static pile load test data were assembled from four southeastern states of the U.S. End-of-drive and restrike capacities were evaluated using the Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) and by wave equation (WEAP) analyses. These were compared to static (Davisson criterion) loads. The best comparison was obtained for restrike PDA results; restrike wave equation analyses values also compared well. The end-of-drive results for both methods-showed relatively poor comparisons. The PDA was recognized as an important tool to measure energy transferred to the pile; this transferred energy was recognized as an uncertainty when conducting wave equation analyses. A statistical analysis showed restrike capacity results to be associated with higher precision and accuracy as compared to end-of-drive methods. The authors believe that restrike dynamic testing is essential to establish long term static soil strength and that it will lead to accurate and cost-effective design of piles.

Jan 1, 1996

By Stephan Großwig, Karolina Nycz, Arne Kindler

"Commonly used anchor monitoring systems are mainly based on the use of anchor force meters. However, experience shows that the reliability of the display of force meters lowers over time. Other measurement and test methods like for example fibre bragg grating method require a comparison with an unloaded optical fibre and give only selective information about the bearing behavior. Moreover the obtained information has to be interpreted. In the following article, first measuring results of an anchor monitoring system based on measurements with optical fibre are presented. The new monitoring system is based on the Rayleigh technology and was used to test the load bearing behavior of the anchor grout body as well as for the evaluation of the grout body condition in concrete-damaging groundwater.INTRODUCTIONThe first fibre optic sensors came onto the market about three decades ago. Initially used as special solutions only in selected cases, now they have found use in almost all areas of technology, especially in areas, where electrical sensor systems reach their limits. The first application examples of spatially resolved fibre-optic sensors in the field of geotechnics have been in existence since the mid-1990s, in projects such as the assessment of the of radioactive repository location sites (Hurtig et al. 1994), for the monitoring of landfill sealing systems (Hurtig et al. 1995) or within the framework of the rehabilitation of mountain farming landscapes (Schreck et al. 1998).The company's first own works in the field of glass fibre measurement technology have been in existence since 1993. The first carried out projects were a monitoring at the Edertalsperre (Dietz et al. 2001), a monitoring with glass fibre tendon at a flood bridge in Carinthia as well as monitoring within the framework of the Storebælt crossing. In all cases, the structure was permanently monitored by means of individual-point measurements. Since 1993 various fibre-optic sensor solutions for geotechnical applications have been introduced to the market (Voet, Glötzl 1996, Hurtig et al. 1994)."

Jan 1, 2017

By John N. Cunningham

Despite the wide use of micropiles for rehabilitating and retrofitting existing structures, little is known regarding the load-transfer distribution of grouted micropiles in various soil deposits. The rehabilitation of a concrete-frame warehouse in Portland, Oregon, required provisions for the seismic restraint of a new shear wall; the installation of two micropiles was specified to meet project requirements. The micropiles were uncased, 19-m (63-ft) long, 200-mm (8-in) nominal diameter, and reinforced full-length with a 64-mm (No. 20) diameter hardened steel threadbar. Due to space limitations, a sacrificial, instrumented micropile was installed near the two production piles to verify design assumptions. This paper describes the geologic setting of the project within the unsaturated Missoula Flood deposits, instrumentation, load-displacement behavior, load transfer, and Beta-coefficients for the sacrificial micropile.

Jan 1, 2011

By Roy A. Bell

A 200-foot diameter, 72-foot high petroleum storage tank was built in a hillside ravine where a portion of the site contained soft clay fill. Soil-cement piles, 40 inches in diameter and up to 38 feet long, were installed to support the tank shell and ringwall, and a portion of the tank floor by drilling into the stiff to hard underlying soils and weathered bedrock. The goal was to provide a strong enough foundation to resist the seismic tank shell loading and to minimize differential settlement of the tank shell to avoid out-of-round clearance problems between the shell and floating-roof. A cantilevered retaining wall up to 8 feet high was constructed around a portion of the tank perimeter by inserting steel H-beams into soil-cement piles. The cantilever soldier piles for the retaining wall were installed from a temporary earth embankment on the hillside directly over the top of the wall. The temporary embankment was then removed and the tank pad was cut to grade in front of the soldier piles. Some of the soil-cement piles for both the tank foundation and retaining wall could not be advanced to design depth because the drill/mixing tools could not penetrate to the required depth in the hard soils/bedrock. Smaller diameter borings (22 inches in diameter) were drilled through the centers of the short-of-design soil-cement piles to the design depth and then backfilled with concrete.

Jan 1, 1997

By Jelke Dijkstra

This paper presents the results of model pile load tests in a photoelastic material. The soil in this test is represented by an assembly of photoelastically sensitive glass particles, which allows for optical measurements of stresses. In the same test setup, displacements around the pile are measured using digital image correlation (DIC). During the pile installation stresses and strains are recorded. Tests were performed in loose and medium dense particle assemblies. The development of stresses and strains around the pile tip and pile shaft are quantified and presented in this paper. For the loose conditions the results show a small influence on the stress state. For the medium dense conditions a clear stress change is observed.

Jan 1, 2006

By Scott A. Walker, Roberto A. Lopez, Lori A. Simpson, David A. Shook

500 Folsom Street is part of the new Transbay neighborhood in San Francisco, which is being redeveloped after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake damaged a freeway viaduct; removal of the viaduct created parcels of land available for development. The development consists of a 42-story residential tower with a six-level basement. The slender, core-only structure was designed using performance-based seismic design. Subsurface conditions include undocumented fill, Dune sand, marsh deposits, sand, and clay, all overlying sloping bedrock of the Franciscan Formation. The building is supported on a 10-foot-thick mat foundation approximately 62 to 72 feet below street grades; clay, sand, and bedrock are all present at mat subgrade. Under a portion of the mat, sand susceptible to liquefaction was present. The variable subgrade conditions and potential for ground failure, along with the depth of mat subgrade below street grade, created a challenge for the design and construction team to solve. The ground below mat subgrade needed to be improved to mitigate the liquefaction potential and provide more uniform support. The areal extent and depth of ground improvement necessary to support the mat with an acceptable amount of deformation was determined. Settlement was analyzed and subgrade moduli were provided for design of the mat, with multiple iterations performed to converge between the geotechnical and structural models. Based on the project schedule and logistics, it was beneficial to work from street grade to improve the ground. In order to target the depths below the mat and minimize wasted effort and materials within the depth of excavation, grids of jet grouting were determined to be the most economical ground improvement method; however, it was challenging to install the columns from 65 feet above the top of the target zone. During installation, QA/QC was performed to check that the jet-grouted columns were installed to the design depth and diameter and developed the design strength.

Jan 1, 2018

By Jon Sinnreich

Ensuring the accuracy of collected data during deep foundation static load tests is of paramount importance. Typically, pile head displacements are measured relative to a purpose-built reference system, which is assumed to be fixed. This study presents a simplified error analysis of this assumption, illustrates the potential magnitude of these errors, and proposes an improved method of pile head displacement monitoring.

Jan 1, 2009

By Gerald E. H. Verbeek

As the number of driven concrete piles with Embedded Data Collectors increases, it has become possible to compare the widely used Beta Method to assess pile damage (using the change of pile impedance) with the so-called Measured Pile Integrity (MPI) method (a combination of two approaches using both the change of pile impedance and the change in pile pre-stress levels). After a brief introduction of both methods, this paper presents the outcome of that comparison based on data from more than 400 concrete piles driven in Florida, which brings into question the reliability of any damage assessment method based solely on the change of pile impedance (such as the Beta Method), especially to detect damage near the pile toe. Moreover the paper demonstrates the need to re-assess the damage classification used for the Beta Method as well as the use of Pile Driving Analysis (PDA) to detect pile toe damage.

Jan 1, 2011

By Timothy J. Myers

Expansion and the economic growth in the southwestern region of Missouri necessitated the expansion of State Route 249 and the construction of a new interchange to provide service to the Joplin, Missouri area. The project is located above a former lead and zinc mine in Jasper County, Missouri and includes a five bridge interchange connecting State Route 249 and US Route 171. The variable subsurface conditions, both natural and manmade, prompted the design team to use ground improvement via grouting and small diameter micropiles to provide support for several of the bridge foundations on the project. The scope of work included mine shaft closures, 56,000 ft of overburden and rock drilling, 11,139 ft of micropiles, 524 cy of balanced/stabilized high mobility grouts, and over 8,700 cy of low mobility grout. The selection of the grout used was based on the actual subsurface conditions. Low mobility grout (LMG) was used in voided conditions and for closure of the mine shafts encountered during the excavation. High mobility grout (HMG) was used in fractured rock with the goal of improving the mechanical properties of the rock underneath the future bridge footings and controlling grout volumes during micropile installation. The split spacing method was utilized for both LMG and HMG holes. Geology of the project site subsurface consisted of extremely variable bedrock with strong to very strong limestone, chert, breccia, extremely weak shale, and weak to strong sandstone. Previous activities associated with the mining disturbance (such as partial filled vertical mine shafts, shallow and deep mine horizons, modified hydrology including artesian conditions) further complicates the site subsurface conditions. Real time monitoring and recording of all drilling and grouting parameters was conducted to assist in the evaluation of in-situ geological properties of the site in order to modify the ground improvement and micropile program as necessary. This paper will discuss the design and execution of the ground improvement and micropile program. The project is an excellent example of the use of multiple ground improvement and foundation support techniques combined with real time data analysis to provide a foundation support solution for a complex geological environment.

Jan 1, 2009

By Thoedtida Thipparat

The diaphragm walls and barrettes are very important to the constructions of multi-storeyed buildings, elevated expressways, subway railway stations, etc. Uncertainties particularly increase in accordance with the construction progress. Overcoming uncertainties influences the construction goals including achievement of time. This paper is aimed at proposing an uncertainty assessment and delay evaluation model to assess uncertainties and evaluate delay resulting from those uncertainties. Neurofuzzy systems (NFSs) for assessing uncertainties and evaluating delays are developed. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have ability for learning from the past data and generalizing outputs for the next applications which are provided for fuzzy logic systems (FLSs). FLSs have ability for exploiting the tolerance of imprecision and uncertainty. FLSs provide the reasoning to the ANNs. Uncertainties affecting each operation were assessed and delays were evaluated by following steps of the proposed model. The uncertainty assessment and delay evaluation approach was applied to a diaphragm wall and barrette construction to demonstrate how to implement the proposed model. The results of the test case application were used for handling delay at all operations regarding the corresponding uncertainties.

Jan 1, 2006

By W. Sondermann

"AbstractThe construction of a distribution centre of minerals for a global mining and resources cooperation demanded the control of deformations and displacement of the stack reclaimer facilities on very inhomogeneous subsoil conditions. The variation of quality from soft clay with CPT values below 1 MPa up to rock formations were the challenge in design and execution of all the foundation works.The advanced design considerations were resulting in a barrier wall system to limit the deformations of the up to 40 m deep bored pile of the stacker-reclaimers, whereas the layout of the barrier wall and the stiffness of the elements had a major impact on the residual lateral forces to be absorbed by the bearing structure.IntroductionA large international raw material distribution organisation is currently building an iron ore and pellet distribution centre on the north-western coast of Malaysia. The distribution centre will handle around 90 MTPA (million tons per annum) of iron ore and includes accompanying plants for loading and unloading iron ore and pellets, pelletizing plants as well as corresponding storage space for these raw materials. The total storage space extends about 800m north to south respectively 1400m east to west and is about 200m from the coastline. The project area is located in a wide valley basin, bounded by a range of hills to the north. The existence of soil with low bearing capability in the area designated for the plant meant that measurements for ground improvement were required in the storage areas, in order to combine the needs of iron ore and pellet storage areas with requirements of the loading facilities as the overall project demand.Project LayoutThe iron ore distribution centre and the pelletizing facility both consist of an import/export jetty, material handling facilities, pellet plant and the associated infrastructure. This publication describes the execution of ground improvement and foundation works for the loading and storage system, which consists of five rows of stockpiles and four intermediate rows of stacker-reclaimers. The total area of these systems comprises 278,881 m2 (Fig. 1)."

Jan 1, 2014

By George Goble

I hope that after the long evening and all the exercise that some of you took you won't be completely exhausted to listen to a little bit about pile testing. The topic that 1 have been given is pile testing. It seems to me useful to break this topic into some smaller pieces so that we can try and organize our thought a bit. As I understand the terms "pile testing", I believe we are really referring always to capacity, one way or another, so I am suggesting that we organize the things we are doing in terms of measurement of soil capacity and pile capacity. There are obviously two failure modes and we frequently speak of pile integrity rather than structural pile capacity, but it's really capacity that we are concerned about. Further within these breakdowns I am suggesting that we might look at the topic of soil capacity in terms of static methods and dynamic methods and, finally, within each one of these, measurements of axial capacity and measurement of lateral capacity. Also here some of these subdivisions might be there for the purpose of symmetry and finally the same sorts of breakdown in Pile Capacity area.

Jan 1, 1994

By Michael W. Oakland

Deer Island is the site of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) wastewater treatment plant which, when completed in 1999, will serve 43 cities and towns in central eastern Massachusetts. Deer Island is located in the Boston Harbor, as shown on Figure 1. The existing wastewater treatment plant on Deer Island is being upgraded to include secondary treatment to comply with Federal require­ments. The new treatment facilities will process an average of 455 million gallons of sewage per day; total capacity will be about one billion gallons per day. The new treatment facilities will cover virtually the entire island. [ ]

Jan 1, 1994

By Darrell L. Beddard

The Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on October 17, 1989 at 5:04 PM, Pacific Daylight Time. It measured 7.1 in magnitude and was felt from Los Angeles north to the Oregon state line and east to western Nevada. The epicenter of the earthquake was located along the San Andreas Fault, in the Southern Santa Cruz Mountains just north of the City of Watsonville, California. It was the largest earthquake to occur in the San Francisco Bay area since the 1906 earthquake. A total of 87 aftershocks of Magnitude 3.0 or larger were recorded within 21 days after the seismic event. As a result of this earthquake thirteen State-owned and five locally-owned bridges were closed to traffic. Three of the most publicized State-owned structures closed to traffic were Struve Slough Bridge, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and Cypress Street Viaduct. Struve Slough Bridge was twin slab bridges that collapsed and were rebuilt and open to traffic three months after the earthquake. San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge experienced collapse of upper and lower spans at Pier 9 and was reopened to traffic one month after the earthquake. The Cypress Street Viaduct experienced collapse of 48 bents that resulted in the upper roadway falling onto the lower roadway.

Jan 1, 1996