February 2003 Meeting
Date: Monday, February 3, 2003, 12:00 noon
Location: Radisson Hotel, 1893 West Mockingbird Lane (at intersection with Harry Hines Boulevard), (214) 634-8850. See Map
Program: Implementation
of Augered Cast-in-Place Piles on a TxDOT System Bridge
ACIP
piles have become increasingly popular as bearing piles for a variety of projects in both
the public and private sectors because the availability of improved construction
techniques and automated monitoring equipment have made their costs in foundation systems
competitive with driven piles and drilled shafts. Such
technological improvements and cost reductions led the Texas Department of Transportation
(TxDOT) to authorize the design and construction of a three-span bridge on ACIP piles on
U. S. Highway 90 in east Harris County.
Our speaker and his team from the University of Houston carefully monitored this project in order to judge the ability of the ACIP pile foundation system to conform to the unique construction demands of a standard, simple-span highway bridge. Among many issues, these demands included construction of long piles on a batter in the header banks, insertion of very long and slender reinforcing cages into fluid grout columns, and maintenance of a construction schedule that would make the system cost competitive with driven piles. In addition to issues of constructability, the effects of site-specific geology on load transfer (capacity) were determined and compared in ACIP and driven piles (on consecutive bridges) through load testing and long-term monitoring of instrumented piles and footings. The bridge in question was opened to traffic on November 27, 2002, and its foundation is performing well. The program will summarize the design methods, the construction practices, automated and manual construction monitoring, load transfer behavior and long-term performance. Potential uses of ACIP piles in the Dallas area in terms of appropriate site and soil conditions will be noted, and a technical session will follow the branch meeting.
Speaker: Dr. Michael W.
O’Neill, P.E., Cullen Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, University of
Houston
Dr. O’Neill has 39 years of experience in applied research and consulting in deep
foundations, soil properties, engineering design and field testing of foundation systems. He has served as the research supervisor of 56
funded applied research projects on foundations, and he has performed consulting work on
numerous projects across the United States. The
author of over 200 papers and peer-reviewed
reports on foundations and soil mechanics, Dr. O’Neill is also the co-author of a
reference book on foundations for vibrating machines and the current FHWA manual on
drilled shafts. He is a dedicated member of
ASCE and has served on and chaired numerous, national technical committees for ASCE and
other organizations. ASCE has recognized Dr.
O’Neill’s accomplishments by naming his as the 1998 Karl Terzaghi
Lecturer, awarding him the 1986 Walter L. Huber Research Prize, and by giving him the 1984
State-of-the-Art in Civil Engineering Award.
A native of San Antonio, Dr. O’Neill received his Ph.D in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1970.
Note: The Geotechnical & Materials Technical Group will hold a meeting with the Speaker after the regular Meeting of the Branch to further discuss the ACIP Piles.
Reservations: by Wednesday, January 29, 2003. Call the ASCE Reservation Hotline at (214) 890-6941. This voice mail system has been established by the Branch to handle reservations. Please state your company's name first and then the name of the attendees. In case of a malfunction, contact Glenn Celerier, P.E. at (214) 880-1779. For large groups, a fax to (214) 979-0174 may be substituted. On-line reservations may be made by sending an email to Glenn Celerier at: ascemeeting@yahoo.com or from the Branch Website (www.flash.net/~dlsasce). Please make your reservations by only one of the above methods to avoid double counting.
Cost: $15.00 with reservations, $17.00 at the door if seating is available.
Dallas ASCE
