Performance of Driven Displacement Pile–Improved Ground in Controlled Blasting Field Tests
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
Full-scale, controlled blasting field tests on driven displacement pile–improved ground were conducted to study the response of densified and reinforced ground to blast-induced excess pore pressures. In order to make appropriate comparisons to the baseline response of the native, unimproved ground, explosive charges sufficient to induce liquefaction were detonated in a control zone and the resulting postliquefaction settlements were measured. Excess pore pressures generated in the improved ground were observed to be significantly smaller than that in the unimproved ground, and resulted in settlements that were generally one-sixth to one-third of that measured in the unimproved ground. Piles tipped into a dense bearing layer settled significantly less than the surrounding soil and piles that were floated above the bearing layer. Importantly, measured excess pore pressures pointed to a change in soil response from contractive to dilative during blasting, indicating that the improved ground mobilized significant strength during blasting, similar to the response expected from cyclic mobility of dense soils. The energy of scaled ground motions developed from velocity measurements are used to relate the observed soil response to blasting to that expected from earthquake-induced ground motions. The paper concludes with a comparison of shear strains expected from shear strain compatibility (SSC) between the improved ground and the displacement piles to those implied by the measured pore pressures. The comparison indicated that some portions of the improved ground responded in an incompatible manner during the blast-induced ground motions and that the assumption of SSC may not be appropriate for design of some reinforcement-type ground improvements.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the sponsors of this research, which includes the IDEA Program of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, National Academy of Science, under Grant NCHRP-180, and the South Carolina chapter of the Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA). The authors gratefully acknowledge the significant effort by Van Hogan, formerly of the PDCA, as well as the member firms that have contributed materials, labor, and equipment: Pile Drivers, Inc., S&ME, Inc., Soil Consultants, Inc., Chuck Dawley Surveying, Cox Wood Industries, and Hayward Baker, Inc. The authors also thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 5, 2016
Accepted: Feb 23, 2017
Published online: May 15, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Oct 15, 2017
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