Settlements during Underpinning with Different Processes: Case of a Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 6
Abstract
The hospital building of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been only partly occupied since its construction in the 1960s. The failure in 2010 of two columns in the unoccupied part led to the decision to demolish this area. After demolition, settlement of the adjacent block developed, and underpinning was needed. The underpinning consisted of the installation of micropiles (also known as root piles) incorporated into the existing footings by a new cap. Pile installation was achieved by rotary drilling with an auxiliary tube, and the debris was removed by water circulation. Then, rebars were placed, and cement-sand mortar was pumped in as the auxiliary tube was removed. Because significant settlement occurred when pile drilling, circulation water was replaced by compressed air, and piles with smaller diameters were adopted. Continuing settlements led to a change in the underpinning solution: the use of jacked piles. This paper addresses the observed settlement during underpinning and correlates them with the different underpinning processes. The micropiles produced considerable settlement during their installation, and the underpinned columns still underwent additional settlement before stabilization. Jacked piles produced very small settlement during their installation and practically stopped settlement when complete.
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Acknowledgments
The design of the first solution (micropiles) and the general underpinning works were executed by Contemat Eng. (Rio de Janeiro); the jacked piles were installed by IndaMega Eng. (São Paulo). J. C. Filizola and Mauro Jorge Costa Santos acted as structural consultants. Thanks are due to Marcio E. Conforte, director of the University’s Office for Construction and Maintenance, to Adalsino Valentim for his careful supervision of the settlement monitoring, and to Roney M. Gomes and Luisa Lopes for their review of the paper. This study was partly financed by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior), Brazil, under Finance Code 001.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 6 • June 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 8, 2019
Accepted: Jan 15, 2020
Published online: Apr 13, 2020
Published in print: Jun 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 13, 2020
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