Improved Wave Equation Analysis of Steel H-Piles in Shales Considering LRFD and Economic Impact Studies
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 27, Issue 6
Abstract
Shale is a transition material harder than soil and softer than hard rock. Treating shale as soil-like material in the Wave Equation Analysis Program (WEAP) could result in several construction challenges such as early pile refusal and pile damage. To overcome these limitations, this paper presents the development of improved WEAP methods for steel H-piles driven in shale including load and resistance factor design (LRFD) recommendations. Our parametric study reveals a significant effect of damping factors of shale on the bearing graph analysis and the determination of ultimate pile resistance. Using load test data of 32 steel H-test piles driven onto shale in Kansas, a back-calculation procedure was adopted to yield recommended dynamic parameters for shale, which are incorporated into two proposed WEAP methods. A range of damping factors from 0.03 to 0.97 s/m are recommended for two proposed WEAP methods, shale types, and weathering conditions. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed methods and default WEAP method were validated and compared using 44 dynamic load test results and data of 2 static pile load tests at the end of driving. Furthermore, 49 dynamic test results at the beginning of restrike condition were also used for comparison. The LRFD resistance and efficiency factors were calibrated for the three WEAP methods for analyzing shale pile resistances. An economic study reveals that the three WEAP methods, on average, overpredict the weight of steel pile per load demand ranging from −0.01 to −0.05 kg/kN. Among the three methods, the proposed WEAP-UW-R will yield the least excess steel weight, on average, during construction, which will alleviate construction challenges encountered in the current practice, such as higher construction costs and longer durations.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to the research support from Wyoming Department of Transportation as the lead agency, Colorado Department of Transportation, Iowa Department of Transportation, Kansas Department of Transportation, North Dakota Department of Transportation, Idaho Transportation Department, and Montana Department of Transportation under Grant No. RS05219.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- D
- pile dimension;
- hs
- stroke heights;
- Js
- shaft damping;
- Jt
- toe damping;
- ko
- coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest;
- LEMB
- total pile embedment lengths;
- LShale
- pile penetrations in shale;
- N
- SPT N-value;
- Qs
- shaft quake;
- Qt
- toe quake;
- qs
- unit shaft resistance;
- qb
- unit shaft resistance;
- qu
- unconfined compressive strength;
- RU
- ultimate pile resistance;
- Rst
- static resistance from drivability analysis;
- su
- undrained shear strength;
- WR
- ram weight;
- mean resistance bias;
- βT
- target reliability index;
- γQ
- factored load per pile;
- δ
- pile-geomaterial friction angle;
- λR
- resistance biases;
- effective vertical stress;
- φ
- resistance factor;
- φR
- factored resistances; and
- efficiency factors.
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Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 27 • Issue 6 • June 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 26, 2021
Accepted: Feb 17, 2022
Published online: Apr 13, 2022
Published in print: Jun 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Sep 13, 2022
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