Engineering Commons^™

On Foundation Treatment For Old Houses And Factory Buildings, Yiji Wang

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

This article is for the participation in the discussion on papers under Theme I presented at the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering and can be regarded as additional information to Theme I. A few cases of foundation treatment for old residential houses and factory buildings are enumerated, whereby engineering problems are studied to find solutions. It is held that a solution that can be suited to a case and also costeffective should be selected in the light of the nature of a building and its foundation. It is of the opinion that the solution with drilled or …

Power Line Foundation Design Using The Pressuremeter, J. L. Briaud, A. J. Pacal, A. W. Shively

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

During the design phase of a 2000-towers electric power transmission line, a load test program was undertaken to evaluate the accuracy of new design methods for uplift and lateral capacity of drilled shafts. Seven uplift tests and six lateral load tests were performed in three different soil deposits: a medium clay, a very hard clay and a sand. The shafts were 2 ft in diameter and either 10 or 15 ft long. The pressuremeter test results are used together with existing methods to predict the behavior of the shafts.

Power Plant Construction On A Thick Sand Deposit, A. Arcones, A. Soriano

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The Compañía Sevillana de Electricidad, S.A., is building a fuel power plant near the mouth of the Guadarranque river in the Algeciras Bay, in the South of Spain. The site is flat, with the ground water level close to the surface and occasionally above it, giving the site a marshy aspect. The thickness of the alluvial soils is such that deep foundations have been considered so expensive that an alternative solution has had to be sought. The rather loose and granular characteristics of the soil deposit caused some concern about settlement of shallow foundations in addition to the risk of …

Power Station Foundations In Deep Expansive Soil, G. E. Blight, Lethabo Ad Hoc Foundation Committee

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The site for a large (3600 MW) thermal power station is underlain by deep expansive soils which posed difficult conditions for the design of stable foundations. After describing the soil and ground-water conditions and attendant foundation problems, the paper goes on to describe how the amount and rate of heave were predicted. Most of the foundations are piled, but the piles will be subject to uplift as the soil swells. Large scale tests to acquire information for the prediction of uplift forces are described, as well as measures for reducing the uplift forces.

Prediction Of Axial Pile Capacity Based On Case Histories, R. E. Olson, N. D. Dennis, D. G. Winter

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A data bank containing records from 1000 load tests on driven piles was set up. A computer program was developed to access the data bank and perform capacity analyses using a variety of methods. Analyses using six methods in clay and three in sand are reported here. For piles in clay, the capacities were predicted with tolerable accuracy by all methods, whereas the scatter was large for all methods for piles in sand. Generally, capacities were higher for tapered piles then indicated by the analyses. Tensile and compressive side shear capacities were essentially the same. The capacities of open and …

Raymond Concrete Cylinder Files In Arabian Gulf, P. D. Engeling, R. F. Hayden, R. A. Hawkins

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The primary purpose of this paper is to present a case history of the main events which occurred in the design and construction of the Ju'Aymah Trestle. The load testing program was an essential and very interesting part of that history, and as such it will be discussed in this paper. However, the entire load test results will not be presented as this data has already been published in Foundation Facts, (1979) Raymond International Builders, Inc. periodic technical publication. We will present both the successes and failures which occurred in design and construction and will try to explain the reasons …

Repair And Replacement Of Acid-Damaged Piles, Michael W. Montgomery

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A case history of the investigation and repair of severe foundation damage by sulfuric acid attack to the concrete piles supporting a chemical plant is described. In December 1975, several columns were observed to have settled up to 5 inches (13 cm). Since large quantities of sulfuric acid arc used at the plant, deterioration of concrete piles supporting the structure was suspected. An initial investigation consisting of the coring of numerous floor piles was performed in order to determine the magnitude of the problem. Because many piles were found to be severely deteriorated, underpinning of columns in the area of …

Settlement Of Three Grain Tanks On Alluvial Soils Exhibiting Desiccation Profiles, S. R. Saye

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A desiccated crust of overconsolidated soil commonly forms at the surface of compressible soil deposits. If a depression of the groundwater level occurs, the desiccation zone penetrates into the soil profile. At sites where the groundwater level has subsequently risen, a net overconsolidation will exist in the soil profile below the crust. Settlements of structures may be affected by the overconsolidation and by the ability of the desiccated layer to distribute surface stresses over the lightly overconsolidated soil below the crust. This paper presents the use of profiles of laboratory test results and observation of color changes within the soil …

Soil Conditions And Foundation Problems In The Desert Region Of The Middle East, A. S. Stipho

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Soil condition in desert regions of the Middle East is discussed according to geological features. Conditions in four different zones are presented. Common geotechnical foundation problems in each of these zones are presented. Some remedies are suggested. Some properties of salt bearing soil (Sabkha) are studied. The influence of Nacl concentration engineering properties of the subsoil in desert regions is singled out. General relations between the unique harsh desert weather and engineering practice are analysed.

Stability Of Suspension Bridge Anchorage System, Gopal Ranjan, Shamsher Prakash, Swami Saran, Bhawani Singh

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The lift side anchor system for a 151 m span suspension bridge over river Alaknanda in Himalayan region was unstable. The gravity type anchor block for the suspension bridge was constructed by cutting the toe of the natural slope. Walls were constructed to retaining the backfill and the anchor block. Slips along the natural slope were frequent. The site lies in an active seismic zone.

The paper presents the details of analysis of anchor block, retaining walls and the natural slopes. The analysis is carried out both under static condition and also by taking seismic coefficients. The already constructed retaining …

Structural Fill Of Steel Slag Caused Heave Of A Building, Janardanan O. Uppot

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The results of an investigation on the cause of damage to a two-story industrial building supported on 5.5m of steel slag fill in the town of Monclova in the north of Mexico are presented. Since six years it was built, the floor slab heaved between 2om and 25om. The columns were raised up between 2 cm and 20 cm. These movements cracked the building. Chemical analysis of slag showed 22% of calcium oxide and 5% of magnesium oxide, which on hydration cause swelling. At a distance of 4m on one side of the building was a hearth-bath, a molten iron …

Tank Farm Construction Over Soft Organic Clays -- A Case History, Syed Ahmed

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A soil improvement program revealed new dimensions of rate of pore pressure dissipation, settlement, creep, and lateral deformation. The program saved a considerable foundation construction cost. A new parameter, pore pressure response ratio (R) is introduced. The case history presents observed results of tank-foundation-soil interaction.

Vertical Load Tests Of Footings On Silt, D. P. Lagatta, T. O. Keller

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Vertical load tests were performed on two shallow spread footings founded on nonplastic silt. Maximum vertical loads of 500 kips were applied to the test footings which were about 24 x 12 x 4 ft in size. Instrumentation was installed to measure footing displacements, footing contact stresses, and soil displacements below the footings. Results of the load tests have been presented in graphic form. Comparisons have been made between measured settlements of the footings and predicted settlements based on standard penetration test results in the silt deposit.

Reinforced Flow Retardation Structure At Henshaw Dam, Dennis S. Tarnay

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The Henshaw Dam is a semi-hydraulic earthfill structure. The seismic studies indicated that the dam could fail by liquefaction during a strong seismic motion. To ensure the integrity of the dam, the reservoir storage was reduced, the old spillway reconstructed, and a new reinforced flow retardation structure was built immediately downstream from the existing dam.

Performance Evaluation Of A Reinforced Earth-Wall For I-95 Philadelphia, Umkant Dash

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A 1630-foot long "reinforced earth" wall varying in height from 5 to 35 feet was constructed for Interstate 95 Project (1980) to serve as a sound barrier for the Society Hill area of Philadelphia. This case history describes the methods of special laboratory testing used for the selection of granular backfill, the details of construction control and the special field pullout testing for the performance evaluation of the wall.

Experimental Determination Of Stresses On A Model Silo, V. Kamgueu

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

In this paper we present some results obtained from a cylindrical model silo designed by using the well known Janssen asymptotic expression of bin pressure. Two kinds of tests have been conducted.

- one by varying the outlet diameter, (d)

- the other by varying the hopper slope, Ɵ

All these variation are done to obtain man-flow in the model. The electric responses of the sbain gages give some information on the deformations of the transition zone. Close to the hopper and reveal the existence of a peak stress responsible of the destruction of many industrial silos cited in the …

Case History On Prevention Of The Landslide At Luoyiqi By Means Of Rigid Frame Retaining Structure, Xu Fenghe, Wang Jinsheng

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

This paper presents a new special type of retaining structure which prevents the large-scale landslide. It is named the rigid frame retaining structure. The author in this paper proposed a new computation method, i.e., analysis of the rigid frame within elastic foundation. The new formulations have been performed according to E. Ninkler's theory and the difference principle and with the help of fundamental knowledge of strength of material and matrix algebra. The descriptions of the design and construction of the rigid frame retaining structure were given.

Predicted And Observed Lateral Deformations Of Anchored Retaining Walls, Tj. Kooistra, F. L. Beringen

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Backanalysis of deflection measurements for a diaphragm and a sheet pile wall in Holland has shown that the results are mostly sensitive to the profile of coefficients of subgrade reaction. A sensitivity study performed to compare the wall deflections calculated with the Menard and Terzaghi theory shows that the moduli according to Menard produces best agreement. The analyses were carried out using a one dimensional finite element programme. It is shown that displacement measurements obtained from easy to perform inclinometer surveys.

Field Experience On Corrugated Metal Culverts, P. Habib, N. T. Long, G. Legeay, A. Millan, L. Baude

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The behaviour of buried structures in earth embankments is related to the stiffness properties of the composite system comprising both the buried structure and the surrounding soil taken as a basic structural unit responding to loading imposed on the system. A field experience on corrugated metal culverts equipped with contractable seams has been carried out in order to verify the transfer of load to or away from the buried structure as a result of the difference in stiffness properties of the structure, with its adjacent encompassing material, and the surrounding expanse of soil.

Braced Cofferdam To Improve Spillway Stability During Rehabilitation, Rodney M. Wong, James T. Passage, Sami S. Naami

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Dewatering of scour pools at the toe of existing spillways can significantly increase forces on such structures and reduce their overall stability below acceptable levels. Such dewatering may be required however to undertake needed repairs or to construct a stilling basin. Use of a braced cofferdam permits the necessary dewatering while at the same time temporarily improving the stability of the spillway. This is accomplished by mobilizing earth pressures and tailwater pressures through the braces to restrain the spillway against sliding.

The Pathology Of Metal Culverts, N. T. Long, A. L. Millan

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Metal culverts are robust structures, but the very large number built every year entails, statistically, a rather high level of pathology. The various aspects of this pathology are analyzed below, first from a general point of view and then through an examination of three particularly instructive cases.

Field Behavior Of Retained Earth Structure, Z. Al-Yassin, C. K. Shen

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

This paper describes a case study of a Retained Earth system constructed for the on- and off-ramps of a grade separation structure in Hayward, California. Field strain gage readings of reinforcing meshes were recorded at two instrumented sites. The results were closely examined and analyzed to assess the current design procedure. Based upon the information gathered, it was concluded that the field performance behavior of the system seems to justify the current general design procedure. However, it was also noted that the design of earth reinforced structures is complicated due to the interaction between the reinforcing elements and the surrounding …

Failure Of An Anchored Sheetpile Bulkhead, D. P. Lagatta, D. R. Shields

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

An anchored steel sheetpile bulkhead was constructed in soft organic silt and clay. The bulkhead failed when the anchors ruptured during dredging in front of the bulkhead. The construction and failure of the bulkhead are described. Analyses were performed to investigate the cause of the failure. The major factors which contributed to the failure were: 1) failure to design for the lowest tide condition, 2) use of design soil strengths which were too high, 3) prestressing of the anchor system which resulted in increased anchor loading due to soil arching, and 4) bending stresses induced in the anchors by settlement …

Failure Of A Small Gravity Dam And The Repair, David F. Mccarthy

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Late in the summer of 1980, the dam for Snowbird Lake in Forestport, New York, U.S.A., experienced a serious foundation leak made evident by a suddenly erupting geyser near the downstream toe. Subsequent investigation indicated that a severe piping condition had occurred in the soil foundation. Some degree of erosion had effected the foundation earth for more than half of the dam length. Repairs were performed after dewatering the dam work area. The original dam was retained but provided with a new concrete foundation which included a constructed underdrain. A clay blanket was installed on the dam's upstream side to …

Damage And Remedial Measures For Buildings On Hill Slopes, Swami Saran, Gopal Ranjan, Bhawani Singh, A. S. R. Rao

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The paper deals with details of geotechnical investigations carried out for evaluating the reasons of damage to the buildings resting on hill slopes in northern region of India and also to evaluate the soil parameters for designing retaining walls and other remedial measures for preventing further damage to structures. Three causes of failure were identified namely (i) instability of slopes, (ii) improper design of retaining walls and (iii) differential settlement of structures. Shear strength parameters of the soil mass required for the analysis of slope stability and stability of retaining wall sections have been chosen based on three methods of …

An Embankment On Soft Clays With Sand Drains Numerical Characterization Of The Parameters From In-Situ Measurements, A. Cancelli, A. Cividini

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The deformation parameters of a soft lacustrine deposit, with vertical sand drains, are evaluated by means of field measurements obtained during and after the construction of a railway embankment. The geotechnical system, modelled as linearly elastic and in plane strain, is analyzed by means of the finite element method and the estimation problem is solved adopting a Bayesian approach. The experimental data, the "a priori" estimation of the parameters and their uncertainties are considered in the back-analysis. The results provide the "optimal" values of the parameters, a measure of their uncertainties and, consequently, an index of the effectiveness of the …

Baldwin Hills Reservoir Failure, G. A. Leonards

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Behaviour Of Ramganga Dams, Bhagwat V. K. Lavania

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Two earth and boulder fill dams of height 127.6 m and 72.2 m are major structures of Ramganga River Project. Their foundation rocks are alternations of clayshale and sandrock of Middle Siwaliks. Both have thick core consisting of central zone of crushed clayshale encased by crushed sandrock zones. The clayshale and sandrock available from spillway excavations, just adjacent to these dams, were utilized as dam fill. No major problem except that of seepage control in cut off trench excavation and compaction near abutments, was encountered during construction. Both the dams are well instrumented. Their construction was completed in 1974-75 and …

Collapsible Soils Chashma Right Bank Canal, Izharul Haq

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

In 1979-81 a stretch of 10 miles of Chashma Right Bank Canal was excavated and double layer brick tile lining was done. The lining was cured by flooding it with water through open drains made on either berm of lining. A couple of months after the completion of the lining, horizontal cracks were observed on either bank. Field density, moisture measurements, Soil classification and double Oedometer tests were performed. In situ water pending tests were also conducted. The observations and the test results revealed that the cracks were the consequence of collapse of silty low density soil due to saturation. …

Controlled Breaching Of A Full Scale Clay Flood Bank, A. Marsland

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A mature clay flood bank was subjected to seepage and overtopping tests. Tides were simulated by pumping water into a sheet pile coffer dam enclosing the river ward side of a 18 m length of bank. Measurements were made of the seepage, the pore water pressure in the bank, and movements of the bank. Tides of increasing height were applied until finally the water started to flow over the top of the bank. Within a few minutes of the commencement of shallow overtopping a slip developed in the desiccated clay within the landward slope of the bank. This was rapidly …