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By Karen C. Armfield, Gisele R. Passalacqua, Joanna Smith

New York City is an urban environment with a history spanning over 200 years. The coastline of New York has changed over the years. In the East River, old bulkhead and remnant of relieving platforms together with variable bedrock elevations pose challenges in the design and construction of deep foundations. This paper presents a Case History of high capacity deep foundations along the Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Drive on the Upper East Side in New York City. The project consists of a ramp that overpasses the FDR Drive allowing heavy trucks to access the Marine Transfer Station (MTS) facility built over the East River. Large diameter drilled shafts and mini-piles socketed to bedrock were designed and constructed. Remnant of old bulkhead was encountered at the site and a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) investigation was completed during the subsurface investigation phase of the design. This paper discusses details of the subsurface investigation program and design methodology of the high capacity drilled shafts and mini-piles. It also describes construction methods and results of Osterberg Load tests documenting the field values of skin friction through the rock socket. Other construction challenges include construction and drilling rock sockets for drilled shafts over sloping bedrock. 1. INTRODUCTION New York City is a renowned urban city that always calls for the most delicate, yet complex, and robust superstructures and most importantly substructure designs. The historic preservation of this large 200 years old city of 319 square miles is ever changing. Shorelines are often extended to accommodate new infrastructure and very often many miscellaneous structures are discovered below the ground surface. The East 91st Street Ramp was constructed to provide access to the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station over FDR Drive and York Avenue. Another alternative ramp will be relocated to the South Bound (SD) of the FDR Drive at 92nd Street. A subsurface exploration program was completed in accordance with the New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC) general requirements, Section 4.5, to perform subsurface investigation along the FDR Drive in Manhattan, New York.

Jan 1, 2019

By William D. Oder, Seth H. Hamblin, Les R. Chernatskas, Jonathan L. Ernst

Large diameter drilled deep foundations are a widely utilized solution throughout North America and the world. Numerous design and construction techniques developed over the past 100 years have made this type of foundation a robust, reliable, and efficient foundation option to support a wide variety of structures. From bridges, to marine structures, to high-rise buildings, drilled shafts are a time-tested approach for all types of infrastructure projects. Yet, what remains ambiguous in the current state of engineering practice is how to respond when a shaft is constructed that, for potentially different reasons, may or may not meet the design requirements? In this case, what are the best practices for Contractors and Engineers when a structural, geotechnical, or material integrity issue arises during construction? In our experience the answers to these questions are not widely known, but are profoundly important so that engineers can have tools available to confidently and efficiently address concerns, and provide a path forward for the project. This paper seeks to answer the above questions by presenting details of different remediation approaches using the results of several case studies where structural and geotechnical engineering methods, combined with non-destructive integrity testing (NDT), were employed to evaluate the acceptance of “questionable” drilled shafts. Through multidisciplinary techniques like Cross-hole Sonic Logging and 3-D Tomography which enhance the resolution of anomalous zones and defects in concrete, the development of concrete strength estimates from non-destructive testing data, and executing innovative structural and geotechnical analyses to evaluate the as-built conditions, drilled shafts that might have historically been rejected were ultimately accepted by the project team. This paper presents a series of unique case studies that together depict a roadmap for a comprehensive approach to reliably evaluate and guide the industry to address these types of drilled shaft construction issues.

Oct 1, 2022

By Uwe Hess

For the Danish landworks for the coming fixed link between Denmark and Sweden across the Øresund the focus has been on the environmental aspects of the construction and operation of the facilities. This paper describes how the environmental objectives pertaining to the project have influenced the design and construction of one of the major elements of the Danish landworks, i.e. the tunnel in Sydhavnsgade and under Sydhavn Station. The chosen construction methods for the construction pit bracing and the groundwater lowering will be described along with the observed effects on the environment as shown by simulated or measured values for noise impact, settlements, pumped groundwater and extension of the drawdown cone.

Jan 1, 1996

By George J. Tamaro

The design and construction of foundations in the New York City area are usually dictated by the widely varying geologic conditions encountered in the five boroughs, particularly along the spine of Manhattan Island. Rock extends well above sea level at the northern reaches and falls to depths in excess of 250 m at the barrier islands at the southern extremities. These highly variable geologic conditions, significantly affected by glacial activity, dictate different design and construction approaches throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Extensive rock removal is required at the north while long piling is dictated in the south. Similar changes can occur within a project site on Manhattan Island. This paper will describe these conditions in general, will identify the various solutions used to solve these problems and will summarize various foundation types used in the New York City area.

Jan 1, 2000

By Xiaocen Lu, Guowei Li, Jiantao Wu, Thang N. Nguyen, Andrew C. Amenuvor

"This paper investigates the effect of driving a group of 52 open-ended Prestressed High Strength Concrete (PHC) piles on an existing highway embankment based on field measurements of excess pore pressure and lateral soil displacement. Excess pore pressure due to pile driving increased with depth and decreased with increasing distance from the pile, influencing a distance of 43 pile diameters. For pile groups, the rate of dissipation of excess pore pressure decreased with increasing depth and averaged 79% in 20 days, during which maximum ultimate bearing capacity was not yet attained. Lateral soil displacement continued to increase for a period of time after the end of pile driving and this could have resulted in significant inclination of piles if pile installation was too quick and pile spacing was too small. Lateral soil displacement due to pile group decreased with decreasing distance to the existing embankment as a result of high soil density produced by the embankment loading. The results also indicate that the effect of pile group installation on the existing embankment is negligible.INTRODUCTIONPile driving can cause excessive lateral displacement of soil and heaving of the ground surface, which may adversely affect nearby structures. In addition, lateral deformation and excess pore water pressure resulting from pile driving can exert lateral pressures and vertical forces on the piles, and impact negatively on the project and its surroundings. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the influence of pile driving on the nearby structures as well as the project itself when expansion works are carried out.Recent years have seen some development in the application of field tests for studying soil disturbance due to piles, and these tests usually involves pore water pressure and lateral soil displacement monitoring during pile driving. Results of field experiments performed by Reese and Seed (1957) in San Francisco Bay Mud with instrumented piles showed that pile installation generated large pore water pressures at the pile surface, with only slight increase at a distance of 15 pile diameters away. The measurements indicated that the increase in pore water pressures can exceed the initial total overburden pressure. Holtz and Lowitz (1965) reported a decrease in undrained shear strength immediately after pile installation, which was largely recovered after full pore pressure dissipation for field measurements within 1.5–2 pile diameters from the pile surface. Hwang et al. (2001) presented results of large scale pile driving tests where maximum excess pore water pressure generated decreased rapidly with increasing distance from pile. The excess pore water pressure became negligible at 15 pile diameters from the pile. Their results also showed that lateral displacement of the ground decreased with increasing distance from the pile. Pestana et al. (2002) carried out full-scale closed ended pile tests in the Young Bay Mud deposit. Higher excess pore pressures were observed for points closer to the pile, which decreased with increasing distance from the pile wall. Exponential decay of excess pore pressure with time was also noted. An 80% dissipation of excess pore pressure was achieved for soils more than one pile diameter away from the pile wall between 50 to 80 days. Lateral deformation generally decreased with increasing distance from pile wall, whilst varying erratically with depth. Bozozuk et al. (1978) reported on soil disturbance due to driving of 116 concrete piles in sensitive marine clays in a construction project. Maximum pore water pressures after pile driving within the group, and 6m (20 pile diameters) from the group were over 35-40% of the total overburden pressures, and the influence of pile driving on pore water pressure at 20m away from the group was very small. Cooke and Price (1973) studied a 168-mm-diameter instrumented pile jacked into over consolidated London clay. Outward lateral displacements ranging"

Jan 1, 2016

By Satyajit Vaidya, Rudolph Frizzi, Sandy Larimer

"This paper presents a case history in design and construction of a deep foundation system that included high-capacity open-ended driven piles constructed to support a high-rise building in Manhattan, New York. The project site is bordered by existing buildings, active streets, and critical public transportation infrastructure, which were considered in the new building’s deep foundation and seismic design. This paper focuses on driven pile foundation design and installation through relatively loose soil deposits. Unique design aspects included seismic design considerations, and pile splice design for open-ended steel pipe piles subject to significant uplift and lateral loading. Unique construction aspects included quality assurance of open-ended steel pipe pile splices, and uplift and lateral load testing of driven piles installed in close proximity to other foundation elements installed for the project.SITE CONDITIONS AND SUBSURFACE CONDITIONSThe project site is located in Manhattan, New York, and is bordered by existing buildings, active streets, and critical public transportation infrastructure that is located about 60 feet from the site. The existing sidewalk grades around the site are between about el 4 and about el 13; elevations are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum 1988 (NAVD88).Subsurface conditions at the site generally consist of successive strata of historic fill, former river bottom deposits consisting of compressible clayey soils, and medium dense to dense sand, overlying mica schist bedrock. A generalized subsurface profile is shown in Fig. 1. The historic fill stratum is about 10 to 45 feet thick, and generally consists of loose to medium dense sandy soils with varying proportions of silt, gravel, and miscellaneous debris such as brick, concrete, and glass fragments. The underlying former river bottom deposit stratum is up to about 15 to 20 feet thick, and generally consists of very soft to very stiff clay and lenses of very loose to loose sand. Medium dense to dense sand was generally observed below the historic fill and former river bottom deposit strata and overlying bedrock. Top of bedrock was generally observed at about 80 to 105 feet (i.e. at about el -75 to el -100), except in the southeastern portion of the site where the top of rock was observed as deep as about 140 feet (i.e., at about el -135). Groundwater levels typically ranged between about el 1.5 and el -0.5."

Jan 1, 2016

By Matthias Pulsfort, Jiarui Du, Torsten Wichtmann, Achim v. Blumenthal, Diethard König, Rowena Verst

The influence of the interaction between support fluid and soil, e.g., filter cake formation, on the shear stress transfer in the soil-concrete interface of diaphragm walls and bored piles is still controversially discussed. Actual research on the soil-concrete interface using bentonite suspensions indicates that shear stress transfer is underestimated by existing standards. Investigations on the soil-concrete interface using polymer solutions are rare. Therefore, complementary field investigations and systematic laboratory studies were conducted to analyse the soil-concrete interface using both bentonite suspensions and polymer solutions. Thickness and composition of real-scale filter cakes were investigated on several slurry wall construction sites, where bentonite suspensions were used. Direct shear tests (60 mm x 60 mm) were executed for soilbentonite mixtures with varying amounts of bentonite and different granular fines representing a realistic bandwidth of in-situ filter cake compositions. Larger direct shear tests (300 mm x 300 mm) with preceding horizontal penetration, subsequent vertical tremie concrete placement, and filter cake consolidation were performed using both bentonite suspensions and polymer solutions. The results support the view that shear stress transfer in the soil-concrete interface can be described by a wall friction angle in a range of 25° to 30° for bentonite suspensions and between 35° and 40° for polymer solutions in non-cohesive soils.

May 1, 2022

By Filippo Maria Leoni, Alessandro Bertero, Gianluca Pianezze

"As part of the Southeast Louisiana (SELA) drainage program, designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to reduce flood damages in the City of New Orleans and surrounding parishes through the construction of new pumping stations and better drainage canals, the SELA-22 project entailed the installation of a concrete covered canal along Jefferson Ave. and Prytania Street, in a highly urbanized portion of Uptown New Orleans, LA. The scope of the required soil improvement was to replace the soil between two parallel lines of sheet piles with a soil-cement mass to eliminate underseepage and provide structural support for the concrete culvert. The USACE selected the jet grouting (Jet Grout) technology for the construction of the bottom plug. The bottom plug is between 18 and 21.5 ft thick with a maximum depth of approximately 40 ft, for a total length of approximately one mile. The treated soil comprised soft clays and silts with occasional presence of sands. Project specifications required 100% area coverage, a 28-days unconfined compressive strength of 100 psi and hydraulic conductivity of 1x10-6 cm/s, to be verified by testing specimens from cored samples. The specialty geotechnical contractor proposed to accomplish the task utilizing their proprietary and innovative elliptical bi-fluid Jet Grout technology, and elected to perform a pre-construction bench scale laboratory mixing program to determine the most suitable grout mix features (i.e. binder type and proportions, binder content, etc.) to be applied in the subsequent field test and production stages. This paper will summarize and compare the results obtained from the different pre-construction and construction stages; interpretations of the data will be provided, along with general considerations regarding the effectiveness and significance of bench scale testing for jet grouting applications.INTRODUCTIONIn general, the effectiveness of the construction parameters in any ground improvement work depends largely on the physical and mechanical properties of the soil to be treated. Therefore, well designed laboratory and field test programs, aimed to disclose the interaction between the site-specific soils and the mixing parameters, are essential to achieve the desired end product."

Jan 1, 2016

By Kiyotaka Ohno, Nobushige Yasuoka, Yosuke Hioki

"The diameter of improved columns adopted by the original DJM Method had been 1000 mm, however, in order to comply with the social need for construction cost reduction, the Expanded Dry Jet Mixing (EX-DJM) Method with maximum column diameter expanded to 1300 mm was developed between 1998 and 2001 and has been widely applied since then. From the first application of EX-DJM in January 2002 for a first construction project, the total volume of improved soil has reached 325,000 m3 in 17 projects up to September 2014. Because of the advantages of the EX-DJM such as reduction of construction costs and periods leading to reduction in the number of improved columns, adoption of this method is expected to increase in the future. This paper describes the advantages of the EX-DJM, its construction results and case examples including those applied to restoration projects after the Great East Japan Earthquake, 2011.1. BACKGROUND OF DEVELOPMENTThe Dry Jet Mixing (DJM) Method is a soil stabilization method in which a powdery or granular binder is pneumatically fed into and mixed with soft soil to induce chemical reactions that stabilize and strengthen the soil. It was developed by government - private collaboration in Japan between 1977 and 1979. Up to March 2014, the total volume of soil improved by DJM method reached 33,500,000 m3. The initial diameter of improved columns of the original DJM Method was 1000 mm. In order to comply with the social need for construction cost reduction, the Expanded Dry Jet Mixing (EX-DJM) Method with maximum column diameter 1300 mm was developed between 1998 and 2001.2. ADVANTAGES OF EX-DJMThe construction equipment for the EX-DJM consists of two major parts, which are DJM machine and binder plant are shown in Fig. 1.The construction machine is of double mixing-shaft type with its column diameter expanded to 1200mm or 1300mm. In association with the increase in the column diameter, the binder feeder has also increased its discharge rate by approximately 1.69 times. Same as the increase rate of the area of original diameter 1000mm to diameter 1300mm are shown in Fig. 4."

Jan 1, 2015

By C. Dai, S Raathiv

The Waikato Expressway is one of the New Zealand Transport Agency’s (NZTA) seven roads of National Significance. Coffey is part of the City Edge Alliance engaged by NZTA for the Hamilton Section of the project. The 22km Hamilton Section is the largest and most geotechnically complex section of the Expressway. The Mangaonua gully in Sector 6 is the most challenging geotechnical area of the project for piling works. Together Coffey and Brian Perry Civil have carried out the temporary and permanent design and construction of embankments, piling works, retaining walls and soil improvement works for the bridge construction. The design and construction works were governed by weak alluvial layers and artesian pressure layers several meters beneath the ground level. This paper presents the action taken to improve the foundation of temporary platform, control the artesian pressure, prevent bentonite leakages into the highly permeable alluvial layer and challenges in the base grouting process. This paper summarises the key components in the construction and supervision of bored piling works and outlines innovative solutions for challenges which we faced during the construction.

Nov 1, 2022

By Bao K. Le, Khang T. Truong, Masaki Kitazume, Toru Kobayshi, Long P. Le, Tanaka Hitoshi, Makoto Kamimura, Hoang-Hung Tran-Nguyen

"Earth levees constructed using dredged materials taken from a river along an earth levee have annually damaged in the Mekong Delta due to high void spacing in earth levees and floodwater. Sliding and internal erosion due to floodwater or piping are two key factors causing earth levees’ failures. This study proposed to apply Deep Mixing Method (DMM) to reinforce earth levees in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The DMM creates a soil cement wall or soilcrete wall having better engineering properties such as higher strength and low hydraulic conductivity than those of the in-situ soils. The DMM can be applied to reinforce earth levees with limit additional materials that provinces in the Mekong Delta are difficult to supply. The study investigates capacity of the DMM to reinforce earth levees in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam against annual floods. Seepage and slope stability analyses under various conditions were performed with various scenarios of earth levee’s body. The analysis results indicate that the DMM can create a wall that cuts off piping across earth levee significantly and can improve stability against deep sliding due to rapid drawdown of the floodwater.INTRODUCTIONThe Mekong Delta produces agriculture products of 50% of the whole country even though the Mekong Delta has an agriculture area of 30% of the country (Wikipedia 2014). Rice is the main product for the domestic demand and export. This is the main reason why the local people want to cultivate rice 3 times per year to increase the total rice product for export. To do that, the local provinces have constructed earth levees surrounding each area of 100-200-hectare against annual floods to protect rice fields, and farmers can grow rice in the whole year. There are thousands of kilometers long earth levees in the Mekong Delta, and the local governments have spent millions of US dollars to repair and to maintain their earth levees yearly (reports of Dong Thap province 2012; 2014).Earth levees in the Mekong Delta have often failed in flood seasons (e.g., from August to December), especially in Dong Thap and An Giang provinces – the two provinces confronting directly the annual floods from the Mekong River when the floods reach the Vietnam land. The main failure of earth levees is piping, and then causing collapse of some section of an earth levee. An earth levee was usually constructed by piling up dredged materials along a river with minimum compaction. Subsequently, floodwater flows through connected void spacing and washes out soil particles in the body of an earth levee slowly to create piping. Annual wet-dry cycles make the top clay layer swelling and shrinking to form cracks that can store rainwater to trigger sliding (whitlow 2001; Ton That Vinh 2003)."

Jan 1, 2015

By Brian Metcalfe, Kord Wissmann, Gianni Martinez

The Middle East consists of vast deserts that reach temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius, with some areas characterized by endless sand dunes. When the project team selected the location for a large new transportation project, little did they know that the site would be characterized by soft, nearly normally consolidated silt and clay extending below a thin sand crust. Searching for solutions, the design team elected to reinforce the subsurface with Rammed Aggregate Pier® (RAP) ground improvement elements and desired verification that the novel method would stand the test of prolonged static loads. Because the concrete pavements would serve to spread the load, a “zone load test” was performed, consisting of applying a uniform bearing pressure of 150 kPa over a 7.5m square concrete footing. Unlike individual pier load tests, the zone test allowed the project engineers the opportunity to confirm design parameter values under large-loading area conditions, a situation not often available to most designers. This paper presents the results of the zone load test whose results may be interpreted to better understand design parameter values. This paper is of particular significance because it adds a value contribution to the relatively few numbers of “group load tests” available in the literature for ground improvement applications.

May 1, 2022

By Marcel Bielefeld, Joost Bakker, Rob van Dorp

Pile load testing can be performed by a static, rapid or high strain dynamic (generally designated as dynamic) testing method. The static load test is often considered the “gold standard” of testing with the other methods merely ‘alternatives’. However, the rapid load test, as a quasi-static test, has all the positive elements of the static alternative: the direct measurement of loads and displacements. Moreover as stress wave phenomena have no influence, the interpretation of rapid load test results is more straightforward than that of dynamic testing, and also independent of the person performing the interpretation. This paper will explore the Rapid Load Testing method and illustrate the advantages and limitations through a case study in Rostock, Germany

May 1, 2022

By Aly M. Mohammad

The design of large diameter drilled shafts in weathered rock has always presented a challenge to the foundation engineers. Degree of weathering and load transfer mechanism through the rock are essential elements required for the design. From the Contractor's perspective specifying the right equipment and estimating the rate of drilling in the weathered rock are key elements for successful construction. The Delaware River Tramway Project has provided an opportunity to address the design and construction of drilled shafts in weathered rock. The Tramway, supported by twin 300-foot towers, will shuttle eight-person gondolas across the Delaware River in about four minutes. Each tower, founded on four high capacity drilled shafts, is designed to resist large axial and lateral loads. At the New Jersey tower, each 7-foot diameter shaft extends 145 feet deep and terminates in weathered Mica Schist. The shafts are situated in the Delaware River where the mud line is approximately 20 feet below Mean Low Water. Below the mud line, there exists a very soft, 20-foot thick layer of organic silt, followed by a 40-foot thick dense sand stratum. Below these sand and silt strata, a 70-foot thick layer of weathered Mica Schist underlies the entire site. Both skin friction and end bearing in the weathered rock stratum were utilized in the analysis to compute the axial capacity. AASHTO and the PennDOT design methodologies were utilized independently during design of the drilled shafts to verify the design. The drilling of large diameter drilled shafts embedded into weathered rock and situated in a marine environment provided a unique challenge in the construction. A permanent steel casing was installed for a specified depth and proper equipment was used to drill and keep the shaft open through the weathered rock. In addition, a 5000 kip Osterberg load test was performed on one shaft to verify design assumptions and confirm the shaft capacity. The results of the test were utilized to establish load transfer characteristics within the weathered rock and to develop foundation design parameters to be used for the remaining shafts.

Jan 1, 2003

By Thomas J. Kennedy, Michael D. Bennett

The study of geotechnical history is well-established. Most geotechnical practitioners, teachers, and graduate students have some grasp of the origins of the field. However, this understanding often consists of a jumble of names and anecdotes. This paper discusses how a deeper comprehension of geotechnical history can benefit academia and practice alike and describes how the authors have begun a wide-ranging study of the subject. The paper reviews the dual-track methodology the authors have generated for the study, which consists of written articles about different works in geotechnical history and a database tracking how often pieces have been cited in geotechnical literature. The first technique has shed light on aspects of geotechnical history such as the connection of the Darwin family to the origins of geotechnical engineering, the St. Francis Dam failure of 1928, and the rivalry between theoreticians and practitioners in the early days of the field. The second has helped quantify subjects such as the outstanding contributions of Karl Terzaghi, the disagreements between Terzaghi and Donald Taylor, and the specialization of the field over time. The paper concludes by discussing the authors’ planned future work on geotechnical history.

Oct 1, 2022

By Keithe J. Merl, Brendan FitzPatrick, Gregg Piazza

Urban and industrial construction projects commonly involve interior work within buildings, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. Renovations of these existing structures must address both structural and geotechnical engineering challenges while also balancing the practicality of implementing solutions within site constraints including limited site access, overhead clearance restrictions, vibration tolerances and uninterrupted facility operations. This paper highlights two projects for an international shipping company where mezzanine level additions within active shipping facilities required construction of new foundations. Construction requirements included low vibration levels, as well as rapid and clean installation to limit impacts on the active shipping operations. The selected system also needed to adjust to both variable ground conditions and differing overhead clearances. This paper describes the installation, design and performance of Ductile Iron Piles used to meet the project challenges. The low vibration, driven pile system offered the ability to work within restricted overhead environments while successfully delivering working compression capacities ranging from 45 to 75 tons (41 to 68 tonnes) as well as lateral and tension resistance. The paper also presents the results of site-specific load testing (and pile capacity) for various termination criteria. INTRODUCTION Urban and industrial construction projects commonly involve interior work within buildings, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. Renovations of these existing structures must address both structural and geotechnical engineering challenges associated with the new construction. Foundation solutions must also balance the need to achieve design requirements with the practicality to be installed within the particular site constraints including limited site access, overhead clearance restrictions, vibration tolerances and uninterrupted facility operations.

Jan 1, 2019

By Michael Gebman, Jack Gerwick

"With the opening of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge East Span, the former bridge and its caisson foundations are being demolished. Caisson foundations are in the path of a future shipping channel and therefore need removal down to the mudline 50 ft below water (MLLW). For the first caisson to be removed (E3) a mechanical demolition was performed above the waterline and an implosion was done for the remaining caisson down to mudline. Mechanical demolition consisted of excavators operating from either on top of the caisson, from work platforms or from barges. The demolition was implemented on a trial basis with a successful implosion on November 14, 2015. The work was conducted in an environmentally sensitive area, with measures taken to protect fish, marine mammals and birds. This demolition technique was cost effective, faster to execute, and had a better environmental impact then an alternative option. The demolition, measures implemented to protect the environment, outcome, and lessons learned are presented.INTRODUCTIONThe California Department of Transportation needed a cost effective and environmentally friendly solution for removal of the remaining San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (former East Span) caisson foundations, starting with caisson E3. This was necessary to clear a future shipping channel. One option was to construct a steel cofferdam around the caisson to allow demolition in the dry down to the mudline. This option would take years to complete, be cost prohibitive, and its noise would disrupt aquatic life and birds throughout the cofferdam construction and demolition. An alternative option was implemented on a trial basis to conduct a mechanical demolition of the caisson above waterline along with an implosion of the remaining caisson down to mudline. This had the clear advantage as a cofferdam was not needed, and the demolition project duration would be approximately 6 months, instead of several years for the cofferdam option. The potential impact on aquatic life and birds from the implosion was a concern, as the location is environmentally sensitive; however, measures were implemented to minimize these impacts. As presented in this paper, this demolition option was implemented on a trial basis for Caisson E3. The technique succeeded and will now be used on the remaining caissons.BACKGROUND INFO ON CAISSON E3The reinforced concrete Caisson E3 is the largest caisson which supported the former East Span of the Bay Bridge. It was constructed in 1934, with the Bay Bridge opening in 1936. Figure 1 shows the project location. The caisson had a cell arrangement of 7 x 2 above the mudline. Below mudline, the caisson had a cell arrangement of 9 x 4. A structural transition was made between the 7 x 2 and 9 x 4 cell arrangements with buttress walls. All cells were flooded, as underwater openings were included in the original caisson walls to equalize the hydrostatic pressure. Figure 2 shows the caisson layout with limits for mechanical demolition and for the implosion."

Jan 1, 2016

By Shahriar Vahdani, Andy Herlache, Andrew Bro, Wei-Yu Chen

"The Presidio Parkway Project will reconstruct approximately 1.6 miles of highway, including seven bridges, three cut-and-cover tunnels, and an undercrossing connecting the Golden Gate Bridge to the City of San Francisco, California. The project site is approximately 5.6 miles from the San Andreas Fault, which is capable of producing magnitude 8 earthquakes. Seismic hazards include strong ground shaking, soil liquefaction, ground settlement, and lateral spreading. At the Tennessee Hollow bridge section up to 30 feet of loose sands and soft clays are present. Concerns are raised that standalone drilled piers will experience excessive lateral soil loads from liquefaction-induced lateral spreading pressure resulting in excessive pier head displacement of up to 8 inches. Ground improvement by Cement Deep Soil Mixing (CDSM) is proposed to provide additional foundation stiffness. This paper presents the methodology to: 1) assess the effectiveness of the ground improvement in resisting lateral spreading, and 2) optimize ground improvement design at individual bridge bents based on local site condition. A series of 3-D numerical analyses are conducted and the results show that drilled piers with CDSM ground improvement are capable of withstanding seismic demands from lateral spreading and the lateral pier head displacement is reduced to less than 2 inches. The adopted analytical approach is efficient at modifying design for individual bents and can be considered for future pier foundation design in seismically active areas. IntroductionThe Tennessee Hollow bridge section (Low Viaduct) is an integral component of the Presidio Parkway project which will replace the existing facility with a new multi-lane roadway between the Golden Gate Bridge and the City of San Francisco. As shown on Figure 1, the project site is located about 5.6 miles east of the San Andreas Fault and 12.5 miles west of the Hayward Fault. The Low Viaduct will span over a future wetland habitat subject to tidal fluctuations and potential scouring."

Jan 1, 2014

By Brent Wilkins

The project team was tasked with the design and installation of a deep foundation system to support an expansion to a power generating station in Glenrock WY. Cast-in-place piles installed by a fixed mast drilling platform were assessed to be the most efficient foundation system for the subgrade conditions and range of design loads for the project. It was determined that conventional augered, cast-in-place piles could not be installed to the required pile toe elevations. Subsurface materials consisted of interbedded coarse- and fine-grained soils to about 23 ft to 30 ft depth below the ground surface, underlain by carbonaceous shale (claystone) with interbedded sandstone. The overburden materials varied from very soft to medium stiff and loose to dense. The claystone was typically foliated and very weak to weak whereas the sandstone was typically massive and very weak to weak. The site characterization consisted of a variety of field and laboratory programs including soil borings with Standard Penetration Tests, pressure-meter testing, and geophysical testing. A load test program was performed involving the compressive, lateral, and tensile testing of piles ranging from 14-in to 24-in diameter. Compression test piles were instrumented with vibrating wire strain gages. The paper includes a discussion of the regional and local geologic and geotechnical parameters, particularly the results of the various in situ and laboratory test programs. The selected foundation system is introduced. Load test results are then presented along with analysis and discussion of these results with regard to performance of the piles in the claystone.

Jan 1, 2009

By Mohamed A. Mansour, Ahmed M. Soliman, M. H. El-Naggar

"Grouted helical piles allow significant increase in pile capacity with low additional cost over that of conventional helical piles. They can be particularly advantageous in sites where installation disturbance can reduce or even eliminate the pile shaft resistance. For helical piles with slender shafts, a grout column offers increased buckling resistance under compression loading, and may reduce the potential settlement required to mobilize the bearing component of their plates. This paper investigates the performance of grouted helical piles installed in loose sand. Grouted helical piles were constructed and tested in a controlled laboratory environment. Helical piles with hollow pipe shaft and single helix were grouted during installation. The grout was injected into the soil under high pressure through two nozzles placed above the piles helices. The load test results showed significant improvement in the performance and load carrying capacity of the helical pile due to the formation of a cylindrical grout column along the entire shaft leading to a higher shaft resistance contribution to the total pile capacity. The results suggest that grouted helical piles with slender hollow shaft could be used to support large structural loads. INTRODUCTIONHelical piles are widely used as a deep foundation system for different engineering applications. They represent an attractive foundation option because of their cost effectiveness, ease of installation even in limited access areas, low levels of noise and vibrations, and their ability to be installed through ground water without casing. In addition, they allow immediate loading upon installation. Helical piles are installed into the ground by applying a mechanical torque to the pile head. The installation torque monitoring provides a kind of quality control during the construction of helical piles. It could be used in predicting the ultimate pile capacity using several capacity-torque correlations (Livneh and Elnaggar 2008; and Hoyt and Clemence 1989).However, helical piles installation can cause soil disturbance within the annular zone affected by the pile helices. This disturbance can introduce fissures within the pile cylindrical failure surface (Vesic 1971; Mooney el al. 1985; and Zhang 1999). Thus, the shear strength of the soil decreases along the affected zone. Bagheri and El Naggar (2013) evaluated the installation effects of helical piles in sand. They reported that as the helical blade proceeds into the ground, sand within the cylindrical path circumscribed by the helices experiences torsional and vertical shearing accompanied by sand displacement and stress changes. This process is more pronounced in the case of multi-helices and large diameter anchors. Bagheri and El Naggar (2016) evaluated the installation effects of helical piles in structured clay. They indicated that the behavior of the helical pile and its capacity are significantly affected by the degree of soil de-structuring induced by the penetration of the pile shaft and helices. In addition to the installation disturbance, helical piles have other drawbacks including; high potential settlement required to fully mobilize the bearing component of their plates, low buckling resistance of their slender shafts, and the incomplete rigidity of the coupling joints along the pile shaft that allow some lateral movement under compression loading (Vickars and Clemence 2000)."

Jan 1, 2016