PDCA Professors’ Driven Pile Institute June 18-22, 2007

By Robert Thompson, on May 8th, 2007

The PDCA is holding the Professors’ Driven Pile Institute in Logan, Utah on June 18-22, 2007. This institute will provide information on design and construction of driven pile foundations for 25 professors that teach deep foundations courses at universities in the U.S. For more information on supporting this institute, click here to go to the PDCA website.

Technorati : Deep Foundations, Driven Piles, Foundation Construction, Geotechnical Engineering

Pile Load Tests on US 90 Biloxi to Ocean Springs

By Robert Thompson, on September 8th, 2006

The week of August 28th saw five load tests performed at the project site. A lateral Statnamic test and an axial Statnamic test were performed on both 24-inch and 30-inch piles. The tests were performed by AFT. A picture of one of the axial test setup is below. A static axial load tests was also performed on a 24-inch pile. Eustis Engineering, the project geotechnical engineering firm, supervised the static test. The results of the tests, along with the PDA data gathered by Eustis during driving of the indicator piles, will be used to set the pile tip elevations along the bridge alignment. Driving of production piles is set to begin the week of September 11th.

Statnamic test setup on 24-inch pile.

Driving Indicator Piles in Biloxi Bay

By Robert Thompson, on August 13th, 2006

I made a visit to the US 90 Biloxi to Ocean Springs bridge site on Thursday and was able to observe the driving of one of the indicator piles. This is a 30-inch precast prestressed concrete pile that will also be used for a Statnamic lateral load test. The axial and lateral load tests will begin later this month, with production piles planned to start in mid-September.

The left photo shows the barge set up for driving. This pile was adjacent to the bascule span of the destroyed bridge. The middle and right photos are during pile driving. A air hammer is being used to drive the pile.

DBA to work on US 90 Biloxi to Ocean Springs Bridge

By Robert Thompson, on June 26th, 2006

DBA is working with the design-build team selected to re-construct the US 90 bridge between Biloxi and Ocean Springs, Mississippi. GC Constructors, AJV was awarded the project and is a joint venture of Massman Construction Company, Kiewit Southern, and Traylor Brothers, Inc. The geotechnical engineer for the project is Eustis Engineering of Metairie, LA. DBA will be consulting on pile foundation design and testing with Eustis and Parsons Transportation Group, the bridge designer.

Speaker at 10th International Conference on Piling and Deep Foundations

By Robert Thompson, on April 26th, 2006

Dr. Dan Brown, P.E.Â will be speaking at the 10^th International Conference on Piling and Deep Foundations organized by The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and the European Federation of Foundation Contractors (EFFC).Â The meeting will be held May 31^st through June 2^nd, 2006 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Â Dan will also serve as moderator for a session on monitoring and testing of deep foundations.Â Papers co-authored by the DBA team include a paper on base grouting of drilled shafts in the southeatern U.S.Â byÂ Dan, Dr. Steve Dapp, P.E. of DBA, and Mike Muchard, P.E. of Applied Foundation Testing, Inc.Â , and a paper on performance based specifications for continues flight auger (CFA) or augercast piles by Dan, Robert Thompson, P.E. of DBA, and Silas Nichols, P.E.Â with theÂ Geotechnical Engineering Section of FHWAÂ These papers will be available on this web site after the conference.

Presentations at the PDCA 10th Annual Conference

By Robert Thompson, on February 17th, 2006

Dr. Dan Brown and Dr. Steve Dapp will be presenting at the PDCA 10^thAnniversary Annual Conference at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio in San Antonio, Texas March 2 â€“ 4, 2006.

Dan will be presenting â€œPile Set Up in Foundation Designâ€ on Friday the 3^rd. Danâ€™s presentation will provide an overview of the fundamental mechanisms affecting the time-dependency of axial resistance in driven piles, and the effect of this phenomenon on design, quality control, and testing of driven pile foundations. Examples from the ongoing Escambia Bay Bridge project will be described, in which setup has been seen to vary considerably based on soil conditions. Dan will also be a panelist in a roundtable discussion â€œComparing Driven Pile Capacities With Drilled Shaft Capacitiesâ€ to be held later that afternoon.

On Saturday the 4^th, Steve will present â€œStatic and Axial Capacity Between Drilled and Driven Pilesâ€. Steveâ€™s presentation will provide an overview of the effect of construction on deep foundation behavior and factors that affect performance. Issues of construction quality assurance and control, along with advantages and limitations of each foundation type will also be discussed.