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By J. Matos e Silva

"Abstract Although one can think that it is very low the probability of a seism occurrence during the execution of an excavation in an urban lot protected by a diaphragm wall curtain, reality shows that whenever a seism occurs in an urban area several diaphragm walls will be affected by it. So it is advisable to consider the seismic action when designing a diaphragm wall curtain. The paper refers the main information about the seismic design of diaphragm walls according to the Eurocodes 7 and 8 and to the Portuguese Norms related to them (respectively NP EN 1997-1 2010 and NP EN 1998-5 2010), as the Eurocodes consider the possibility of each European country to adopt their own seismic parameters as the seismic risk is different in each country. Thus the so-called National Document of Application (in our case the Portuguese Norms) prescribes the seismic local parameters.1 - EUROCODES AND PORTUGUESE NORMS PRESCRIPTIONSAccording to Eurocode 8 - Part 5 and to the related Portuguese Norm NP EN 1998-5 2010, seismic actions on soils should be quantified adopting the Mononobe-Okabe method that gives goodapproaches when compared with reality.From paragraph 7.3.2.2 of the referred Norm, the horizontal seismic coefficient kh will be:"

Jan 1, 2014

By Garland Likins, Gray Mullins, George Piscsalko

"Quality control of drilled shafts is greatly dependent upon the practices of the site personnel. For drilled shafts cast under slurry, inspection of the hole prior to concreting is very difficult or impossible. There are numerous non-destructive test (NDT) methods currently available to assess the integrity of drilled shafts. This paper will discuss the theory and use of an emerging NDT technology known as Thermal Integrity Profiling (TIP). The Thermal Integrity Profiling method measures the elevated concrete temperatures that occur during the hydration process. These temperature measurements are made along the length of the pile and can determine the integrity over 100% of the pile cross section, both inside and outside the reinforcing cage. With the known shaft volume information, TIP can evaluate the effective shaft radius at each measurement location. With the increased use of TIP on highway projects, there is a need to have standard criteria for shaft acceptance. Shaft acceptance criteria can be based upon thermal measurements and subsequent analysis of the data to determine the average shaft radius, local concrete cover, and cage alignment. With this additional information obtained via the thermal testing method, acceptance methods based upon concrete cover can be developed. In this paper the Thermal Integrity Profiling method will be described, results from a case history will be discussed, and an acceptance criteria based upon concrete cover will be proposed.INTRODUCTIONDrilled shafts are an attractive foundation element in many applications due to their large axial and lateral capacities. When drilled shafts are cast in a dry hole, it is possible to inspect the hole prior to casting, allowing for very basic level of quality control, although the shape of the completed element is still unknown without some form of post construction testing. When drilled shafts are installed where soil conditions are unstable, the shafts will often be cast under slurry to support the surrounding soils during the construction process. When casting a drilled shaft under slurry, it is very difficult to impossible to accurately and efficiently inspect the hole prior to casting concrete and it is equally difficult or impossible to inspect the shaft during the casting process"

Jan 1, 2016

By Athena C. Denivo, Pablo V. Lopez, Sissy Nikolaou, Alfred H. Brand, Ahmad Rahimian, Rudivien G. Josef

"The United States Tennis Association (USTA) Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (BJKNTC) site is located in the northeastern portion of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park area of Queens, N.Y. The site occupies some of the most difficult subsurface conditions for construction in the New York City (NYC) metropolitan area, with unique challenges from geotechnical, seismic and foundation design perspectives.At the USTA site, Paleozoic crystalline bedrock is found at a depth of roughly 300 to 400 ft (90 to 120 m) below grade. The geologic history of the site is complicated, starting from the early Pleistocene, when the ancient Hudson River temporarily changed course, flowing across Queens enroute to the Atlantic. It eventually carved a deep valley through the Cretaceous soils, in some places all the way down to bedrock. A series of glaciers advanced and retreated across the region during the Pleistocene times, filling the deep valley with layers of assorted glacial soils. At its southern edge, the last major glacier to flow across the region built up a ridge at the southern tip of Flushing Meadows known as the Harbor Hill terminal moraine. This ridge blocked the valley forming a dam, so as ice started melting away the valley filled up with a lake fed by glacial meltwater. Layers of clean outwash sand and varved silt and clay filled the glacial lake. The ice did not retreat in a steady manner, instead periodically readvancing over the previously deposited soil in the lake, then retreating far enough to let the lake drain temporarily into Long Island Sound, before readvancing again.As a result of this repeated sequence of retreat, advance, retreat, etc., there are places where a “crust” of desiccated soil formed when the lake drained, and areas with interlayers of outwash sand where ice readvanced into the lake. When the ice melted north of Long Island Sound, the glacial lake filling Flushing Meadows drained forming Flushing Creek. During the Holocene (roughly the last 11,000 years), as ice melted further away and sea-level rose, low lying areas filled with river sands and marine clays, along with coastal marsh deposits. Table 1 lists the soil design properties on site and Figure 1 exhibits the geologic section across the site."

Jan 1, 2015

By Maurice Bottiau

It is a quite challenging objective to aim at covering in one paper the most recent evolution in piling and deep foundations technologies. This report has to be understood within the limits of the session 2b. It will therefore concentrate on the technological evolution of deep foundation techniques, addressing design issues only when directly related to execution aspects. For the same reason, it will not address the related codes, as a separate session of this conference is specifically dedicated to this topic. Monitoring and deep excavations being covered in other sessions, they will only be addressed when clearly relevant. We will try to show, from a practical viewpoint what are the main changes and the most exciting or critical issues over the last years, as they appear from the topics addressed in the literature or in the papers published in this session of the conference. As the paper mostly intends to explain trends and critical topics, it cannot be exhaustive, neither can it give the full description of the case studies. The author invites the reader to read the full papers, for a more complete description. We have divided our report in three main topics: Piling, soil improvement and treatment and retaining walls. Anchors and tie-backs will not be treated, neither tunneling.

Jan 1, 2006

By John Davie

We used a Remtek survey in Glenrock and had very good luck with it when we first started the initial investigation. We would have loved to have used that more but my understanding is the equipment is hard to find. It also requires a flooded mine workings. If you're in a dry mine the communication between the two holes is not quite as successful.

Feb 10, 2003

By David Coleman

This paper presents a case history involving the installation of drilled in piles with rock sockets for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Path project located west of the Henry Hudson Parkway within the Riverside Park between 83rd Street and 91st Street at the Hudson River in New York, NY. The paper specifically addresses access and construction procedures for a marine installation when working in an urban and environmentally sensitive setting.

By Rohrbach

Crosshole Sonic Logging (CSL) testing is commonly used to verify the integrity, quality and ultimately the acceptability of the concrete in structural elements such as drilled shaft foundations, secant pile cutoff walls, and secant/tangent pile earth retention structures. Besides concrete quality, many factors can impact CSL test results (e.g. laitance, air temperature, access tube spacing, access tube debonding, etc.). Effective use of CSL testing requires fully informed qualified practitioners capable of distinguishing between abnormal readings unrelated to deficiencies in the drilled shaft concrete and similar readings indicating the presence or possible presence of drilled shaft defects. Based on data and experience gathered from CSL testing of thousands of drilled shafts across North America, this paper discusses such factors and other information useful when evaluating CSL test results, and provides practical recommendations intended to reduce the potential for incorrect test data interpretation. The CSL testing industry is lacking in a clear, universally accepted guideline for the interpretation of CSL data and acceptance criteria of these concrete elements. This paper proposes terminology and a streamlined process for use when atypical results are obtained. The proposed terminology and method are intended to simplify and expedite the submittal review and approval process. Because construction activities for these elements are often on the project?s critical path, the benefits obtained in terms of project savings and reducing costly delays are undoubtedly valuable.

By Alan G. MacKinnon

The current piling practices in the U. S. have, to a great degree, been influenced by our founding fathers. When our constitution was written by the delegates from the original thirteen colonies, it was a document of compromise. Generally, the individual states retained their sovereign power over those duties that they had historically performed. The concept of States Rights has been tested throughout our history and has been preserved as of today. An example of the extent of this protection is occurring in the State of Ohio where I currently live. Each of the 50 states receives funds for highway construction from the federal government, approximately in proportion to its population. Congress, when it allocates the funds, quite often attaches amendments to the funding bill to exercise their authority. The major amendment prior to the most recent increase in the speed limit to 65 mph from 55 mph was to increase the legal drinking age to 21 from 18 years old. Embodied within the bill was the provision that the Federal government deduct a percentage from the allocation of any state that did not revise its legal drinking age law from 18 to 21. In the State of Ohio, this change in the law was put to a vote of the people and it was defeated. The federal government now is deducting funds

Jan 1, 1987

By Gordon King

This paper presents a case study of large diameter continuous flight auger (CFA) piles and drilled shafts utilized for foundation support of a series of heavily loaded cement plant structures at the Suwannee American Cement (SAC) Plant in Branford, Florida. The high loads and exacting total and differential settlement criteria when combined with a highly variable subsurface geology provided a challenging design scenario. Fully instrumented static pile load tests were performed to determine design parameters in the variable weathered limestone bedrock. Ultimate side friction values ranged from 2 to 8 tsf within the limestone, resulting in the requirement for CFA piles up to one meter (approximately 40 inches) in diameter and socket lengths of up to 40 feet. At several localized areas, the limestone bedrock was in excess of 60 feet below grade, requiring the use of cased drilled shafts to depths on the order of 80 to 90 feet. An integral part of the production pile installation was the use of instrumentation to monitor drilling and concreting parameters. Calibration of drill rates, torque and auger rotation with rock quality was performed to allow monitoring of the soil stratigraphy at each pile location. When combined with the results of the instrumented load testing, the monitoring of drilling parameters allowed confirmation that sufficient socket length was achieved within the quality of rock present at each and every pile location.

Jan 1, 2003

By Les R. Chernauskas

Driven pipe piles are commonly used for near and offshore structures due to their omni-directional bending resistance, large surface area, and ease of installation. However, these piles typically cannot be driven deep enough to develop significant and sustained uplift capacity, and in some cases do not generate enough end-bearing resistance before being overstressed during driving. When driven closed-ended, their relatively light weight to cross-sectional ratio, and when driven open-ended their tendency to prematurely plug, are some installation short comings. Spin Fin® piles are traditional pipe piles fitted with flat, steel plates (?fins?) attached at a slight angle over the lower few feet of the pipe. Their design development dates back several decades for projects associated with harsh, limited weather window, offshore Alaskan oil field work. These projects required a pile type that could generate high and sustained capacity in both compression and tension, at relatively shallow depth. During pile driving, a relatively short, high capacity pile translates into more rapid installations with smaller and more efficient equipment. In this type of environment, where pile capacities are large, cyclic loading is typical, and relatively high pile movement is tolerable, the Spin Fin® pile is a superior solution. This paper describes the experience of using Spin Fin® piles on several recently completed Massachusetts Steam Ship Authority projects.

Jan 1, 2011

By John P. Davis

The use of conventional, circulatory air rotary and fluid rotary, cased and uncased drilling methods in the vicinity of sensitive infrastructure can have deleterious effects on the ground conditions surrounding and supporting structures and the structure itself. Furthermore, the use of these conventional methods offers the engineer or contractor little information about the condition of the subsurface during geotechnical applications. Conversely, sonic drilling measurements and samples can be used to evaluate actual conditions during the progress of exploration and construction across a given site. This paper will discuss the history and properties of sonic drilling and explore case histories of geotechnical applications for the advancement of boreholes within vulnerable structures and on sensitive sites for several recent infrastructure projects ? a tunnel and railroad project, a dam grout curtain project, a bridge micropile exploration project and a tunnel instrumentation project. Project summaries will discuss the advantages realized when the application of sonic drilling techniques demonstrated superior accuracy, quality control, efficiency, productivity, penetrability, waste minimization and adaptability when drilling adjacent to or within existing infrastructure. Finally, the discussion will address the current testing and application of sonic drilling to the installation of micropiles, earth retention anchors, grout injection and instrumentation installation where the quality control benefits provided by the inherent soil cores, measurement while drilling systems, accuracy and non-destructive production drilling features will be advantageous.

Jan 1, 2006

By Lawrence F. Johnsen

In 1989, the Connecticut Department of Transportation authorized the evaluation and design for a reconstructed Route 1 bridge over the Quinnipiac River in the City of New Haven, Connecticut. The project extends from the intersection of Route 1 with East Street, easterly for approximately 3/4 mile to the intersection of Route 1 with Wheeler Street and Stiles Street. The reconstructed roadway will be relatively on-line and widened to provide for four lanes of vehicular traffic and a single-track railway line. The existing bascule bridge and approach spans, which were constructed in 1924, will be replaced by a 270-foot span lift bridge and new approach spans. The lift bridge will have a main lift span weighing approximately 3000 tons, second largest after the Burlington Northern Bridge over the Williamette River in Portland, Oregon. The new bridge will widen the navigation channel to 24 0 feet and provide vertical clearances of 13 feet when closed and 62 feet when open. The project is located in an industrial area. Adjacent properties include retail gasoline sales, auto repair, railroad transport and bulk storage of petroleum. Existing structures include the Yale Boathouse and several retaining walls serving as containment dikes for petroleum storage tanks. The Yale Boathouse, located on the east bank of the river, was constructed in 1909-1910 and is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Jan 1, 1993

By D. Millgard

Dennis Millgard introduced the Session by hoping that participants to the Conference would also share their piling problems. He then invited the first speaker to present his paper. Paper 5.1. Pat Kelleher commenced by saying that he belonged to a one hundred year old firm that had experience in the New York Harbour area. They were often asked to assess the integrity of many waterside structures such as piers, walls, and docks which were deteriorating whilst still in use. The earliest structures, built in the 1800's, were on timber piles. These have now changed to Steel H and tube piles and concrete piles. Usually they were called in when the structure was showing signs of distress, or had reached the end of its life but could not be closed. In particular, they had found that marine borers had returned to New York Harbour because of the improved quality of the water. There is now a far greater incidence of attack on the timber piles than when the water was polluted. Repair is usually carried out by encapsulating the pile within the tidal range of about -2ft to +8ft (-0.6 to +2.4m). Reinforced concrete forms, reinforced fibre jackets, or nylon bags are used. Reinforced fibre jackets are used with a protective coat on the pile, while nylon bags prove the cheapest method.

Jan 1, 1991

By Patrick J. Hannigan, Alex Ryberg, Rozbeh B. Moghaddam

Driven piles are widely used for foundation support. In the vast majority of cases, an increase in pile capacity occurs with time which is referred to as “set-up.” However, in a very limited number of cases, a decrease in capacity with time can occur. This phenomenon is referred to as “relaxation.” This paper will provide a brief review of the relaxation phenomenon, as well as pile driving information and dynamic test data on cases where relaxation has occurred. The pile types in the presented relaxation cases include H-piles, open-end and closed-end pipe piles, prestressed concrete piles, and prestressed concrete piles with H-pile stingers. The soil conditions where relaxation occurred includes dense to very dense fine sands, heavily over consolidated clays, and weak laminated rocks. Relaxation information from 36 piles at 26 sites is assessed. The collected data will assist foundation designers by identifying the subsurface conditions where relaxation has occurred, as well as by documenting the corresponding relaxation magnitude. One method of addressing relaxation when it is encountered is to drive the foundation piles to a greater end of initial driving capacity than required long-term. Hence, the identification and quantification of the relaxation magnitude will be beneficial to foundation designers installing similar pile types in similar subsurface conditions. The paper will also present pertinent observations and recommendations on mitigating relaxation when encountered. INTRODUCTION One of the earliest observations of a decrease in redriving resistance following initial driving was reported by Miller (1937). He reported that piles driven into a saturated, coarse grained soil could lose 40 to 50% of their resistance when redriven 24 hours after initial driving. Yang (1956) similarly reported that after a break in driving, a decrease in driving resistance could be encountered for piles driven in dense fine sand, inorganic silt, or stiff fissured clay. Parsons (1966) in his paper that described piling difficulties in the New York City metropolitan area termed this phenomenon “relaxation”. In this time period, pile capacity was most often evaluated from a pile driving formula frequently checked by a static load test. Hence, the true magnitude of the capacity decrease on a given pile was often poorly quantified. Furthermore, dynamic measurements that could determine what influence driving system performance variation had on the observed redriving resistance were not yet readily available.

Jan 1, 2019

By Dave Paul

Dam rehabilitation involves a range of design, construction, and operation risks, some of which are not encountered in new dam construction. These risks can have significant impact on project schedule and project budget. Owners, engineers, and contractors need to understand these risks. Existing dams typically were designed in an era of design and construction standards that have been upgraded and changed. Modern standards will impact the construction approach taken and involve understanding the earlier standards. Knowledge of historical standards/practices as well as current design standards and construction methods is valuable for developing and designing rehabilitation components. Construction records and as-built drawings are valuable when they are available. Rehabilitation projects often consist of older projects where as-built documents or construction records are not available. Where these records exist, many (most) times, they do not fully reflect the current conditions within the dam and appurtenant works. leading experienced practitioners to “expect surprises” both during investigation of the existing facility, as well as during construction. “Surprises” should be expected even when historical records of investigations, design and construction are available. Unknowns, be they known unknowns or unknown unknowns, can be planned for by developing an approach for the design and construction process to identify potential issues/problems, or at least alert the designer and contractor of potential issues. A Risk-Based approach applied for the entire life of the rehabilitation project can be used to alert the parties of potential “surprises” and provide direction for mitigating issues as they arise. This type of approach is particularly effective when the process includes senior practitioners with decades of design and construction experience in all aspects of dams. Minimizing impacts created by “surprises”, particularly during construction, can result in an improved project meeting budget and schedule goals and design standards. This paper identifies and categorizes risk types salient to dam construction, reviews the process of risk identification and analysis, discusses guidelines for risk allocation, reviews strategies to mitigate risks, presents several case studies where risk mitigation strategies were employed successfully (or unsuccessfully), and presents lessons learned. The paper concludes with a summary and recommendations for best practices for Project Risk Management and mitigation that can be used by: Owners; Design Engineers; and Construction Managers, in planning, design, pre-construction and construction phases of dam related projects.

By Lynn Crayne

We used Glyoxal as the hardener, at a final concentration of 10% by volume and therefore 20% by volume in the A-Component. They worked pretty well what we did was we shaved the joints on each of the pipes when we assembled them so they wouldn't rip the packers and then we greased the packers very well going in. We had to replace some but we have any getting stuck or didn't lose any pipes.

Feb 10, 2003

By Damien Enright, Franz-Werner Gerressen

CFA/ACIP pile is the most used single pass drilling method for deep foundation installations. It is constructed by rotating and driving a Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) into the ground at a controlled speed to the specified pile depth. Concrete is then pumped under continuous positive pressure through the hollow stem of the auger to fill the borehole as the auger is withdrawn. CFA/ACIP piles are preferred due to their high daily production capacity when used in suitable soil conditions. CFA/ACIP piles have been installed in the United States for decades and the industry has seen a huge development in equipment, installation process, monitoring and more. Nowadays, CFA/ACIP piles are installed using fully computer monitored drill rigs rather than a bulky crane and lead setup. Because of the torque and crowd offered by these rigs, piles can be installed to depths of more than 100 feet and diameters up to 48 inches. New age crane-based equipment with leader systems are than welcome to substitute old fashioned bulky cranes These new age crane-based systems combine the benefits of sufficient hydraulic power, fully equipped software, etc. with the additional benefits that they can do single pass drilling without extension systems, even when drill depths of more than 100 feet are required. The paper will explain the construction process and will discuss some jobsite references and experiences made using the new age crane-based equipment.

Oct 1, 2022

By Charles L. Guild

I will add a few facts about the use and development of the Osterberg Test Load Cell and my association with Jorj. I first met Jorj in 1965 when the Guild Construction Co. drove 12" diameter cast-in-place shell piles for him at the Marquette Cement Co. in Nashville, Tennessee. When I met Jorj at the DFI Trustee's meeting in 1985 at Longboat Key, Florida, he showed me a sketch of his idea about using a test cell at the bottom of a caisson to test the end bearing and side friction on a caisson. He had made a successful trial test in Case International's equipment yard and wondered whether a similar device could be made for a driven pile. At first I was skeptical that it could be done but after thinking about it overnight I told him I felt it was feasible and we would do some work on it. At that time, there was a large bridge job going out for bid in Rhode Island using 14" square prestressed concrete piles'. Based on a record of the Guild Construction Co. Inc. driving over 3,000,000 feet of piling on work for the State of R.I., we felt we would have an excellent chance to be allowed to use them so we designed, detailed and fabricated three for 14" square prestressed concrete piles. As things worked out, we did not test them on this job and have not to date.

Jan 1, 1989

By Richard W. Hanford

The geotechnical construction industry generally considers soil mixing to be defined as an in situ ground improvement or treatment method by which a dry or wet reagent is introduced into the ground and is blended with the soil by mechanical or rotary mixing tools. This results in relatively homogenous mixtures whose engineering properties are improved and are greater than the soil properties before mixing. Reagents usually include cement, but may also include processed clay such as bentonite, when a reduction in hydraulic conductivity is desired, or other proprietary chemicals when chemical stabilization is the objective. Mixing may be either shallow or deep. Shallow Mixing is the term arbitrarily used for treatment of soils within the upper 30 feet; Deep Mixing denotes treatment below 30 feet to the depth limits of the equipment. Mixing equipment may consist of single or multiple-shaft tools having cutting and mixing blades of many different configurations. To avoid using proprietary nomenclature, reference to Shallow Mixing Methods (SMM) and Deep Mixing Methods (DMM) are the preferred terms. Although originally developed and patented in the United States in 1956, in situ construction using various soil mixing methods is more prevalent in Japan and the Scandinavian countries. Reintroduced into the United States from Japan in 1986 for ground improvement and liquefaction mitigation at Jackson Lake Dam, Wyoming, acceptance of soil mixing methods has been gradual but slow. Applications typically include:

Jan 1, 2001

By Jay A. Berger

Nondestructive testing of deep foundations for integrity problems made great strides in the late 1980's. Inexpensive portable computers have allowed the immediate and rapid processing of field measured acceleration records which can provide insight into the relative structural integrity of a previously installed foundation member. Although the gathering, processing and displaying of the data is now straightforward, interpretation remains at times rather challenging. This paper provides a brief introduction into the theoretical basis for data interpretation and the hardware necessary for data acquisition. Five case studies are discussed which demonstrate the varied applications of low strain integrity testing of deep foundations and the efficiency at which they are completed. BACKGROUND One dimensional wave mechanics, when applied to a linear elastic pile with a length that is an order of magnitude greater than its width, provides a straightforward basis for the interpretation of motion measurements made at a pile top. When impacted, a stress wave travels through the pile at a wave speed, c, which is a function of the elastic modulus, E, and mass density p (i.e., E=pc2). The applied load F, and particle velocity v, at a point are related by the equation F=Zv. For a cross-sectional area A, the proportionality constant Z is equal to EA/c. Because Z is a measure of the pile's resistance to change in velocity it is called the pile impedance.

Jan 1, 1990