289 Combination of Bidirectional-Cell Test and Conventional Head-Down
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Orchard Central, Singapore Fellenius, B.H., and Tan, S.A., 2010. Combination of bidirectional-cell test and conventional head-down test. The Art of Foundation Engineering Practice, ""Honoring Clyde Baker", ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication, Edited by M.H. Hussein, J.B. Anderson, and W.M. Camp, GSP 198, pp. 240-259. Combination of bidirectional-cell test and conventional head-down test Bengt H. Fellenius1), M.ASCE and Tan Siew Ann2), M.ASCE 1) 2475 Rothesay Avenue, Sidney, British Columbia, V8L 2B9. <[email protected]> 2) Civil Engineering Department, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260. <[email protected]> ABSTRACT. Bidirectional-cell tests were performed in Singapore on four bored piles in a residual soil and underlying weathered, highly fractured bedrock called the Bukit Timah Granite formation. Two of the piles were 1.2 m diameter, uninstrumented, and 28 m and 38 m long. The other two were strain-gage instrumented, 1.0 m diameter piles, both 37 m long. The latter tests combined the cell test with conventional head-down testing. Analysis of the test results indicated that the pile toe stiffness was low. The evaluation of the strain-gage data showed that the pile material modulus was a function of the induced strain. The desired axial working load was 10 MN, and the combined cell and head-down tests correlated to a head-down test with a maximum applied load of 38 MN, which, although smaller than the ultimate resistance of the piles, was taken as the capacity of piles constructed similar to the second set of test piles at the site. KEYWORDS Bored piles, bidirectional-cell tests, load-distribution, load-movement, residual soil, weathered granite, strain-gage analysis, modulus evaluation, CPTU correlation. 1. INTRODUCTION In validating the design for a new shopping center complex at Orchard Central, Singapore, static loading tests (proof tests) were performed on two 1.2 m diameter bored piles, constructed to depths of 28 m (Pile C54a) and 38 m (Pile C57). Both pile toes were located in weathered granite bedrock (see description below). Based on information from boreholes drilled close to the piles; Pile C54a was socketed about 6.3 m into the granite bedrock, and Pile C57 was just seated onto the bedrock. Because the intent of the static loading tests was proof-testing, no strain-gage instrumentation was included. Both loading tests were with a single bidirectional-cell (Osterberg 1998; Fellenius 2000) placed at levels where the expected upper soil resistance would balance the lower resistance. The chosen cell depths were 24.0 m and 30.4 m, and the distances between the cell and the pile toe were 3.7 m Page 241 and 7.2 m, respectively. Fig. 1 shows the recorded upward and downward load-movements of the cell plates in the two tests. The downward load-movement curves indicate similar downward stiffness for the two piles despite the different lengths, while stiffness of the upward curves differs. The shaft resistance for the shorter pile is mostly in the weathered soil. For the longer pile, a sizeable portion is obtained in the weathered rock, which is why the upward stiffness for the shorter pile (Pile C54a) is much smaller than for the longer pile (Pile C57). 100 75 50 Pile C54a 25 Pile C57 0 -25 Pile C54a MOVEMENT (mm) -50 -75 Pile C57 -100 0 5 10 15 LOAD (MN) Fig. 1 Results of bidirectional-cell tests on two 1.2 m diameter bored piles installed to depths of 28 m (C54a) and 38 m (C57) at the site. In contrast to a conventional head-down test, which only supplies the load applied to the pile head, a bidirectional-cell test establishes the load in two locations in the tested pile, as indicated in Fig. 2 for the maximum load applied in the tests. The shaft resistance distributions illustrated by the dashed straight lines infer that the mobilized shaft resistance is similar for the two piles. A potential shaft resistance distribution curve, proportional to effective stress applicable to both tests is also indicated in the figure. Assuming that the shaft resistance below the cell levels follows the same curved shape as above the cell levels establishes approximate toe resistance values for the tests, which suggest that the pile toe stiffness is rather small. As is the requirement in Singapore, the acceptance criterion for the proof tests was a maximum pile head movement of 25 mm in the test at a load of 20 MN applied to the pile head, which load is twice the 10-MN desired allowable sustained axial design load for the piles, corresponding to maximum stress of about 8.5 MPa for a 1.2 m diameter bored pile. The acceptance criterion applies to a head-down test, which requires that the cell test be converted to a load-movement curve for an equivalent head-down test. This is produced by plotting a load-movement curve from adding the cell loads at equal movements and considering the larger pile shortening occurring in a head-down test as opposed to that found in a bidirectional-cell test (Fellenius 2009). Page 242 Fig. 3 shows the equivalent head-down load-movement curves determined from the cell test results for the two tests. Both curves fail the criterion as they plot well below the acceptance value. As indicated by the offset lines, the acceptance criterion is very close to the offset limit load for the two piles, commonly applied in North American practice. It is probable that had the toe response been stiffer, at least the longer pile, Pile C57, would have satisfied the criterion. LOAD (MN) 25 0 5 10 15 20 25 Acceptance 0 Reference 20 5 Offset Pile C57 Limit 10 Lines 15 15 Pile C54a 20 O-cell Load 10 Pile C54a LOAD (MN) 25 DEPTH (m) DEPTH O-cell Load Pile C57 5 30 Assumed Toe Resistances Probable Shaft 35 Resistance 0 Distribution 40 0 20 40 60 80 MOVEMENT (mm) 45 Fig. 2 Load-distribution curves. Fig. 3 The equivalent head-down load-movement curves To resolve the issue, two new test piles, UTP-3 and UTP-4, were constructed. The new piles were instrumented with 12 levels of vibrating-wire strain-gage pairs to assess distribution shaft and toe resistances of the test piles. The construction procedure was similar to that for the previous piles. Special care was taken in the final cleaning, however. The testing programme was changed to a combination of conventional head-down and bidirectional-cell tests, by first performing a head-down test and, subsequently, a bidirectional-cell test. In each pile, the cell assembly was placed just above the pile toe. The objective of the new tests was to determine the pile toe stiffness and the shaft resistance distribution for 1.0 m diameter at the site in order to design the necessary pile length for similar size construction piles. 2. GEOLOGY AND SOIL PROFILE The soil at the site consists of a surficial fill composed of construction debris, broken pieces of concrete, and clay on a deposit of residual soil of the Bukit Timah Granite formation, a saprolite, made up of clay, silt, and silty sand as a matrix within rock fragments and occasional boulders. Figure 4 presents the results of two CPTU soundings at the site pushed in a hole prebored to 3.5 m depth through the fill. To about 11 m depth at the CPTU sounding location, the soil profile is characterized by frequent layers of loose silt and sand of the Kallang fluvial deposits. The natural water content ranges from about 30 % through about 40 %. The groundwater table is located at a depth of about 4 m below the ground surface. Page 243 Cone Stress, qt (MPa) Sleeve Friction, fs (KPa) Pore Pressure (KPa) Friction Ratio, fR (%) 0 5 10 15 20 0 100 200 300 0 200 400 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 DEPTH (m) DEPTH DEPTH (m) DEPTH DEPTH (m) DEPTH CPTU-01 DEPTH (m) 10 10 10 10 CPTU-01 CPTU-01 CPTU-01 12 12 12 12 CPTU-02 CPTU-02 NEUTRAL PORE CPTU-02 PRESSURE 14 14 14 14 Fig. 4 Results of two CPTU soundings at the site. CPTU-01 and CPTU-02 close to test piles UTP-3 and UTP-4, respectively. Figure 5 shows the soil profile determined from two bore holes, BH-2 and BH-3, about 30 m apart. The subject test piles, Piles UTP-3 and UTP-4, were constructed close to BH-2 and BH-3, respectively. As indicated, residual soil of the completely weathered Bukit Timah Granite formation is encountered at 11 m to 14 m depth. It is composed mainly of hard clayey silts, but also includes occasional layers of very dense silty fine sands. 30 m BH-2 BH-3 SPT N-index (blows/0.3) SPT N-index (blows/0.3) SPT N-index (blows/0.3m) SPT N-index (blows/0.3m) 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 0 FILL CPT qc CPT qc 5 GW 5 Fluvial soils Soft clay and sand 10 10 SPT N SPT N Bukit Timah residual soil 15 Hard clayey silt and 15 very dense silty sand 20 20 DEPTH (m) DEPTH DEPTH (m) DEPTH (m) DEPTH(m) 25 25 30 30 35 Bukit Timah granite 35 Pile Toe UTP-3 Highly weathered and highly fractured granite with Pile Toe UTP-4 40 RQD = 0 40 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20 CPT qc (MPa) CPT qc (MPa) Fig.