Engineering Innovations in Concrete and Pile

Foundations
By
Dr. N V Nayak
Principal Advisor, Gammon India Limited Principal Advisor, Gammon India Limited
Managing Director, Gammon Realty Limited
Chairman, Geocon International Pvt. Ltd.
At Pune, on September 12, 2013
Organised by
Technical Lecture Under Ambuja Knowledge Centre
1.0 Preamble
I shall basically discuss
Engineering Innovations in Bored-cast-in-situ Piles
and
Concrete
An Ideal Engineer is a composite. He is not a
Scientist, not a mathematician, neither
sociologist nor a writer. But he has to use the
knowledge and technique of all these disciplines
to solve the Engineering problems
Dougherty
An Implementor
2.0 Bored Cast-in-situ Piles
2.1 Introduction
Use of higher diameter
and deeper bored cast-in-
situ piles is rapidly
increasing in recent Years
due to time constraints
Virtually replaced Driven Piles.
Typical Comparison
Country Diameter of Pile Depth
India 1.50m Common.
Max 2.0m
Installed
up to 75.0m
USA Max 3.7m
due to time constraints
With Reliability of
Construction and Testing
Techniques, Load per Pile
particularly when socketed
in Rock (including
weathered) has Greatly
Increased.
1.5m diameter Piles,
Embedded in Rock with M50
Grade Concrete can be
loaded in compression to
2100 tons when fully laterally
supported by soil.
USA Max 3.7m
By virtue of advantages in last slide, Pile
Foundations have replaced Well Foundations even
in Bridges also;
Example : Konkan Railway Project
Over 100 bridges but only 14 well foundations on
two Rivers that too 1 well resting on piles;
Tripod Rigs are steadily replaced by Hydraulic Rigs
for Speedy Execution and Noise Control
(Fig.1A, 1B, 2)
Piling using Tripod Rigs Piling using Hydraulic
Rigs
Fig.2 : Hydraulic Rig in Operation Fig.1(B) : Tripod Rig in Operation
Fig : 1A Tripod Rig in Operation
Fig : 1A Tripod Rig in Operation
Fig : 1A Tripod Rig in Operation
Fig : 2 Piling Rig in Operation
For some Structures, adopting different
type of Foundations is accepted now
widely
Zuari Bridge of Konkan Railway has
Shallow Foundations, Pile Foundations,
Well Foundations and Well on Pile
Foundation.(See fig below) Foundation.(See fig below)
J.J. Flyover in Mumbai (Pic below) is on Shallow
Foundations, Big diameter Piles (1 to 1.5 m) and
also on Micro Piles (150mmto 200 mmdiameter).
We, Indians have extensive experience and
expertise on Bored Cast-in-situ Piles, have
come up with many Innovations.
Some of these Innovations are highlighted
3.0 Indian Innovations
Some of these Innovations are highlighted
in this presentation
Author is happy that he has been associated
with all these innovations cited in
presentation.
3.1 Caisson/Well Resting on Piles
Novel Concept Adopted for the First Time in India
Adopted for Konkan Railway on Zuari River in Goa.
Only 14 Well Foundations on entire Konkan Railway
Project.
Caissons / Wells were pneumatically sunk.
Founding depth of one caisson was 30 m below water
level.
Workers could hardly work for hour.
Hence Novel Idea founding caisson on piles was
adopted for the first time in India (See Pic in Next Slide)
Fig. 4(a) : Details of Caisson Resting on Piles
3.2 Well anchored by Piles and sealed by
Jet Grouting
Location : On Brahmaputra River at Joghigopa for Rail
bridge, in Assam.
Area falls in high Seismic Zone
Design Objective:
To resist forces during earthquake, piles were anchored to To resist forces during earthquake, piles were anchored to
rock through the steining and also from outside.
Cement jet grout columns were provided at cutting edge to
prevent entry of sand into well.
This enabled bottom plug to be done in Dry.
(See Fig 5 & 6 in next slide)
Fig.5 : Well Anchored by Piles and
Provided with Jet Grout Columns to
enable forming Bottom Plug.
Fig.6 : External Piles in Progress on P17
3.3 Removal of Concrete above cutoff
level
Chipping of concrete by Chisel and
hammer Old Practice still
continuing in pockets
Chipping of concrete by Jack
Hammer - still common
Widely adopted Limited Use
Removal of Concrete above cutoff
level (Contd)
Chipping of concrete by Jack
Hammer by Wedge Method
Widely adopted
Taets Pile Breaker
Performance of Taets
Consequences
Micro Cracks getting
developed in Piles below
3.3 Removal of Concrete above cutoff
level (Contd)
developed in Piles below
cutoff level and chances
of endangering its
performance.
Measures for Improved
Performance ?????
Taets Pile Breaker - Costly but time
effective and quality suspect
Developed by
Speaker and adopted
in IRC 78 2011
Methodology
Remove Concrete soon after
completion of Pile Concrete;
Generally removed manually by
Tumbler for depth up to 0.5m below
Removal of Green Concrete by Using
Scooping Tool
Tumbler for depth up to 0.5m below
ground;
Special Tool is used for deeper depth
(See Figure );
After removal, Vibrate Concrete using
Rammer (Fig in next slide);
In absence of Ramming/Vibration, Air
voids will be present in concrete which
will result in strength reduction
Scooping Tool
Rammer for Vibration of
Concrete after scooping
Compressive Strength
Results
Removal of Green Concrete by Using
Scooping Tool (Contd..)
3.4 Pile Concrete in Industrial Environment
Normally we determine pH, Chloride and Sulphate in ground
Water and Subsoil;
Many other factors of ground water affect performance of
concrete,
These are of importance in Industrialized Areas.
Why? [See Figures]
Factors to be considered are Ryzner Index (RI), Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Chloride to
Sulphate Ratio (Cl/SO
4
)
Structural Performance in Marine Conditions in due course
of time
Influencing factors of
above slides :
Ground Water becomes
more Aggressive
with Increasing RI ;
with Increasing BOD ;
Piling in Industrial Environment (Contd..)
with Increasing BOD ;
with Increasing COD ;
with Decreasing Cl / SO
4
Ratio ;
Piling in Industrial Environment
(Contd..)
Options for Durable Performance :
Use of Cementitious Material for Concrete
Works
PSC Best PSC Best
PPC Next Best, Close to OPC
OPC Least Preferred
Higher % GGBS / Fly
Ash
Preferred
Lower w/b ratio Preferred
3.5 Socketing of Pile in Weathered / Soft Rock
Many Practices are adopted to
decide Socket Length;
Speaker has been Adopting
Cole-Stroud Approach
Based on N Values of SPT
since 1974.
(Now adopted by Bureau of
Indian Standards IS 2911- Indian Standards IS 2911-
2010)
Main Point to note
FS = 3 in Friction and
also in End Bearing.
Thorough Investigation
needed
Was adopted for Zuari- Mandovi
bridges for KRCL, Goa India.
(see Adjacent Figure).
Some Insist of doing
SPT Test. This is not
desirable from time and
cost consideration.
To overcome this
problem, quality control
N Value
of SPT
PPR Value
(tm/m
2
/cm)
Remarks
50
37.35
For N Values in
between, Linear
Extrapolation will be
adopted
100
74.70
150
112.05
200
149.40
250
186.75
This approach can be
adopted up to N Value
Socketing of Pile in Weathered / Soft Rock (Contd..)
problem, quality control
concept involving Pile
Penetration Ratio-PPR
has been developed.
PPR Reflects Energy in
tm required to Advance
Borehole of 1m
2
cross
section by 1 cm
adopted up to N Value
of 400
300
224.10
350
261.45
400
298.80
Gammon have installed Torque Meters on control
panel of their hydraulic piling rigs to measure the
Torque
Torque Meters
Force Meter
3.6 Reinforcement Steel tying in Piles
L bend
Theoretically Not Required Except in some
special cases.
Majority Still Provide
Consequences ??????
Reinforcement Steel tying in Piles (Contd..)
General Output :
Proper flushing may not be
possible;
Concrete Flow also may not
be proper.
(see Adjacent pic)
Fig.
(see Adjacent pic)
Recommendations :
Avoid L Bend in Main
Reinforcement steel at
bottom of Pile, unless
mandated
Sand, Not
Concrete
4.0 Marine Piling
4.1 Convert to Land Piling
In Konkan Railway Project, out
of 15 marine jobs, 13 jobs
were converted fully to land
piling by AFCONS
4.5 Km long Bridge on
Godavari River converted into Godavari River converted into
Land Piling by Gammon,
Max Depth of water ~ 14m
(See Adjacent pic)
Advantages : Substantial Time
and Cost Reduction
Filling can be done using Sand leaving Vents, when
essentially by placing Hume pipes at regular intervals
to avoid breach of Approach Formation
Avoid Bully Piling to minimize the filling
4.2 Gantry Piling
Keep Bend
Spacing as far as
feasible/practical
Provide one
gantry for each
two or maximum
three piles per
bend.
5.0 Under Reamed Piles
Failures / Distress of Structures resting on Under-
Reamed piles are numerous;
BIS Codal Provisions : IS 2911, Part 3 are to be
blamed in majority cases
(Ref Table reproduced from IS 2911 in next slide) (Ref Table reproduced from IS 2911 in next slide)
Pile Capacities are Independent of Soil Characteristics,
thus Irrational;
Code also recommends providing Under-ream in
Sands, Again Irrational;
Under Reamed Piles (Contd)
IS Code is to be
revised, not to revised, not to
be followed till
then
Source : IS 2911, Part 3
Table 2 : SAFE LOAD FOR VERTICAL BORED CAST
IN-SITU UNDER-REAMED PILES IN SANDY AND
CLAYEY SOILS INCLUDING BLACK COTTON SOILS
Under Reamed Piles (contd..)
Recommended measures
Precautions to be taken while concreting as per the below figure
6.0 Settlement Criteria for Load Test
Acceptance
Load Test is successful if pile settlement is
[IS : 2911- Part 4 (1995)]
a) 12mm at 1.5 times the design load
b) 10% of pile diameter at 2 times the design b) 10% of pile diameter at 2 times the design
load.
c) Governing Criterion is invariably (a) above.
Deficiencies of criterion (a) can be seen from the
next slide
6.0 Pile Diameter versus permissible settlement (BIS)
Settlement Anomaly calculation as per the Present IS Standards :
An Example of 1000T column on footing(a), on group of 16 piles (b)
and on a single pile(c)
6.0 Draft Codal Norms of Settlement for Pile
Acceptance
Draft (2011) circulated in May 2011 are as under:
Sl.
No
Pile Diameter Load Application Acceptable Criteria
a1 < 600mm 1.5 Times Design Load 12mm
a2 > 600mm 1.5 Times of Design Load < 2% of Pile dia but should
not exceed 18mm
b1 40% of final Load at a settlement of 10% of Pile Diameter
Speaker Observations on the above draft recommendations
Permissible settlement w.r.t. 1.5 times design load still
conservative though (b1) is OK.
Speaker recommendations for the Settlement Criteria @ 1.5
times of Design Load
a) 3% of Pile Diameter
b) In the worst scenario, 2% of Pile Diameter
7.0 Conclusions
Use of Bored Cast-in-situ Piles increasing day by day
Bigger Diameter and Deeper Piles are increasingly used;
Well Foundations are gradually getting replaced by large diameter
pile foundations;
Pile Foundations generally work out cheaper, speeder to Well
Foundations.
In Industrially Polluted Areas, Do Consider Parameters like Ryzner
Index, BOD, COD and Cl/SO
4
Ratio of Ground Water;
Advocate use of Blended Cement Concrete;
7.0 Conclusions (Contd.)
Cement blended with GGBS scores significantly over Fly Ash in
Industrialized Areas and Marine Environment;
Highest Permissible (Codal ) Percentages of Slag and Fly Ash are to
be Preferred;
Prefer to use 40mmMSA in Pile, Pile Caps etc; Prefer to use 40mmMSA in Pile, Pile Caps etc;
India have vast extensive experience to undertake Bored Cast-in-
situ Piles;
Indians have made significant Contribution in this Technology;
We should Aggressively Adopt Innovative Cost Effective Solutions;