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By Y. Z. Wang

Zhengzhou Yellow River Highway Bridge, which is under construction, has a total length of 5550 meters with bored cast-in-place concrete piles as the foundations of its piers which have a diameter of 2.20 m with a length of approximately 65 m. This paper attempts, through the introduction of the said bridge's footing pile design and construction, mainly to give an account of the following points: 1) experiment and research on deep friction pile with a large diameter, 2) calculation of vertical carrying capacity of the pile with a large diameter, 3) analy­sis of horizontal forces the footing-piles of the column-shaped piers, 4) application of normal and reverse-circulation rotary drilling technologies to the construction of bored cast-in-place concrete piles with a large diameter and 5) applying super-sonic impulse on destruction detective device to examine the quality of the pile concrete.

Jan 1, 2010

By James L. Christensen, Gregory Sanchez, Michael P. Walker

The Fogg Museum expansion project required excavation and construction in a congested urban area in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A soldier pile tremie concrete (SPTC) wall provided the support of excavation and now serves as the permanent basement wall of the new expansion of the museum. The existing Fogg museum had a single basement level. The new expansion has a two-level basement for new exhibit space and an amphitheater. The east side of the site is about 20 feet above the basement level of the existing Fogg structure which resulted in a significant unbalanced load that needed to be resolved without damaging the original Fogg structure. The SPTC wall was supported with a combination of tiebacks and internal bracing. The final depth of the excavation was about 40 feet below street level. Strict movement control was imposed because the existing museum contained an Italian Renaissance-style courtyard. The southeast corner of the SPTC wall had to accommodate underpinning of an historic concrete ramp which was ultimately incorporated into the expansion. Challenges during construction included excavating the SPTC wall panels up to 12 feet into argillite bedrock which had occasional diabase dikes and sills. The following topics are discussed in more detail after a general project.

Jan 1, 2015

By Andrew Moran, William H. Walton, Matthew D. Emrick, Mary C. Nodine

"A rapidly growing company in the northern US needed a large auditorium built into a dolomite bedrock hillside. The structure required an 80-foot-deep earth retention system independent of the auditorium foundation and superstructure. Allowable wall movements were limited to less than two inches. A 60-foot-tall permanent shotcreted soil and rock nail wall was designed for excavation support. The soil and rock nail wall utilized both active (post-tensioned) and passive nails, with capacities and installation angles optimized to address varying soil and rock conditions and to support heavy surcharges. The wall was configured with three two-foot-wide benches to facilitate controlled blasting and removal of more than two million cubic yards of soil, limestone and dolomite bedrock, and featured a permanent cast-in-place concrete face and a robust waterproofing and drainage system. A 20-foot-high reinforced concrete retaining wall was required at the top of the soil and rock nail wall to raise grades, resulting in a large surcharge.Design of the soil and rock nail wall was initiated less than three months before the start of construction, requiring expedited geotechnical explorations, analyses, design, and construction that would occur simultaneously. Design changes were made to address the discovery of a weak clay residuum seam at depth running along the base of the excavation, as well as significant changes to the building footprint made after the start of construction. Extensive performance monitoring was conducted during construction to measure vibrations and movements.Introduction and Project BackgroundA fast-growing company in the northern United States had a need for 600,000 square foot, 11,000 seat auditorium as part of its campus expansion. The auditorium was built underground, into a hillside to preserve the views of rolling terrain and farmland beyond. It featured a green roof and rockwork facing that mimicked regional geologic formations. The sixstory building required up to 80 feet of earth retention, including 60 feet of excavation beneath existing grades.As concepts for the project evolved, it became apparent that due to the geologic conditions, space limitations on site and the depth of cut required, a standard counterfort wall system would not be feasible. With groundbreaking for the building three months away, Thornton Tomasetti (structural engineer) engaged GEI Consultants, Inc. (wall design engineer) to design a 1,600-foot-long permanent soil and rock nail wall to support the excavation. The wall design engineer implemented a geotechnical exploration program immediately and began the design process, coordinating closely with Nicholson Construction (specialty"

Jan 1, 2017

By Slav Tchepak

The King's Wharf development is located in Sydney's Darling Harbour area. The site was originally used for industrial maritime purposes, which over the years has been reduced to accommodating leisure craft only. The site has been filled with various materials, resulting in fill materials varying from soils, to concrete and rock fill. A prestigious new residential development at the site required piles to found in Sydney sandstone that occurred at depths ranging from 1 to 27m. The selection of appropriate pile types is discussed, as are details relating to the design and construction of cast insitu Omega piles and CFA piles. A number of issues needed to be addressed relating to the piling, including the design of the piles, the potential for liquefaction of the fill material due to earthquakes, penetration of the piles through the fill materials, installation of the piles to a satisfactory positional tolerance and pile performance. A number of piles were dynamically tested to prove pile performance and these results are presented and compared with design expectations. The project was successfully completed on time and budget, indicating the selection of pile types in the difficult ground conditions to be appropriate.

Jan 1, 2000

By A. B. Cerato, M. K. ElSawy, A. Elgamal

"Helical piles are gaining popularity as foundations for new construction as well as retrofitting option for deficient foundations. More recently, large diameter helical piles are used to support structures in regions characterized with high seismic hazard. Even though they have proven to be viable in seismic areas such as New Zealand, where they experienced little damage during the Christchurch earthquake, the knowledge about their seismic analysis and performance is largely lacking. Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive study to evaluate their performance under seismic loading. The current objective of this study is to investigate the performance of helical piles through a full-scale testing program that was performed at the NEES/UCSD Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LLHPOST). The experimental setup involved ten steel piles of different configurations installed in dry sand. The piles were loaded with different masses and were subjected to different earthquake signals to simulate different dynamic behavior. This paper compares the performance of different moment curve fitting methods used to interpret the test data. Furthermore, the effects of different frequency content of loading on the pile response is illustrated in terms of deflection along the shafts of tested piles with different configurations.INTRODUCTIONEarthquakes are a major hazard for structures situated in seismic regions, and dynamic loading must be a design consideration. Successful design of a foundation system entails providing a safe and economic foundation solution to resist earthquake loading. Different foundation options have been used to support buildings in high seismic regions. Helical piles represent a viable foundation option that offers several advantages in terms of ease of installation, lower cost and environmental impact, ability to approximate the axial capacity directly from torque readings and more (Perko 2009). However, they are not typically considered as an option in many seismic regions. Meanwhile, several buildings supported on helical piles in New Zealand have survived the Christchurch earthquake with negligible damage, which encourages performing further research to understand the behaviour of these piles under seismic loading.A helical pile consists of a steel shaft fitted with a steel helix/helices. The helical pile is installed by applying torque to its head via mechanical torque. Nowadays, helical piles are used in a wide range of applications such as foundations for light posts and residential houses. The static behaviour of helical piles has been studied extensively and is relatively well understood (Tsuha and Aoki 2010; Mittal et al. 2010; Sakr 2011; Elsherbiny and El Naggar 2013; El Sharnouby and El Naggar 2012; Elkasabgy and El Naggar 2015; Weidong et al. 2015 and Bagheri and Naggar 2015) However, the dynamic and seismic behaviours of helical piles is seldom investigated (Elkasabgy and El Naggar 2013). This underscores the knowledge gap currently present regarding the seismic behaviour of helical piles."

Jan 1, 2017

By Masaki Kitazume

"Many earthquakes take place every year in Japan, in which the 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake induced both a humanitarian crisis and massive economic impacts. As liquefaction which occur in a loose and saturated sand layer, induces quite large damages of infrastructures, the importance of liquefaction mitigation has been emphasized to minimize earthquake disasters for many years. Many kinds of ground improvement techniques based on various improvement principles have been developed for earthquake disaster mitigation. Among them, the grid type deep mixing method has been often applied to liquefaction mitigation. In the method, the stiff grid walls are constructed by mixing the soil and binder in-situ, which are expected to restrict the shear deformation of the soil within the grid walls so that the pore water pressure generation can be remained small. The high applicability of the method was confirmed in several earthquakes, including the 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. In this paper, the development of the method, some applications of the deep mixing method to earthquake disaster mitigation are briefly introduced. INTRODUCTION In Japan, many earthquakes take place every year in Japan, in which the 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake induced both a humanitarian crisis and massive economic impacts. As liquefaction induces quite large damages, the importance of liquefaction mitigation has been emphasized to minimize earthquake disasters for many years. Table 1 shows the amount of damage to port facilities (Noda, 1991). According to the table, the amount of damage when liquefaction takes place is about 20 to 50 times larger than that without liquefaction. This highlights the importance of liquefaction mitigation to minimize earthquake disasters. There are many kinds of soil stabilization techniques developed for liquefaction in Japan. Among them, the deep mixing method (DMM), an in-situ cement stabilization techniques, was developed in 1970s in Japan and has frequently been applied to improvements of clayey and sandy soils (Kitazume and Terashi, 2013). The grid type DMM has been often applied to prevent liquefaction, where the grid of stabilized column walls function to restrict generation of excess pore pressure in the soil within the walls by confining the soil particle movement. The improvement effect of the method was first evaluated in the Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake in 1995 and was also evaluated in the Tohoku earthquake in 2011. In this paper, some successful performance of the deep mixing method to earthquake disaster mitigation in the two earthquakes are briefly introduced."

Jan 1, 2015

By Thomas G. Tavernaro, Jeffrey A. Schaefer

"The $106 million Olmsted Approach Walls Project, completed in the spring of 2004 by Massman Construction Co., Kansas City, MO, is one phase of a new $1.4 billion Corps of Engineers locks and dam facility located at Mile 964 on the Ohio River, approximately 17 miles (27.4 km) upstream of its mouth at the Mississippi River. When completed, the Olmsted Locks and Dam (Figure 1) facility will replace two aging locks and dams (Locks and Dams 52 & 53) built in the 1920’s, and produce an estimated $600 million annual economic benefit to the nation through reduced lockage time and operation and maintenance costs. PROJECT OVERVIEWThe Olmsted Approach Walls Project consisted of “in-the- wet” construction of four fixed nose pier structures, four floating concrete approach walls, one fixed wall and related underwater excavation, grading and stone placement. Over 12,000 tons (11,000 tonnes) of structural steel and pre-cast concrete elements, up to 335 tons (304 tonnes) in weight, were safely erected during the project.To support these massive structures, the Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers teamed with INCA Engineers, Inc., Bellevue, WA to design thirty seven 10’ (3m) diameter shafts (cast-in-place steel-shell piles) capable of maintaining elastic behavior below ground while resisting barge impact loads, extreme head-on collisions from runaway tows, and environmental forces from river current, wind, and seismic events.The shafts (typically 150’ (45.7m) in length) were founded 100’ (30m) into the riverbed through alluvium, a very consolidated fine sand and clay Cretaceous soil, and finally into a hydrothermally altered rock. Thirty seven shafts were installed under open river conditions at the site, a group of four shafts at each nose pier-pylon location (Figure 2), and 21 at the fixed land wall. Due to difficulty in achieving the required casing tip elevation the team developed a design modification that was successfully implemented for 27 of the shafts.Concurrent with the work at Olmsted, eleven pontoon segments for the four floating approach walls were constructed at a graving yard in Paducah, KY, developed by Massman Construction Company specifically for the project. While the pontoon geometry varied, the pontoons averaged 350’ (107m) in length, 40’ (12.2m) in width and weighed 4,500 tons (4,082 tonnes). The longest of the four walls, at 1,700’ (518m) was comprised of five interconnected pontoons."

Jan 1, 2006

By Gary L. Seider

Chance, a Division of Hubbell Power Systems, Inc., in conjunction with Sailors Engineering, Inc. has updated its Helical Design Capacity Software. This latest version, ?HeliCAP® v2.0?, is a state-of-the-art helical anchor and pile capacity program designed to operate in the Microsoft® environment. The program calculates the tension and compression capacity along with the frictional capacity, if applicable, of CHANCE® Civil Construction helical anchors and piles using design theories and methods adopted by Chance. This paper details the current state of practice employed by the software in the design methods and installation methodologies of helical anchors and piles.

Jan 1, 2007

By Ronald D. Boyer

"Early in the design stage of Meadowlands Xanadu, the client’s project director informed me that “after construction, nobody is going to come to Xanadu to see the foundations.” My response was, “Well, that’s good, because the only reason someone would come to see the foundations is if there is a problem with them.” The client’s real message was clear: the money for the project would be better spent on architectural design components and interior finishes that would attract high-end tenants and entertainment seekers. The foundations, however, were challenging. The sheer size of the Xanadu development, the varying depths to rock, the loading conditions associated with the different structures, and the construction sequencing required the use of multiple deep foundation types and specialty foundation contractors. Xanadu, when completed, will consist of over 2.5 million sq ft of entertainment venues, restaurants and retail stores; America’s first i n d o o r s n o w dome; North America’s tallest (287 ft high) Ferris wheel; and four parking decks. Finished grades for Xanadu were essentially within about 1 to 2 ft of existing grades at the site, except for a 5 acre wetlands area, which received about 8 ft of new fill. Before the current construction, the approximate 75-acre Xanadu site was occupied by the Continental Airlines (now Izod) Arena, on-grade parking lots and the wetlands area. The Arena property is part of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) Meadowlands Sports Complex, which also includes Giants Stadium and the Racetrack, and is located in East Rutherford, N. J. Subsurface ConditionsThe site subsurface conditions include fill materials underlain by organic silt and peat (former marsh deposits or “meadowmat”), varved clay, glacial till and shale bedrock. The Xanadu site had been a marsh until the Sports Complex was created by filling in the early 1970s. The fill consists of dredged materials from Lower New York Harbor imported by hydraulic pipeline from the Hudson River. The fill also includes “historic fill,” defined as nonindigenous material deposited to raise the topographic elevation of a site, such as construction debris and other nonhazardous solid waste, and was generally encountered in thicknesses ranging from 8 ft to 18 ft. Within the previously developed portion of the site, a layer of marsh deposits consisting of peat and organic silt was encountered beneath the fill in thicknesses ranging from two ft to seven ft. Within the existing wetlands area, the marsh deposits were up to 10 ft below existing grade. The varved clay stratum was six ft to 36 ft thick. The depth to shale rock increases from approximately 15 ft near the west side of the site to approximately 80 ft near the south side. Groundwater was tidally influenced and varied from about 6 to 12 feet below both existing and proposed grade."

Jan 1, 2009

By Julie Clarke

In 1939 Dr. Ralph Peck criticized the Civil Engineering community for taking a bifurcated approach to the prediction of building damage due to subsurface geo-technical works. Specifically, he observed that Geotechnical Engineers concerned themselves only with subsurface issues implying that their results were largely independent of the presence and condition of the structures above. He continued that Structural Engineers charged with risk assessment of buildings approached their work nearly in isolation of below ground activities. Seventy years later, although the state-of-the-art has enabled a better understanding of soil-structure interaction, the reality remains that risk assessment from subsurface construction, is not yet an integrated activity when done on a large-scale basis. To help move beyond this, this paper proposes a new, integrated methodology for preliminary assessment that considers a three-stage process that involves the following: (1) traditional empirical relationships for predicting ground movement from tunneling, (2) recent advances in condition assessments, and (3) architectural designators related to usage and historic preservation listings. The methodology is applied to a study area of nearly 260 buildings in the city center of Dublin Ireland, in an area slated for an upcoming metro. The results are com-pared to the Environmental Impact Statement issued for the official project. Al-though the test case is for tunneling, the approach may be adapted to other subsurface construction activities including excavation and piling.

Jan 1, 2009

By Greg Canivan, Bernie Hertlein, Les Chernauskas, Joram Amir, Garland Likins, E. Anna Sellountou, Tim Kovacs, Peter Kandaris

Nondestructive testing of drilled shaft foundations via Crosshole Sonic Logging (CSL) is often performed as part of the quality assurance process to assess the soundness of concrete. The intent of CSL testing is to identify irregularities such as soil intrusion, necking, soft bottom, segregation, voids and other defects that could result in poor structural performance of the foundation. Over time, CSL rating criteria based on first arrival time and relative energy have incorrectly evolved to often be the sole means of determining the acceptability of a shaft. Some of these criteria have found their way into regulatory agency specifications, with acceptance values often differing from agency to agency.The purpose of this document is to review the state of the practice (including experience gained over the past 20 years), propose improved CSL rating criteria and make recommendations for additional assessment, as well as educate the industry on the proper interpretation of CSL test. CSL test results alone should not be the sole means of rejecting or accepting a shaft. A task force of industry exerts was formed to review the existing CSL rating criteria and propose improvements where appropriate. The recommendations presented herein are the consensus of the task force, which believes that they should be incorporated into future criteria, codes and specifications. This paper was produced as a joint effort between the Codes and Standards Committee, the Drilled Shafts Committee and Testing and Evaluation Committee. A task force was authorized under Testing and Evaluation Committee. The task force contributed their expertise in web-based discussions often every two weeks over a period of three years. Interested participants were invited to participate at any time. The document had two rounds of broad industry review, two rounds of DFI Technical Advisory Committee reviews, and a Public Comments process. All comments were considered in producing the final document.

Jan 1, 2019

By A. V. Rose

A redevelopment in the City of London has been constructed with a piled foundation system that is believed to be the first of its kind. The purpose of the research is to explore this novel foundation method, which involves the installation of closely spaced piles in a perimeter arrangement with a body of soil enclosed in the centre. Both centrifuge modelling and numerical modelling techniques are used.

Jan 1, 2011

By John C. Niedzielski

The PHX Sky Train is a five mile long automated people mover system located at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Phase I of the PHX Sky Train includes the design and construction of 227 drilled shafts supporting three stations and approximately 9,000 feet of elevated guideway. The guideway includes a 100 foot high, 330 foot long span extending over an active taxiway, which will be the first system of this kind over an active taxiway in the world. The soil conditions in this area generally consist of alluvial Sand, Gravel and Cobbles (locally known as SGC) deposited by the nearby Salt River. The foundation system will support relatively high axial loads, lateral loads and moments due to the height of the guideway above the ground surface, where it needs to pass over existing concourse walkways, bridges, a taxiway and buildings. Drilled shaft design involves designing 4.5-foot to 9-foot diameter drilled shafts within the SGC deposits, most of which extend well below the groundwater table. There is a high potential for collapse of drilled shaft excavation sidewalls within this material. Such extreme design loading conditions, together with difficult ground conditions at the site, result in several challenges for the design and construction of the deep foundation system for the guideway and stations. A load test shaft was designed and constructed as a means to provide site-specific measurement of axial performance under these difficult conditions. Results from the load test were used to reduce the size of the drilled shafts. This paper provides an overall description of the PHX Sky Train project, a summary of the ground conditions, design requirements, load test results and construction methods and equipment used to successfully install the drilled shafts for this project.

Jan 1, 2010

By Andrew Z. Boeckelmann, David S. Graham, Paul J. Axtell

In the last fifteen years, several research studies have evaluated the ability to detect various types of deep foundation concrete integrity flaws with crosshole sonic logging (CSL) and thermal integrity profiling (TIP). This paper synthesizes the findings from the research, focusing on two studies that included CSL and TIP testing of drilled shafts with various types of flaws. The first, a 2016 research study of test shafts for the Wisconsin DOT, included inclusions inside and outside the reinforcing cage, intentional tremie withdrawal during concreting, and soft bottom flaws. The second, a 2021 study of production shafts for the Missouri DOT, included one shaft with and another without soft bottom conditions. After synthesizing the ability of each test method to detect each type of flaw, the paper presents recommendations for improving how CSL and TIP results are evaluated in practice. The recommendations highlight DFI‟s CSL interpretation protocol as well as the importance of evaluating TIP data versus time, not just depth. The paper includes example temperature-versus-time plots for various types of flaws and emphasizes how temperature-versus-time evaluation can be used to distinguish soft bottom conditions from standard bottom-of-shaft temperature roll off.

Oct 1, 2022

By Anthony T. C. Goh

"For deep excavations in soft clay, it is common to use jet grouting piles (JGP) prior to excavation to minimize wall deflections and ground settlement, and to prevent basal heave instability. In this paper, finite element analyses were carried out to assess the basal heave factor of safety for excavations in soft clay supported by JGP. Comparison of the factor of safety from the finite element analyses with limit equilibrium methods was then performed. Subsequently, to account for the uncertainties in the soil and JGP properties, a simplified reliability analysis procedure is proposed to estimate the probability of basal heave failure for deep excavations supported by JGP.INTRODUCTIONJet grout piles (JGP) are often used to prevent basal heave instability and to minimize excessive wall and ground movements associated with deep excavations in soft clay deposits (Shirlaw 2003; Wen 2005; Ou 2006). The jet grouting process which is carried out prior to any excavation works produces a series of short overlapping grout columns resulting in a “continuous” base slab (commonly termed as jet grout pile or JGP) below the final excavation level that spans across the entire excavation (Gaba 1990; Hsieh et al. 2003; Ho and Hu 2006). Typically, the JGP thickness ranges from 2 m to 4 m.The focus of this paper is on the assessment of basal heave instability for deep excavations in clay stabilized with JGP. Finite element analyses were first conducted to determine the basal heave factor of safety for deep excavations in clay with JGP. Comparisons were then carried out with factors of safety based on conventional limit equilibrium methods. Since the conventional factor of safety approach does not explicitly reflect the uncertainties of the soil and JGP properties, it is demonstrated in this paper that a simple reliability based approach (Hasofer and Lind 1974) can be used to assess the probability of basal heave failure.LIMIT EQUILIBRIUM METHODFor excavations is clay, the Terzaghi (1943), Bjerrum and Eide (1956) and Eide et al. (1972) methods which are based on bearing capacity theory, are commonly used to determine the basal heave factor of safety. Another commonly adopted method in Japan and Taiwan is the slip circle method which involves taking moments about the lowest strut level (JSA 1988; Hsieh et al. 2008; Luo et al. 2012). The slip circle method has also been applied for excavations with a JGP at the base by incorporating the undrained shear strength of the JGP. In the slip circle method, the basal heave factor of safety FSslip is assessed by taking moments about the lowest strut level (Fig. 1)"

Jan 1, 1900

By Osamu Taki

The innovative Soil-Cement Mixed Wall Technique emerged in Japan and obtained recognition in the engineering and construction communities in the 1980's. This technique was introduced to the United States in 1986. It was accepted as the most credible construction technique by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for ground stabilization and cutoff wall work in the Jackson Lake Dam Project, Wyoming in 1987 and 1988. It was also accepted as a remediation technique by U.S. EPA for a Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) demonstration on in-situ solidification/ stabilization. The Soil-Cement Mixed Wall Technique consists of mixing in-place soils with cement grout or other reagent slurries using multiple axis augers and mixing paddles to construct overlapped soil-cement columns. The overlapped column panel is then extended to form an underground continuous soil-cement wall for use as a cutoff wall or a structural diaphragm wall for groundwater control and excavation support. By arranging the column panels in various configurations, the technique becomes a versatile tool for stabilization of soft or liquefiable soils.

Jan 1, 1990

By Bengt H. Fellenius

.1.1 Prior to commencement of pile installation operation, submit to [Engineer] for [approval] [review], details of equipment for installation of piles. SPEC NOTE: The information requested in 3.1 .1.2 is necessary as input to a detailed wave equation analysis of the pile driving. .1.2 For impact hammers, give manufacturer's name, type, maximum rated energy and rated energy per blow at normal working rate during easy and at termination driving, mass of striking parts of hammer, mass of driving cap, and type and elastic properties of hammer cushion. .1.3 For non-impact methods of installation, such as drilling, jacking, jetting, use of vibratory hammers, or other means, give full details of characteristics necessary to evaluate performance. .2 Impact Hammer SPEC NOTE: Do not exclude a hammer type unless for very specific reason. .2.1 [Drop hammers will not be permitted.] [Diesel hammers will not be permitted.] For final driving of [TYPE] piles, provide a hammer capable of delivering to the pile a non-erratic impact stress not smaller than [VALUE] Pascal and transferring a non-erratic energy not smaller than [VALUE] Joules per blow to the pile head at normal working rate.

Jan 1, 1991

By Peter Cali, Wesley Schmutzler

"The Deep Mixing Method (DMM) was employed to raise and support the LPV (Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity) -111 Levee in New Orleans. Even using innovative technologies, the tight schedule to achieve the 100 year elevation by June 1, 2011 was a daunting endeavor. The size and scope of DMM proposed for LPV-111 was on a scale never attempted outside of Japan. Over 1.65 million cubic yards of DMM was installed. LPV-111 is adjacent to the Bayou Sauvage Wildlife Refuge, which is the largest urban National Wildlife refuge in the United States. By utilizing DMM to control settlement and improve stability of the taller levee, side slopes were steepened from the conventional 1V:4H to 1V:2.85H, thus avoiding encroachment into the Bayou Sauvage and reducing the amount of clay needed for the completed levee. The COE utilized Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) for this contract. The ECI process allowed for input from the DMM contractor, TREVIICOS South, in order to optimize equipment resources and material requirements. This paper gives an overview of the extensive DMM requirements for LPV-111 and explains the benefits of the ECI process.IntroductionDuring hurricane Katrina the levee that constitutes LPV-111 was overtopped and breached in several locations. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was presented with the task of increasing the level of the flood protection around New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to the 100- Year hydraulic grade - the level of protection that provides risk reduction from a storm surge that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year - and the firm project completion deadline was June 2011.LPV-111 is located in East New Orleans and a large portion of the levee is adjacent to the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. The levee could not encroach on this area. This provided a limited footprint for the levee and made construction of conventional levee difficult, if not impossible. The total length of the project was 5.3 miles. Included in the project was the rehabilitation of one main pumping station and one smaller pump station for water management within the refuge. Short sections of “T” wall were used at the tie in at the Lake Borgne Surge Barrier, the main pump station and the CSX Railroad crossing"

Jan 1, 2017

By Alan Quiroga

Nestled between Meridian Park and Howard University in the heart of Washington, D.C., the historic block between 14th, V and W streets North- west featured several original struc- tures, many of them dating to the 1800s. During its rich history, this square block has been home to a variety of different organizations including automobile showrooms and repair businesses, a parking garage, various industrial warehouses, and, in recent years, the headquarters of the renowned D.C. nonprofit Martha's Table. The revitalization of the buildings in this block also known as the Collection 14 project involved the transformation of aging and historical structures into a new multi-use development. The redevelopment project was distinguished by the retention of period street-facing building facades (to the extent possible) to preserve the character and culture of the historic neighborhood while revitalizing the block with some modern construction elements. The complexity of the project and difficult subsurface conditions required specialized and extensive sheeting, shoring and underpinning work to be performed. This project had many parties involved, including: • • • • Owner: Madison Investments Owner's representative: Compass Design & Development General contractor: McCullough Construction Civil engineer: Vika Capitol Structural engineer: Ehlert Bryan Architect: Perkins Eastman DC Geotechnical engineer: GEI Consultants Sheeting and shoring contractor: Steele Foundation

Aug 1, 2023

By Brad W. Taylor

"During the past several months, I have introduced to civil and structural engineers an innovative solution for the integrity testing of concrete using the Thermal Integrity Profiler (TIP) Wire Cable System by Pile Dynamics. While in the process of “educating” highly-trained professionals about a technological breakthrough, I ended up being educated myself about their needs for quality control/quality assurance (QA/QC). With that in mind, I would like to focus on their two key areas of concern:• How complex is the TIP installation process?• How does the QA/QC engineereffectively analyze and report TIP test results?A few months ago, during a discussion with a senior QA engineer, he asked a question that stopped me in my tracks: “Why should we do foundation testing at all?” Turning it around, I asked, “Why wouldn’t QA/QC personnel want to know everything they could about their critical infrastructure foundation?” Honestly, I didn’t answer his question nor did I fully comprehend what he was trying to say. With his experience, the engineer understood that there has not been an integrity test or a combination of integrity tests that could deliver an inside the cage and outside the cage (cover) complete data set that would provide a definitive profile of the entire shaft. Crosshole sonic logging (CSL) becomes more effective the larger the diameter of the shaft becomes, with a maximum effectiveness between 70% and 80%, but does not provide any data of the integrity of the shaft beyond a straight line between CSL tubes. Gamma-gamma logging (GGL) provides qualitative information about the concrete surrounding the GGL tube and device, and it provides information about a small percentage of the drilled shaft concrete near its outside edge."

Jan 1, 2017