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By Bernard Hertlein, Chia K. Tan

"The move to LRFD methods for structural design by AASHTO, ACI, AISC , ASCE, and the FHWA has been a major change for the American construction industry. The deep foundations industry has arguably been placed most at risk by this situation, because of the need for, and the difficulty of providing, reliable quality assurance.LRFD is attractive for both the owner and the engineer because it promises cost reductions, but the assumption underlying LRFD is often overlooked - that the acceptable margin of safety can be rationally reduced, thus saving costs, provided that all the factors involved are closely controlled. This means that both the quality of the materials and the quality of the construction work must be closely monitored, and held to an acceptable standard.This paper describes the type of comprehensive quality management program that is needed in deep foundation construction projects based on LRFD. Case histories are used to illustrate the importance of both adequate inspection and reliable testing to a comprehensive quality management program.IntroductionOver the last thirty years, the major organizations that set standards and practice policies for the American construction industry, such as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials (AASHTO), the American Concrete Institute (ACI) , The American Institute for Steel Construction (AISC), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), have embraced Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) as an alternative to, and in some cases, a complete replacement for, Allowable Stress Design (ASD). AASHTO first published a new set of LRFD-based design guidelines for bridges in 1996, with several revisions in 1997, 1998, and 1999 (AASHTO, 1996). The 1996 AASHTO Bridge Design Code was the first in the United States that required foundations to be designed using LRFD procedures. LRFD has a clear advantage over conventional ASD where variability in material strength, bias in design methodology, and degree of construction quality can be rationally accounted for to achieve an acceptable level of risk."

Jan 1, 2005

By Franz-Werner Gerressen

New developments are required each day as our industry becomes more competitive. To improve performance, continue and to ensure future demands can be met. This requires the development of technical support systems that enable a more constant delivery and quality of installation of pile foundations and other applications. For example: assistance systems capable of relieving the machine operator of automating monotonous or repetitive operations. Real time installation control of the production process to manage quality control, or data transfer and reporting systems capable of keeping pace with the digital future. This paper will describe these new approaches and considerations required for these new developments. The paper also describes the equipment which is needed to execute the work under the various conditions and provides references herein. INTRODUCTION The success of a construction site is influenced by a number of factors. Selecting the most efficient and economic methods during the planning phase to defining the right direction. This means having multifunctional equipment available. To ease the usage of this equipment by the operator, uniform operation and control systems are essential. Systems like this can provide uniform handling procedure for more than 20 different installation techniques. Experienced operators are not always available. Therefore, to ease the start for beginners and to support training, numerous assistance systems were developed. This ranges from simple information for controls shown on the monitor avoiding misuse to systems which can partly automate the construction process. Regardless, the best equipment is not enough when the construction is not running smooth. The control system not only helps to organize and coordinate service of the equipment; moreover, it allows the operator to control the quality during the installation process reacting if needed. It allows process optimization as well as documentation which might be required for later negotiations.

Jan 1, 2019

By George Filz, Peter R. Cali

"Unnecessarily restrictive specifications could be limiting the cost effectiveness of deep mixing (DM) applications and therefore limiting use of DM on projects where there are other options. Excessively restrictive standards demanded for strength and permeability certainly increase contractors’ bid prices, and costing the owners and, in the case of Government projects, the taxpayers more than necessary. Yet, lax or ineffective specifications often exist for some vital components of the quality assurance and quality control. In this paper, specifications for key elements of DM design and construction are examined. Recommendations are made to improve and streamline DM specifications to better serve the common objective of constructing a safe and cost effective ground improvement project.INTRODUCTIONSpecifications should, at their best, convey the project design requirements and provide clear direction to the contractor regarding requirements for submittals, materials, execution, measurement, schedule, and other aspects as necessary. The specifications should not be overly conservative, restrictive or ambiguous, and they absolutely should not be deficient in measurement of quality. Guide specifications or recycled sections from previous projects often form the template for new project specifications. But standards that appear in guide specifications or from former successful construction should be critically scrutinized by the designer for relevance before using the copy/paste functions of the specifications writer’s keyboard. Because work does not always go as smoothly as planned, specifications for remediation of non-compliant construction should be clearly stated and enforced. Often, non-compliancy is reviewed after-the-fact and deemed to have met the design intent, indicating that either the specifications were too restrictive or the enforcement too weak.The Federal Highway Administration Design Manual: Deep Mixing for Embankment and Foundation Support, October 2013, was written by a panel of DM expert design practitioners and contractors. Guide specifications are included as Appendix C of the FHWA manual. Those guide specifications have been updated in the deep mixing section of the www.GeoTechTools.org website, and the updated specifications represent the most complete and authoritative compilation published to date. Although the specifications for DM at www.GeoTechTools.org are current and complete, and they portray the state-ofthe- practice, they too must be modified to fit specific DM applications, project needs, and site conditions. The keys to a good set of specifications are to prescribe construction only to the level that is required to meet the design intent, to require appropriate quality control and quality assurance (QC/ QA) activities, and to clearly address remedial measures required for non-compliant work."

Jan 1, 2015

By Arash Khosravifar

The seismic design of extended pile shafts for the combined effects of dynamic shaking and liquefaction-induced lateral spreading is investigated using nonlinear dynamic finite element analyses (NDA). Results of NDA parameter studies are used to illustrate how inertia and lateral spreading loads combine during shaking. The NDA results are used to evaluate equivalent static analysis (ESA) methods. Implications for design practice are discussed.

Jan 1, 2010

By William F. Loftus

When high capacity diameter pipe piles are driven open-ended into the underlying bedrock, the material gathered inside the pipe often must be excavated to allow concrete to be placed within, in a clean environment. This paper discusses a method of dealing with this ?to be excavated material - the contaminated soil of the Harlem River in New York City, USA.?

Jan 1, 1996

By X. Y. Hou

The design practice of several circular underground projects with large diameter is summarized. By taking the advantages of load-bearing of circular structure, a rational annular tensile bar support system and a new design method are proposed. Calculation for a car park shows that remarkable results are brought in by this design technique.

Jan 1, 2010

By RAP Bement

Installation by vibrodrivers of sheet and bearing piles generates periodic vibrations in the surrounding ground, which have been widely measured and reported. One of the possible consequential effects of these vibrations is ground settlement caused by the compaction of loose granular soils. Vibratory compaction settlement of a range of granular soils has been studied in the laboratory using a 150mm diameter Rowe cell, which allows sample preparation and control during vibrations equivalent to conditions in the field during vibrodriving. The cell containing the soil sample was mounted on an electromagnetic shaker and vibrated at amplitudes and frequencies appropriate for soils adjacent to vibrodrivers. The changes in sample height were recorded.

Jan 1, 1996

By C. N. Baker

The design and construction of drilled piers through water bearing and caving soil conditions are discussed. The need for close cooperation between the design engineer and contractor in both the design and construction stage is outlined. Four case histories illustrating the design and construction considerations for four different problem soil and ground water profiles are presented, including the field testing and observation procedures that were utilized to confirm that the design inten. was accomplished. Requirements advisable when placing concrete under water in a cased environment and when placing concrete under slurry in an uncased environment are described.

Jan 1, 2010

By A. Le Kouby

We present in this paper the results of a parametric study carried out in a calibration chamber on instrumented model piles. The aim is to point out group effect on piles within a group through their resulting shaft friction and tip resistance. The methodology relies on the study of the influence of adjacent piles on a "reference" pile. The soil used is a silica sand (Fontainebleau sand). The influence of parameters like pile spacing, number of piles and installation order are evaluated. The results show a positive effect on shaft friction of the group effect and a negative effect on tip resistance. Efficiency factors are defined in order to have a better view on the parameters influencing the response of the pile within a group.

Jan 1, 2006

By R. Chowdhury

The relevance of reliability studies for deep foundations is considered in this paper with special reference to pile foundations. Attention is drawn to uncertainties related to applied loads, the load-carrying capacity and the safety margin of a pile foundation. The essential steps in a reliability study are outlined. An essential goal of any study is the determination of the Reliability Index or Safety Index under different conditions of loading and operation. Calculations concerning probability of failure or success require an assumption to be made concerning the probability distribution of the safety margin. The significance of this and other assumptions should be clearly understood. Reliability approaches should be used to complement conventional deterministic studies.

Jan 1, 2010

By Jorj O. Osterberg

This paper is for presentation at the 14th Annual Members Conference of the Deep Foundations Institute held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Baltimore Maryland on October 10, 1989. This is an introductory presentation of a one hour symposium on the applications of a new testing device. This paper discusses how the device works and its uses. Papers following this describe: - How the cell is constructed and calibrated - Two projects on which the device was used on long driven piles to determine the frictional capacity - A bridge project on which the device was used on an instrumented test drilled shaft and a working drilled shaft

Jan 1, 1989

By Z. C. Chen

Based on the analysis of load test data of long floating piles in soft soil regions, the expressions of load-transfer function of pile shaft and tip for soft soils are presented in this paper, and the data of cone penetration test are suggested to use for calculating the parameters of load-transfer functions. For the loads of pile within the range of the working load of pile, the estimated pile stiffness by the suggested method in this paper are in satisfactory agreement with the results of load tests. The current Vijayvergiya's method and Satowa's method also are used to calculate pile stiffness in soft soil for comparison.

Jan 1, 2010

By Willie M. NeSmith

In the Metropolitan Atlanta Area today, augered, cast-in-place (ACIP) piles will be considered on most projects where deep foundation support is required. ACIP piles were first used in Atlanta in the late 1960s, and application began to blossom in the mid-1980s. Current design practice for ACIP piles is addressed in another paper in this conference. This paper describes the evolution of the ACIP industry in Atlanta, and details the use of ACIP piles on major projects in the Atlanta area.

Jan 1, 2003

By Shamsher Prakash

Estimation of vertical load carrying capacity of a single vertical pile under earthquake loading is an important task of a design engineer. Lateral vibration of vertical pile is highly influenced by the magnitude of vertical load. Several load reversal, during earthquake loading introduce gap between pile soil interface which reduces its load carrying capacity and increases lateral motion. This paper presents a simple time domain numerical scheme to estimate the lateral pile response, considering the loss of contact of pile at pile soil interface, during impact and earthquake loading. The motion of the pile is limited in the vertical plane. Time domain has been discretised into small intervals. The non linearity of soil properties has been taken into account by discretised Winklers model with Wolfes frequency independent mass spring dash pot coefficient for geometric damping. Suitable software has been developed which keeps track of the load reversal point of each elements.

Jan 1, 1996

By H. Mori

Construction of cast-in-place piles with enlarged bases has become popular in the cities in Japan facing to the sea coast, where the subground soil is soft alluvium deposited to depths often exceeding 30 m. The groundwater table is a few meters below the ground surface. Skin friction of piles may become negative due to ground subsidence or reduced due to liquefaction of loose sand during an earthquake. To support highrise buildings, depths of bearing strata to which piles are embedded often exceed 50 m. Due to such geotechnical conditions, methods and equipment to build cast-in-place concrete piles mainly built by the reverse circulation method have been developed since the 1970s. In the first half of this paper, the authors review the cur-rent practise of building cast-in-place piles with enlarged bases. Then they introduce the TFP system developed in recent years, and discuss about the procedures to control and monitor enlarging of bases.

Jan 1, 1989

By K. C. Foye

Use of load and resistance factor design (LRFD) of foundations is growing, from offshore applications to bridge applications and beyond. The development of load and resistance factors for design has traditionally relied on calibration to traditional factors of safety. This technique, however, offers little insight into the challenges of pile design. This paper discusses an approach to LRFD factor development that seeks to isolate the various sources of design uncertainty. Using this approach, reliability analysis is used to develop resistance factors for the design of driven pipe piles in sand. These findings shed light on many aspects of the ongoing discussion of how LRFD can be successfully applied to pile design.

Jan 1, 2008

Pier, well cap and steining junction is a complicated 3-d re-ion. The prevalent design procedure for the pier, well cap and steining in isolated manner is not rational. In absence of an integrated approach for design of the junction structure, the well cap is designed uneconomical and at the same time pier and steining are left relatively unsafe. Strut-and-Tie Model based design is a simple solution to this problem. An example illustrating design of the junction structure using STM is presented. On comparison of the outcomes of the STM based design with the prevalent design, the following anomalies are found: i) For smooth flow of forces, length of pier at its base should preferably be made equal to the outer well diameter, ii) STM based design for the pier is more rational, economical and safe. iii) Due to presence of hoop stress, as indicated by the STM, the steining concrete in a depth of p times outer diameter of the well from the well cap level should be limited to M15 grade, iv) STM based design for the steining is more rational, economical and safe.

Jan 1, 1996

By George Onorato, Giovanni Bonita

Deep soil mixing (DSM) has now become a ubiquitous ground improvement technique across the globe for producing soil-cementous materials for many types of complex civil and environmental applications. In the field, the cementation bonds of the soil-cement materials are formed under a confining stress conditions; however, these conditions are generally not considered as most wet grab specimens are cured and tested under ambient atmospheric conditions. This has led to an underestimation of the engineering and mechanical properties of the soil-cement mixed material. This paper presents the preliminary findings of the effect of confining stresses on the mechanical properties of soil-cement mixed samples. This paper discusses the specialized field techniques used for modeling confining stresses during curing and presents the preliminary findings from different soil types. The findings indicate a strength increase within samples cured under a confining stress relative to nonconsolidated samples. The magnitude of the strength increase also appears to be different for different soil types. Finer-grained soils appear to exhibit a larger relative strength increase with confining stress relative to predominately granular soils.

By Hajialilue Bonab M.

The soil-pile interaction under lateral impact loads is not yet completely well known. Many tests on single piles under static lateral loads in centrifuge have been performed and P-y curves have been determined at different levels of the pile in soil. Following these static tests on piles, a large program is undertaken with the same piles submitted to impact loads. The pile equipped with various pile caps has been impacted under variable amplitudes of shock. The behavior of the pile under different impacts was studied and dynamic parameters of the soil-pile system have been determined. Many cases of loading constituting various load histories have been analyzed. They are resulting from parametric centrifuge tests run out, on the one hand with constant and cumulative impacts and on the other hand, variable and cumulative ones. The Influence of each type of loading was studied. Using a finite element method, a non-linear pile-soil system was conceived and a transient dynamic analysis have been performed. The results of the non-linear analysis and experimental data were compared giving a good agreement.

Jan 1, 2002

By Gary L. Seider

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

Jan 1, 2007