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By Edward Jacobsen

The Oak Creek Power Plant in Oak Creek, Wisconsin is currently undertaking an expansion project. In order to supply cooling water to this facility, a 27' (8.2m) diameter tunnel will be bored, in rock; to connect to 4 vertical Intake shafts located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4km) offshore in Lake Michigan. In 2004, Case Foundation Company was awarded a lump sum contract to Install these intake shafts. When complete, the plant is expected to circulate upward of 2 billion gallons per day (7.5 billion liters) through this system. Two shafts were drilled in a (shortened) construction season in 2005 and the remaining 2 shafts and 4 liner assemblies were completed in 2006. Future connection to the tunnel, in 2007, will be accomplished by mining upward to reach the lower portion of each liner and then removing its internal bulkheads to permit the flow of the lake water into the tunnel.

May 11, 2007

By George Burke

"Many soil mixing methods have evolved over the years, but the Trench Cutting Re-mixing Deep method (TRD) was developed in Japan, circa 1993, to construct continuous uniform cutoff walls, without the need for an open trench. TRD mixing has been used on over 300 projects in Japan for excavation support, groundwater barriers, liquefaction mitigation, soil improvement and pollution containment. To date, TRD mixing has been used on only three projects in the United States: a test cell in Long Beach, Calif., for seawater intrusion barrier in 2004; a groundwater barrier at a wastewater treatment plant in Lincoln, Calif., in 2005; and presently at Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee in southeastern Florida.The most notable benefits of TRD are its abilities to overcome difficult geology, such as layered rock and dense cobbles and gravels that hinder other soil mixing methods, and to create extremely high-quality walls. The method is ideal for situations in which access precludes the use of more traditional methods due to spoil control, such as waterways and congested urban environments or subsurface obstruction/difficult ground. Spoil disposal is minimized since TRD mixes the soil in place.TRD mixing has a horizontal continuity advantage over traditional multi-auger deep soil mixing (DSM) systems. Because DSM systems create walls by overlapping soil-cement columns, the auger may be deflected by difficult ground, and gaps are possible. Gaps may also occur when constructing an exceptionally deep wall due to the possibility of auger deviation from its required vertical alignment.The method also has a homogeneity advantage in layered soils. Because DSM constructs columns by rotating the defined length mixing tools up and down the soil profile while injecting binder, strength and permeability in each layer will vary. The TRD method vertically mixes the entire profile and core samples show highly uniform strength. It is most cost-effective in deep difficult ground such as layered rock or dense cobbles and gravels."

Jan 1, 2009

By Jamey Rosen

A Project Information Management System (PIMS) was developed to manage and analyze QC data at the Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Dam Modification Cutoff Wall (owned by the Jacksonville District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers). A special feature of this PIMS was its geospatial component. Data collected from Bauer drill rigs were automatically “geoprocessed” into threedimensional features representing the predrill, jet grout, and Cutter Soil Mixing panel elements, as well as calculated verticality and overlap metrics. These features were visualized in interactive planimetric, profile, and 3D views that facilitated several quality control activities during the project.

By Leena Korkiala-Tanttu, Ilkka Vähäaho, Juha Forsman, Paavo Lahdenperä, Kalle Rantala, Osmo Korhonen

"District of Arabianranta (Helsinki, Finland) has been founded on an old seabed, which was filled with miscellaneous soil materials. The subsoil consists of very low shear strength clays and organic clays (gyttjas). The soil was moving towards the sea at a rate of 1050 mm/year, because of filling on top of the soft subsoil. In the middle of 1990’s it was decided to build a residential area to Arabianranta, because it is located only 5 km away from the downtown. To inhibit the movement of soil, it was planned to build this 700 m long deep mixed column-wall barrier along the shore of Arabianranta in the years 1997–2005. A lot of instrumentation and inclinometers were analyzed and it was noticed that the column-wall remains at its place and the displacement rate inside the wall has been only 0.44.6 mm/year after construction works. Nevertheless, the displacement of soil at the landward side of the column-wall is still 1.25.1 mm/year. The soil at the seaside of the barrier is also moving towards the sea 12.922.2 mm/year. Another problem might be displacements of soil near the places where the column-wall ends (tails).1. INTRODUCTIONArabianranta district (Helsinki, Finland) has been an industrial, storage and wasteland area for a long time. Developing this area into a residential area was earlier considered too expensive, so it has been constructed during last decade. The organic clay layers (gyttjas), which have weak shear strength and high water content, were covered by various layers of fillings done in different phases. Because of the fillings, the area was not only consolidating, but also moving horizontally 1050 mm/year towards the sea due to the fact that the frictional soil under clay layers slopes towards the sea. A trial deep mixed structure was constructed in 1997 to inhibit the horizontal displacements of soil. The actual construction of the columnwall was completed in 2000-2005 with overlapping deep mixed cement columns on the seaward boundary. The barrier was built so that the horizontal movements would not risk the pile foundations at Arabianranta. The length of the barrier is about 680 m and width varies between 1220 m. There is a great amount of instrumentation near the barrier (inclinometer casings and other measuring devices). All this measuring information has been collected and analysed at 2014 to find out how this deep mixed column-wall has affected the horizontal displacements."

Jan 1, 2015

By Tsunenobu Nozaki

"Basically, the “Press-in Piling Method” was invented to eliminate construction nuisances, such as noise and vibration which have been serious unsolved problems for advancing societies over a long time. In the construction industry, piling works have been a major cause of noise and vibration, because most piling methods utilize dynamic load to install piles into the ground. The secret of the Press-in Piling Method is to utilize static loading to install pre-formed piles rather than dynamic load. The piles are hydraulically gripped and jacked into the ground by the special piling rig known as the “Silent Piler”. Therefore, the piles can form a robust and firm foundation, which is another advantage of the Press-in Piling Method.The Press-in Piling Mechanism and Implant Foundations The basis of the Press-in Piling Method is simple. The Pres-in Piling Machine installs a preformed displacement pile into the ground by static jacking force. The reaction for the Press-in Force is generated by gripping previously installed piles, which are called “Reaction Piles”. Due to this, the Press-in Piling Machine can produce a powerful piling force whilst only requiring minimal machine size.With the Press-in Piling Method, as piles are pressed into the ground, they are incorporated with the surrounding soils, which provides a large bearing capacity and passive horizontal resistance. These embedded foundations which are firmly anchored into the ground are known as “Implant Foundations”. Being embedded into the ground, the foundations are resilient and maintain their serviceability even in the worst credible design conditions."

Jan 1, 2015

By Takefumi Takuma, Hiroyuki Nishimura, Shigeru Kambe

"In order to achieve tubular pile driving with low noise and low vibration, the Press-in Piling Method has been adopted on many projects. The method utilizes reaction force derived primarily from previously driven piles to push in the next pile into ground. With attachments, the Press-in piling equipment can deal with hard soil as well as difficult site conditions. At West Toronto Diamond Rail Grade Separation Project in Toronto, Canada, the Press-in piling equipment drove more than 500 of 914 mm (36 inches) diameter tube piles in length of 12 to 25 meters (39 to 82 feet) to construct earth-retaining walls for railway grade separation. Myoshoji River Restoration Project in Tokyo, Japan drove some 600 of 1,000mm (39.4 inches) diameter tube pipe sections in length of 11 to 22 meters (36 to 72 feet) by the rotary Press-in piling equipment to increase the flood drainage capacity of an existing river in highly populated area of the city. Both projects exemplify the advantages of the method in urban settings.1. BACKGROUNDThe Press-in Piling Method was invented some forty years ago in Japan, where a very large number of construction projects were causing widespread construction pollution, especially by pile driving work in densely populated areas. The method has been providing solutions for piling projects which could not have been built otherwise due to the noise and vibration impact to the surrounding communities. The method can be used with various types of piles including sheet piles, tubular piles, concrete sheet piles and so on. With high pressure water jet and continuous flight auger attachments, the Press-in piling equipment can deal with dense sand, stiff clay, gravels, boulders and even soft rock without employing a different set of equipment."

Jan 1, 2015

By Tracy Brettmann, Melis Sutman, C. Guney Olgen

"The use of energy piles for geothermal heat exchange has been steadily increasing during the last decade, yet there are still pending questions on their behavior during temperature changes. This paper focuses on the thermo-mechanical response of three full-scale energy piles installed in Richmond, TX. The behavior of test piles subjected to thermo-mechanical loadings was studied in situ with the aim of quantifying the thermal influence on the performance and capacity of energy piles. An extensive field test program, including conventional pile loading tests and application of heating-cooling cycles was conducted on the test piles during a period of six weeks. For thermal load applications, the heat exchanger fluid with maximum temperature of 113°F (45°C) and minimum of 47°F (8°C) was circulated in the geothermal loops placed at the center of the test piles. Optical fiber sensors, vibrating wire strain gages, thermistors and thermal integrity profile wires were installed to monitor the strain and temperature variations along the energy piles throughout the field tests. The strain and temperature profiles during heating-cooling cycles on the test piles under static loads and without a maintained load were monitored to investigate the effect of thermo-mechanical and pure thermal loads on the energy piles, respectively. Conventional pile load tests were applied before and after the application of thermal cycles. The results of the pile load tests are compared to evaluate the effect of temperature cycles on pile capacity.IntroductionEnergy piles are deep foundation elements designed to access and exploit the relatively constant temperature of the ground and its heat storage capacity for efficient heating and cooling of buildings. The deep foundation elements that are already in place for structural support are integrated with adsorber pipes to perform as heat exchangers connected to ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems. With the use of energy piles, the heat energy is fed into and withdrawn from the ground for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter, respectively.Energy piles present an innovative way to harvest near-surface geothermal energy and to provide lower carbon emissions, however, there are still pending question on their performance. During heating-cooling cycles, energy piles experience temperature changes, which result in expansion or contraction of the piles."

Jan 1, 2017

By Andreu J. Ferrero

Polyurethane and acrylate resins are routinely injected into soils to gain strength and control water flow. However, most published data regarding strength gain is derived from laboratory samples created under ideal conditions. This study endeavored to inject resins into full scale mock-ups that could then be excavated and tested to yield results comparable to actual field conditions. To achieve this goal, a large container was filled with a silty SAND (SM), as defined by the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). The soil was moisture treated and compacted in lifts of 0.3m. PVC pipes installed in a diamond grid into the soil were used to inject polyurethane and acrylate resins. Dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) tests were conducted on the polyurethane treated soils, the acrylate treated soils, and the baseline untreated soils in the container. Testing results will be correlated to SPTn and CBR values to evaluate increases in the soil strength parameters in the treated soils. Cored samples of polyurethane and acrylate treated soils will be tested in compression, shear, and triaxial. These laboratory test results will focus on material property gains for the treated soils, in comparison to standard values for similar soil types. Complete documentation of the soil type, compaction methods, injection methods, and testing performed have been documented and will be presented in the final paper.

By Andrew Higgins, Jamey Rosen

This presentation will demonstrate some recent advancements in the applications of Project Information Systems (PIMS) technology to seepage barrier walls in the context of evolving Owner Specifications. The use of geospatial technology in particular is used to track, visualize, and analyze data from a variety of sources and serve those data to contractors and owners via dashboards and as-built drawings. Data describing the geometry of construction elements (including diaphragm panels, secant piles, and jet grout columns) is of particular importance on these projects, and this presentation will include case studies in the United States of how these data are used to determine if a barrier wall is constructed as designed and if it meets the owner specifications with respect to tolerance (i.e., if each element is sufficiently close to vertical) and overlap (i.e., do adjacent elements overlap sufficiently to prevent leakage).

May 1, 2022

By Md. Nafiul Haque, Murad Y. Abu-Farsakh, Chris Nickel

"This paper presents the results from a pile load testing program for a bridge construction project in Louisiana. The testing includes two 54-inch open-ended spun cast concrete cylinder piles (OECP), one 30-inch open-ended steel pile (OESP), and two (30-inch and 16-inch) square prestressed concrete (PSC) piles driven at two locations with very similar soil conditions. All the test piles were instrumented with vibrating wire strain gauges to measure the load distribution along the length of the test piles and the skin friction and the end bearing were derived from strain gauge measurements. High strain dynamic load tests (HSDLT) were performed on all test piles at different times after pile installations to quantify the amount of setup with time. Static load tests were also performed on the PSC and open-ended steel piles. Due to expected large pile capacities, the statnamic test method was used on the two open-ended cylinder piles. The pile capacities of these piles were evaluated using various CPT methods (such as Schmertmann, De Ruiter and Beringen, LCPC, COFS methods). The result showed that all the methods can estimate the skin friction with good accuracy; but not the end-bearing capacity. Setup was observed for all the piles, which was mainly attributed to increase in skin frictions. The setup rate parameters “A” [The “A” parameter is defined as the rate of increase of pile capacity ratio (Rt/Rto) per log cycle of elapsed time] were back-calculated for all the test piles and the values were between 0.31 and 0.41.INTRODUCTIONDue to greater efficiency (capacity to weight ratio) of the pipe piles, open-ended piles are a viable option to solid piles. However, the behavior of open-ended piles is more complicated compared to the close-ended piles owing to possible formation of “soil plug” inside the open-ended pile. Many researchers have analyzed the behavior of both types of piles for different purposes; however, very few studies in the literature offer the side-by-side comparison of the close-ended and open-ended piles."

Jan 1, 2017

By Nicholas P. Gura

This paper presents the analysis, design, and load test program results for drilled shafts to support a 70-story hotel tower and associated 10 story podium structures located in Las Vegas, Nevada. A mat foundation for the structure, although feasible, would have produced undesirable differential settlements within the high rise tower footprint and at the interface with adjacent lower level podium structures. The resulting foundation system solution for the 70-story, approximately 800-foot long hotel tower was four-foot diameter drilled shafts, extending 100 below shaft cutoff. The design compression capacity for the four foot diameter drilled shaft was 5,000 kips. The load test program proved that the unique Las Vegas valley geology lends itself to efficient installation, precluding the need for engineered slurry or casing. The load testing program included the installation of two four-foot diameter test shafts to 100 feet below theoretical cutoff and the performance of two highly instrumented independent Osterberg load cell tests with maximum sustained test loads of 12,000 kips. Sonic caliper testing was also performed to document actual in-place shaft diameters and verticality. The load test program also provided information necessary for the foundation design of the podium structures. In addition to the tower?s drilled shaft load test program data, continuous flight auger (CFA) pile evaluation and testing was also performed. The CFA testing consisted of traditional ?top down? loading techniques and was performed as an alternative to the recommended shallow drilled shafts for the lower level podium structures. The results of the CFA test program provided supplemental, insightful soil friction data which was used in conjunction with the drilled shaft test program data in evaluating the most appropriate support for the lower level structures.

Jan 1, 2007

By Abdelmalek Bouazza, Aamir Mahawish, Will P. Gates

Bio-grouting by means of microbial induced calcite (calcium carbonate) precipitation (MICP) to improve mechanical properties of granular soils has gained much attention in recent years. The biogrouting process offers an alternative and environmentally friendly approach to conventional soil improvement techniques, such as cement. Bio-grouting by urea hydrolysis has been extensively applied to tackle various geotechnical problems. However, it has yet to be applied to improve engineering properties (compressive strength) of a coarse cohesionless material with the aim using it as sand/stone columns within soft and very soft soils. This paper investigates the effect of using light, moderate and heavy biochemical treatments on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of coarse sand columns. In addition, the microstructure of the bio-cemented coarse material has been analysed by X-ray computed tomography (XRCT). The experimental results revealed that the UCS could reach up to 200kPa, 1000kPa and 5500kPa for light, moderate and heavy bio-cemented coarse sand columns, respectively. The microstructure investigations showed that the deposited calcium carbonate can be identified using XRCT imaging and can be associated with the gain in UCS values. Various microstructure properties, such as void ratio, dry density and porosity were also identified and compared with the laboratory data.

Jan 1, 1900

By Damien Enright, Franz-Werner Gerressen

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

Oct 1, 2022

By D. Cantali

This paper will be presented in two parts. The first part will present the latest advancements in pile installation techniques using state-of-the-art press-in piling technology by Giken. By pressing in sheet piles and large modulus contiguous steel tube pile walls – as opposed to the more traditional installation methods using percussive hammers or vibrators – retaining structures can be constructed effectively noise and vibration free. For over water and coastal projects with limited access, this provides significant environmental benefits in the form of minimising the construction foot print and the impact to surrounding communities and the marine natural habitat. Typical noise and vibration data will also be presented. The second part of this paper will review the current manufacturing techniques for sheet piles and introduce innovative new materials used in the current piling market for embedded sheet pile walls. Materials include long service life non – ferrous materials such as new age plastics and fibre reinforced polymer piles. Their excellent long term performance and durability make them an effective solution in the marine environment. For steel piles, a number of steel grades with reduced corrosion characteristics will also be discussed including a newly developed steel to combat corrossion in the low water zone, an area often exhibiting the highest moments in a retaining wall. A number of project case studies will also be presented to reinforce their relevance in today’s changing construction landscape.

Nov 1, 2022

By Toshio Yonezawa, Helmut Florian, Herbert Kuh, Masamichi Aoki, Takao Koono, Franz-Werner Gerressen

"To increase the bearing capacity of the ground, soil improvement technique is often adopted. One advantage of soil improvement techniques is the fact, that the impact to the environment is low, as the system utilizes the existing soil. Recently, compressive strength of soil improvement gets more into the focus for the use of building foundation. To prevent brittle fracture, which is a weak point of soil improvement, fiber reinforced soil improvement has been developed. Laboratory tests were conducted to examine the fibers suitable for reinforced soil improvement, and examine the optimum mix design for fiber cement slurry. Based on the laboratory tests, polypropylene fiber and cellulosic viscosity admixture was selected. For the laboratory tests a scaled model of CSM mixing head was used to examine the dispersion of the fibers in the ground. Using the CSM mixing head, the outer periphery fibers of soil improvement seemed to be arranged in the vertical direction, toughness performance of the soil improvement could be improved. Furthermore, full scale field test was performed using actual CSM unit, modified to enable the use of fiber mixed slurry. The validity of the material as well as the toughness performance of the soil improvement, determined from lab test results, was confirmed. In addition, it was confirmed that fiber reinforced soil improvement can be constructed appropriately by CSM method.2 INTRODUCTIONSoil improvement technique to improve the strength and deformation performance of ground has been used for a long time. Cement improved methods, with the increase of the deep Mixing Method, which has been disseminated since the 1970's, was often used since. Cement used soil improvement technology has been utilized to stabilize excavations, slopes in embankment and much more. Recently, it can be used for preventing liquefaction by building soil improvement in a grid (Suzuki et al. (1996)), and also as basis of the structure by increasing the compression strength of soil improvement (Yamashita et al. (2011)). Cement used soil improvement method, a technique for mixing the in-site soil and cement, can effectively utilize natural resources, and it can be expected that its use will increase further in the future. Therefore, soil improvement technique will be able to minimize the impact on the environment. Cement improved soil is a mixture of soil particles and cement with high compressive strength but low tensile strength. Since tensile strength of soil improvement is low, brittle destruction occurs. Therefore, it is not possible to use soil improvement in conditions acting with bending stress. If a horizontal impact force occurs in the improved soil, the width of the soil improvement needs to be increased to reduce the bending stress. If preventing the brittle fracture of soil improvement, the width of soil improvement could be reduced, then less resources would be needed. In order to increase the tensile strength of the soil improvement, several studies for the mix of fiber and soil were performed. Victor (1992) indicates cracking deterrent effect by fiber based on laboratory tests. Moreover, based on laboratory tests, Hayasaki (1982) illustrated the effect on the tensile strength of the fiber types, the type of fiber, the diameter of and the length of fiber."

Jan 1, 2015

By Andres M. Baquerizo, Matthew E. Meyer, Carlos Ortiz

"The Metropolitan Miami development, a downtown mixed-use complex developed by Miami-based MDM Development Group, has weathered the economic downturn by adapting to the needs and pressures of the local market. The development (a.k.a. Met Miami) epitomizes the term “mixed-use urban development” with its combination of condominium ownership, rental apartments, hospitality, office and retail components within Miami’s urban core. Initially conceived and conceptualized in 2004, the development has gone through several concept changes. Today, the global USD $900 million development approaches completion.The foundation evaluation, design and construction for this development included the use of innovative and state-of-the-art augered-cast-in-place (ACIP) piles. The testing for these elements included (1) the first-ever, multi-level O-cell load test of an ACIP pile, (2) a world record 5,200 ton (46,261.5 kN) equivalent top load test of an ACIP pile, and (3) continued the advancement of the ACIP pile industry to include the deepest and largest diameter pile installation to date. Those dimensions were up to 36 in (914 mm) in diameter, and 120 ft (36.6 m) deep. The project showed ACIP piles were a proven alternative for structures exceeding 70 stories in South Florida.The development includes four parcels. Met 1 and Met 2 are completed, and the construction of the Met 3 development is just beginning, with completion expected in 2014. Once the Met 3 development is completed, the design and construction phases of the project will have spanned a decade. The Met Square portion of the development, which will be a retail and cinema component, is proposed for the parcel between Met 1 and Met 2."

Jan 1, 2012

By Tony Amis, Marco Barla, Alice Di Donna

"Energy geostructures are becoming an increasingly popular solution around the world for Developers looking to reduce CO2 and system running costs. Energy geostructures are geotechnical structures that provide both the important role of structural stability while also acting as a heat exchanger with the ground, enabling the supported buildings and or infrastructure to be heated and cooled using the principle of low enthalpy geothermal systems. The main advantage of this innovative technology with respect to standard geothermal plant is the reduction of the initial installation costs and construction schedule benefits, compared to installing conventional geothermal solutions, largely due to the additional use of structures which would be constructed in any case. However, it is important with respect to energy geostructures that additional aspects need careful consideration. For this very reason, several research studies have been carried out over the last decade on this subject and a number of real case studies have been monitored and analysed. The key difference with respect to conventional shallow geothermal systems are mainly related to the geometry, which is imposed by the geotechnical project, and the need to ensure that the primary structural role is always guaranteed. Special boundary conditions, the reduced depth, the influence of atmospheric external temperature can also play an important role for energy geostructures. They can affect, both energy efficiency and, the geotechnical behaviour because of the possible thermal induced mechanical effects. This paper presents a picture of the current situation regarding energy geostructures and their peculiar features, and collects available data to provide a reference framework. Data has been collected from literature and personal communications and then processed to provide easy-to-read charts useful for practical consultation at a glance. This paper provides, an indication of the distribution of such systems worldwide, their spread in time, and a global view of their actual efficiency from the structural, energy, economic and environmental point of view.1. IntroductionEnergy geostructures are becoming an increasingly popular consideration around the world. Energy geostructures are geotechnical structures with a dual role of providing structural stability and the ability to exchange heat with the ground, to provide low carbon heat and coolth to supporting and or adjacent buildings and infrastructure, using the principle of low enthalpy geothermal systems (Barla and Di Donna, 2016; Laloui and Di Donna, 2013). A closed circuit of high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes is embedded in the concrete, and a heat carrier fluid circulates through them exchanging heat with the ground. The HDPE pipework circuit inside the geostructure is linked to one of the above buildings or infrastructure through a heat pump, which adapts the temperature of the circulating fluid to the heating (winter mode) and cooling (summer mode) needs. In this way, heat can be injected into the ground during summer and extracted from it during winter. In principle, all structures in contact with the ground can be used as energy geostructures. The first examples of energy geostructures date back to the eighties in Austria and were mainly piles and shallow foundations. A decade later, Henderson et al. (1999) reported on what would appear to be the first successful use of geothermal energy piles in the US, with loops incorporated into the foundation for a hotel in Geneva, New York. As was their use in this New York case history, the typical geothermal energy pile application is used in conjunction with additional closed loop boreholes to provide the required energy capacity for a structure. Interestingly the report concludes that the geothermal energy piles had a better heat transfer performance than the borehole field. The first energy walls appeared slightly later, while still today only a few experimental cas"

Jan 1, 2017

By Ryan P. Sullivan, G. Alan Klevens, Jian Huang

"BACKGROUNDLake Hamilton in Hot Springs, AR was created in 1932 when the Arkansas Power and Light Co. completed Carpenter Dam on the Ouachita River to generate electricity. Today, the 7,200-acre (2,914 hectares) impoundment is one of Arkansas’s most popular recreational and residential lakes.U.S. 70 crosses Lake Hamilton by means of a seven-span bridge featuring nine steel girders per span. Constructed between 1982 and 1984, the 1,410-foot long (430m) bridge carries four lanes of traffi c across the lake. The bridge is supported by six intermediate reinforced concrete piers composed of hammer heads, stems, footings and seals, which sit on the underlying rock. (See Figure 1). The bridge rises to a maximum of 33 feet (10m) above the surface of the lake and the footings and seals extend a maximum of 29.5 feet (9m) below the surface of the lake. The seals are situated on hard, fractured sandstone and shale.Routine underwater inspections in 1993 revealed large cracks in the lean seal concrete and refl ective cracks in the reinforced concrete footings. Infrastructure Engineers, Inc., The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department’s (AHTD) design consultant, then conducted an in-depth underwater inspection of the pier foundations. The investigation included cross-hole sonic logging, singlehole sonic logging, visual examination and strength testing of core samples, and petrographic analysis.The investigation revealed extensive cracking and low-strength concrete within the seals of all intermediate pier foundations. Many voids within the seal concrete had become fi lled with silt. There was evidence of continued seal deterioration between underwater inspections.AHTD and its engineers considered three rehabilitation solutions in the preliminary engineering stage: micropiles, a cofferdam supported concrete jacket, or a pile supported concrete jacket. The three alternatives were estimated to cost $1,250,000; $4,320,000; and $3,030,000 respectively. All three options would transfer the loads from the pier footing directly to the rock below, bypassing the seal concrete."

Jan 1, 2007

By Brian Wilson, John Scholte, Megan Atkinson

"In November 2004, the residents of the City of Nanaimo, B.C., Canada voted to approve a new conference centre as the centrepiece of a proposed revitalization project for the city’s historic downtown core. The proposal goal was to replace a cluster of derelict buildings with a dynamic and modern complex that would connect existing city facilities to a new conference facility, the Vancouver Island Conference Centre (VICC). The conference centre is expected to create 150 full-time jobs, attract visitors/ delegates from across North America and generate new economic opportunities for local businesses.However, the proposed site posed a number of geotechnical and geoenvironmental challenges. As is often the case with coastal cities, historic growth of the Nanaimo downtown and harbour area was achieved through reclamation of former waterfront areas and inlets. These areas were often infilled with random fills and even wastes, leaving a legacy of variable density heterogeneous fills contaminated with a variety of pollutants. Preliminary assessment of the site indicated a high likelihood of a requirement for deep foundations, a high risk of liquefaction in the event of an earthquake and the presence of both soil and groundwater contamination. Construction would be further complicated by the requirement for two levels of basement parking and the proximity of adjacent buildings and major roadways to the work area.With a limited budget (fixed by the referendum) and timeframe, the city needed a cost-effective solution to proceed with construction. A number of options were considered, but an innovative design using leading-edge Cutter Soil Mixer (CSM) technology best met the geotechnical and budgetary requirements of the site. The CSM approach also addressed the environmental concerns of contaminated soils and groundwater. Golder Associates Innovative Applications (GAIA) Inc., in association with the designers of their parent company Golder Associates Ltd. (Golder), proposed the CSM technology — at the time the first North American application."

Jan 1, 2008

By Ryan P. Sullivan, G. Alan Klevens, Jian Huang

"BACKGROUNDLake Hamilton in Hot Springs, AR was created in 1932 when the Arkansas Power and Light Co. completed Carpenter Dam on the Ouachita River to generate electricity. Today, the 7,200-acre (2,914 hectares) impoundment is one of Arkansas’s most popular recreational and residential lakes.U.S. 70 crosses Lake Hamilton by means of a seven-span bridge featuring nine steel girders per span. Constructed between 1982 and 1984, the 1,410-foot long (430m) bridge carries four lanes of traffi c across the lake. The bridge is supported by six intermediate reinforced concrete piers composed of hammer heads, stems, footings and seals, which sit on the underlying rock. (See Figure 1). The bridge rises to a maximum of 33 feet (10m) above the surface of the lake and the footings and seals extend a maximum of 29.5 feet (9m) below the surface of the lake. The seals are situated on hard, fractured sandstone and shale. Routine underwater inspections in 1993 revealed large cracks in the lean seal concrete and reflective cracks in the reinforced concrete footings. Infrastructure Engineers, Inc., The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department’s (AHTD) design consultant, then conducted an in-depth underwater inspection of the pier foundations. The investigation included cross-hole sonic logging, singlehole sonic logging, visual examination and strength testing of core samples, and petrographic analysis.The investigation revealed extensive cracking and low-strength concrete within the seals of all intermediate pier foundations. Many voids within the seal concrete had become filled with silt. There was evidence of continued seal deterioration between underwater inspections.AHTD and its engineers considered three rehabilitation solutions in the preliminary engineering stage: micropiles, a cofferdam supported concrete jacket, or a pile supported concrete jacket. The three alternatives were estimated to cost $1,250,000; $4,320,000; and $3,030,000 respectively. All three options would transfer the loads from the pier footing directly to the rock below, bypassing the seal concrete."

Jan 1, 2007