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By James S. Graham

Foundation pile driving hammers used in New York City in the past 100 years have been drop, steam, compressed air, diesel, and hydraulic. In 1992, the first hydraulic hammer in the New York City area was purchased by Norwalk Marine Contractors, Inc. from Junttan in Finland. It was bought because of its variable energy and ease of mobilization, not because of its higher transferred energy. Heller and Johnsen engineers instrumented hydraulic hammers on nine jobs. The measured transferred energy for the nine jobs was found to average approximately 80 percent. There is no clear consensus regarding the reasons for the hydraulic hammer being more efficient in delivering energy to the pile as compared to single-acting steam/air impact hammers. To minimize pile damage during installation, and to minimize footage overruns, an up-to-date version of the wave equation software that includes an efficiency value of 0.95 for hydraulic hammers is now used.

Jan 1, 2000

By Sun Jiale

This paper presents a brief description of information construction technology for supported excavation to assure satisfactory performance of engineered system. As a successful example of application of the technique, quite a few troublesome problems, such as high groundwater level in soft ground and crowded buildings around the excavation, were solved satisfactorily in the construction of the new tower of Guangzhou Overseas Chinese Manison.

Jan 1, 1991

By Fred C. Schmednecht

For years, the strategy was to contain waste and in many applications, is still the recommended method. Recently, it has become acceptable to create filters below ground for the in-situ treatment of waste. Consequently, in lieu of the waste being contained, it is desirable that the waste flow through a pervious treatment zone. For instance, subterranean pervious walls comprised of iron sand are particularly useful in treating chlorinated solvents in contaminated groundwater. The iron acts as a corrective filter to treat the contaminated groundwater. How are these impervious and pervious walls being constructed? One effective means of constructing an impervious barrier is the vibrated beam method. This method, in brief, involves the use of a fabricated steel beam, a vibrator, a pile driving crane, and a mixing plant. This method results in a 4-6" wide wall with depths up to and exceeding 100'. Over one hundred slurry walls have been installed using this method in the United States. The need for the vibrated beam method continues to escalate due to its reduced health and safety considerations, high level of quality control, lack of excavation, narrow working area, and ability to achieve depths greater than 100'. A recent project was in Marinette, Wisconsin at the ANSUL facility. The project consisted of a 28,000 square foot slurry wall and was completed in January of 1999. Another effective means of creating an impervious barrier, where structural support from the barrier is needed, is the Waterloo® Barrier System. This system involves the use of a pile driving crane, Waterloo® steel sheet piles which are patented steel sheet piles due to their groutable interlocks, and a grout plant. This system results in a water-tight barrier due to the grouted interlocks and provides structural support. A project was completed at Beta Steel in Portage, IN for a retention pond to protect Lake Michigan. Due to the new concept of "filtering", there are few accepted construction techniques available. One effective field proven construction technique is the patent pending mandrel emplacement technique. This technique involves the use of a fabricated hollow steel mandrel with a shoe, a vibrator, a heavy duty crane, and a material feeder. This technique results in a pervious wall which may be comprised of pure iron sand or any other flowable media. Using this technique, the pervious wall may be constructed in varying widths to depths in excess of 100'. A successful installation occurred in October 1997 at Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida.

Jan 1, 1999

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 Mario Aiezza

This paper outlines the results of a relationship developed during the design and construction of the foundations for the Gallery Towers project in Melbourne. Both the builder and the piling contractor were determined to arrive at a satisfactory foundation solution to the problems encountered at the site. The scope of piling work was to provide load-bearing piles under the building columns, some of which were located within a retention system that also required a piling solution. Geological conditions were variable and challenging. The site area was small and located adjacent to the National Arts Centre in the developed Southbank area, a high density office area. This presented logistical problems in limiting construction traffic on site and also demanding minimal noise and vibration emanating from piling activities. The piling contractor, Vibro-Pile, and the builder, Walter Construction Group, faced the challenges presented with a refreshing cooperative attitude that was beneficial to both companies. Commercial issues rising from design and construction problems were first put apart in order to allow the respective technical department of each company to work with minimum constraints to achieve the most cost effective solution. In the process usual adversarial attitudes resulting in loss of time and money was avoided. A number of issues were addressed successfully at minimum cost and time during this contract. Despite the difficulties encountered, the job was completed on time and with negligible claims for extras, resulting in the development of a strong mutual respect between both companies.

Jan 1, 2002

By H. F. Cowie

Britain's first pressurised water reactor (PWR) Nuclear Power Station is now under construction at Sizewell on the Suffolk coast. A linear cut-off wall was proposed to ensure that the drawdown of water to some 14m below sea level in the overlying sands during construction of the new power station would not affect the existing adjacent nuclear power station. The low permeability cut-off wall was constructed by diaphragm walling techniques by excavating a continuous deep trench supported by bentonite mud and then dis­placing the bentonite by a plastic concrete to form the "impermeable" membrane. The paper describes the automated digging apparatus ("Hydrofraise") with the extensive support facilities required to achieve completion within programme, control methods used to obtain the high vertical tolerances and the properties of the plastic concrete and the production plant used for its production.

Jan 1, 1989

By Stephen T. Young

The construction of Phase 2 of Hong Kong Station, its retail podium and International Finance Centre Two, the tallest building in Hong Kong, will be completed in the middle of 2003. This paper describes the design and construction of the slurry wall for the Station (both Phase 1 and Phase 2) and the two commercial buildings at the Station. The slurry wall is used as the permanent earth support wall for the station box and the excavation depth ranges from 70 feet to 120 feet. Top-down construction technique was adopted to support the excavation of the station, while circular cofferdams relying on hoop stiffness were constructed to support the basement excavation of the two towers. The designed behavior of the slurry wall is also compared to the as built behavior.

Jan 1, 2003

By David V. Lewin

Heavy structures in central Cleveland, Ohio, are supported on raft foundations, driven piles, or caissons. Settlements can be predicted and structures are designed to accommodate such settlements. On one project the settlements were not provided for in the design of the structure. Soils are sands, silts, and varved clays to shale. A rift in a central area is 600 feet deep. Solutions to problems, and results, are detailed.

Jan 1, 1985

By Damian R. Siebert

Risk-reduction measures implemented during the design and construction of a 21-story pile-supported building adjacent to a below-grade 100-year-old sewer structure were keys to a successful foundation system. Avoiding damage to the existing sewer structure during construction activities and the future ability to access the structure post-construction were the main concerns for the utility owner. Clear communication and a deliberate design process between all parties ? utility owner, building owner, structural engineer, geotechnical engineer, architect, and contractor ? were integral to the project?s success. This collaborative process helped all parties to understand the risks, both real and perceived, and to develop mitigation measures to reduce the risks. Bringing together all parties to engage in dialogue and encouraging open communication throughout the project were paramount to its success. By implementing the joint design plan, using mutually-acceptable construction techniques, and careful monitoring, the building foundation was successfully installed and all parties? risks were averted.

Jan 1, 2011

By Susheel R. Kolwalkar

A significant increase in the side shear capacity over a period of time is often observed in case of driven piles. This phenomenon is referred to as ?setup? or ?freeze?. This phenomenon cannot be predicted based on the knowledge of the engineering properties of soil. Different kinds of mechanisms have been proposed in order to explain set-up in cohesive soils. In engineering practice, set-up is incorporated in design on the basis of empirical formulae and depends to a large extent on personal experience and judgment of the design engineer. Set-up is a natural process which cannot be accelerated by any existing practice. A research was initiated to investigate the mechanism of pile set-up in clayey soils and explore the possibility of accelerating the set-up process by an electro-kinetic method. The system chosen for the present study consists of a prototype steel pile driven in kaolinite clay. A laboratory test program was developed at Cleveland State University in order to meet the goals of the proposed research. Results obtained from these tests are very encouraging and show pile capacity increase of 200% within the first 5 days of electric gradient application versus those that experience natural set-up. In this paper, theoretical considerations and laboratory test results are presented and discussed.

Jan 1, 2008

By Bjöm Böhle

Top-down construction (or cut and cover construction) is providing important advantages when comparing with conventional construction techniques for commercial developments with deep basements, underground car parks or near surface infrastructure and traffic tunnels. Main features are substantially reduced restrictions to surface usage, avoidance of intervention with adjacent property, provision of rigid substructures resulting in minimal deforma­tions and settlements and, last but not least, accelerated construction pro­gramme. The present contribution illustrates the construction method in general and elaborates in detail on the special foundation works for a major urban commercial high rise development requiring a six level basement structure.

Jan 1, 2006

By A. M. Hanna

This paper presents the experimental investigation on the ultimate skin friction of batter piles. The model piles were pushed in medium dense sand deposits at different inclinations up to 30 with respect to the vertical and tested under axial compression loads. The decrease in the total skin resistance with increasing pile inclination can be explained in terms of the reduction of the ave­rage mobilized angle of friction between the pile shaft and sand. The analysis, which takes into account asymmetrical earth pressure distributions around the pile shaft, showed good agreement with experimental results.

Jan 1, 2010

By J. Stacho, Frankovská. J.

"Abstract The use of continuous flight auger (CFA) piles in Slovakia has increased significantly in recent decades. High-rise building of administrative centre Lakeside Park in Bratislava is based on piled-raft foundation. The technology of CFA has been used due to the advantages of this technology in comparison with driven and bored piles in local geotechnical conditions. Piles have been designed in accordance with Eurocode 7. Resistance of piles was calculated by using an analytical calculation model for bored piles according to Slovak technical standard and CFA technology has been taken into account by coefficient equal to 1.1. Settlement of piles was calculated by using a calculation model which is being used in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Two well instrumented static load tests were carried out to verify the pile design. The results of static load tests showed that the design was conservative. The paper presents analysis of numerical modelling of CFA pile and static load tests. Load-settlement curves and load distribution curves over pile shafts are compared. Software Plaxis 2011 has been used for numerical modelling. Hardening soil model allows considering over consolidation of Tertiary Silts and water pressure in deep sandy lenses. The article also presents the parametric study where the influences of pile-soil interface reduction factor, over consolidation ratio and material models of soils are analysed. The results of numerical modelling showed that the most appropriate results have been obtained when the interface reduction factor equal 0.9 and real behaviour of groundwater were considered. The conclusion of the paper confirms that mechanical behaviour of the ground can be better understood and determined by using FEM than analytical methods.1. IntroductionPiles are among the most frequently used elements of deep foundations. Piles transfer loads down to a suitable bearing stratum when the soil immediately below a construction is unsuitable. Piles are also used to reduce settlement of structure. At present, the requirements of limit settlement of structures are more stringent. Examples of these structures are commercial and administrative centres that form a complex of different tall buildings. High-rise buildings cause greater contact stresses than connected low-rise buildings. Pile foundations in such cases should be placed under the high-rise buildings to achieve an appropriate settlement.Resistance of piles can be determined from static load test results, in-situ tests and empirical experiences or calculations. Static load tests give the most reliable results, but these tests are also the most expensive. This is the reason for constant development of computational methods. Especially numerical methods give more accurate results by using more sophisticated material models e. g. hardening soil or hypoplastic model."

Jan 1, 2014

By Juan M. Antorena

A pile driving and testing program was undertaken to evaluate installation procedures, assess capacity, particularly in uplift, of 360- and 460-mm (14- and 18-inch) square prestressed concrete piles and provide foundation design parameters for the New Mid-Point Bridge project in Fort Myers, Florida. Nine piles were dynamically monitored during installation, and six piles were monitored during restrike driving to evaluate pile drivability and uplift and bearing capacity including time related capacity increases due to soil "set-up". In addition, two static load tests (tension and compression) were performed to calibrated the results obtain during the dynamic testing. This paper presents descriptions of the pile driving testing program along with findings regarding pile uplift and compression capacities from the static load testing, pile capacities from dynamic testing (CAPWAP® analyses), soil-pile adhesion values, wave equation factors, soil strength vs. time dependency, foundation design (anticipated pile tip elevation) and pile driving recommendations.

Jan 1, 1995

By Lars Richter, Franz-Werner Gerressen

"The Eglinton Crosstown Line was conceived as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, a partially underground light rail line, announced in 2007 as part of the Transit City plan, which included the implementation of six other light rail lines across Toronto.There were 43 stops planned for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, 13 of which would be underground . For those underground stations a lot of specialty foundation works needed to be carried out. King piles, soldier piles with lagging and secant piles were mainly required fulfilling the tasks of installing the retaining wall system.The paper will focus on the original design and alternative solutions, discussing the benefits and limits of these. It will also explain the installation process in general as well as some specific features related to specific site conditions, e.g. limits in installation depth, soil characteristics etc. The required equipment will be explained showing the benefits and limits.INTRODUCTIONThe Eglinton Crosstown project is a 19-kilometre LRT line that will bring much needed relief to the transit woes of Torontonians. Traversing the city in an east-west slice across the midtown artery of Eglinton Avenue, the Crosstown rail line involves a combination of 15 underground stations and 10 atgrade surface stops. It is one of the largest transit infrastructure projects under way in North America today. Aecon has joined partners ACS Infrastructure Canada, Ellis Don, and SNC-Lavalin to form Crosslinx Transit Solutions (Crosslinx).As with many of today’s mega public transportation projects, the Crosstown LRT follows the Public- Private Partnership (P3) model. Aecon is an equal partner in the $5.3-billion Crosslinx consortium to develop the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project in Toronto. Upon the LRT's completion in 2021, Metrolinx, the region’s transit authority and also the project client/owner, will turn to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to operate it. The impact of this highly anticipated LRT line on commuters in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is expected to be dramatic and immediate once the first train leaves the station five years from now. In fact, Metrolinx is estimating that within its first 10 years of service, the Crosstown line will be carrying 5,500 passengers per hour (in peak direction) and making 100 million passenger trips annually."

Jan 1, 2017

By Willie M. NeSmith

Conventional augered, cast-in-place (ACIP) piles were introduced into the New York City area as a result of the damage to existing structures caused by pile driving operations. ACIP piles are often specified where deep foundations are to be installed adjacent to transit facilities, sensitive underground utilities or in close proximity to existing structures. However, loss-of-ground issues associated with the installation of ACIP piles have prevented the wide-scale use of these systems. Beginning in 2002, Berkel & Company Contractors, Inc. began using its augered, cast-in-place displacement (ACIPD) system in the New York City area. Like conventional ACIP piles, this system produces almost no vibration. Also, as almost no material is brought to the surface, there is no opportunity for loss of ground. This paper presents a description of Berkel's displacement pile system and a brief discussion of six projects in the New York City area that have been executed with this system over the past two years.

Jan 1, 2004

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: ALEXANDER CONSTRUCTORS, INC. STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: CAGLEY & ASSOCIATES, INC. GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER: F.T. KITLINSKI & ASSOCIATES, INC. PILE FOUNDATION CONTRACTOR: L.G. BARCUS AND SONS, INC. PROJECT PROFILE: 108-10 in. diameter AugerPiles installed to an approximate depth of 32 ft. Piles were installed through Stiff Clayey Fill and Medium-Dense Sands to Decomposed Shale. Piles were drilled to a refusal criteria of 1 ft. / 3 min. Piles were installed using a Barcus Mantis AugerPile rig which is large enough to install piles 25 to 50 ft. long outdoors. The Mantis is also ideal for indoor and low overhead installations. On top of being extremely versatile, the Mantis is also very economical to mobilize. The existing structure is supported on H-Piles. The AugerPiles were furnished and installed for less than the material price of the H-Piles. Design loads were under 40 tons which eliminated the need for a load test. AugerPiles were selected for minimal vibration, limited noise, and economy.

Jan 1, 2001

By Brian P. Waagner

Construction law in general and the law of deep foundations in particular continues to develop rapidly, particularly in the areas of risk allocation. Public and private owners are increasingly using contractual disclaimers to shift the risk of differing site conditions to contractors, and courts are increasingly willing to enforce these contractual devices. Perhaps also in an effort to control costs, public and private owners are turning to design-build contracting techniques. While design-build offers many advantages over traditional project delivery systems, it does not answer all of the risk-allocation questions that frequently arise. Even in design-build, problems with unanticipated subsurface conditions and defective design are not easily addressed. Finally, developments in electronic commerce present the potential to transform the construction industry.

Jan 1, 2002

By Stefan Larsson, Sebastian Adevik, Sadek Baker, Razvan Ignat

"Abstract Uncertain strength, deformation and flow properties in dry deep mixing columns often lead to conservative choices concerning design values where the design is regularly complemented with a surcharge fill. The surcharge not only leads to increased cost but also to logistical problems where the surcharge is a physical obstacle. The deformation properties of a ground improvement were studied by means of two small embankment load tests. The settlement measurements were also used in FEM analyses, where the effect of surcharge on creep settlements was investigated. Based on the results, the effects of the surcharge were considered negligible and could safely be ignored. The project is an example how the contractor can use a field test as an effective design approach.IntroductionGround improvement of soft soils with dry deep mixing columns, or lime-cement columns, is often combined with a surcharge fill. The main reason for using a surcharge is to force the primary settlement and some of the secondary settlement that would have occurred under the final embankment height alone, to take place under the surcharge loading. Another reason is to level out uneven settlements. Strength and deformation properties in improved soil cannot be sufficiently assessed in advance, before columns have been tested on-site, and this uncertainty often lead to conservative choices concerning design values. In order to compensate for a slow forecasted consolidation process, the design is regularly complemented with a surcharge. The surcharge not only leads to increased cost but also to logistical problems where the surcharge is a physical obstacle.Extensive research undertaken by Åhnberg (2006, 2007) shows, by means of triaxial and oedometer tests, that cementation processes and a load acting on the columns during hardening, makes the improved soil to behave as a heavily over-consolidated soil due to an increase in quasi pre-consolidation pressure. The effects of using a surcharge on the time for consolidation and creep properties are thus probably small, since the stress level does not normally exceed this quasi pre-consolidation pressure. A study presented by Venda Oliveira et al. (2013) shows that the stress level within small ranges has limited effect on the creep properties.This paper presents a case study where the deformation properties of a ground improvement using dry deep mixing columns was investigated by load tests on two small test embankments. The tests were performed at the Interchange Värtan project site, which is part of the Norra länken infrastructure project in Stockholm. The tests were not performed as a research project but simple load tests performed by the contractor with the purpose of rationalizing the design delivered by the client. One purpose of the load tests was to assess the deformations when the columns are loaded temporarily by overlaying concrete works. Another purpose was to provide some input data to a study of the effects of using surcharge on creep settlements. The analysis was conducted as finite element modeling using the commercial code PLAXIS, where creep settlements can be simulated using the built-in Soft Soil Creep model."

Jan 1, 2014

By Tony Brunger, Abid O. Adekunte, George Munteanu, David Greentree

A number of novel solutions have been proposed in recent years as alternatives to props and tie-backs in deep excavation support e.g. Adekunte (2008), Deschamps et. al. (2008), Adekunte et al. (2010) and Adekunte (2014). A number of these non-standard restraining solutions involve the construction of permanent or temporary vertical or raking buttress piles that are rigidly connected to the excavation support wall at regular intervals along the wall run. This paper chiefly focuses on the design and construction of twin-vertical buttress piles as restraining systems behind or in front of embedded retaining walls. The system essentially relies on the push-pull mechanism that develops between the twin piles, to maintain the overall stability of the excavation support. The paper’s main areas of concentration include; finite element modelling, geostructural design, construction procedure, instrumentation and monitoring that are associated with the application of twin- buttress pile systems. These are supported with project details of three recently completed high-end luxurious residential developments in Greater London, England, on which the twin-buttress pile system was used to restrain the excavation support walls for the basements on the sites. The mode of application of the system varies across the three sites. While the system was adopted as a long term solution behind the retaining wall on one of the sites, it was designed and constructed for temporary use in front of the retaining walls on the other two sites. Instrumentation and monitoring results from all the sites show the non-traditional system to be safe and effective, whilst having significant beneficial effects on construction programme, sequence of works and project cost.

Jan 1, 2018