25.12.2012 Views

Pile Design and Construction Practice, Fifth edition

Pile Design and Construction Practice, Fifth edition

Pile Design and Construction Practice, Fifth edition

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Miscellaneous piling problems 473<br />

cost-effective alternatives for 1371 mm diameter, steel ‘caisson’ piles up to 30 m deep, in<br />

karstic dolomite (9.40) . 160No micropiles replaced forty caissons at each of three piers. Where<br />

the conditions were highly variable with pinnacles, voids <strong>and</strong> clay-filled solution cavities,<br />

the use of ‘Tubex’ duplex drilling was necessary to install 327 mm temporary casing to<br />

depths up to 59 m with a 1 m deep rock socket to insert the permanent pile tube. At other<br />

locations where the karstic conditions were less variable, a down-the-hole rotary percussive<br />

drill was used to drill 305 mm diameter holes up to 23 m deep without casing to insert the<br />

specified 245 mm steel tube – with the assistance of a D5 pile hammer (Figure 9.30). The<br />

pile holes in each case were grouted using a tremie pipe, ensuring that grout level was stable<br />

at the top of the hole prior to inserting the permanent tube.<br />

Drilling ‘slim’ holes, with or without simultaneous casing, or driving long H-piles in<br />

karstic conditions can cause significant problems due to deviations compromising the axial<br />

capacity of the piles. Concreting or grouting open holes or as temporary casing is withdrawn<br />

runs a risk of loss of material into weak cavity infill or undetected voids requiring pre-grouting<br />

using a low slump mix injected in several stages <strong>and</strong> re-drilling. Micropile test piles,<br />

installed with open hole drilling methods, have failed in karst geology due to contamination<br />

of the bond zone in the time between withdrawal of the drill tools <strong>and</strong> installation of the<br />

permanent pile tube <strong>and</strong> concreting.<br />

Natural overburden <strong>and</strong> decomposed debris overlying the karst formation can be treated by<br />

various ground improvement techniques prior to piling – such as vibroflotation, compaction<br />

grouting, <strong>and</strong> jet grouting. Fischer (9.41) describes the foundations for a nuclear power plant on<br />

karst terrain which comprised tubular steel piles driven into relatively flat limestone bedrock,<br />

Unbonded zone in overburben<br />

Tube topped up<br />

with grout<br />

Hole drilled with 'duplex'<br />

drilling/casing up to 55 m<br />

Fully penetrating welds<br />

to join tube sections<br />

Grout placed by tremie<br />

to base of hole before<br />

inserting pile tube<br />

600 mm minimum rock socket<br />

Figure 9.30 Micropile in Karst (Uranowski et al. (9.40) ).<br />

Ground surface<br />

245 mm OD × 12.5 mm wall high<br />

tensile steel tube<br />

Outside of tube greased <strong>and</strong><br />

wrapped except for bond<br />

zone in socket<br />

Centralizers<br />

Top of sound rock<br />

305 mm diameter hole<br />

Grout-filled drill hole<br />

Cross section of micropile

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!