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By Larsson Lars-Erik, Rani Isa, Martin Jönsson, Håkan Bredenberg, Mats Larsson

"IntroductionSteel Core Piles are used extensively in Scandinavian countries, where hard rock is found within reasonable depths. A steel core is cast into a drilled steel tube casing and a rock hole is extended below the casing. This pile type is considered a very reliable type of pile, and for urban environment it has several advantages compared to other types of piles. One critical phase of the installation is the drilling of the casing. Usually a DTH (Down The Hole) hammer is used. Drilling in fine grained soils, e g silt, below the ground water level, may give rise to an excessive volume of soil material flushed up from the point of the casing, resulting in unacceptable settlements around the pile installation area.Using a new method for drilling of the casings, the ELEMEX-method has proven to significantly reduce the risk for such problems. In the paper a case record from a ground improvement project in central Stockholm is described. Ground settlements around the drilling area were carefully monitored over a longer period. Both the new drilling method and the conventional DTH casing drilling method where used, so that the corresponding ground settlements could be compared. Settlement records and comments are included in the paper.The paper also gives a description of the project. The installation of new piles and foundation constructions cover a whole city block in Stockholm downtown. The reason for the replacement of the old, damaged wooden piles were due to their destruction caused by a long time lowering of the ground water table. The paper gives a description of the new drilling method as well as an overview of usual urban foundation issues and their solution in Sweden, Finland and Norway.Drilled Foundation MethodDrilled Foundation, using drilling methods originally developed for drilling of large diameter rock holes, is today a standard method for the installation of piles, tiebacks, drilled pile walls and other foundation components, especially in urban built up areas where other techniques as drop hammers, augers, vibratory hammers and other equipment fail to meet the requirement, se ref(1). Drilled foundation is for example used for"

Jan 1, 2014

By Ramdane Bahar

"Abstract The design foundations can be performed using Menard pressuremeter rules that require a limit pressure and a pressuremeter modulus. In recent years, another trend of interpretation of this test is appeared. It consists of identifying the rheological soil parameters using analytical or numerical methods and then used to evaluate the bearing capacity and settlement of soil foundations using numerical software. This paper deals with the bearing capacity and settlement predictions of bored piles using two approaches. The first one is the method called ""Pressident"" which is a numerical program developed to analyse pressuremeter tests taking into account the Duncan and Chang model. The second approach is the method developed by Bahar and Olivari based on the generalised elastoplastic Prager’s model with the Von Mises criterion which is suitable to describe the behaviour of saturated clays under undrained conditions. The pressuremeter data, collected on various research and consulting projects are used to explore the relationship between limit pressure and undrained shear strength obtained by the two methods. Numerical calculations, by FLAC2D software taking into account the rheological parameters derived from these two methods, are performed in order to predict the behaviour of a single bored pile subjected to an axial vertical load. The predictions are comparedto the measured data.IntroductionThe Menard Pressuremeter test has been used extensively to measure in situ soil properties and for the design deep foundations in Algeria. These tests are an useful and economical way for obtaining reliable in situ properties of soils and provide the measurement of in situ stress-strain response of soils. From this test, the design foundations can be performed using pressuremeter rules that require a limit pressure, pl, and a pressuremeter modulus, EM. These two parameters are derived from the pressuremeter curve or deduced from existing correlations with undrained cohesion and internal angle friction (Ménard, 1957; Amar and Jézéquel, 1972), and are used to evaluate the bearing capacity of soil foundations and the expected settlements. But, they can also help to identify usual soil parameters required by simple constitutive models for soils in numerical calculations."

Jan 1, 2014

By William Babcock

Augered, Cast-In-Place (ACIP) piles can be an economical, reliable, versatile foundation system. They have also been a part of projects that were behind schedule and the subject of lawsuits. The ACIP pile is a specialty system that is more workmanship dependent than most deep foundation systems and is especially vulnerable to the problems and abuse of poor specifications and contract language. Many of the original specifications were based on grouting methods, and numerous misconceptions have followed the method. The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) has been the leader in debunking the mystique that has hovered over the method and attempted to standardize the industry through publication of the manuals describing the method and how it should be inspected. DFI should be applauded for taking the lead and producing a reference document that can be used to educate the specification writers, designers, inspectors, and owners. It must be must appreciated that there have been other organizations that would not acknowledge ACIP piles as a legitimate member of the deep foundation family. Some consultants and designers have gone to the extreme of making it policy to not recommend the method for use. This presentation is one practitioner's view of the causes of problems as they can be traced back to the contractual conditions. It is intended to provide a broader and different perspective than those provided by the technical specialists. It does not necessarily reflect the position of the DFI or any of the organizations associated with the ACIP pile industry. It is intended to further the spirit of partnering on every ACIP pile project, to further the acceptance and promote the use of this unique system, for the benefit of all the parties. It should be recognized, however, that all of the participants can and do play a role in getting a project into trouble. My view is that projects that get into trouble usually have an early flaw that leads the project to the edge, and the project participants blindly follow the original mistake right over the cliff like lemmings. This instinctive reaction may be a survival tactic by going along with the group, because any one party that departs from the program or shows a position of weakness is a candidate for sacrifice.

Jan 1, 1997

By Ekhlaq A. Khan

"The new third Bridge over Narmada River at Bharuch which was recently completed is characterized by some aesthetically appealing elevations of the pylon and large size of the deck. This paper gives an insight to design and construction technique adopted for foundation construction of Extra-dosed span - 3 rd Narmada Bridge at Bharuch over river Narmada, Gujarat. Site being located in intertidal zone had its unique geological characteristics and own set of difficulties during construction.INTRODUCTIONThe Indian subcontinent offers diverse subsoil conditions. With current modern and future trend of long span bridges the substructure design often demands large size foundations. The foundation of theses bridges are usually deep and large in size. The execution of such foundations in maritime environments often involves important temporary works, in order to provide a safe workplace, comply with environmental requirements and achieve high quality standards.Often Pile foundations are preferred solution now a days, but due to various statutory and environmental regulations their construction poses a challenge. With better equipment and corresponding quality control, construction of large diameter pile foundation has emerged as a faster and reliable option.OVER VIEW OF THE PROJECTThe first two lane bridge on NH-8 (Vadodra – Mumbai) known as Sardar Bridge was constructed in 1977, subsequently an additional two lane bridge was constructed in 1999-2000, 29 m downstream of the first. In view of rising volume of traffic and as part of upgradation of NH8, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) proposed to construct 3rd new 4 Lane Bridge 100 m downstream of 2nd Narmada Bridge, based on Central Water and Power research Institute (CWPRS) study and recommendation.The general layout (fig. 1) of the 3rd Narmada bridge has 8 spans of 144 m and 2 spans of 96 m with total length of 1344 m, supported by132 nos. of 1.5 m diameter piles of about 50 m depth. The substructure has leaning “Y” shaped lower pylon of height 30 m together with cast in situ pier diaphragm. The piles are of M40 and superstructure & pylon of M50 grade of concrete."

Jan 1, 2017

By G. G. Goble

Dynamic pile testing is now over 20 years old as a routinely applied tool for evaluating driven pile installation. The first test on a cast-in-place pile was performed more that 15 years ago. The research that produced the method began almost 30 years ago. But, questions still arise regarding the appropriate use of this technique so some review is useful. Today a number of methods including dynamic testing all depending in some way on the application of dynamics are in routine use. First, Wave Equation analysis can be used to predict pile driveability before going to the field. The same approach can be used during driving to estimate the bearing capacity based on the blow count observed in the field. Dynamic measurements, on the other hand, can only be used after pile driving has begun. They offer predictions of pile capacity as well as measurements of hammer, driving system, and pile driving performance characteristics. The first part of this paper will be devoted to discussing how the foundation engineer can use these tools. First, a brief review of what dynamic methods actually do. In Wave Equation analysis a numerical model of the hammer, driving system, pile, and the soil is created by the engineer. The hammer is dropped on the pile and using a discrete, dynamic analysis the motion of the individual pile elements is calculated as a function of time. Of course, input information must be supplied by the program user to describe the hammer, driving system, pile, and soil. In the current state of development, the primary problem in input data is with the hammer performance (efficiency) and the soil description. Research may be able to do a better job with the soil data, but hammer performance will always vary from hammer to hammer and is dependent on the affectiveness of the inspection process. Prior to beginning pile driving the Wave Equation analysis supplies the best available estimate of what will happen when driving begins. It gives an estimate of blow count during driving, driving stresses, both tension and compression in the pile, and for diesel hammers, stroke. The selection of the driving system can be checked with the results of Wave Equation analysis and modifications can be made if required. For example, if the blow count at the required capacity was deemed excessive by the contractor a larger hammer could be tried or if driving stresses were too high changes could be made in the cushion or the hammer selection could be modified. All of these modifications are possible with only the cost of a computer run. The primary questions regarding the accuracy and reliability of Wave Equation analysis at this time is with regard to the assumptions made to represent the soil characteristics and the difficulty in predicting hammer performance.

Jan 1, 1993

By Kjell Karlsrud

"Abstract New semi-empirical design procedures for the determination of ultimate shaft friction and load-displacement response of axially loaded piles in clay are proposed. Hereunder also prediction of how the capacity will build up with time following the pile installation, primarily as result of reconsolidation. A main basis for developing the new procedures was detailed review and re-assessment of results from a series pile load test programs published over the past 30 years on piles well instrumented to monitor soil- and pore pressures as well as load distribution along the pile shafts. Two new alternative procedures are proposed for predicting the ultimate shaft friction; a-approach using the normalised undrained strength based on direct simple shear tests as a main correlation parameter, and ß-approach using the overconsolidation ratio, OCR. Both approaches include the effects of the plasticity index of the clay, Ip, which is shown to have an especially large impact on the correlations when Ip<25. It is recommended to use both methods in design practice, and select design values for the ultimate shaft friction that represents an average for the two methods. Pile diameter, length or stiffness, or whether the pile is open- or closed-ended seem to have little impact on the shaft friction. However, a moderate effect of pile length or flexibility on the total ultimate pile capacity comes out of the proposed t-z curves, which include some post-peak reduction. The proposed procedure for predicting the time for set-up is based on linear radial consolidation theory. The main input parameters are the insitu permeability and virgin modulus number (or virgin compression index) of the undisturbed clay. The same basic formula and correlations are applicable to both open and closed-ended or partially plugging piles.IntroductionThe design procedures presented herein are primarily based on observations and data collected in connection with “fully instrumented” pile testing programs that the author has been responsible for or has become involved with over the past 40 years, or that have been found in the literature.It was a pre-requisite for the test programs included that there were sufficient high quality soil data available to give a reliable determination of the true in-situ strength and compressibility characteristics of the clay deposits. The soil conditions range from soft NC clays with undrained shear strength down to about 15 kPa, to very stiff clays with undrained shear strength up to about 500 kPa and OCR up to 25. The plasticity index of the clays mostly lies in range 12 to 60 %."

Jan 1, 2014

By Bret N. Lingwall, Byron Foster

The problem of reliable extreme event modeling of large diameter piles under enormous structural or kinematic loads has gained more attention in recent years. In particular, the soil response around the foundation and impacts to buried adjacent infrastructure has gained interest. One of the principal shortcomings with analysis of large diameter pile foundations under extreme event lateral loading is the reliance on conventional beam on elastic foundation methods, which do not model the soil field response around the pile. These methods are limited for large displacement problems, and for large diameter piles. However, the fundamental interactions between steel and concrete, and structure to soil are difficult to constrain, especially in large strain problems where the structural elements become inelastic. The non-linear interaction of the structural materials and soil is desirable so that assessment of stress changes in the field and effects on adjacent facilities can be modeled. A numerical modeling methodology that addresses these shortcomings has been developed. This method utilizes the interaction of brittle concrete with discrete steel reinforcing and casing in a robust manner capturing inelastic non-linearity in both soil and structure. This paper presents a comparison study of the method, wherein three different validation studies were made to data from full scale laterally loaded pile testing. INTRODUCTION Extreme event lateral loading of deep foundations comes in many forms including earthquakes, landsliding, tsunamis, hurricanes, surface fault rupture, liquefaction induced lateral spreads and many more. These extreme events induce loads on foundations far greater than service or strength loads. Perhaps the most dangerous extreme event loads are those of large soil displacements such as landslides, lateral spreads, and surface fault rupture, wherein the soil surrounding the foundations can move laterally 100 mm to 3 m! In these extreme event loading scenarios, small diameter foundations are pushed past their limits and many engineers prefer large diameter deep foundations for these situations. These deep foundations of diameter 900 mm or greater may be auger cast in place piles, cast in drilled hole piles, cast in steel shell piles, cased or uncased drilled shafts, bored precast piles, etc. For convenience in this paper, large diameter deep foundations will be referred to as Large Diameter Shafts (LDS). In LDS, steel may or may not used as a shell around the perimeter of the concrete and/or as internal tensile reinforcement. The interaction between brittle concrete and ductile steel within and/or along the perimeter of the LDS is critical to understanding the non-linear inelastic behavior of LDS for problems of large lateral displacements from extreme events.

Jan 1, 2018

By Derek Egan

"Abstract Construction clients want their foundation solutions to be right first time, every time; but it is often the geotechnical contractor who carries the most risk in achieving this. Robust validation to ensure that the installed geotechnical product is appropriate for the encountered ground conditions, will perform as required and be correctly measured for payment and record purposes is very important to minimise the contractor’s and the client’s risk. This paper outlines the development and operation of a robust real-time installation monitoring system which controls and validates the installation of driven cast in-situ (DCIS) piling. Using state of the art information technology the system allows the design engineer to interrogate the data acquired from the piling rig via his computer as the piles are completed. The use of the validation process, where data acquired during the driving of DCIS piles can be processed to estimate the finished pile performance, will be explained with reference to a new case study on large diameter DCIS piles. Examples of the routine use of the system will be presented to illustrate how automated monitoring of installation parameters can be used to raise the standard of reliability, efficiency and sustainability on piling projects. The conclusions to the paper will cover the key features and operational challenges characterising real-time monitoring of the execution of geotechnical works as developed from a number of years of experience of using a rig based data acquisition instrumentation system.INTRODUCTIONDriven Cast In-Situ (DCIS) piles have a long and successful history of use worldwide. The process, where a temporary steel drive tube, sealed at the bottom with a sacrificial base plate, is driven into the ground and filled with concrete before the tube is withdrawn, is well known (BS EN 12699, 2001 and Egan, 2013). Examples of large structures supported on DCIS piles installed by Keller UK include the Millennium Dome (now the O2 Arena) and the 2012 Olympic stadium in London.In recent times advances in piling rig instrumentation and telecommunications have enabled a new level of sophistication in the recording of installation parameters and the validation of pile performance. It is now possible to embed these features into the DCIS design and installation process which has improved the quality and efficiency of DCIS piling.This paper summarises the development and operation of a real time data acquisition and processing system for DCIS piling, but which is equally applicable to other forms of driven piling (for example concrete precast piling)."

Jan 1, 2014

By Rozbeh Moghaddam, William D. Lawson, Priyantha W. Jayawickrama, Hoyoung Seo, James G. Surles

"This study provides calibration of resistance factors (?) for design of driven piles to implement Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) for bridge foundations using Texas Cone Penetration (TCP) Test data. The basic research approach was to compile a database of published full-scale load tests including projects from the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) historical archive and projects from neighboring state DOTs. Load test results from neighboring states were leveraged by performing new geotechnical borings with TCP tests at the project sites. The final dataset consisted of 30 load tests performed on precast square concrete piles, with pile widths ranging from 356 to 508 mm and penetration depths ranging from 5.2 to 25.5 m, driven in soils. Ultimate capacities for each load test were interpreted based on Davisson, 5%, and 10% settlement criteria. These measured ultimate capacities were compared against predicted capacities estimated from TCP blow count values (NTCP) and design charts following the procedures outlined in TxDOT’s Geotechnical Manual. From the comparisons, statistical parameters of the biases (??= measured capacity/predicted capacity) such as mean and coefficient of variation were obtained. Resistance factors (?) for LRFD were then determined using Monte-Carlo simulations for each ultimate capacity criteria with the target reliability indices of 2.33 and 3.00.INTRODUCTIONThe Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has used the Texas Cone Penetration (TCP) test since its development in the 1940s. The TCP test is an in-situ penetration test to characterize the materials encountered during geotechnical exploration. Texas currently maintains over 53,000 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory (FHWA 2016), and most of these bridges plus other transportation infrastructure in Texas are supported by foundations designed using the TCP test and its associated foundation design method. The Oklahoma DOT adopted the TCP test and foundation design approach in the 1970s, so the foundations for most of the 23,000 bridges in Oklahoma’s inventory were also designed using the TCP method. With this significant body of experience, the TCP method has been viewed as a straightforward, relatively easy-touse foundation design method that consistently yields safe, serviceable, economical, and maintainable foundations. TxDOT’s deep foundation design method is documented in the TxDOT Geotechnical Manual (TxDOT 2012) and currently employs the allowable stress design (ASD) approach. However, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has mandated that the states begin to implement the LRFD method in place of the older ASD approach (Densmore 2000). This paper presents resistance factors at ultimate limit state (ULS) for design of driven piles using the TCP test, resulting from efforts to be in compliance with the FHWA policy."

Jan 1, 2017

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 Mario A. Terceros H., K. Rainer Massarsch

"ABSTRACTThe Expander Body (EB) technology has been used successfully to increase the pile toe capacity of bored piles in loose to medium dense soil. An important advantage of the EB system is the ability to monitor the EB expansion process, which provides important information regarding soil strength and soil stiffness. This information, obtained for each installed pile, can be used to determine the actual shape and pile toe area. The expansion pressure can be used to design the pile base capacity.The Expander Body system has been recently improved by incorporating the possibility of post-grouting of the soil below the expanded pile toe. This improvement measure provides additional strength and stiffness to the pile toe and reduces pile settlement.The shaft bearing capacity of bored piles can be increased by using a soil displacement auger, which avoids soil decompression and increases lateral soil stress. This paper describes the principle of the EB system. During the past 20 years, a large number of EB piles have been installed in Bolivia and elsewhere, providing a sound database. Results from field loading tests are presented. A comprehensive study of test piles with and without EB base has been carried out which demonstrates the improvement effects that can be achieved by the EB pile system and the combination with the displacement auger pile method. A design concept for the EB pile system with the full displacement auger pile is presented. A high degree of quality control can be achieved by monitoring the entire pile installation process, including the displacement pile and the Expander Body.1. IntroductionIn many regions of South America, soil deposits consist often of predominantly loose to medium dense sands and silts, often with high groundwater table. In the Santa Cruz area in central Bolivia, such soils are frequently quaternary sediments, deposited by the river Piray. The city of Santa Cruz is located at the right bank of the river.The most common deep foundation method during the last 30 years has been cast in situ piles, augered and concreted under support of bentonite slurry. The design of such piles has been based on SPT results. However, SPT is often performed without quality control and the reliability of geotechnical data is therefore often poor. Traditional methods of pile installation with simple well drilling equipment of insufficient capacity are frequently used. Such methods lack basic requirements of quality control. Such piles have usually low toe resistance and work mainly by shaft resistance . Although the construction process and materials are cheap, the final product has variable and limited capacity. However, the most serious deficiency is that actually achieved pile capacity and pile settlement can be erratic and difficult to predict, leading to uncertainties with regard to actual foundation performance."

Jan 1, 2014

By J. Stacho, Frankovská. J.

"Abstract The use of continuous flight auger (CFA) piles in Slovakia has increased significantly in recent decades. High-rise building of administrative centre Lakeside Park in Bratislava is based on piled-raft foundation. The technology of CFA has been used due to the advantages of this technology in comparison with driven and bored piles in local geotechnical conditions. Piles have been designed in accordance with Eurocode 7. Resistance of piles was calculated by using an analytical calculation model for bored piles according to Slovak technical standard and CFA technology has been taken into account by coefficient equal to 1.1. Settlement of piles was calculated by using a calculation model which is being used in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Two well instrumented static load tests were carried out to verify the pile design. The results of static load tests showed that the design was conservative. The paper presents analysis of numerical modelling of CFA pile and static load tests. Load-settlement curves and load distribution curves over pile shafts are compared. Software Plaxis 2011 has been used for numerical modelling. Hardening soil model allows considering over consolidation of Tertiary Silts and water pressure in deep sandy lenses. The article also presents the parametric study where the influences of pile-soil interface reduction factor, over consolidation ratio and material models of soils are analysed. The results of numerical modelling showed that the most appropriate results have been obtained when the interface reduction factor equal 0.9 and real behaviour of groundwater were considered. The conclusion of the paper confirms that mechanical behaviour of the ground can be better understood and determined by using FEM than analytical methods.1. IntroductionPiles are among the most frequently used elements of deep foundations. Piles transfer loads down to a suitable bearing stratum when the soil immediately below a construction is unsuitable. Piles are also used to reduce settlement of structure. At present, the requirements of limit settlement of structures are more stringent. Examples of these structures are commercial and administrative centres that form a complex of different tall buildings. High-rise buildings cause greater contact stresses than connected low-rise buildings. Pile foundations in such cases should be placed under the high-rise buildings to achieve an appropriate settlement.Resistance of piles can be determined from static load test results, in-situ tests and empirical experiences or calculations. Static load tests give the most reliable results, but these tests are also the most expensive. This is the reason for constant development of computational methods. Especially numerical methods give more accurate results by using more sophisticated material models e. g. hardening soil or hypoplastic model."

Jan 1, 2014

By Frank Rausche

Without doubt, driven piles are the most economical deep foundation element for a nearshore environment, providing for high bearing capacities and stiffness, quick installation times, assured quality by simple monitoring and inexpensive dynamic load testing during restrike testing. However, when the pile top elevation is several meters below water surface, questions often arise as to the most reliable and economical pile installation method. Frequently encountered, yet relatively expensive, solutions include driving inside a dewatered cofferdam, driving long piles that are later cut off below water surface, or using an underwater hammer. Arguably, the most economical solution is driving the piles with a follower or chaser. However, many foundation engineers shy away from this solution because of the uncertainty associated with the transfer of energy through the interface between follower and pile, the associated potential driveability problems and maybe the limited fatigue life of the follower. This paper will demonstrate how the driveability of a hammer-follower-pile-soil system should be analyzed prior to installation and how to model the pile-follower interface both for steel and concrete piles. As an example, results will be presented which were obtained for both steel pipe piles and precast concrete piles, driven by a single-acting diesel hammer through a steel follower for a pre-construction test pile program in Venice, Italy. While analysis of the steel pile-follower system was straightforward, for the concrete piles, the presence of a soft cushion material whose material properties changed continuously posed some difficulty. Pile Driving Analyzer® measurements and CAPWAP® analysis yielded not only realistic stresses and transferred energy values in the pile, but also reasonable model parameters for further use in a pure wave equation analysis. As a side note for clarity, the dynamic measurements and analysis results herein presented are based on the GRLWEAP and CAPWAP software. GRLWEAP is commonly used all around the world for the preparation of pile driving jobs. The program either yields a bearing graph that relates bearing capacity and pile stresses to blow count or set per blow or it predicts blow counts and pile stresses as a function of pile penetration. These results allow the contractor to estimate driving time and select an economical hammer and driving system for a safe and efficient installation. CAPWAP on the other hand is the analysis of choice once a pile has been installed and records of pile top force and velocity have been acquired during installation or during a restrike test. CAPWAP is a signal matching program which calculates for one particular impact (for example at the end of driving) the static and dynamic soil parameters. Its final results include the calculated resistance distribution, the complete stress history in the pile and also a simulated load set curve. The CAPWAP calculated dynamic soil parameters can also be used in a Refined GRLWEAP analysis to generate a calibrated bearing graph."

Jan 1, 2006

By Ramin Motamed, Joseph A. W. Toth

Evaluation of the capacity of large-diameter drilled shafts using current load test methods present challenges when considering the magnitude of loads required to fully mobilize their capacities. Often, these full scale tests do not fully mobilize the capacity through side resistance. Therefore, the need for innovative solutions to extrapolate side resistance and interpret nominal capacity are of key interest. In this study, we evaluate three methodologies for extrapolating unit side resistance based on bi-directional load test data. Fellenius (2001) presented these methods for interpretation of pile capacity using static load tests. Our interpretations are based on the evaluation of 116 load tests. Unit side resistance was calculated and reviewed for each load test and categorized using three criteria of mobilization; (A) full, (B) partial and (C) linear. This study specifically focuses on load tests that showed fully mobilized unit side resistance behavior (Criteria A). The three methodologies were applied assuming Criteria (A) load tests were mobilized to 50% of their measured values. Subsequent comparisons of each extrapolation were then compared against the full measured values for each test and generally showed good agreement. INTRODUCTION It is widely accepted that conducting load tests such as standard top-down tests or bi-directional (i.e. O- cell) tests can help designers understand load-settlement behavior and the nominal resistance of drilled shaft foundations. These load testing methods provide the advantage of confirming design assumptions as well as improving the reliability of the foundation design. The potential cost savings from the application of these methods for mid to large size projects is self-evident. For example, in a recent project in Northern Nevada, an O-cell test on a 6.9 ft diameter, 114.8 ft length drilled shaft imposed an initial cost of $125k to the project, resulting in a 15% reduction on the total foundation cost; equivalent to $1.3 million in overall savings (Pease, 2014). However, the costs of implementing such methods on smaller projects can be prohibitively expensive (Hagerty et al, 2016). Despite the clear advantages of drilled shaft load testing, the current practice is not without limitations. Performing load tests on large-diameter drilled shafts with high capacities is a challenge considering the significant loads required to fully mobilize the capacity of such foundations. In some cases, the feasibility of these tests is impractical because the associated initial cost is not guaranteed to outweigh the final savings. As a result, large scale load tests are sometimes ruled out from the design phase of projects. Furthermore, in the majority of load tests the magnitude of loads applied are specifically selected to not approach failure, so the shafts can be used in the future foundation system (i.e. production shafts). This practice of field testing restricts our knowledge of the true capacity of the drilled shaft at failure; hence the nominal resistance remains unknown.

Jan 1, 2018

By Austin Metz, Kevin Stanton, Ramin Motamed

"A recent study calibrated Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) resistance factors for local soil conditions in the Las Vegas Valley. As a part of this calibration, an extensive database of drilled shaft load tests and associated subsurface soil information were collected and compiled. This database, deemed the Nevada Department of Transportation Deep Foundation Load Test Database or NDFLTD, was designed with the presentation of load test data, the subsurface soil conditions, and the spatial distribution of the data in mind. In addition, the NDFLTD was developed in a way that allows additional data to be added as it becomes available. As such, the rules of database normalization were followed to allow for additional and different types of data to be added to the database and reports. Microsoft Access was chosen to present the data because it is easily accessible to anyone with Microsoft office software, it has a quick learning curve, and it has the ability to present a relational database. The largest obstacle faced when creating the NDFLTD was normalizing the data used in the LRFD calibration, with the goal of reaching the 5th normal form.INTRODUCTIONLRFD is based on statistical performance of engineering components, as opposed to the more traditional Allowable Strength Design (ASD), which divides the strength of a component by a safety factor. Calibration of resistance factors for LRFD requires a robust statistical analysis of past performance. For drilled shafts this requires a database of full scale load tests (Abu-Hejleh et al. 2014). The FHWA developed the largest US based deep foundation load test database, deemed the DFLTD, collecting data from 1985 to 2003 when funds ran out (Abu-Hejleh et al. 2014). Recently, the DFLTD has been updated to modern standards (Petek et al. 2016). In October of 2007, the FHWA mandated state department of transportations (DOTs) to follow AAHSTO LRFD guidelines for their highway foundation designs (Abu-Hejleh et al. 2014). Since then multiple state DOTs have developed their own, region specific deep foundation load test databases. Florida has a long history of developing databases for deep foundation LRFD resistance factor calibration, with the two main databases being the FL database, and The Deep Foundations Database (Abu-Hejleh et al. 2014). Iowa developed a Microsoft Access based database in 2014 (Garder et al. 2014). Oregon developed a database compiling pertinent data from the DFLTD, Florida DOT’s Deep Foundation Database, as well as from other databases (Smith et al. 2011). Illinois developed the “International Database” for static and dynamic reliability based calibration (Long et al. 2009). Louisiana developed a database for LRFD Calibration of driven piles in 2009 (Abu-Farsakh et al. 2009). The California Department of Transportation has its own internal foundation database, which is housed within the Foundation Testing Branch archive (Smith et al. 2011). In 2016, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) presented its own LRFD calibration for the Las Vegas Valley (Stanton et al. 2017), and the NDFLTD was developed as a part of that project (Motamed et al. 2016)."

Jan 1, 2017

Jan 1, 1987

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