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By John W. M. Lambert

This paper describes the execution and the results of a new method to seal off leaks in water retaining constructions. The new method, called BioSealing is based on activating the bacteries, present in soil and groundwater. The method was tested under field conditions in 2004 and applied at the HSL aqueduct of the 'Ringvaart Haarlemmermeer' in 2005.

Jan 1, 2006

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 Marco Fellin, Van E. Komurka

Significant cost and construction benefits were obtained from performing a bi-directional static load test prior to construction on the Russell Street Bridge Replacement project in Missoula, Montana. The project utilized 24 drilled shafts to support two three-span bridges across the Clark Fork River. A bi-directional static load test (“BDSLT”) was performed on a large-diameter production shaft to demonstrate construction methods and confirm design assumptions. Subsurface conditions consisted of gravel with sand to a depth of 20 feet (6.1 m), underlain by gravel with sand, silt, cobbles, and occasional boulders. The test shaft had a nominal diameter of 5.9 feet (1.8 m), and an embedded length of 75.5 feet (23.0 m). The geotechnical engineer of record and the BDSLT test engineer collaborated to optimize the BDSLT jack assembly location within the test shaft, determine appropriate instrumentation locations, and plan the test protocol. The maximum applied test load was 10,707 kips (47.6 kN). Significant benefits were obtained from performing the BDSLT test, including 1) reducing each production shaft’s length by using a higher LRFD resistance factor allowed by having performed the testing, 2) using test-determined unit shaft resistances to evaluate and accept two production shafts that may have otherwise required remediation, and 3) providing the Montana Department of Transportation (and other designers) with increased presumptive unit resistance values in the gravel/cobble/boulder deposits. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The project was constructed in Missoula, Montana for the Montana Department of Transportation (“MDT”). The original bridge was approximately 60 years old, and consisted of a two-lane, 420-foot-long (128-m), four-span, riveted steel plate girder design spanning the Clark Fork River. The bridge was due for replacement owing to its deteriorated state, and the need for increased traffic volume capability afforded by a four-lane structure. HDR was the structural engineer. The preferred bridge alternate was a 459-foot- long (140-m), three-span, welded steel plate girder design. The new bridge was designed to meet current standards in accordance with MDT bridge design and AASHTO LRFD criteria. The new bridge was constructed in phases to keep traffic open during construction.

Jan 1, 2019

By Richard Short

Shallow rainfall-induced landslides in residual and colluvial hillslopes and steep embankments are a common occurrence in many settings [1, 2, 3]. While occasionally posing a threat to property and life-safety, they more often present an ongoing maintenance problem and can lead to the initiation of larger failures. Typically, these slides consist of 2 to 4-foot thick translational movements of silty and clayey soils down slope through the reduction of strength from increases in pore water pressures. Direct surficial infiltration and indirect groundwater seepage are the normative triggers for failure. In the residential community of Blackhawk, California, located east of the San Francisco Bay, these types of landslides are a common occurrence (Figure 1). However, shallow landslides have also been a repetitive and constant problem along many state highways where steep embankments have been constructed in close proximity to busy thoroughfares. Given the real threat to property values in residential and commercial settings and the constant maintenance problem posed to lifeline structures such as utilities, roadways, and pipelines, new methods to deal with these landslides are needed.

Jan 1, 2007

By Deepak B. Deshpande

This paper enumerates various difficulties encountered in the design and construction of deep caisson foundations for the Second Bassein Creek Bridge constructed over a creek with very difficult site conditions. The designer of the bridge had anticipated the problems associated with the construction of large diameter floating caissons and limited the maximum size of caisson to 12.5m O.D. facilitated by the means of Shock Transmission Units (STUs). This is the first road bridge in India where STUs are installed to distribute seismic horizontal loads among piers installed with fixed and unidirectional bearings. Besides the usual difficulties of tilts, shifts, and sinking in the construction of floating caissons, the paper also describes a novel methodology used to retrieve a circular 12.5m O.D. caisson which had been swept away during a storm and stuck into the creek bed.

Jan 1, 2002

By Jon E. Bischoff

Construction of a secondary clarifier on the banks of Rainy River, Northern Minnesota, required the driving of H-piles 14HP102 to a sloping, very strong bedrock through thick deposits of soft and medium stiff soils. Pile toe protection, APF Hardbite HP 77750, was specified to prevent damage to the pile toe and to enable the pile toe to bite into the bedrock surface. The toe protection worked well for bedrock sloping less than 2H:1V. However, where the bedrock was steeper, the piles experienced damage and failed to reach bearing. In most cases, the also the replacement pile failed. Pile Driving Analyzer measurements showed that on encountering the bedrock, the pile toe reflection, which at first was sound, deteriorated indicating pile toe damage. Extraction for visual inspection showed that the failed piles were bent and had deformed pile shoes. In areas of steeply sloping bedrock and for replacement piles, an alternative shoe, the Scanpile Herkules rock shoe, was employed. This pile shoe proved to be able to secure the pile toe into the rock and to eliminate the problem. The costs of the Herkules rock shoe considering price, shipping, and attaching, were about equal with the Hardbite shoe.

Jan 1, 1993

By Hiren J. Shah

The urban environment and geology create unique challenges for design and construction of deep foundations. The effect of these is prominently experienced in New York City. Three such project case histories are presented in this paper. The first project is a multi-use development. Relatively unusual glacial geology was observed at the site during the subsurface investigation phase. This played an important role in the selection of deep foundations as well as during construction. The design and construction aspects of the pile foundations, settlement estimates, a pile drive test program during design, piling equipment and production pile installation are discussed herein. A relatively smaller project is the second case history. A combination of drilled and driven deep foundations was employed in one area of the project due to its unique conditions. In another area of the project, an addition to a structure required the use of supplemental foundations to resist new additional loading. Tight space and load sharing with the existing foundations were important considerations in the design and construction. Finite element modeling of the existing and completed structure was performed which was an interesting aspect of the project. The third project case history involves a very large multi-billion dollar project in which various different types of deep foundation elements were used. The aspects requiring the use of such a variety of types and sizes of deep foundation elements included: geologic conditions, re-use of existing foundations, protection of adjacent infrastructure, construction staging, restricted space, loads, deep excavations, cost and schedule.

Jan 1, 2011

By Francisco A. Flores, Rigoberto Torres

The Complementary Technical Standards of Mexico’s City Building Code do not mention the criteria to compute the bearing capacity of Steel H-piles. It is necessary to increase knowledge in using steel H-piles as foundation elements in very soft soils of Mexico City. Considering their applicability to reinforce structures as well as new foundations in confined spaces, this research is proposed to obtain the axial load capacity of piles at scale in laboratory. This paper describes the construction and testing of scale models in laboratory of steel H-piles to measure their axial compression and tension load capacity in the soft soils of Mexico City. Three types of piles were fabricated at scale. Tests were performed on individual piles and pile groups. Based on the axial load tests, the load-displacement curves are presented both in compression and tension. The analysis of the results is shown, and comments are given regarding the ultimate bearing capacity of piles. Recommendations are presented regarding the determination of the bearing capacity of these piles in the very soft soils of Mexico City.

Sep 8, 2021

By Michael Arnold, Jonathan Delgado

In 2017, Bauer Foundation Corp. (BFC) was awarded the contract to install the deep foundations for the new 17-story Hotel Tower and the Low Rise Casino Expansion at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa, Florida. The site was underlain by extremely challenging Florida Limestone geology and surrounded by occupied existing buildings and infrastructure. To overcome the challenges of the difficult subsurface conditions, and to successfully complete the foundation installation without impact to the surrounding buildings and casino operation, Langan Engineering (EOR) and BFC were required to modify both the design and installation techniques during construction. The scope of work included 147 temporarily cased drilled shafts to depths up to 230 ft (70 m) below ground surface (BGS), 76 permanently cased micropiles up to 200 ft (61 m) BGS, and more than 300 augered-cast-in-place (ACIP) piles up to 125 ft (38 m) BGS. Voids and zones of high permeability in the limestone created many challenges for execution of the foundation scope including ACIP piles overbreaks of more than 400% above neatline volume, and construction induced ground subsidence/collapses adjacent to structures supported on shallow foundations. This paper will discuss site limitations, design and construction challenges, difficult geology, varied soil conditions, and lessons learned. PROJECT The project is located at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa, Florida, as shown in Fig. 1. Seminole Tribe, the owner, started the construction of a new 17-story Hotel Tower and the Low-Rise Casino Expansion at the beginning of 2017.

Jan 1, 2018

By Roger Frank

"Abstract After noting the importance of standardization for piles, the European system is described (execution, tests and design, etc.). Some important aspects of Eurocode 7 are outlined (like the role of pile load tests). Finally, the calculation methods in the recent French standard for the design of piles following Eurocode 7 are shortly addressed.Importance of standardization for piles Like for other fields of geotechnical engineering, pile engineering is a complex art. For piles, the challenges are particularly numerous and many things must be mastered properly: - the soil investigation must be serious and adequate (for instance, deep enough!);- the choice of the pile type and the assumed behaviour must be assessed in order to reach a safe and economic design of the overall foundation;- the execution itself (construction and/or installation) deserves special attention and must follow strict state-of-the art rules.The geotechnical engineer, in charge of the design of a pile foundation, must have in mind the parameters linked to the variety of soils, of soil conditions and of pile types. A wide range of strong environmental issues are also to be considered: minimum disturbance during the execution processes, long-duration friendliness of the “inclusions” into the ground (to avoid pollution of the soils and waters, for instance) and respect of the neighbouring structures.Pile engineering plays in a world which is constantly moving and progressing: constructions expand in new difficult areas, actions on piles are more and more important, new execution techniques of piles are developed, research into the complex behaviour of pile foundations has no end, etc. Our views on how piles and group of piles really work are constantly evolving!"

Jan 1, 2014

By Wen Songlin

This paper presents an experimental program to investigate the behavior of a pile with wings under horizontal loads in sand at laboratory. The work focused on evaluating the lateral resistance behavior and the geometric effect of wing board on the horizontal resistance. Based on the measured data and observed phenomenon, the following behaviors have been observed: 1) A pile with wings is not only a powerful means to improve the horizontal bearing capacity of a pile foundation but also economy and feasibility; 2) The horizontal bearing capacity of a pile with wings increases with increasing of it?s wing board?s area; 3) The pile lateral capacity is also influenced by the wing board?s geometric shape. Under a certain soil and pile condition, there is a critical embedment depth of the wing board, which will yield the maximum horizontal bearing capacity. It was further observed that when the displacement of the pile head increases, part of the horizontal bearing capacity of the pile is developed by the so-called shaft?s anti-pulling capacity.

Jan 1, 2007

By R. Radhakrishnan, C. Gunasekaran

"Calicut Bypass Phase-II project included construction of 7 m high embankment over soft compressible clays up to 18 m in thickness. Approx 1.5 km length of road out of a total 5 km length consisted of abandoned paddy fields which were low lying, waterlogged and marshy in nature. On the basis of excellent results achieved in earlier phases of the by-pass construction, ground improvement work by installing pre-fabricated vertical drains (PVD) was undertaken to stabilize the embankment foundation along the weak clay areas prior to road pavement construction to avoid large post construction settlement as well as to improve the lateral stability during and after embankment construction. This project perhaps stands out as one of the highway projects completed within a very short time period of total 18 months including four month long heavy monsoon period, when embankment construction was not possible and construction of two bridges across rivers. All activities including the ground improvement had to be programmed and completed within the shortest time period possible. The paper discusses details of the extensive ground improvement and soil instrumentation carried out for the project and will illustrate how careful planning and execution can reduce the period required for highway projects involving ground improvement.INTRODUCTIONPhase-II construction of Calicut by-pass was undertaken on a priority basis by the State of Kerala in 2014. The main contract was awarded to M/S ULCCS Ltd, Kozhikode, Kerala and the ground improvement work was awarded to M/S Geo-Enviro Engineers P Ltd, as specialist agency to design and execute the work.Soil investigation carried out confirmed thick soft clay deposits below GL in three areas along the road alignment totaling approx 1.5 km in length. These areas were low lying, waterlogged and marshy in nature. Highway embankment had to be constructed up to 7 m in height above existing GL to form the proposed road alignment along these areas. On the basis of excellent results achieved in earlier phases of the by-pass construction using pre-fabricated vertical drains or PVD (R. Radhakrishnan, 2006), ground improvement using PVD had been included in the contract to stabilize the embankment foundation along the weak clay areas prior to highway embankment construction to avoid large post construction settlement as well as to improve lateral stability during its construction."

Jan 1, 2015

By Walter I. Paniagua

Drilled shafts and precast concrete piles were installed for the foundation of several structures in a reconfiguration project of a refinery in Minatitlan, Veracruz, in the Gulf of Mexico. The soils are alluvial deposits of flat land from the Coatzacoalcos River, which are embedded with layers of sand, soft clay, and peat. As part of a QC/QA program, load tests, both static and dynamic, axial and lateral, were performed. In this paper results of 32 axial tests are presented, in which typical load-displacement curves were measured at the top of the foundation elements; from the interpretation of these plots, data were recorded for ultimate side shear and in some cases for end bearing capacities, which are compared with the theoretical results of the final stage of the foundation design. The comparison shows that under allowable loads, side shear determines the bearing capacity of piles, even when the tip is embedded in a hard layer. Underestimation of the side shear is evident; therefore design criteria, as well as the methods used for obtaining soil parameters, should be reviewed.

Jan 1, 2007

By Lucian Bogdan

On many occasions during construction and service life of the structure, it is crucial to know the load in post tensioning tendons and anchors. Although there are many methods to measure the tendon force, most of them are cumbersome, expensive and the accuracy differs depending on the method used Dyna Force sensor uses the Elasto-magnetic technology (EM) and non destructive testing (NDT) to direct measure stress level in prestressed strands or bars installed on ground anchors or post tensioning tendons. Dyna Force sensor can be used to rapidly read the change in load during proof and performance tests and compare with the pressure gauge and during the life on the anchor to monitor existing lock-off load. It can be used also to determine the load along the bonded length of the anchor allowing the contractor to increase or decrease this length. The paper presents Dyna Force operating principle and some applications. In conclusion, the Elasto magnetic technology applied through Dyna Force is a new and easy to use approach to monitor anchor load during proof test and service life of the structure.

Jan 1, 2009

By Dawn C. Tattle

[ ] Panoramic View of Completed Facade Supports The following case history describes the installation of earth retention systems, historical facade supports and structural caissons by Anchor Shoring & Caissons Ltd. at the Air Canada Centre/Raptors Stadium Project in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Air Canada Centre/Raptors Stadium project includes a 140,000 square foot office tower, a 20,000 seat basketball arena and their support facilities. The arena within the complex will also have the ability to host hockey, ice shows, concerts and family events.

Jan 1, 1997

By James Su

The Green River Valley in Kent, Washington, is a fast growing area containing retail facilities, warehouse factories and industrial businesses, including the Boeing Space Center. Traffic from Interstate - 5 to the West Valley Highway is highly congested. Accordingly, a new corridor, including a bridge across the Green River, was designed and constructed between 1996 and 1997. This paper presents a case history of the design elements and issues associated with the construction of the pier foundations of the bridge. Subsurface conditions were evaluated using both deep test borings and CPT soundings to evaluate the strength and consolidation properties of the supporting soils. Subsurface conditions consisted of alternating layers of loose and medium dense silty sand and sandy silt. Engineering analysis included an assessment of liquefaction as well as pier supporting capacity and associated settlement. The constructed foundations included 6-foot-diameter piers cased to a depth of 120 feet below the ground surface. The pier casings were driven to the design tip elevation and the soil inside the casing was removed by drilling. Despite performing borings and CPT soundings at specific pier locations, occasional trees, buried thousands of years ago through geologic processes, were surprisingly encountered during pier construction. This presented unique and difficult driving and drilling conditions. During drilling, the water level inside the piers was maintained near the ground surface to create a balance of hydrostatic pressure and prevent boiling of soils the bottom of the casing. After the casings were installed, the soil inside the casing was excavated, the rebar cage was installed and the pier was filled with concrete using treme techniques. Construction of the piers is complete and the completed piers have experienced negligible settlement. Owner: City of Kent Engineering Department Timothy La Porte, Project Manager Kent, Washington General Contractor: Mowat Construction Company, Kirkland, Washington Foundation Contractor: Condon - Johnson & Associates, Inc., Tukwila, Washington

Jan 1, 1998

1.1 The parties agree to submit all claims, disputes or controversies arising out of, or in relation to, the interpretation, application or enforcement of this agreement, including dispute resolution procedures, to sequential mandatory discussion, mediation and arbitration for resolution of all disputes before, and as a condition precedent, to self-help, arbitration, judicial action or other remedies. This mandatory procedure will resolve each dispute within one-hundred (100) calendar days. Any deadline falling on a federal holiday or weekend will be the next working day. Breach of this disputes process shall constitute a material breach of contract for which the aggrieved party may recover all costs, including attorneys fees, interest and other expenses necessary to resolve the dispute through litigation. The obligation to discuss and then mediate and arbitrate covers all disputes arising from every aspect of the Project to be built by the owner, including, but not limited to, design, engineering, bonding, indemnification, labor, material and services, and the acts or omissions of any related party for whom a party to this agreement may stand responsible.

Jan 1, 1994

By G. T. Hong

A numerical model for use in design is developed to predict the stresses and axial and bending displacements in a drilled pier in expansive soils. The prediction is based on the horizontal swelling pressures and uplift forces which act on the side of the drilled pier. The exponential suction envelope with the depth within the moisture active zone is estimated based upon the equilibrium suction, moisture diffusion coefficients obtained from laboratory tests, and minimum suction at the ground surface of the site based on field conditions. The volume change of soil is based on suction variations, soil properties, overburden pressures, crack influences, and the relationship between moisture contents and suctions. Considering the movement active and anchor zones on a soil-pile system in expansive soils, horizontal swelling pressures are formulated using the shear strength of an unsaturated soil and the Mohr?s circle and failure envelope. The movement active zone has two sub-zones in which horizontal swelling pressures are attributed to passive earth pressure failure and suction change in the upper and lower sub-zones, respectively. Horizontal swelling pressures which occur in the anchor zone are assumed to be in the at rest condition. The shear stress generated on the vertical surface of a drilled pier is supported by the nonlinear curves of load transfer versus relative displacement. The axial behavior and lateral bending of the pier in expansive soils are simulated using a beam column approach. The computed axial and bending displacements and stresses are used to provide structural design of the pier. Figures of computed results for typical cases are presented.

Jan 1, 2007

By Federico Pagliacci, Marco Chiarabelli, Salvatore Miranda

The paper describes the adopted technologies and performance controls related to a special geotechnical engineering solution provided within the scope of the Galataport Project, in Istanbul, Turkey. The scheme is the one applied to the new quay of Salipazari, which is a combination of retaining structure and ground improvement, formed by a combi-wall, a reinforced concrete diaphragm wall and a soil improvement by deep soil mixing (Turbojet). The paper highlights the importance of employing cutting-edge technologies within the foundation engineering field and state-of-the-art electronic control devices, in parallel with the essential human expertise, in order to obtain the desired results in this high profile Project. The results of the in-situ and laboratory tests carried out on the improved soil are also presented. Main discussed points are: • History of Galataport and main Project details. • Design principle and soil condition for the new quay of Salipazari. • Difficulties encountered during execution of DSM. • Preliminary field trial tests conducted to establish the operational parameters, with relevant in-situ and laboratory tests executed. • Preliminary tests on material used for DSM (seawater and CEM IV SR). • Electronic equipment mounted on the rig, which allows the automatic execution of DSM columns. • Final QA/QC tests conducted to verify the performance of DSM, mainly consisting in: coring with relevant laboratory tests on samples (UCS + Es), seismic refraction tomography and seismic cross hole tomography. Correlations between UCS and Es, and between Es and Edyn are also presented. • A cross section of the executed treatment could be inspected on site during excavation. Photos and considerations are also presented.

Jan 1, 2018

By Shreyas Giridharan, Fursan Hamad, Sujith Gowda, Christian Moormann

"Pile installation in soil is a dynamic process which exhibits large deformation in the soil region. Experimental investigation of pile installation is both time and resource intensive. Numerical investigation can be a helpful tool for the analysis of the installation process. Furthermore, numerical analysis allows simulating various soils and loading conditions with ease. Finite Element Method (FEM) – a widely used framework for numerical simulations - fails to perform well for soil mechanics where large deformation and heavy material movement exists. In order to alleviate this shortcoming, Material Point Method (MPM), advancement to FEM has been used. In MPM, material points (particles) are used to represent the domain which carry the information and move over a fixed computational mesh where the governing equations are solved.In the present work, a variation of MPM, called CPDI (Convected Particle Domain Interpolation) is utilised which handles large deformation problems better than the classical MPM. Here, the material points are represented by a spatial domain which deforms according to the particle deformation. This eliminates stress oscillations while particles cross the grids. Implementation is validated and applied to pile installation in dry and saturated soil conditions. A 2D axisymmetric model is chosen, with penalty function method being used for evaluating contact between soil and pile. Sand is modelled via the hypoplastic constitutive description that takes into account large deformation, as well as small strain stiffness. From these simulations, various parameters like stress, void ratio and friction angle are studied.INTRODUCTIONOffshore piling is challenging in terms of testing and execution. Before the execution, predicting an efficient installation method requires study of various parameters, like soil conditions, type of loading, force requirement etc., and are the minimum parameters to be known beforehand. To obtain these parameters, testing a real scale prototype under different conditions is not feasible. Scaled model tests in lab can support in making certain decisions, but fail to replicate real behavior fully. Therefore, the need for a numerical simulation technique emerges, which can provide early predictions easily and accurately. This later can be extended to real scale tests, reducing the number of experimental investigation required.Simulation of displacement pile installation in sand involves large deformation due to penetration process, thereby making the application of FEM impossible, where large deformation causes heavy mesh distortions. Due to this, meshless methods are developed to treat large deformation in a better way. Among various meshless methods, Material Point Method (MPM) shows more applicability to geomechanical problems. This is mainly due to the ease of handling soil, structure and water in a unified manner."

Jan 1, 2017