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By Edmund J. Cardoza

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) provides water and wastewater services to the Greater Detroit Metropolitan Area. Sewerage is treated at the DWSD Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) located at 9300 W. Jefferson Street south of the City of Detroit, Figure 1. PARTICIPANTS Engineering and design of the project for the DWSD was performed by Harza Engineering Company, Inc., C.C. Johnson & Malhotra, P.C. and their sub-consultants, including Worley Engineering and Wade Trim. The Prime Contractor is a Joint Venture of Traylor Brothers, Inc. and Jay Dee Construction. The shaft drilling and riser installation was performed by The Millgard Corporation in joint venture with the Prime Contractor (MTJD). The selection of specialized drilling equipment and the supervision and performance of the access shaft and riser installations was primarily the responsibility of The Millgard Corporation (TMC).

Jan 1, 2001

By Debra F. Laefer

Jet grouting is a ground improvement technique that has become widely adopted over the past three decades, yet relatively little data has been published about performance characteristics of mixes under adverse conditions, such as the inclusion of clay lenses. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the impact of clay on the strength of jet grouting. A total of 150 grout samples were subjected to 0-10% levels of Kaolinite and Bentonite inclusion. While the Bentonite was introduced as a pre-hydrated slurry, the Kaolinite was mixed in two ways: in a pulverized condition and as large chunks. Sample strength and stiffness were measured at multiple dates within the first 28 days. With 10% clay inclusion all samples exhibited significant strength and stiffness losses. With some, substantial losses began with as little as 4% clay. Even a 1% clay inclusion tended to decrease strength and stiffness between one-quarter and one-third of the control sample. Depending upon clay type and inclusion method, results differed significantly with respect to strength and stiffness development and failure mechanism. Petrographic analysis is used to provide further insights as to apparently divergent behaviors.

Jan 1, 2009

By George Machan

Bitumen coatings have been successfully used to significantly reduce downdrag on piles. Thicker coatings of "soft" bitumens can accommodate downdrag so well that very little downdrag load is transferred to the pile. Many of the case histories describe better than 80 percent downdrag load reduction. Bitumen coatings have been used on several projects in Oregon. On the Mocks Bottom Bridge project (see Reference 1), experimentation and instrumentation confirmed the viability of bitumen coatings and provided insights for design and construction. Subsequent bridge projects have used this information and have raised issues to be resolved.

Jan 1, 1989

By Ivan Hee

The 2.5km long bridge over the Beauharnois Canal and St. Lawrence Seaway is a major structure in the new Autoroute 30 project near Montreal. Foundations for the bridge consist of footings on bedrock, driven piles, and drilled shafts. This paper describes the design, verification, and construction of 1.85m diameter drilled shafts socketed into very strong and abrasive dolomitic sandstone. Two loading tests on sacrificial, heavily-instrumented, 1.18m diameter test shafts using Osterberg load cells were performed, with telltales installed to monitor a possible rock cone failure mechanism. The loading tests resulted in a revision to the initial design and provided a greater understanding of the cone uplift mechanism in rock. Insights gained are discussed and economies of the load testing program presented. Construction methodologies are also presented.

Jan 1, 2011

By Frederick C. Rhyner

The United States government sponsored the construction of a new vehicular bridge over the Diyala River in Bubriz, Iraq. This paper describes the geotechnical engineering for design and construction of drilled shaft foundations for this bridge. An Iraqi geotechnical engineering firm made borings and laboratory tests while analysis and design recommendations were provided in the United States. Despite the severe challenges of engineering in a war zone, excellent cooperation was the key to a successful effort. Three drilled shafts designs were necessary to accommodate the different subsurface conditions: a) medium-compact to compact sands, b) stiff to hard clays and c) mixed soil profile. The alpha and beta methods were used to estimate capacities for a conservative design, recognizing that quality control during construction might be less than what is normally provided in the United States. Iraq has a high seismic risk and LPILE was used to estimate the drilled shaft response during earthquake loading conditions. Settlement estimates were made using FHWA methods. Construction was carried out entirely by local Iraqi firms, despite the challenges of working in an active conflict area.

Jan 1, 2009

By Julie Hampden, Tim Dardis, Per Reinhall

"Noise from impact pile driving can harm fish, marine mammals and other sensitive wildlife over large areas. Marine pile driving is highly regulated, and regulators require sound levels to be below certain thresholds to avoid harassment and injury to sensitive marine life. In many locations, timing restrictions, use of noise attenuation technologies and extensive monitoring for impacts to wildlife are also required. As a result, permitting can be laborious and time consuming, and project implementation and scheduling can be complicated. Underwater noise levels are measured with an underwater microphone (hydrophone), which converts noise pressure to voltage and is calibrated to express the noise pressure in Pascals (Pa). The pressure is often expressed using a logarithmic scale, in decibels (dB). Several specific metrics can be used to describe underwater noise. Three common metrics are the instantaneous peak sound pressure level (dBpeak), the root mean square pressure level (dBRMS) and the sound exposure level (dBSEL) referred to as the peak, RMS and SEL levels, respectively.During impact pile driving, the peak pressure represents the instantaneous maximum pressure, either overpressure or underpressure, observed during each pile strike. The RMS level is the square root of the mean of the square of the pressure during the duration of the impulse; it is the average pressure level of the pile strike from beginning to end. The cumulative SEL (SELcum) is calculated by summing the cumulative pressure squared and integrating over time of duration of the pile strike. SEL is used as an indication of the cumulative energy of a pile driving event, which may consist of one or many pile strikes.Regulatory agencies use these metrics to help characterize the noise pressure levels that can affect sensitive species. Some of the most frequently encountered biological thresholds in the Northwestern United States that are used by regulators to describe potential impacts to sensitive species are summarized in the following table. Agencies have defined thresholds for different types of injury, either hearing or bodily harm, and for temporary injury or disturbance."

Jan 1, 2017

By Yahia M. Al-Smadi

Effect of lateral loading against existing sheet pile wall and distribution of gravity loading due to various number of construction loading scenarios were studied. The objective of this effort was to determine the loading case that permits the contractor to utilize a 400 ton crane at the specified location with the existing limitation imposed on site. Staged analysis was determined as the methodology that will more accurately predict the exiting and additional stress due to the impose crane loading. A reliable and robust analysis (ANSYS) software was used to complete both 2D and 3D finite element model and analysis. Analysis model parameters such as material properties, non-linear behavior of the soil, and meshing are presented and discussed. At the conclusion specific range of crane operation and pick weights operating on existing concrete mat supported on top of an existing tunnel was reviewed and deemed acceptable.

Jan 1, 2010

By Moonkyung Chung

Static pile load tests were performed in order to evaluate bearing capacities and mechanical behaviors of three different pile types: (1) steel-concrete composite drilled shaft with rebar reinforcements inside the concrete, (2) steel-concrete composite drilled shaft without rebar, and (3) conventional drilled shaft (reinforcement concrete pile). The material elastic moduli obtained from pile load tests of steel-concrete composite drilled shafts with and without rebar reinforcement were found out to be similar. On the other hand, the elastic modulus of steel-concrete composite drilled shafts is almost twice as high as that of the conventional drilled shaft. The ultimate strengths of the steel-concrete composite drilled shaft with rebar, the steel-concrete composite drilled shaft without rebar, and the conventional drilled shaft were 9,810, 7,848, and 4,414kN, respectively. The results of these load tests reveal that the ultimate strengths of the steel-concrete composite drilled shaft with reinforcement and that without reinforcement are 2.22 times and 1.78 times greater that that of the drilled shaft. The structural failures of the steel-concrete composite drilled shafts occurred either at the boundary between tip of steel casing and rock-socketed concrete.

Jan 1, 2010

By William B. Conway

This paper will describe the large caisson pier foundations for four of the bridges crossing the Mississippi River in the New Orleans area; and will discuss some of the unusual problems encountered during their sinking. Certain settlement phenomena experienced during their service life will also be related: The four bridges in order of their construction: The Huey P. Long Bridge, River Mile 106.1, completed in 1935 The Greater New Orleans Bridge No. 1, River Mile 96.0, completed in 1958 The Hale Boggs Bridge, River Mile 121.6, completed in 1983 The Greater New Orleans Bridge No. 2, River Mile 96.1, completed in 1988 Each of these bridges employed large open-dredged concrete caissons as foundations for one or more of the river piers, with the smallest being the 65ft by 102ft caissons for Piers I and II of the Huey P. Long Bridge and the largest being the 99ft by 214ft caisson for Pier II of the Greater New Orleans Bridge No. 2. The Huey P. Long caissons are founded in a dense fine sand at -170 while all of the other bridge caissons are founded in hard preconsolidated clay at elevations varying from -150 to -185. The Huey P. Long Bridge is currently being widened without increasing the caisson foundations under any of the river piers; and the design reasoning that led to this decision is presented.

Jan 1, 2013

By Emre Biringen

Over the past decades, there has been an increasing recognition of the strategic use of pile-supported rafts in design of heavily-loaded structures to reduce total and differential settlements. However, such a hybrid foundation construction method has not been widely utilized in many countries, including the U.S., due to code limitations. In current practice, the foundation design is based on either (i) the bearing capacity of the raft supported by the subgrade soils, or (ii) solely the pile capacity. This paper addresses the potential use of such hybrid piled-raft systems, where the structural load is shared by both by the piles and the subgrade soils directly beneath the raft, in foundation design of power plant structures. The study assessed some of the characteristics of piled-raft behavior by undertaking three-dimensional finite element analyses of two raft sizes, and various pile layout patterns, including the rafts with piles distributed evenly and only in the central area of the raft. The computer software PLAXIS 3D with the Mohr-Coulomb constitutive soil model was used to facilitate the modeling of such cases. The results presented in this paper indicate how strategically locating the piles could reduce the differential and total settlements.

By John Erikson, Alan J. Lutenegger, Nicholas Williams

"In order to evaluate the level of disturbance produced in clays during installation, a series of single-helix and multi-helix anchors were installed at a test site consisting of a stiff overconsolidated clay crust overlying softer near normally consolidated clay. Field vane tests were then conducted over the top of the helical plates at various depths to determine the undrained shear strength after installation and were compared with undrained shear strength measured in adjacent undisturbed ground. The tests represent the first time that the degree of installation disturbance has been evaluated directly and show that even with perfect installation practice the clay is disturbed as a result of rotation of the helices during installation. The results show that the soil is not completely remolded but that the strength is below the peak undrained strength of the adjacent undisturbed ground. Measurement of the installation torque and the rate of advance are used to define an “Installation Disturbance Factor” which may help to evaluate the quality of the installation by the Contractor and degree of soil disturbance. INTRODUCTIONAn important consideration in the design of Helical Anchors is the degree of disturbance to the soil during installation. This may be especially important for saturated fine-grained soils where the disturbance from installation may produce a reduction of the undrained shear strength. Even though this was recognized as early as 1950 by Skempton, soil disturbance is often ignored by engineers using current design procedures. Field investigations were performed to obtain both directs and indirect evaluation of the degree of disturbance produced by the installation of single-helix and multi-helix anchors in clay and the influence of disturbance on behavior. The investigations involved measurement of torque and advance during installation, load tests performed to determine load-displacement behavior and ultimate capacity and field vane tests performed over the helical anchors to evaluate changes in undrained shear strength as compared to adjacent undisturbed ground. The characteristics of the site and details of the installation are presented. Results of the field vane tests are shown for a number of helical anchor installations and results of load tests are presented. The results indicate that a reduction should be made to the undisturbed undrained shear strength for design and that the reduction may be related to the Sensitivity of the clay and quality of installation."

Jan 1, 2017

By Dennis Nottingham

The need for deep compaction of submerged granular soils has led to improvements in this area. In 1971, L.B. Foster Company personnel patented a method of deep compaction using a vibratory pile hammer and pile probe. The technique had some success, but did not produce consistent results and thus found its way to obscurity. Other patents attempted to modify the technique by various probe modifications, but again without measurable improvement from a practical point of view. Solutions to economical deep compaction up to 100 foot depths particularly in saturated granular soils would have a great impact on the construction industry and new bulkhead structures being developed, thus PND was prompted into related research and development. The advent of higher horsepower vibratory hammers, coupled with PND engineers? experiments, observations and measurements, led to an ?H? pile probe design which has produced measured soil density improvements up to 250% using SPT ?N60? values as a measure.

Jan 1, 2013

By Dan Brown

This paper provides an overview of the advantages and limitations of continuous flight auger (CFA) and drilled displacement (DD) systems compared to other deep foundation systems, along with a summary of important considerations for selection and design. Geotechnical and project considerations are described which favor the use of CFA and DD piling, and also which may be problematic for this type of construction or which may limit the practicality and competitive advantages. A brief summary of design methods for axial and lateral loading is included.

Jan 1, 2005

By X. M. Wu

The paper describes four different types of support for deep excavations, which are currently used in China. Local experiences were illustrated by presenting case histories for each type of support. For braced excavation in soft clays in Shanghai, the earth pressure against bracings were found to be in conformity with the trapizoidal estimation given by Terzaghi and Peck (1967). For tie-back support of excavations in Beijing and Shengyang, earth pressures were found to be much less than those predicted by ordinary rules. In the construction of a mining shaft in coarse sand below ground water level, high pressure jet grouting has been successfully used to form a circular impervious lining of the shaft. As an effective anti-slide measure, large diameter reinforced concrete piles constructed by open shaft method have been widely used with success.

Jan 1, 2010

By Emad Farouz

This paper presents a case history of a successful construction-phase pile load test program that optimized the pile design in challenging ground conditions at the Great Neck Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York. The improvements and expansion of the wastewater treatment plant included the construction of several new structures to comply with new stringent nitrogen discharge requirements and new design flow. The challenging ground conditions included up to 20-ft thick organic deposits with weight of hammer blow counts and up to 14 percent organic content and tidal ground water that was near the ground surface. The foundation design evaluated various deep foundation alternatives and selected driven closed-ended pipe piles then filled with concrete as the most suitable foundation. The selection process included considerations of cost, risk, vibrations, noise, and schedule. The contract documents utilized an innovative approach of performing an optimization load test program that was implemented during construction to optimize pile lengths and reduce potential vibration and construction schedule. This paper discusses the details of the successful load test program including static testing, dynamic testing, and the innovative contracting approach utilized to implement the construction phase load test program. It also discusses the successful development and implementation of driving criteria for production piles and construction challenges. The successful load test program resulted in savings of several hundred thousand dollars, optimized schedule, and lower environmental impacts.

By Emad Farouz, Francis A. Abreu

"This paper presents a case history of a successful construction-phase pile load test program that optimized the pile design in challenging ground conditions at the Great Neck Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York. The improvements and expansion of the wastewater treatment plant included the construction of several new structures to comply with new stringent nitrogen discharge requirements and new design flow. The challenging ground conditions included up to 20-ft thick organic deposits with weight of hammer blow counts and up to 14 percent organic content and tidal ground water that was near the ground surface. The foundation design evaluated various deep foundation alternatives and selected driven closed-ended pipe piles then filled with concrete as the most suitable foundation. The selection process included considerations of cost, risk, vibrations, noise, and schedule. The contract documents utilized an innovative approach of performing an optimization load test program that was implemented during construction to optimize pile lengths and reduce potential vibration and construction schedule.This paper discusses the details of the successful load test program including static testing, dynamic testing, and the innovative contracting approach utilized to implement the construction phase load test program. It also discusses the successful development and implementation of driving criteria for production piles and construction challenges. The successful load test program resulted in savings of several hundred thousand dollars, optimized schedule, and lower environmental impacts.SITE AND PROJECT DESCRIPTIONThe Great Neck Water Pollution Control District (GNWPCD), located in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau, New York, owns and operates a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that discharges treated effluent through an outfall to Manhasset Bay, which is a tributary of the Long Island Sound. The site is located west of Manhasset Bay and is surrounded on three sides by local roads, and commercial, industrial, and recreational properties. The site has a gentle slope ranging from elevation +20 to +7 from west to east, respectively, based on the Nassau County Datum.To comply with new nitrogen discharge requirements and new design flows, the GNWPCD contracted CH2M HILL, Inc. and William F. Cosulich Associates as a Joint- Venture (JV) to design and provide services during construction of eight new advanced nitrogen removal facilities."

Jan 1, 2017

By Jim Cook

Arsenal Football Club required the development of a new home stadium in north London, subsequently named the Emirates Stadium. The proposed development comprised a 60,000 seat stadium, with associated facilities and a sports training centre. Described are the foundation solutions and piling construction techniques used, which take into consideration the potential impacts on existing above and below ground railway infrastructure and underground water structures. Methods used by the piling contractor to improve aspects associated with health, safety and quality are also described.

Jan 1, 2008

By Hennie F. T. Barnard, Theodore E. B. Vorster

Where geotechnical designs are governed by settlement requirements, soil and rock moduli are important parameters for design. This paper reports on a method that was used to utilize dynamic modulus measurements in the field toward pile settlement designs for the proposed Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Project to be located near Carnarvon, South Africa. The project will comprise of over 3000 No. movement sensitive satellite dish structures. The method described in the paper utilizes strain-related modulus degradation across the complete ground profile, starting from measurements of peak particle velocity (and inference to dynamic modulus at small strain) as measured using Continuous Surface Wave (CSW) testing at individual dish positions. This is required due to the very small allowable foundation rotation of 5 arc seconds under the dishes’ operational conditions. The strategy of analysis was to conduct an iterative process starting from the measured small strain modulus profile of the ground. The likely maximum pile force for a specific piled foundation option was estimated and a single pile finite element analysis was performed using Plaxis 2D (Version 2010) to estimate the expected ground strain developing along the length of the pile. By assuming the shape of the shear modulus degradation curve with increasing shear strain, the iteration process then converged on a likely degraded modulus profile associated with the single pile and maximum load assumed. This process enabled identifying the pile cap size, pile configuration, pile sizes and pile lengths that would meet the operational movement limits. The chosen pile group configuration was then analyzed using the Repute 1.5 pile group analysis software. The design process and typical results are discussed in this paper.

Jan 1, 2017

By Hennie F. T. Barnard

Where geotechnical designs are governed by settlement requirements, soil and rock moduli are important parameters for design. This paper reports on a method that was used to utilize dynamic modulus measurements in the field toward pile settlement designs for the proposed Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Project to be located near Carnarvon, South Africa. The project will comprise of over 3000 No. movement sensitive satellite dish structures. The method described in the paper utilizes strain-related modulus degradation across the complete ground profile, starting from measurements of peak particle velocity (and inference to dynamic modulus at small strain) as measured using Continuous Surface Wave (CSW) testing at individual dish positions. This is required due to the very small allowable foundation rotation of 5 arc seconds under the dishes? operational conditions. The strategy of analysis was to conduct an iterative process starting from the measured small strain modulus profile of the ground. The likely maximum pile force for a specific piled foundation option was estimated and a single pile finite element analysis was performed using Plaxis 2D (Version 2010) to estimate the expected ground strain developing along the length of the pile. By assuming the shape of the shear modulus degradation curve with increasing shear strain, the iteration process then converged on a likely degraded modulus profile associated with the single pile and maximum load assumed. This process enabled identifying the pile cap size, pile configuration, pile sizes and pile lengths that would meet the operational movement limits. The chosen pile group configuration was then analyzed using the Repute 1.5 pile group analysis software. The design process and typical results are discussed in this paper.

By Chul Soo Park, Juhyung Lee, Duhyun Baek

"In this study the preliminary design of suction pile as the supporting system of the concrete floating structures was performed at the offshore pilot project area in Korea. The suction pile of the floating structures has to satisfy the lateral resistance against external force evaluated from the marine and structure conditions, as well as the penetration ability according to the soil and seepage conditions. In the design, the required penetration depths for lateral resistance were evaluated with different diameters of cylindrical steel suction pile, and the design suction pressures at each penetrating depths were assessed through the comparison of penetration forces and penetration-resistances. Finally, the optimal dimension of suction pile for the pilot project area was proposed.IntroductionInterests in sea spaces have rapidly increased around the world due to limitations in use of lands. Such increase has resulted in construction of numerous marine structures aimed at expanding the use of sea spaces and developing marine resources. South Korea also needs to secure construction technologies for floating infrastructures on its relatively deep seas. Foundations for floating structures consist of anchors and mooring systems rather than driven piles or cast-in-place piles, due to limitations in equipment operation or economic feasibility. Anchors and foundations used on the sea include drag anchors and suction piles, but the suction piles are more widely used for reasons regarding uncertainties of calculation of bearing capacity and construction. Large-diameter suction piles are generally used to utilize fully their penetration ability, which is proportionate to the square of the foundation diameter, and the length-diameter ratio (L/D) does not exceed 6 (Randolph et al., 2005; Andersen et al., 2005). Recently, a design and construction technology using group suction piles consisting of medium-diameter suction piles and concrete pile caps is being developed as an alternative to the conventional large-diameter mono suction piles. In addition, pilot projects involving the group suction piles of mediumdiameter are currently being reviewed for the southwest coast area in Korea. In this study, therefore, preliminary design for installation of medium-diameter mono suction piles as the supporting system of the concrete floating structures was performed, and suction pressures, penetration forces and resistances, and lateral loading capacity with diameters were reviewed."

Jan 1, 2017