Static Soil Resistance to Pipe Ramming in Granular Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 3
Abstract
Pipe ramming is a cost-effective trenchless pipe installation method in which percussive blows generated by a pneumatically or hydraulically powered encased piston rammer are used to advance a pipe or culvert through the ground. To evaluate the feasibility of a pipe ramming installation, engineers must be able to reliably predict the pipe drivability and installation stresses. Assessment of the drivability of the pipe and selection of the optimal hammer for pipe ramming installation requires that the static and dynamic soil resistance to ramming at the pipe face and along the casing be reliably estimated. However, pipe ramming-specific models are not currently available, and engineers often resort to the existing traditional pipe-jacking and microtunneling models for static soil resistance computations. This paper describes the results of four full-scale pipes rammed in the field and the corresponding static soil resistance to ramming in granular soils. A companion paper addresses dynamic soil resistance and pipe drivability. The accuracy of the existing pipe jacking and microtunneling-based static soil resistance models is evaluated herein and found to provide unsatisfactory estimates of the face and casing resistance. New semiempirical pipe ramming-specific models are proposed based on the field observations and are found to produce good estimates of static soil resistance for use in pipe drivability evaluations.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Oregon DOT and Federal Highway Administration through Research Contract No. SPR-710. The research described in this paper was carried out with significant support from the Oregon and Southwest Washington Chapter of the National Utility Contractors Association. The authors are grateful for the support and donations provided by Gonzales Boring and Tunneling, J. W. Fowler Construction, Armadillo Underground, Emery & Sons, Inc., Wyo-Ben, Inc., RDO Equipment, Moore Excavation, and Peterson Machinery. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the helpful cooperation from the Wildish Sand and Gravel Company, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Golder Associates, and Jim Robinson Contracting. The authors are grateful for the comments by the anonymous reviewers, which served to improve the quality of this paper.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 3 • March 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 25, 2014
Accepted: Oct 1, 2014
Published online: Nov 3, 2014
Published in print: Mar 1, 2015
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