1.

Requirements for site investigation items with description

Borings - locate borings to cover building footprint, about 50-150 depending on expected variation (min
depth=50 if in an area of suspected liquefiable soils)
Rotary Wash rig - best for granular soils/loose sands, drilling mud keeps hole from caving in.
Sonic - vibrations; for cobbles and boulders
CPT - Cone penetration test; continuous test; side friction and tip resistance-reduces the cost and provides
continual data
Trenching - investigate buried debris like concrete, depth of adjacent foundations, and excavatibility of bedrock
Geologic Mapping - geologic hazards; faults, landslide, possible loose soils- geologic overview tells about
preconsolidation, glacial outwash like boulders, marine sediments (very compressible)
N-Standard Penetration Test

2. Soil Classification G=gravel, S=sand, M=silt, C=clay, O=organic, W=well graded, P=poorly graded,
M=silty, C=clayey, L=low plasticity, H=high plasticity

3. Lab test for determining clay content and expansion potential
Need Plasticity Index (LL PL); LL and PL determined by Cassagrandes tests

4. Shear strength Cohesion + Friction, s
u
= c +
z
tan()

5. Mohr Circle su = c if = 0, y-axis is shear strength, x-axis is unconfined pressure

6. Boring Log interpretation

7. Influence factors finding under a footing to use the Boussinesq Formula
Itot =4*Icorner; Iside=2*Icorner

8. 2 to 1 Method o
z
=
P
(B+z)(L+z)


9. Consolidation Normal:
0
~ P
p
; Over:
0
< Pp; Under:
0
> Pp
o
c
=
C
1 + c
0
Elog _
o
z,]
i
o
z,0
i
_

10. Bearing pressure q
t
=
P+w
]
A
- p where is pore pressure

11. Bearing capacity
where q_t is calculated based on your type of soil and type of pile
Square foundation q_ult = 1.3c*N_c + s_zd*N_q + 0.4*gamma*B*N_gamma
Continuous Foundation q_ult = c*Nc+sigma_zd*Nq+0.5*gamma*B*N_gamma
q_ult = gamma*D*Nq + *gamma*B*N_gamma (for sand or gravel)
q_ult = 5.7*c*1.3 + sigma_zd *Nq (for clay since phi=0 degrees)

12. Immediate Settlement aka distortion settlement
o
uIt
=
(q-c
z
|
)B
L
u
I
1
I
2

where Eu = 300su, and the I factors come from charts

13. Mat foundation appropriate based on building and soil
erratic soils, differential heave caused, resist high uplift loads, below w.t., high loads, erratic loads

14. Expansive soils active zone for expansive soils-layer of soil that has a fluctuating moisture content
depending on season, bay area ~6
plasticity index vs. expansion potential
< 18 low why do clays swell? clays are negatively charged and water is polar, the
15 - 28 med electrostatic forces attract water and cause swell
25 - 41 high
> 35 very high

15. Methods to minimize adverse effects of expansive soils
1. deepen footings (less moisture content change-no expand as much)
2. total enclosure (since water flows thru sand in trench, use clay cutoff concrete collar).
3. non-expansive soil layer (replacement/overlay-need more rigorous solution if PI higher)
4. grade beams on pier
5. design pier depths to resist heave
6. support slab on piers so there is no soil contact (leave void/gap under slab)
7. rigid slab

16. Displacement Piles (driven pile, screwed pile, mandrel driven pile, pressure injected). Displacement pile
(no excavation of soil, driven or jacked into ground, cause soil to be displaced radially and vertically)
Side friction problem - displacement piles increase the side wall stresses which is a bad thing
End bearing problem - displacement piles/pile driving densifies soil at the tip

17. Hammers
Types: drop hammer (simple pulley system), steam hammer (uses steam to lift and drive hammer), diesel (uses
combustion to lift and ram drive pile), vibratory (weight and vibratory forces pile into ground, hydraulic
(similar to steam but use hydraulic pressure to lift and drive ram)

18. Drilled Shafts which method has this advantage?
Drilled cast in place piers: drill shaft then insert rebar and fill with concrete; large diameter, inexpensive, easy to
inspect, high capacity, shallow to very deep
Barrette piles: rectangular piles excavated with a clamshell bucket; high compression capacity, high lateral
capacity
Cased secant pile: drilled with steel casing to accurately locate pile; piles are touching to form a wall, excellent
for a cylindrical vessel
Geo-piers: depth range from 5 to 20 feet, gravel compacted into predrilled hole
Advantages: mobilize at low cost, less noise and vibration, engineers can log holes, diameter can be changed
during construction, shaft can penetrate boulders and cobble, one large pier per column
Disadvantages: quality control is an issue with workmanship since done on-site, displacement piles increase
side wall stresses, pile driving densifies soil at tip, load tests are expensive, soil waste can be a problem, ground
water can be big issue causing increase in cost and reduction in quality

19. Alpha method calculate ultimate capacity Pu for pile

20. Uplift
s
(uplit) = .7S
s
(comprcssion);
up
(o) = w
]
+ [
]
s
A
s
P


21. Factors that influence factor of safety 2.0 3.5 for compression; 3.0 6.0 for uplift
soil type (shear strength in clays is less reliable than sands so higher FoS for clays), site characterization data
(type and number of soil tests performed, conduct less/more testing), soil profile variability, importance of
the structure and consequences of failure, likelihood of the design load occurring, building sensitive to
settlement, thoroughness of subsurface exploration program, anticipated level and method of construction
inspection and quality control, availability of on-site or nearby full-scale load test results

22. Davisson curve to calculate pile capacity from load test curve
o
0
= .1S +
B
120
; the initial value on the capacity curve
o
c
=
P
AL
where D is depth of pile; where E = S7uuu(
c
i
) for concrete

23. Given shaft diameter and settlement how much of load is carried by fs?
If theres no equation for this, f
s
carries all the load until the load until P reaches f
s
(A
s
). Not sure about the gap
until settlement reaches .1B when bearing capacity reaches its full capacity.

24. Load Test Methods
Osterberg: jack cell until either an end bearing failure or a side friction failure occurs, if toe failure first then
data must be extrapolated to determine skin friction, if skin friction occurs first then test can be rerun with more
load at top to determine end bearing, jack filled with grout and lifted into place; best for drilled shaft
foundations that are larger in diameter and carry larger loads
Static Load Test: build full size prototype foundation at proposed side and slowly load to failure, expensive and
time consuming though most precise, good for large projects where small savings in length is large $, erratic
soil conditions, structure is very sensitive to settlement, engineer has little experience in the area
Statnamic: high strain dynamic testing to get static load capacity of deep foundations, detonate slow-burning
explosives located inside pressure chamber placed between foundation and mass; foundation acts as a rigid
body, conservative test, better representation of actual service loads and dynamic lateral loads
Lateral load test in water or offshore platformwont use osterberg or static load test would use statnamic

25. Changes during construction
Changes in sand
Driven piles
driving increases pore pressures, but in sand it dissipates rapidly - usually a retap after 24 hours shows
an increase in blow count. rapid cycle during driving causes negative pore pressures and increase in
shear strength difficulty driving
vibrations densify sand
Drilled shafts (applies to both sand and clay?)
soil removal expands side walls and bottom of hole, reducing side-friction and end bearing
drilling fluid can reduce side friction
Changes in Clay
Driven Piles
shear and compressive distortions as pile is driven and soil below toe is moved out of the way -> reduces
strength to ear residual strength
compresses adjoining soils which generates excess pore water pressures. Strength decreases during
driving and increases as pore pressure dissipates
loss of contact between soil and pile since pile wobbles as it is being driven, may be susceptible to
lateral loads, or as a result of clay shrinkage
Drilled Shafts
the auger smears and remolds the clay which can reduce side friction resistance and shear strength

26. Calculate ultimate capacity Pu of concrete pile given I, N, P..plug into formula
I - rigidity index; varies from 10 (loose compressible sands) to 500 (rock)
N*, Nq* - bearing capacity factors
z,D - vertical effective stress at tip
B - pile diameter
D - distance from ground surface to tip of foundation

To find net unit toe-bearing/end-bearing resistance:
q

t = (B)()(N*)+(z,D)(Nq*)
if D/B > 5, neglect first term
To get ultimate capacity: Pu = (qt)(A)

27. Toe-bearing for drilled shaft

28. Toe bearing in augercast pile

29. Clay soil

30. Toe bearing, non-cohesive geomaterial

31. Alpha factors
Su = undrained shear strength of soil next to pile
for Su < 500 psf =1.0
for 500 psf < Su < 1500psf o = 1.u - .S|
S
u
-500 ps]
1000 ps]
]
for Su > 1500 psf = 0.5
alpha method: fs = *Su

32. Label earth retention systems

33. Case Histories
Mandalay Bay-Mat settlement, borings 35 stop at caliche, settle 22 due to soft compressible soils under
caliche, repair with 900-130 micropiles
Concrete tilt up panels-punching failure, heavy concrete panels supported on small concrete blocks with small
surface area produce high bearing pressure (F/A) and caused punching under concrete blocks
Pleasanton Bank-floor slab with no provision for expansive soil heaving, welded wire mesh reinforcement in
bottom slab (workers stood on while pouring concrete), floor tilt up in middle-sliding/rolling chairs
End Bearing vs Skin Friction-load test on drilled shaft piers: 1 with poly-foam on bottom and other poured on
clean bottom; tests show same skin friction with no end bearing with less than .5 displacement, requires 0.1B
or 1.8 inches of settlement to activate end bearing, foam has less capacity bc settles more before resisting load
Port of Stockton-ship overturns dolphin due to the current which pushed the ship out, trying to pull ship in
Crawl Space Conference- Soil shrinkage, expansive soil shrinkage left 3 deep gap around pier and pier settles
1 inch due to loose soil left from drilling
IBM Building-office building floor slab heave, fill expanded and heaved floor slab compressing and cracking
floor to ceiling windows, PI of fill = 16%, specs call for <12%
San Francisco Building-shared brick foundation, lowering basement and underpinning foundations to an
existing structure, adjacent building settled 2 inches before common footing was discovered, confirm existing
footing configuration before underpinning
JCPenny Store-Immediate settlement, foundation not preloaded, concrete poured for slab and footing
together/connected, footing loaded with concrete block wall, immediate settlement of footing caused cracking
in slab due to bending, punching failure
Concrete Debris Failure-General shear, railroad tracks, bearing capacity failure under concrete debris cause
shear, choose rocks in socks concept of Geotextile Encased Columns to confine rock and maintain column
shape to reduce deflection upon loading
Port of Oakland-Terminal yard over bart, voids filled by loose sand, loose sand fill liquefied during earthquake
and sunk into voids of ballast rock over underground bart tube, produces 3 void that breaks the pavement
Kaiser Hospital-7 story concrete garage, 1st floor slab poured before foundations loaded, all of structure settles
2+ inches except 1st floor slab which appears to rise, ambulances get stuck
Santa Cruz Detention Facility-Ship Gangways?, Liquefaction, use Dynamic Compaction to densify 35 layer
of loose sand and minimize post liquefaction settlement, using 100 crane, 20000 lb wt