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Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-05-159
Date: June 2006

Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations - Lessons Learned on The Central Artery / Tunnel Project

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Foreword

The purpose of this report is to document the issues related to the design and construction of driven pile foundations at the Central Artery/Tunnel project. Construction issues that are presented include pile heave and the heave of an adjacent building during pile driving. Mitigation measures, including the installation of wick drains and the use of preaugering, proved to be ineffective. The results of 15 dynamic and static load tests are also presented and suggest that the piles have more capacity than what they were designed for. The information presented in this report will be of interest to geotechnical engineers working with driven pile foundation systems.

Gary L. Henderson
Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.
FHWA-HRT-05-159
2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle
Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations– Lessons Learned on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project
5. Report Date
June 2006
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s)
Aaron S. Bradshaw and Christopher D.P. Baxter
8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
University of Rhode Island Narragansett, RI 02882
10. Work Unit No.
11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH61-03-P-00174
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Infrastructure Research and Development Federal Highway Administration
6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report January 2003–August 2003
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR): Carl Ealy, HRDS-06
16. Abstract
Five contracts from the Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) project in Boston, MA, were reviewed to document issues related to design and construction of driven pile foundations. Given the soft and compressible marine clays in the Boston area, driven pile foundations were selected to support specific structures, including retaining walls, abutments, roadway slabs, transition structures, and ramps. This report presents the results of a study to assess the lessons learned from pile driving on the CA/T. This study focused on an evaluation of static and dynamic load test data and a case study of significant movement of an adjacent building during pile driving. The load test results showed that the piles have more capacity than what they were designed for. At the site of significant movement of an adjacent building, installation of wick drains and preaugering to mitigate additional movement proved to be ineffective. Detailed settlement, inclinometer, and piezometer data are presented.
17. Key Words
Driven piles, heave, CAPWAP, static load test, Boston tunnel
18. Distribution Statement No restrictions.
This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
19. Security Classif. (of this report)
Unclassified
20. Security Classif. (of this page)
Unclassified
21. No. of Pages
58
22. Price

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized

SI* (Modern Metric) Conversion Factors

Table Of Contents

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

ROLE OF DRIVEN PILE FOUNDATIONS ON THE CA/T PROJECT

OBJECTIVES

SCOPE

CHAPTER 2. Driven PILE DESIGN CRITERIA AND SPECIFICATIONS

SUBSURFACE CONDITIONS

DESIGN CRITERIA AND SPECIFICATIONS

Pile Types

Preaugering Criteria

Pile Driving Criteria

Axial Load and Pile Load Test Criteria

CHAPTER 3. CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND METHODS

EQUIPMENT AND METHODS

CONSTRUCTION-RELATED ISSUES

Pile Heave

Soil Heave

Summary

CHAPTER 4. DYNAMIC AND STATIC PILE LOAD TEST DATA

LOAD TEST METHODS

Dynamic Load Test Methods

Static Load Test Methods

LOAD TEST RESULTS

Dynamic Results and Interpretation

Comparison of CAPWAP Data

Static Load Test Data

Comparison of Dynamic and Static Load Test Data

CHAPTER 5. COST DATA OF DRIVEN PILES

CHAPTER 6. LESSONS LEARNED

REFERENCES

List Of Figures

Figure 1. Locations of selected contracts from the CA/T project.

Figure 2. Soil profile at the contract C07D1 site as encountered in Boring EB3-5

Figure 3. Soil profile at the contract C07D2 site as encountered in Boring EB2-149

Figure 4. Soil profile at the contract C08A1 site as encountered in Boring EB6-37

Figure 5. Soil profile at the contract C09A4 site as encountered in Boring IC10-13

Figure 6. Soil profile at the contract C19B1 site as encountered in Boring AN3-101

Figure 7. Typical pile details for a 30-cm-diameter PPC pile

Figure 8. Typical pile details for a 41-cm-diameter PPC pile with stinger

Figure 9. Single-acting diesel hammer

Figure 10. Double-acting diesel hammer

Figure 11. Single-acting hydraulic hammer

Figure 12. Typical pile driving record

Figure 13. Site plan, piling layout for the arrivals tunnel at Logan Airport

Figure 14. Site plan showing locations of piles, building footprint, and geotechnical instrumentation

Figure 15. Settlement data obtained during first phase of pile driving

Figure 16. Settlement data obtained during second phase of pile driving

Figure 17. Multipoint heave gauge data obtained during second phase of pile driving

Figure 18. Pore pressure data obtained during second phase of pile driving

Figure 19. Inclinometer data obtained during second phase of pile driving

Figure 20. Example of CAPWAP signal matching, test pile 16A1-1

Figure 21. Typical static load test arrangement showing instrumentation

Figure 22. Load-displacement curves for pile toe, test pile 16A1-1

Figure 23. CAPWAP capacities at end of initial driving (EOD) and beginning of restrike (BOR)

Figure 24. Deflection of pile head during static load testing of pile 12A1-1

Figure 25. Distribution of load in pile 12A1-1

Figure 26. Deflection of pile head during static load testing of pile 14

Figure 27. Distribution of load in pile 14

Figure 28. Deflection of pile head during static load testing of pile IPW

Figure 29. Distribution of load in pile IPW

List Of Tables

Table 1. Summary of selected contracts using driven pile foundations

Table 2. Summary of pile types used on the selected CA/T contracts

Table 3. Summary of pile types and axial capacity (requirements identified in the selected contracts)

Table 4. Summary of pile driving equipment used on the selected contracts

Table 5. Summary of pile spacing from selected contracts

Table 6. Maximum building heave observed during pile driving

Table 7. Summary of pile and preauger information

Table 8. Summary of pile driving information

Table 9. Summary of CAPWAP capacity data

Table 10. Summary of CAPWAP soil parameters

Table 11. Summary of static load test data

Table 12. Summary of dynamic and static load test data

Table 13. Summary of contractor's bid costs for pile driving.

Table 14. Summary of contractor's bid costs for preaugering

 

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