Construction of Micropiles

using High Strength Thread Bars

GeoSS Evening Seminar
24 Feb 2016
 Table of Content
• Introduction of Thread Bar
• Introduction of Micropiles
– Background
– Applications
– Reinforcement type
• Advantages of Thread Bar Micropile
• Thread Bar vs API pipes
• Corrosion Protection
• Basic Design, Detailing and Installation of Micropile
• Project Reference
• Multibar micropile to caisson pile
• Conclusion
 Stahlwerk Annahuette
is located in Hammerau, Germany
Owner:
The producer: Stahlwerk Annahütte
The product: Thread bars
Work staff:
500 members of staff on site
750 members of staff worldwide

May 2015
3
 General-Heritage
Steel Source- Stahlwerk Annahutte (SAS)
The actual foundry in Hammerau, Germany started in 2nd October 1537, 470 years of history!
Later converted in 1974 as Rolling mill and produce Thread bars for construction applications and
smooth bar for automobile Industry. Until 2000 the product is marketed exclusively by DSI as
Gewi or Gewi plus or Dywidag bars
With effect from July 2007- Annahutte Sell & distribute as SAS thread bars in Asia pacific region
 SAS Thread Bar Systems

• Rolling Mill
• 22 stand fully continual rolling mill
• 8 manufacturing finishing lines

• Output
• Annual capacity: 240000 tons
• Annual Production: 215000tons
• - 2.7 million pieces of accessories
• Production ( Thread bar) : 2011 -66 200 ton
• 2012 -60 600 ton
• 2013 – 63 400 ton
• 2014 – 60 800 ton

5
 Rolling Process
Production process of WR steel SAH
Rolling technique

6
 Introduction of Thread Bar
Continuous hot-rolled thread along full bar length.

Thread structure
of cut-on thread:

Thread structure
hot-rolled thread
 Introduction of Thread Bar
• Cut and coupled anywhere along its length.
• It saves space and material by using SAS
coupler connection.
 Introduction of Thread Bar
• Coarser thread not easily damaged and possesses site
proven “self-cleaning” ability
• Excellent bond strength

Rebar SAS Thread Bar

Relative rib area > 5.6% (DIN 488) > 7.5%

Bond behavior 3 N/mm² 6.0 N/mm²

 Introduction of Thread Bar
• SAS end anchorage piece (terminator), instead of
using hook or long straight bar length
• Installation is possible up to a bar inclination of 3.5o
 Applications of Thread Bar
Reinforcement Post Tensioning Geotechnical

Mining & Tunnelling Formwork Ties Others

WORLD TRADE CENTRE NY
 SAS BARS TO
TIEDOWN THE WORLD
TRADE CENTRE

75 MM (GRADE 1035)
WITH SHOP FABRICATED
DOUBLE CORROSION PROTECTION
@ 30 METER LENGTH
 WORLD TRADE
CENTRE
NEW YORK

75mm SAS
DCP Anchor
Details

75 mm SAS STRESSTEEL BAR

SECTION A-A
THE WESTIN HOTEL
TIMES SQUARE, NYC

45 Floors
Foundation along 8th avenue
adjacent subway tunnel
supported using
SAS mini-piles
 100 TON CAPACITY
MICRO-PILES SOCKETED
IN ROCK
 Introduction-Micropiles
• Also known as root piles,
minipiles
• Small diameter (typically
≤300mm),
• Drilled and grouted, non-
displacement pile that
can withstand relatively
significant axial loads
(compression, tension
and alternating load) and
moderate lateral load.
Micropile Construction
Sequence
 Background
• Early 1950’s- first
introduced in Italy for
foundation
underpinning
• 1960’s- Widely used in
Europe. Reticulated root
piles was popular
• Mid 1970s’- Introduced
in North America
• 1980s’- Introduced in
East Asia
• Today- Growing and
advancing..
 Background
• Technical and commercial advancement
• Evolved to use of single, high capacity elements
• Advancement in
equipment and drilling
techniques
– More complex infrastructure
repair and seismic retrofit
– Drill through difficult soil of
limited access Micropile underpinning Dulles International
Airport
 Background
• Advancement in micropile material
• Thread bar, in conventional grade and high
strength
• Increased rate of installation
• Hollow core bars and injection drilling

Thread bar Hollow bar

 Applications
• Underpinning
• Restricted access, size, headroom
• Subsurface conditions are “difficult”
• Relatively high load with small diameter
• Vibration and noise must be limited
• Structural settlement must be limited
 Reinforcement Types
1. Standard Rebar
– Available up to 40mm
diameter and yield
strength 460MPa or
500MPa
– Single or group bars is
possible
– Mechanical coupler to join
bars
 Reinforcement Types
2. Steel pipe
– Either drill casing as
permanent reinforcement
or smaller diameter
permanent pipe inside drill
casing
– Mainly used ex-oil API pile
– Size range from 60mm to
300mm
– Typical yield strength of
550MPa for grade N80
– Support higher lateral load
 Reinforcement Types
3. Hollow core steel bar
– Also known as self-drilling hollow
bar
– Drill bit is mounted on the tip of
the bar
– Bar is drilled in with flushing grout
 Reinforcement Types
• The Flushing/Stabilizing
Grout is injected through
the inside of the hollow bar
• Stabilizes the borehole and
flushes the cuttings out of
the hole
• Coupled and drilled to
required length
• Pressure grout injection
when reach final depth Flushing
Hollow
grout
• Flushing grout will be bar
Final
replaced with a richer grout
grout
 Reinforcement Types
4. Thread bar
– Such as SAS Thread Bar System
from Germany
– Continuous hot-rolled thread in
diameter ranging from 18mm to
75mm
– Yield strength 500MPa & 670MPa
(high strength)
– For SAS 670 bar, price per KN is
lower, potential reduction in pipe
quantity, less borehole, drilling,
grouting and overall construction
cost
 Advantages of Thread Bar
Micropile
• Continuous full length thread
– Connecting short sections in restricted space
– Connection to existing structures or prefabricated
components by nuts and end anchorage
• Full length steel core with guaranteed
strength
– Compressive, tensile or alternating load
• Small drill hole diameter
• Potentially lower cost
Comparison of Thread Bar &
API Pipe
 Comparison of Thread Bar &
API Pipe
1. Availability
– API pipe, some contractors complained difficulty
in procuring
– SAS Thread Bar- Over 250 tonnes of bars and
accessories in Singapore

Branch
office over
the world
 Comparison of Thread Bar &
API Pipe
2. Welding
– Pipe sections requires welding to connect
different section
– SAS thread bar, coupler at any section
 Comparison of Thread Bar &
API Pipe
3. Coupling and splicing
– Pipe, joined by a threaded connection, which is
machined into the pipe. The reduced area of the
threaded joint should be considered in the structural
design of the pile
– SAS Thread bar, cut and coupled at any section, with
no loss of strength
 Comparison of Thread Bar &
API Pipe
4. Corrosion protection
– Pipe, Limited option, Not suitable for permanent
tension or temporary tension on critical structures
– SAS Thread bar, Variety of corrosion protection for
all load condition and soil corrosiveness
 Corrosion Protection

Not recommended
for permanent or
cyclic load
 Comparison of Thread Bar &
API Pipe
5. Lateral resistance
– Pipe, Larger lateral resistance
– SAS Thread bar, mainly axial load
 ETA-11/0138
ETA-11/0138
Micropile System
SAS with thread bar
S670/800
 Corrosion Protection
(Thread Bar)
• Depending on soil aggressiveness and intended
service life
• Performance-life expectation
– < 2 years are temporary piles.
– 2 to 7 years are semi permanent piles.
– More than 7 years are permanent piles
• Options:
– Sacrificial steel
– Bare bar in cement grout
– hot-dip galvanised in cement grout
– epoxy coated in cement grout
– bare bar in pre-grouted PE sheathing
Corrosion Load in Soils
SAS Corrosion Protection
Matrix
 1. Sacrificial Steel
• Steel elements can be oversized to allow for loss of
cross sectional area due to corrosion
• EN 14199 loss of thickness of bare steel in the ground
 2. SCP
• Single Corrosion Protection
• Centralisers/spacers applied along the
length of bars to ensure adequate cover
of grout
• Minimum grout cover 20mm for
temporary piles and semi permanent piles
• For permanent piles:
 3. Hot Dip Galvanising
• Semi-permanent micropiles in less aggressive
environment can be protected by hot dip
galvanizing of the thread-bars in accordance
to EN 1461, BS 729, or ASTM A 153.
• Thickness≥ 85 μm
 4. Epoxy Coating
• Semi-permanent micropiles in less agressive
environment can be protected by epoxy
coating of the thread-bars in accordance to BS
7295, ASTM A 934, or A 775.
• Min thickness 250 μm
 DCP
• Permanent piles, tensile loaded piles, or piles in
aggressive media (such as seawater), should have
double corrosion protection (DCP) applied.
• Centralizing the thread-bar in a corrugated plastic
sleeve and by filling the annulus between the bar and
the sleeve with a non-shrink cement grout.
• Factory preassembly and pregrouted
DCP- cross section
Micropile with permanent
corrosion protection
 Design of Micropile with
Thread Bar
• Subjected to mainly axial tensile, compressive
and alternating load
• Micropile structural capacities, rely on high
capacity steel elements to resist most or all of the
applied load.
• The grout transfers the load through friction from
the reinforcement to the ground.
• Any end-bearing contribution in micropiles is
generally neglected.
• Minimum factors of safety for both structural and
geotechnical is 2.0
 Geotechnical Design
• Assumption load is transferred by skin friction
only and that this distribution is uniform.
• Grout-to- Ground bond strength depends on
grouting method and soil condition
Geotechnical Design
 Structural Design
• Thread bar to be principal load bearing element, with
FOS 2.0
• Bond strength between grout and bar is 6.0N/mm2 for
cylinder compressive strength of grout ≥40N/mm2
• Buckling of micropile
– Especially for very soft soils or voids overly the bearing
strata
– EN 1997-1, Normally a check for buckling is not required
when the piles are contained by soils with a
representative, undrained shear strength, cu, that exceeds
10 kPa.
– Various research has shown that even very soft soils could
provide enough lateral restraint to prevent buckling of
most pile sections.
 Structural Design
– Experiments carried out by CalTrans (Brittsan and
Speer, 1993) on high capacity micropiles installed
through a very thick (33 m) deposit of San Francisco
Bay Mud, and case histories of rock-socketed
micropiles in karst (Cadden et al., 2001, Gómez et al.,
2004) have further shown that micropiles can be
successfully applied in a variety of “difficult”
subsurface environments.
– It cannot be inferred, however, that buckling in
micropiles will never occur.
– However it should be noted this procedure doesn’t
take into account the contribution of grout that will
add structural stiffness to the micropile
 Structural Design
Buckling capacity check
 Connection of Thread Bar to
Foundation
• Shall be designed according to EN 1992-1-1
• Pile head Option 1- a flat square anchor plate,
locked with nuts
 Connection of Thread Bar to
Foundation
• Pile head Option 2- anchor piece locked with a
nut.
 Connection of Thread Bar to
Foundation
• The load transfer from the pile head to the
foundation can be with or without bursting
reinforcement.
• Provision of bursting reinforcement can be
referred to ETA
Connection of Thread Bar to
Foundation
Thread Bar Micropile
Installation Video
 Recommended Installation
Good Practice
• The micropile or soil nail must be installed immediately after
drilling the borehole Prior to installation, the required
borehole depth must be checked.
• The components must be protected against damage. The
construction site equipment and unneeded drilling
equipment must be removed from this area.
• Make sure that the corrugated duct is not damaged by sharp
edges (e.g. on the drilling rod).
• Place a control marking (colour mark or similar) onto the
thread bar to mark the engagement length.
 Recommended Installation
Good Practice
• Slide the heat-shrink sleeve over the coupling area and shrink
it on using hot air or the soft flame of a propane gas burner.
• Choose a WC ratio between 0.35 and 0.50. In cohesive soil, a
very low WC ratio is of advantage. Mix the cement grout using
a suitable mixing method. De-mixing or clumping of the
cement grout must be avoided.
• When the cement grout has hardened or begun to stiffen,
post-grouting can be carried out. For this, the micropile or soil
nail must be fitted with hoses. These must be installed in
advance.
 San Francisco International
Airport – Terminal Viaduct
Challenges:
• Retrofit 48 existing
Column Footings
• Design and Construction
of 188 High Capacity
Micropiles
• Limited Overhead
Clearance – 3.5 m
• Restricted Work Hours –
7 hr day shift
• Limited Schedule – 6
months
 San Francisco International
Airport – Terminal Viaduct
Contract requires to:
• Use shear welded shear
studs
• Required weldable
casing
• Sulfate resistant grout
• Permanent casing to
rock
• Min specified rock
socket depth
 San Francisco International
Airport – Terminal Viaduct
Soil Profile:
• 30 m of Bay
Mud over soft
rock
• Rock Friable
not competent
 San Francisco International
Airport – Terminal Viaduct
Design
• Full depth casing
• 194 mm casing x 15
mm
• 75 mm Grade 500 top
bar
• Transition Coupler
• 63 mm Grade 550
bottom bar
• Pressure Grout
• Galvanized top casing
San Francisco International
Airport – Terminal Viaduct
San Francisco International
Airport – Terminal Viaduct
 Project: American School of
Dubai, UAE
• Upgrading of the
existing foundations
of the new campus
• Additional of the
carrying capacity of
the foundations
needed
• Micropiles with a
length up to 16.7 m
• Thread bars grade
SAS 670/800 Ø 43
mm with anchor
nuts, couplers and
anchor pieces
 Project: Retaining Tank,
Mellembassinet, Copenhagen
– Located adjacent to Baltic shore line
– Below sea level, structure to be anchored against
uplift
– Double corrosion protection (DCP) 63.5mm SAS
555 installed
 Multibar Application
• Combination of up to three thread bar
• Permits higher load
• Provided they can be transferred into the ground
• Advantages:
– Small drill hole diameter
– Standard corrosion protection
– Excellent bonding
– Screwable
– Easy installation and grouting
 Project:The Bowon Office
Building, Seoul
– Six of the sixteen floors are underground parking levels
– Soil is composed of sands and gravel
– Soft rock encountered at 6-15m below excavation
– Water table varied significantly in relation to nearby Han River
– Thread bar micropiles were installed to secure 26m excavation
– Also serve as permanent pile for final 39m building

Installation of multiple thread

bar micropiles
Micro Piles
Micro Pile / Caisson
 Conclusion
• Thread bar as viable reinforcement for
micropile
• Advantages in design, handling and
construction
• Various loading conditions and corrosion
protection
• High strength thread bar as productive and
cost effective solution
 Thank you

Any questions?

Contact:
sk.babu@sas-asia.sg
ted.lee@sas-asia.sg