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By Liqun Liang

Various nondestructive testing (NDT) inspection methods are available to evaluate the structural integrity of cast-in-place shafts. The widely used methods include Cross Hole Sonic Logging Testing and Low Strain Testing. Due to its advantages such as low cost, easy operation, quickness and flexibility (no need to plan ahead and prepare inspection tubes or other devices), Low Strain Test is frequently specified in quality assurance programs of many countries or when doubts arise as to the integrity of the finished shafts/piles. The method is well suited for small to middle sized shafts. However it is an indirect NDT testing method and has certain limitations. Data interpretation requires proper training, experience and judgment and, therefore, inconsistent conclusions and reporting may be provided by different testers. To avoid or reduce such inconsistencies, it is best to follow a standardized data interpretation and record classification system. In this paper, a new classification method is presented with examples. A step-by-step data evaluation and interpretation procedure is proposed with examples of real cases to help understand the LST data. The paper also makes recommendations for measures to be taken when anomalies are detected in tested production piles.

Jan 1, 2011

By M. Makarchian

Existing buildings sometimes experience excessive settlement under their design loads, or due to increased foundation loading, if a change of building use is required. One of the oldest and widely numerical study has been carried out of a simple idealised problem of an underpinned rigid circular foundation to better understand the behaviour of pile used for underpinning and load transfer mechanism from an existing foundation to the underpinning piles. The finite element method has been used for this analysis, with the soil treated as a two-phase elasto-plastic material. It is found that the effect of the length of the pile becomes more significant as pile length increases. As would be expected, the earlier the pile is installed, the less is the final settlement.

Jan 1, 1996

By Drew Floyd

Five full-scale pile load tests were performed on pairs of PZ-22 sheet piles installed with a vibratory pile driving hammer. The sheet piling was installed in several locations in soil generally consisting of miscellaneous granular fills overlying soft organic silts, inorganic silt interbedded with sands and gravels, very dense glacial till and shale bedrock. The test program also included the use of tip tell tales to determine what capacity could be attributed to tip resistance and skin friction. During the design phase of the project, it was assumed that the capacity of the sheet piles driven with the vibratory hammer could be correlated with the rate of penetration. The correlation between vertical capacity and rate of penetration would be used as a basis for determination of a driving criteria from driving the production sheet piling. The sheet piling load tests demonstrated that it was not possible to correlate the capacity of sheet piling driven with a vibratory hammer and the rate of penetration. It was also demonstrated that the capacity of the sheet piles was directly related to the density of the soil at or just below the tip. The results also tend to agree with empirical equations provided by Meyerhof (1976).

Jan 1, 1989

Port Gaspé is located on the back side of Gaspé bay and is protected by a natural sand barrier with a length of 2,5 km, from which it got its name, Gaspé Sandy Beach (1). Since 1904 the Gaspé region had a deep water wharf, initially very different, in fact, from the one existing just before the recent reconstruction (2). This wharf with a length of 228 m and a width of 23 m was build of timber cribs. The outside walls of these cribs had been doubled with a wooden wall, creosote impregnated to provide resistance to decay and to the attack of marine organisms (limnorias) (3). Fifteen years ago the upper part of the wood construction had to be removed, because of progressing rottenness and was replaced by an L-shaped reinforced concrete structure (4).

Jan 1, 1987

By Y. X. Tong

The simplicity off Ø=0 analysis has been taken advantage of to evaluate the geotech­nical problems of open caissons, slurry trench walls and piles in Shanghai. Undrained shear strengths obtained by various testing methods are correlated with case record and experimental data. Some problems posed by the construction of tall buildings are briefly discussed. Comments on applications are made to help engineers deal with practical problems.

Jan 1, 2010

By Tim Chapman

This general report considers what promoters of deep basement projects want from their teams and whether they get it often enough. Most large projects are based on complex financial models where the funding is related to a future income stream. Project delays and cost over-runs can critically affect the financial model. Too often, delays and cost over-runs originate in the substructure and foundations. We must take positive steps to improve our industry's reputation for reliability.

Jan 1, 2006

By Li Keqiang

Among the pile foundations of the 156 tall buildings over 18 storeys in Shenzhen, 86. 5% of them are constructed by slurry drilled piles, bored piles and excavated piles (hand-dug caissons). Based on the experiences of the engineering practices, the paper points out that the main quality problems of pile foundations in Shenzhen are: insufficient bearing capacity of single pile; poor concrete quality of pile; damage of the precast pile; pile tip not reaching the required bearing stratum and the thickness of bored/drilled sediment exceeding the specified. etc. The quality inspection methods that have been used include: check of construction records and excavating; static loading test; core sampling test; non-destructive test, etc. Treatments of quality problems used in Shenzhen are also introduced in this paper.

Jan 1, 1991

By Martin J. Pedley

The use of soil nailing has grown steadily in the UK over the last 15 years and it has recently become more popular in the Republic of Ireland. This paper presents three soil nailing temporary works case histories where the technique has been used to support steep excavations in difficult ground conditions. It demonstrates the effectiveness of soil nailing when applied in appropriate conditions. Details of design methods and construction techniques are described and those aspects of soil nailing that will benefit from further study and development are identified.

Jan 1, 2000

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 John L. White

Vibratory driver/extractors do more than drive and extract sheet piles. I would say more than sixty percent (60%) of the time, vibratory pile driver/extractors are engaged in work that has nothing to do with sheet piles. This is the main reason I refer to this tool as a "driver/extractor", and omit the word "pile". I have spent the last twenty years applying the technology of the vibratory driver/ extractor to all areas of foundation construction. As you will see, the only limits are humankind's ingenuity.

Jan 1, 1997

By Jacques Moraille

The public is asking for more aesthetic designs if they can be proven cost-effective at providing an appealing element to new dams. Lake Lenexa was designed and built around the idea of providing for basic dam functions such as flood control, enhanced water quality, recreation but also to provide an inviting community focal point for the residents to visit and enjoy; truly interact with the dam. The architecturally unique dam and ?one of a kind? spillway were designed to symbolize the water cycle as water moves from nature into the urban environment and the back to nature. A pedestrian bridge that spans the spillway offers visitors a good view of cascading pools and a fountain. The original Lake Lenexa dam layout incorporated relatively high, cast-in-place concrete retaining walls to form the spillway structure. The Black & Veatch project team performed a Value Engineering (VE) study to determine cost-effective means for implementing architectural features within the spillway, which resulted in innovative uses of construction materials not typically used in dam and reservoir construction. The VE study concluded that mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining walls that are normally used for transportation projects would be a cost-effective alternative to the originally planned cast-in-place wall systems for the main spillway and stilling basins. The Black & Veatch study added value by mixing cement-kiln dust (CKD) with on-site clay soils to produce a stabilized material for use under the spillway. The CKD stabilized material properties include low compressibility, high strength and low permeability, which reduced seepage and uplift pressures under the spillway slabs. The cost savings provided by the VE alternatives reduced total costs and enabled architectural elements. The award winning dam design also used drilled caissons, expanded polystyrene (EPS) block forms, customized steel forms and external concrete vibrators to build the pedestrian bridge and upper spillway structures.

Jan 1, 2009

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

By V. M. Troughton

Further pile load testing has been carried out at Canary Wharf to compare the performance of base grouted and ungrouted bored piles founded in the Thanet Sand. The testing regime included three preliminary test piles and two working test piles. The results of these tests are summarised in Table 1 below. Two of the preliminary test piles were located only 14m apart to compare the performance of a base grouted and ungrouted pile in similar ground conditions. The load/settlement behaviour of these two preliminary test piles are compared on Figure 1. All the piles were drilled under bentonite with a drilling bucket. In the base grouted piles four grouting tubes were placed with the reinforcement cage to within 500mm of the pile toe. After the pile had been concreted these grouting tubes were then extended to the pile base by drilling and packers were installed. Grout was then injected into the four tubes simultaneously.

Jan 1, 1991

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 M. England

A method for the analysis and prediction of single pile displacement behaviour is described. It is the displacement in time, under constant load, based on the use of hyperbolic functions to characterise individual constituents of the displacement-time behaviour. Extensive use of this technique has confirmed its validity in a variety of soils and that consolidation and creep settlement appear to be indistinguishable. The algorithms employed are suitable to model the displacement behaviour from the onset of load to infinite time for all types of piles and surface foundations. Until the advent of computer controlled static load testing, analysis of the displacement-time characteristic during pile load tests has been hindered by the quality of the data recorded and inconsistency of loading. This has hitherto made the development of suitable behavioural models very difficult. Understanding the soil deformation within a proper time framework allows the subject of pile instrumentation and testing to be developed. The equipment required is basically a computer controlled loading and pile head displacement measuring system which allows accurate analysis of the settlement characteristic in almost every situation.

Jan 1, 1993

By J. W. Wang

This article first explains the mechanism of forming strength in the Jet grouting reinforced foundation, and points out the function of cement hydrates and clay minerals in clayey soil, the reinforced body with the character of long-term growth of strength. Secondly, regarding the strength and the deformation characteristics of compound foundation, the article points out that the stress-strain curve of the jet grouting pile is approximate to hyperbolic curve. Finally, the article cites three examples of application in the construction of the metallurgical industry.

Jan 1, 2010

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 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

By R. T. Stain

Dynamic methods of load testing piles using a drop hammer to generate the input force have been in use for many years. These systems are based on the wave equations developed at the Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1960's and are well documented. Such tests are generally restricted to preformed driven piles, the driving hammer being a convenient means of generating large input forces. In 1979 the CEBTP (France) was sponsored by the FNTP (Fédération Nationale des Travaux Publics) to undertake research into existing classical methods and to develop a test that would be equally applicable to bored cast in place piles. The result of this research programme is a methodology known as SIMBAT, and which was included in a series of class A prediction trials in Belgium in 1987 (Refs 1 & 2, Paquet 1987, 1988). The purpose of this paper is: a) to examine the type of 'dynamic'/'static? load test correlations that can be obtained. b) to highlight the differences between the classical' methods and the 'SIMBAT' technique.

Jan 1, 1989

By B. B. Broms

The high transverse tensile stresses that develop in precast concrete piles during driving have been investigated experimentally from pile load tests and theoretically using the finite element method (FEM). These tensile stresses can be high enough to cause longitudinal splitting of the piles just below the pile cap. Test data and FEM indicated that the maximum transverse tensile stress will increase with increasing thickness of the cover. The maximum tensile stress can be high especially if the pile is eccentrically loaded. The results from the experimental investigation and from FEM are described in the paper as well as a simplified method based on the stress distribution in a concrete cylinder at an indirect tension test.

Jan 1, 2010