Depth Evaluation of Submerged Pile Bents
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 34, Issue 1
Abstract
Developing an appropriate and efficient inspection pattern for an unknown bridge substructure is a critical issue for bridge engineers, contractors, and bridge agencies. This paper introduces a two-phase near-surface inspection strategy to determine the foundation depth of fully submerged pile bents of an existing bridge. Electrical resistivity tomography inspection provided the overall interface between bridge substructure and surrounding soft soils. Ultraseismic inspection provided more information to determine the depth of the substructure. Time-lapse waveform image analysis and frequency analysis of ultraseismic inspection results also displayed varying degrees of reliability for estimating the pile bent length, which was positively confirmed with the bridge design charts. The entire set of investigations demonstrated strong conclusiveness in determining the foundation depths when the results from these two testing methods were corroborated with appropriate analysis modes.
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Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the financial support granted by the CECI in Taiwan through Research Project No. 05929 “A Verification Study on Bridge Pile Bent Foundations with Non-Destructive Depth Inspection Technique.”
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 34 • Issue 1 • February 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 29, 2018
Accepted: Apr 30, 2019
Published online: Oct 24, 2019
Published in print: Feb 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Mar 24, 2020
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