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By Scott Dodds

"The Oxford Hydroelectric Station was a unique project that incorporated a variety of dam strengthening methods to stabilize the facility in order to meet the standards required by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The dam stability and Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) remediation work consisted of (1) construction of a new emergency spillway; (2) installation of 75 high capacity rock anchors; (3) construction of an anchored concrete powerhouse buttress; (4) construction of cast-in-place and sheetpile flood walls; and (5) design and construction of a permanent soil nail wall. INTRODUCTIONThe Oxford Hydroelectric Station is one of 11 hydroelectric facilities owned and operated by Duke Power along the Catawba/Wateree River. The Catawba River originates in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains just west of Morganton, North Carolina. The river flows east out of the mountains and, at a point just below the Oxford Dam, the Catawba River turns and heads southeast. The Catawba River continues to flow southeast past Charlotte and into South Carolina where it eventually becomes the Wateree River. The Wateree River eventually flows in to the Atlantic Ocean.Located a few miles east of Hickory, North Carolina, the Oxford Dam and Hydroelectric facility is in the upper reach of the Catawba River. Oxford Dam creates the third impoundment along the river known as Lake Hickory. Lake Hickory is well known locally for providing many outdoor activities such as boating, jet skiing, canoeing and fishing. The dam and powerhouse were put into operation in the spring of 1928.Key features of the dam include a short embankment section on the south end of the structure, a 391-foot (119m) long south bulkhead and powerhouse, 540-foot (165m) long gated spillway section and a 235-foot (71.6m) long north bulkhead. The maximum height of the dam is approximately 100-feet (30m) from the crest to the dam/rock interface. (See Figure 1).The work associated with this project is the result of licensing requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which mandates that all hydroelectric facilities have the capacity to safely discharge runoff created by a critical rainfall event defined as the probable maximum flood (PMF). Duke Power, a division of Duke Energy (DUKE) submitted an initial PMF report in 1992 which indicated that at the Oxford Dam would be overtopped by approximately 10-feet of water during the modeled PMF event. Given the duration and depth of the overtopping, significant damage to the facility and a possible breach could result. Therefore, modifications to the existing facility were necessary to satisfy the report of the PMF model."

Jan 1, 2005

By Brian Wilson, John Scholte, Megan Atkinson

"In November 2004, the residents of the City of Nanaimo, B.C., Canada voted to approve a new conference centre as the centrepiece of a proposed revitalization project for the city’s historic downtown core. The proposal goal was to replace a cluster of derelict buildings with a dynamic and modern complex that would connect existing city facilities to a new conference facility, the Vancouver Island Conference Centre (VICC). The conference centre is expected to create 150 full-time jobs, attract visitors/ delegates from across North America and generate new economic opportunities for local businesses.However, the proposed site posed a number of geotechnical and geoenvironmental challenges. As is often the case with coastal cities, historic growth of the Nanaimo downtown and harbour area was achieved through reclamation of former waterfront areas and inlets. These areas were often infilled with random fills and even wastes, leaving a legacy of variable density heterogeneous fills contaminated with a variety of pollutants. Preliminary assessment of the site indicated a high likelihood of a requirement for deep foundations, a high risk of liquefaction in the event of an earthquake and the presence of both soil and groundwater contamination. Construction would be further complicated by the requirement for two levels of basement parking and the proximity of adjacent buildings and major roadways to the work area.With a limited budget (fixed by the referendum) and timeframe, the city needed a cost-effective solution to proceed with construction. A number of options were considered, but an innovative design using leading-edge Cutter Soil Mixer (CSM) technology best met the geotechnical and budgetary requirements of the site. The CSM approach also addressed the environmental concerns of contaminated soils and groundwater. Golder Associates Innovative Applications (GAIA) Inc., in association with the designers of their parent company Golder Associates Ltd. (Golder), proposed the CSM technology — at the time the first North American application."

Jan 1, 2008

By Sameh M. Khella

This paper discusses the application of deep CFA piles for the foundation of structures in different ground stratifications with a focus on the application in Queensland region. Design, construction techniques and quality measures implemented during these procedures are described. Testing methods and verification of capacity, integrity and performance of these piles are also demonstrated. Case studies for this application are presented with an appreciation of this solution within the provided project conditions of each case. Examples of successes and challenges encountered over the course of application of deep CFA in Queensland are mentioned. Limitations of the technique and less favourable situations for its implementation are also highlighted.

Nov 1, 2022

By A. Daouadji, P. Cazes, S. Grange, L. Briançon, R. Milane

Construction in congested urban areas is often accompanied by geotechnical problems due to high loads and the impact caused by nearby buildings. For this reason, it is important to understand the behavior of the soil and the structure without forgetting the essential role of the interaction between them. Experiments, instrumentation and numerical modeling are the main methods used to study this behavior. To this end, pressure cell, strain gages, vibrating wire extensometers and optical fiber sensors are installed on the reinforcement steel of pile and raft foundations to monitor stresses and induced deformation in these elements during and after construction. A fiberglass rod extensometer is placed in the soil to help measuring the displacement due to excess loading, knowing that the pile foundations are embedded in the Rhône’s alluviums and reach the molasse, a particular and challenging soil with properties that are not yet well understood. The objective of this paper is to present the geotechnical instrumentation program carried out for the tower Silex2 in Lyon, France, and to describe the types of sensors used and their installation on site. INTRODUCTION The complexity of geotechnical structures like dams, bridges or high-rise buildings requires a sound understanding of the behavior of the soil, the structure itself and the interface. Therefore, a geotechnical instrumentation program can be essential in many ways. During the site investigation stage, it can help determine the initial conditions experienced by the soil in the field by measuring parameters such as the compressibility index or the permeability. During the construction stage, real time measurements can protect the structure from premature failure, help validate and optimize the design if needed. In addition, sensors measuring pore-water pressure, loads, deformations and settlements allow for monitoring the performance of the structure. This is called the observational method. Finally, during the operating phase, instrumentation aims to study the long-term behavior of the structure (Nicholson et al., 1999).

Jan 1, 2019

By George Burnhart

"Sonic drilling is a relatively new technology even though it has been in development since the late 1940s. It was initially funded by the U.S. petroleum industry and then, in the late 40s, Russian scientists worked on developing sonic drilling, their interest based on drilling rates 3 to 20 times that of conventional methods. In the early 1960s, the Shell Oil Company backed research that resulted in a down-hole device with a series of eccentric weights driven by drilling fluid to generate vibration. Hawker Sidley, in the early 1980s, developed the first modern prototype sonic drills in Vancouver B.C. and the North Star Drilling Company in Minnesota became the first contractor in the U.S. to operate sonic equipment in 1985. In 1994, North Star became a division of Boart Longyear, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.What’s Unique about a Sonic DrillA sonic drill rig appears and operates very much like any conventional top-drive rotary rig. The key difference is that a sonic drill has a specially designed hydraulically powered drill head, containing oscillators, that generates adjustable high-frequency vibratory forces. The sonic head is attached directly to the drill pipe or outer casing, sending the high frequency vibrations down through the drill steel to the face of the drill bit. This creates displacement, fracturing or shearing action depending on the material being drilled. The oscillator uses two eccentric, counter-rotating balance weights or rollers that are timed to direct 100% of the vibration at 0 degrees and 180 degrees. An air spring houses the oscillators and separates the vibration from the drill rig itself. The vibratory frequency is controlled to suit operating conditions and to achieve optimum drilling rates.When the vibrations coincide with the natural resonant frequency of the steel drill rod or casing, a natural phenomenon called “resonance” occurs. It allows the rig to transfer timed vibratory energy into the top of the drill string, utilizing the natural stored energy of the steel. This causes the drill string to use inertia and act like a flywheel delivering tremendous amounts of energy directly to the bit face. In friendly overburden formations, a sonic drill rig can achieve penetration rates of one ft per second."

Jan 1, 2008

By Brian M. Fraley

"Portions of the Catholic Total Abstinence Fountain in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pa., were in “imminent danger,” according to a restoration services request for proposals (RFP) issued by the City of Philadelphia in August 2014. Open voids in the subsurface beneath the foundation were causing ongoing settlement of the fountain.The fountain was unveiled in 1876 as an ornamental drinking fountain for the Centennial International Exhibition, which celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Its creation was commissioned by the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America, an Irish temperance organization that advocated for total abstinence from alcohol. Ironically, the fountain ran dry decades ago.The now-defunct fountain features a 100 ft (30.5 m) wide granite base with three steps in the shape of a Maltese cross. The centerpiece — enclosed by a 40 ft (12.2 m) diameter basin — is a 15 ft (4.6 m) tall statue of Moses perched atop an iglooshaped marble mound. Four subsidiary statues rise from granite pedestals at the tips of each arm of the cross, including Archbishop John Carroll, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Father Theobald Mathew and Commodore John Barry.Natural and Man-Made DamageThe City of Philadelphia’s RFP called attention to three “high priority structural areas.” It was noted that Moses, Father Mathew and the steps surrounding the fountain had been documented as public hazards. The long-term effects of water infiltration had set in, eroding mortar joints and causing some stones to jut out. Furthermore, the stone base supporting the 16 ton (14.5 tonne) statue of Moses was in danger of collapsing. The statue of Father Mathew had been struck by lightning in 1910 and was repaired with an iron and metal pin anchor system, which had succumbed to corrosion. The city considered the statue of Father Mathew as the most threatened of the statues. Mike Miluski, P.E., vice president of Compaction Grouting Services (CGS), recalled “the fountain was in pretty bad shape” as he walked onto the site in August 2016 and immediately recognized the challenges ahead."

Jan 1, 2017

By Pawan L. Sethi

Design and construction of deep foundations and basements is increasingly becoming more complex, as the density and frequency of urban development increases. This growth brings various associated challenges in the form of design considerations and construction challenges. This paper discusses some of the challenges routinely encountered as well as some specific complications in this area, based on author’s experience gained through exposure as specialist contractor (designer), consultant and specialist consultant, along with some information on how these challenges were overcome. The paper highlights some of the key aspects of design coordination and importance of having an awareness of the overall perspective. Examples will be used to illustrate practical problems and the approaches used to respond.

Nov 1, 2022

By Jonathan G. Cannon

"This paper will describe dynamic pile testing conducted during installation of driven octagonal precast prestressed concrete piles used as the foundation for this bridge. The piles were long and hence spliced. A number of the piles showed damage near the splices and the damage location was near the ground surface so that the damage could be verified using visual inspection. The piles and splice configuration are still in use today without modification. Further WEAP driveability analysis has been conducted which demonstrates the effect of the splice on pile stresses and a likely failure mode. A slight modification is proposed to the splice that should prevent the damage on future projects.INTRODUCTIONThe bridge site is located on the Olympic Way, Route 41, about 20km north of the regional centre of Albury, NSW. For a long distance north of the site the Olympic Way ""shadows"" the main Melbourne to Sydney rail line and is located on the Western side and in close proximity. At the bridge site there was previously a sharp dog-leg in the road and a right angle level crossing with the road changing to the Eastern side of the rail line, eventually joining up with the Hume Highway, which in turn now becomes a ring-road through the eastern outskirts of Albury. The dog-leg and rail crossing had warning signs and bells, speed restrictions and rumble strips to warn approaching motorists to reduce speed. Site distance was exceptionally good.Approximately 2years before construction a group of five ""high spirited"" young men from the local area were driving south on the Olympic Way adjacent to a south-bound train. It is understood they interacted with the train crew for a period of time. Unfortunately the car and train collided at the level crossing and all of the young men were killed. There were outpourings of grief in the local community and a decision was made to replace the level crossing with a road-over-rail bridge.The bridge was highly skewed with two piers and two high level abutments with fill embankments on both approaches.GROUND CONDITIONSThe site is open grazing country with approximately level ground at the site with surrounding low hills. The geology was unremarkable with consistent stiff clays for a considerable depth.The design required driven precast prestressed pile foundations with the piles to be driven to a considerable depth.Hard driving with high tension stresses were evident from the start of driving and a variety of different pre-bore lengths were adopted in an attempt to minimise driving and potential for damage. At the abutments the pile locations were predrilled for at least the full embankment depth.PILESThe piles were 550mm octagonal prestressed concrete with the pier piles being single piece and the longer abutment piles being two-piece with a ""standard"" epoxy glued box splice. Pier piles and the initial length of the abutment piles were 24m. The add-on piece used at the abutments was 12m. Pile concrete was grade 50MPa."

Jan 1, 1900

By Peter J. Nicholson

During my more than 40 years in the practice of underground construction and engineering, the industry has seen progress from the dig down to rock or hardpan or alternatively drive concrete or steel into the ground and count the blows; then you can be sure of you have a solid foundation; to the modern day, I?m willing to try anything to save money. Of course these are both exaggerations, but not gross ones. After getting bored being supervision on jobs counting blows, I struck out into the new field of ?tie-backs? as they were called in the United States, or ?ground anchors? as they were then termed in the United Kingdom. After installing some of the first permanent ground anchors for the Corps of Engineers on Lake Michigan as well as the highest loaded rock anchors of the time at two dams on the Ohio River, we were at the top of our game in the 1970?s. Subsequently in the 1980?s when my view of the future of ground anchors saw their installation becoming a commodity item, we branched out into ?Pin Piles? now known as Micro Piles, high capacity, steel tube encased, small diameter (5-12? or so), high capacity (100-500 tons) piling. Next came soil nailing, both temporary and permanent retaining walls, as at Cumberland Gap Kentucky. My next morph was into ?Cement Deep Soil Mixing? earlier on, known simply as ?soil mixing?. For this education I traveled to Japan several times and established a long-term, Joint Venture, relationship with one of the better known Japanese specialty ground modification companies. In Boston at the ?Big Dig? we established the then record size soil mixing project, 500,000 or so cubic meters of CDSM concluding in the year 2000. Since then I?ve been involved as a consultant mainly for dams and levees. Below is the story of how I came to be at this place in the road to innovation in Geotechnical processes.

By Gilbert R. Tallard

"Pouring deep foundations by the tremie pipe method is nowadays such a common process that it has becomes an unspecified practice. Means and methods are almost entirely at the contactor’s discretion. A variety of practices are permitted and seldom associated with the discovery of abnormalities and areas of random defects in concrete. This writer wishes to call the attention of stakeholders to the initiation details of the tremie pour operation.KEYWORDSINTRODUCTIONThe advent of slurry as a means of shoring an excavation of relatively small cross section but of possibly great depth has become part of state of the art in foundations construction, with the substitution of said slurry by concrete to provide the structural end product element through the use of tremie pipes. In appearance, there is nothing more simple than pouring concrete into a tremie pipe through a hopper after the basic work has been done i.e. the excavation or drilling, the cleaning of the slurry, the placement of the reinforcing cage, then the tremie concrete pour is almost a reward for a successful achievement. Force of habit has removed the awareness on the process fundamentals for initiating the pour; a variety of practices used call for a review and a reassessment as a means of reducing construction defects that may result from flawed practices, and and especially we are pouring deeper holes. This writer intends to address this issue focusing both on the drilled shaft and the diaphragm wall industries.TREMIE PIPES AND HOPPERSA tremie pipe diameter needs to be sufficiently large to allow the rapid descent of concrete with a minimum of friction loss and avoiding possible bridging in relation to aggregate size. Impervious joints between pipe sections are essential to prevent slurry “raining” over the concrete which can cause concrete segregation pockets and possibly plug the pipe with damaging consequences. That tremie pipes be long enough to reach the bottom may be self-evident but poorly written specifications can be erratic on that subject and seldom specific in terms of inches. A standard pipe of 10 inches is well accepted throughout the foundations industry; double O rings and spline joints are common and function well if properly maintained. However the practice to cover the joint with the ineffable duct tape indicates that all is not always well with this detail. Also, spline cables may shear in case of very long tremie pipes causing the separation of the tremie pipe requiring a restart in midstream with another probable source of inter mixing of concrete and slurry with subsequent defects."

Jan 1, 2017

By Jianhua Wang, Jianming Yao, Zhen Meng, Jinjian Chen

"Drilled screw pile is a newly developed displacement pile foundation which has been applied in soft clay for many years. Compared with traditional circular displacement pile, It is characterized by high bearing capacity, small volume and small squeezing effects. For the purpose of investigating the squeezing effects of drilled screw pile, a full scale field monitoring test with two test piles was performed. Detailed soil horizontal displacement and pore pressure measurements were conducted in the vicinity of the two drilled screw piles during penetration and subsequent soil consolidation. It can be concluded that the horizontal displacement of the surrounding soil induced by the installation of a drilled screw pile is mainly in a circular region with a diameter of 3 m (r/D<6), and the compaction effect outside the area can be essentially negligible; The excess pore pressures measured at the same time increase with depth throughout the entire process of consolidation, and its dissipation shows an exponential decay as a function of time.INTRODUCTIONA knowledge of the displacement and stress changes induced in the soil surrounding a pile is very important for evaluating pile performance. Numerous field and laboratory research projects have examined loading conditions, total soil stresses, and excess pore pressures during and following pile installation (Pestana et al., 2002). A relatively comprehensive and detailed review of these experimental works from 1948 to 2002 was presented by Pestana et al. (2002). More recently, Xu et al. (2006) conducted a field experiment to study displacements and stresses in the vicinity of two pipe piles during their installation in a soft lightly overconsolidated clay and compared the field measurements with existing predictive methods. Abdrabbo and Gaaver (2011) collected field observation data from four different construction sites to study soil disturbance during construction of piles using continuous flight auger (CFA). They have found that the disturbed zone of soil by CFA has a conical shape and the excess pore pressure has no appreciable influence on the load capacity of the piles.Drilled screw pile (DS pile) is a kind of vibration-free, cast-in-place concrete pile. Because of the excellent bearing performance, low level of vibration pollution and negligible spoil, as well as its fast construction speed, DS pile has been widely accepted by many engineers around the world. As a new type of drilled displacement pile, the significant installation effects of DS pile on the adjacent soil have not been systematically and integrally investigated yet. Since a proper numerical simulation of the real installation process of DS pile is difficult to achieve, the investigation based on field measurements is necessary. This paper presents a field investigation of the installation effects of two DS piles on surrounding soils. Detailed horizontal soil displacement and pore pressure measurements during pile installation and subsequent soil consolidation have been conducted. Based on the monitoring data, variation of horizontal displacements and dissipation of excess pore pressures with depth and time have been analyzed. What's more, the construction machinery and technology used in DS pile installation are also simply introduced."

Jan 1, 2015

By W. L. Chong

For a project located in Docklands Victoria, a high-rise development was proposed where the geology comprised soils of various compositions and consistencies to approximately 50m deep before being underlain by a siltstone bedrock. Due to the structural loads and spatial constraints, the majority of the foundation piles were designed to be socketed into the siltstone. Key factors in selecting the Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) technique as an effective piling solution are explained. These factors included structural and geological considerations, piling rig capabilities, pile testing regime to verify load performance and integrity, the extensive suite of construction quality controls and instrumentation records required while also achieving an appropriate piling budget and program. This paper also described how these factors underpinned the design approach of the final piling scheme. Critical aspects considered during construction and post-construction quality and pile testing records required to meet and satisfy the strict project piling specifications are also presented. The project adopted what may be considered the “best practice” in deep CFA piling. To the author’s knowledge, this project achieved the record for the deepest CFA piles in Australia where multiple piles to 53.8m deep were constructed.

Nov 1, 2022

By Paolo Cavalcoli, Federico Pagliacci, Marco Chiarabelli

"The Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Causeway Project in Kuwait is estimated at approximately $US3.7 billion and consists of constructing a causeway across the Kuwait Bay, connecting the Shuwaikh Port with the northern Subiyah area, where the new “Silk City” will be established. The $US77 billion Silk City will revive the ancient “Silk Road” trade route and will become a major free trade zone linking central Asia with Europe. The new city will be completed in 2030, it will house about 700,000 people and, furthermore, it will include the tallest tower in the world. The Causeway will stretch approximately 23.3 miles and will be composed of a combination of low-level bridges, embankments and transition islands. A bridge of about 16.8 miles in length will span the navigation channel and a free flow interchange at the Shuwaikh Port will connect the causeway to the main road network in Kuwait City. The geo-construction portion of the project involves the execution of 1,200 drilled shafts with diameters of 98 inches and 118 inches embedded to a maximum depth of about 276 feet. Details are provided concerning the subsurface conditions, the geotechnical characteristics and the strength parameters, illustrating, as well, the installation technique implemented for the construction of the drilled shafts. In addition, particular attention is paid to the description of the challenges faced while constructing the drilled shafts at a distance of about 10 miles from the shore, such as the depth of the water above the midline (more than 160 feet), an underwater current and the tidal variation.INTRODUCTIONThis paper presents an overview of the foundation works executed for a 37km causeway across the Bay of Kuwait, connecting Shuwaikh Port with Subiyah New Town Development. The project, in which Trevi is actively engaged, includes a 27 km low-level bridge across the bay, a main bridge with a span of 200 m, an overpass and a 5 km approach road onshore in Subiyah.The main purpose of this report is to provide information about the nature and features of the applied technique of bored piles, including a description of each work phase and other related details, in order to aid in the design of the foundations for the proposed construction.Works for the soil investigation were carried out in accordance with accepted geotechnical standards/guidelines. Brief descriptions of the methodology of the field are also provided in this report."

Jan 1, 2016

By Peter J. Nicholson

"IntroductionDuring my more than 40 years in the practice of underground construction and engineering, the industry has seen progress from the dig down to rock or hardpan or alternatively drive concrete or steel into the ground and count the blows; then you can be sure of you have a solid foundation; to the modern day, I’m willing to try anything to save money. Of course these are both exaggerations, but not gross ones. After getting bored being supervision on jobs counting blows, I struck out into the new field of “tie-backs” as they were called in the United States, or “ground anchors” as they were then termed in the United Kingdom. After installing some of the first permanent ground anchors for the Corps of Engineers on Lake Michigan as well as the highest loaded rock anchors of the time at two dams on the Ohio River, we were at the top of our game in the 1970’s. Subsequently in the 1980’s when my view of the future of ground anchors saw their installation becoming a commodity item, we branched out into “Pin Piles” now known as Micro Piles, high capacity, steel tube encased, small diameter (5-12” or so), high capacity (100-500 tons) piling. Next came soil nailing, both temporary and permanent retaining walls, as at Cumberland Gap Kentucky. My next morph was into “Cement Deep Soil Mixing” earlier on, known simply as “soil mixing”. For this education I traveled to Japan several times and established a long-term, Joint Venture, relationship with one of the better known Japanese specialty ground modification companies. In Boston at the “Big Dig” we established the then record size soil mixing project, 500,000 or so cubic meters of CDSM concluding in the year 2000. Since then I’ve been involved as a consultant mainly for dams and levees. Below is the story of how I came to be at this place in the road to innovation in Geotechnical processes."

Jan 1, 2017

By Kenneth Gavin, Weichao Li, Paul Doherty

"The lateral load capacity is one of the most important issues to be considered in designing piles to resist berthing loads, ship impact forces and for monopiles used in the offshore wind sector. A number of semi-empirical design approaches are available to calculate the ultimate soil resistance and assumed soil reaction profile along the piles’ embedded depth. In order to investigate the response of monopiles to lateral loading, a series of field experiments were conducted on instrumented steel pipe piles. Two lateral loading tests were performed on model piles with a diameter, D, of 340 mm and embedded depth, Lem, of 2.2 m, giving a Lem/D ratio similar to those adopted in the offshore wind sector. The piles were driven into dense sand at the University College Dublin geotechnical test bed site in Ireland. 10 pairs of strain gauges were installed on each model pile along the embedded depth at 10 levels to capture the load transfer and bending moment within the piles. The deflection and rotation at the model pile head were measured by Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) and inclinometers. The tests results were used to perform a detailed evaluation of current design methods. In the final section, discussion on the determination of the ultimate lateral load capacity for monopile design was conducted. IntroductionA pile’s lateral load capacity is determined, for design purposes, by two conditions: 1) the ultimate lateral load, Fu, divided by an appropriate safety factor; and 2) the load according to the maximum lateral deflection that the support structures can sustain. In view of the first condition, design methods to calculate the ultimate load were developed for piles used in the offshore oil and gas sectors, which tend to be much more slender than monopiles used in the wind industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether these design methods provide reasonable estimates of ultimate capacity, for short rigid monopiles.The methods to determine the ultimate lateral load generally follow three steps: 1) determine the ultimate soil resistance, Pu, along the pile embedded depth; 2) adopt the most appropriate soil reaction profile, Pz, along the piles embedded depth when the pile subjected to the ultimate lateral load condition (four of the most popular ones are depicted in Figure. 1); and 3) ensure equilibrium of lateral forces (see Equation 1, symbols are listed at the end of the paper) acting on the pile and bending moments (see Equation 2) about a point in pile is employed to determine the ultimate lateral load."

Jan 1, 2015

By Robert C. Simpson, Ghada S. Ellithy

"There are several methods for estimating the axial capacity of drilled shafts installed in coarse-grained soils. Most methods estimate the ultimate capacity for side friction and tip resistance. Design capacity is then calculated by applying a resistance factor to the ultimate capacity. In reality, however, ultimate resistance may not be mobilized except after a significant displacement that is not structurally tolerated in either compression or tension modes.A full- scale load test is the best way to obtain the load settlement curve for a drilled shaft, especially in soil formations where accurate estimation of soil frictional properties from a field investigation may be difficult. This paper presents the results of a static, axial, compressive bi-directional load test, using the Osterberg method (O-cell test). The test was designed so that the shaft above the O-cell would move up and the shaft below it would move down when loaded. At the start of the test the concrete around the O-cell is fractured generally on a plane near the bottom of the cell.The test was designed to validate the design capacity of drilled shafts embedded into the Vashon recessional outwash (Qvro), which is a glacially derived sediment consisting of thick deposits of cobbly sand and gravel relatively free of silt and clay found in the Seattle, WA area. The test shaft consisted of a 2.5- feet (0.75 m) diameter drilled shaft. The test shaft was installed to a depth of about 47 feet (14.3 m) into this formation. A maximum load of 437 kips (1.95 MN) was applied during the test, in each direction. The maximum load was attained at upward and downward displacements of less than 0.1 inch (2.5 mm), respectively.Although the load test did not yield ultimate values, the results are compared to the design assumptions using methods adopted in the FHWA and AASHTO guidelines, which verified the adequacy of the design assumptions. We conclude that more emphasis is needed in the prediction of the service loads and corresponding mobilized displacement that may lead to a more cost effective design. It is also clear that more testing to higher loads could lead to more efficient designs on specific projects and generally as data is added to the local knowledge base."

Jan 1, 2015

By Victor Li, Joley Lam

"INTRODUCTIONJacked piles are piles that are pressed into the ground, usually by hydraulic jacks. For this reason, jacked piles are also known as pressed in piles. Jacked piles are mainly used for the following applications.• Underpinning worksJacked piles have been commonly used for strengthening the foundation of existing structures. In pressing the pile into the ground, the hydraulic jacks will jack against existing pile caps or ground beams that support the structure or against a steel frame connected to the floor slabs or structural walls of the structure. The self weight of the structure provides the reaction force for pile jacking. Jacked piles used for underpinning works usually have lower design ultimate capacities, typically less than 2000 kN (225 tons).• New foundationsJacked piles can be used to support new structures. A heavy pile jacking machine is employed to provide the reaction force for jacking the piles into the ground.• Retaining structuresJacked piles can be installed at close spacings to form a retaining wall. For relatively large and easily accessible sites, the piles can be installed using a conventional pile jacking machine. For sites that are smaller and are more difficult to access, a more compact patented equipment called the Silent-Piler developed by Giken Seisakusho Co. Ltd. in Japan can be used.Jacked piles have several distinct advantages. The vibration and noise induced during pile jacking are minimal. Jacked piles are 100 percent proof-tested to a load level equal to the maximum applied jacking force. The pile jacking machine can also be treated as mobile kentledge for static loading test. In this article, discussion will focus on jacked piles used for supporting new structures.HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTThe People’s Republic of China (PRC) is perhaps one of the earliest countries in which jacked piles were used as new foundations. Jacked piles had been installed in the PRC since the 1960s. The capacities of jacked piling machines used in the country are usually in the range of 3000 to 6000kN (337 to 675 tons). High capacity jacking machines with a capacity of 9000 kN (1000 tons), presently used by the construction industry in Hong Kong, were also manufactured in the PRC. There are also plans to produce machines with a capacity exceeding 10000 kN (1125 tons). It was projected by Wang (1999) that jacked prestressed spun concrete piles would become one of the most popular pile types in the PRC in the 21st century."

Jan 1, 2004

By Andreas Andenæs, Arne Schram Simonsen

"AbstractThe Tresfjord bridge is with its variety in foundation concepts and difficult soil conditions one of the most geotechnically challenging projects in Norway at the time. The project comprises design of large concrete caissons, steel core piles through large rock fills, and closed end steel pipe piles in up to 40m water depth driven in very hard moraine. Test piling has also been conducted to check feasibility of the concept, and PDA measurements have been used to verify sufficient capacity of piles. FactsThe Tresfjord bridge is part of the new export road from Ålesund to Åndalsnes on the North-West coast of Norway built by the Norwegian Road Administration. The bridge will reduce travel time with about 30 min between the cities, see Figure 1. The bridge is planned to open summer 2015.The Bridge crosses the Tresfjord and will be 1290 m long. The bridge is built as a free cantilever bridge and will be resting on a total of 20 nos. of foundations, where two are abutments resting on steel core piles, three are casted directly on bed rock and 13 are foundations resting on steel pipe piles. The last two foundations holding the main span will be concrete caissons resting on bed rock and moraine. Figure 2 shows a 3D model of how the finished bridge will look. Multiconsult AS is responsible for design and pile supervision , while the Joint-Venture Bilfinger-Tresfjordbridge ANS is responsible contractor.Soil ConditionsPercussion soundings and sampling together with coring have been performed in the individual foundations using a small geotechnical equipped vessel. Acoustic and refraction seismic profiling have also been carried out to tie in the layers between the boreholes.The soil conditions are varying over the length, but are in general dominated by a soft top layer (2-4 m) of sediments over very hard moraine with occasionally large boulders. Piles in the two foundations closest to shore on the western side of the bridge are piled to bed rock with penetrations up to about 27 m in soil.Water depth varies from about 10 to 40 m for the piled foundations. Figure 3 show how the topography of the seabed varies over the bridges length."

Jan 1, 2014

By Hitendrabhai S. Dewangan, Dr. Aashish A. Mehta

Pile foundation is widely used in construction of marine structures. In offshore & marine piling work, drilling/boring supporting fluid is used to stabilize the borehole (excavation) prior to tremie concrete. The poly-fluid is a synthetic drilling granular polymer characterized by high molecular weight.it is mainly used for the preparation of stabilizing and lubrication mud in drilling of deep foundations. Disposal of polymers after using it into the sea, pollutant the sea environment, which may be harmful for living organisms inside sea. To reduce the pollution in offshore/Onshore, it is essential to take the precautions during flushing operation with proper recycled, reused & it’s Disposal. To provide economic and environmental solutions, used slurry was treated with addition dose of fresh material/polymers. The amount of fresh materials/ Polymer to be added can be decided based on (viscosity, density and pH value) test results. Finally, initiate water flow and air agitation as required. Run the tests on the re generated slurry before transferring to storage tank. Also, after storage, polymers will be reused for next operation. Moreover, mud wastage coming from borehole will also be disposed at suitable dumping places.

Sep 1, 2022

By Gerald Verbeek, Erick Baziw

"Downhole Seismic Testing (DST) is an important geotechnical testing technique for site characterization as it provides low strain (<10-5) in-situ interval compression (Vp) and shear (Vs) wave velocity estimates. These velocities are determined by obtaining relative arrival times of source waves as they travel through the stratigraphy and are recorded by one or more vertically offset seismic sensors. A challenging aspect of this process is to characterize the seismic data sets to determine the analysis method that will result in the most accurate interval velocity values. This paper introduces an assessment technique which utilizes linearity estimates (i.e., hodograms fitting straight lines) from the polarization analysis in conjunction with crosscorrelation coefficient calculations of the full waveforms as well as the deviation of the source wave frequency spectrum from a desirable bell-shaped curve. The paper will provide an overview of the technique and include some examples of actual data sets where the technique was applied to analyze those data sets.1. INTRODUCTIONIn general terms, Downhole Seismic Testing (DST) such as Seismic Cone Penetration Testing (SCPT) is a geotechnical technique for measuring in-situ shear and compression wave velocities (VS and VP respectively). The main goal in DST is to obtain arrival times as the source wave travels through the soil profile of interest, and from these arrival times the velocities are then calculated. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the typical DST configuration: a seismic source is used to generate a seismic wave train at the ground surface. One or more downhole seismic receivers are used to record the seismic wave train at predefined depth increments. The downhole receiver(s) may be positioned at selected test depths in a borehole or advanced as part of an instrumentation package as in the case of SCPT. When triggered by the seismic source a data recording system records the response of the downhole receiver(s)."

Jan 1, 2017