Evaluation of the Pullout Behavior of Pre-Bored Piles Embedded in Rock

The subject of this study is dry process caisson tube method cofferdam (hereinafter called C.T cofferdam). This C.T cofferdam is designed to use the skin friction of the drilled shaft embedded into the rock for stability of buoyancy. A pre-bored pile embedded in the bedrock was pulled out due to the buoyancy of the C.T cofferdam at the pier (hereinafter called P) 2 of the OO bridges under construction, to which this was applied. In this study, in order to solve this problem, the adhesion force applied with the concept of skin friction and the pre-bored pile of drilled shaft according to domestic and foreign design standards were identified; the on-site pull-out load test was used to calculate the pull-out force; and the skin friction of the drilled shaft and pre-bored pile embedded into the bedrock were compared and analyzed. In addition, the pull-out behavior of the pre-bored pile embedded in the bedrock was analyzed through numerical analysis. The adhesion strength tested in the lab was 881 kN for air curing of concrete and 542 kN for water curing of concrete, and the on-site pull-out test result was 399.7 kN. As a result of the numerical analysis, the material properties of the grout considering the site conditions used revealed that the displacement of the entire structure exceeded the allowable limit and was unstable. This appears to have lowered the adhesion strength due to construction issues such as ground complexity and both seawater and slime treatment, which were not expected at the time of design.

Fiber Optic-Based Thermal Integrity Profiling of Drilled Shaft: Inverse Modeling for Spiral Fiber Deployment Strategy

The current state of practice to interpret the thermal integrity profiling (TIP) data of drilled shaft is the so-called effective radius method. It uses the concrete pouring log and average temperature to construct a relationship between temperature distribution and effective radius that can be used to reconstruct a drilled shaft model. While this effective radius method is computationally inexpensive and has good operationality, it is not good at predicting the dimensions and shape of shaft defects. Upgrading the sensor used in conventional TIP from thermocouples/thermal wires to fiber optic sensors, the spatial resolution of the measured temperature will be enhanced. By using the newly proposed spiral fiber deployment strategy, we can improve the reconstruction of shaft defects in the integrity testing of drilled shafts. The corresponding inverse modeling of defected shaft reconstruction for spiral deployment is proposed in this paper based on the temperature distribution pattern that is learned from forward modeling. Through inverse modeling, the details of defects in drilled shafts can be reconstructed numerically. An analysis of the results shows that the prediction by inverse modeling has good agreement with the forward modeling set up initially. This work helps the evolution of the TIP from the nondestructive testing stage to the quantitative nondestructive evaluation stage.

The Analytical Solution of the Grouting Migration Height for the Post-Grouted Drilled Shaft Based on the Herschel-Bulkley Model

The traditional bored pile technology has some arduous problems, such as the sediment at the pile tip, the mud skin along the pile shaft, and the stress release due to borehole construction. The post-grouted technology at the pile tip of bored pile has emerged because of demand. The grouting migration height (GMH) is of great significance to the strengthen and reinforcement of the pile foundation. This paper derives the calculation formula of the GMH based on the theory of the column hole expansion and Herschel-Bulkley model. The influence of relevant parameters on the GMH is discussed. Aiming at the problem of the grouting migration along the pile shaft in layered soils, the iterative calculation method of the GMH is proposed. The correctness of the GMH is verified by an engineering case, which can guide the engineering practice. The result shows that the GMH increases with the increase of the grouting pressure, the pile diameter and the thickness of the mud skin, and the grouting pressure is positively correlated with the GMH. The GMH decreases with the increase of the buried depth, the consistency coefficient and the rheological index. On this basis, the correctness of the GMH is verified by an engineering case.

Development and Testing of Structurally Independent Foundations for High-Speed Containment Concrete Barrier

This paper presents the development and testing of single slope barriers with independent foundations that can be installed at a wide range of site conditions. The researchers developed designs of barriers with foundation systems by conducting a series of finite element simulations and performing full-scale vehicle impact tests under the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware ( MASH) Test Level 5 (TL-5) and Test Level 4 (TL-4) conditions. In this process, foundation designs were developed for site conditions that may require shallow foundations, or foundations that have a smaller footprint. Depending on the site conditions and the presence of underground structures, designers could select the most fitting option from these designs. Impact performance of the developed barrier and foundation systems was evaluated using full-scale finite element impact simulations under MASH TL-5 and TL-4 impact conditions. Two critical systems were selected for full-scale crash testing: a 54 in. tall single slope barrier with drilled shaft foundations, and a 36 in. tall single slope barrier with moment slab foundation. The barrier with the drilled shaft foundation system was tested to MASH Test 5-12 conditions, and the barrier with the moment slab foundation system was tested to MASH Test 4-12 conditions. Both systems performed acceptably with respect to the MASH criteria. This paper presents the various barrier and foundation designs that were developed, key results from the simulation analyses, and details of the crash testing performed on the two selected systems.