(L-R:) Bethanne Mashburn, Cory Grober of The Loren Group (TLG), Stephanie Wynn of ALDOT, Jerry Hart of TLG
A joint-venture of PDCA members, geotechnical engineers and foundation experts and public infrastructure personnel is coordinating an initiative to collect, analyze and report on scientifically generated data for tapered steel friction piles (TSFP), a subset of deep foundation construction elements which lack in available, modern test-data. The JV consists of The Loren Group, Browning Enterprise Inc., Dr. Bengt Fellenius, and the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). In mid-April, the stakeholders in the initiative, as well as other interested parties, gathered at a donated ALDOT property, immediately west of the ongoing construction of the I-10, Mobile Bay Bridge in the southern Alabama city, to observe TSFP installation, the data collection component of this eight week program. While many of those involved in this unique test piling program have donated their time and talent to the cause, the massive effort still carries a price tag estimated over $400,000, by the time the study is complete.
The program coordinator of the TSFP initiative and test-data collection event was Jerry Hart, a marketing and technical consultant with the The Loren Group and Browning Enterprise Inc. He recruited Mobile pile driving company Jordan Pile Driving to participate through installation of the piles on the test site; company CEO Curtis Johnson (pictured) performed the work with an American Piledriving Equipment (APE) D30-42 diesel hammer. Other key players included renowned foundation expert Dr. Bengt Fellenius from British Columbia who designed the test and directed the full program. Dr. Fellenius will also draft the final report once he and Dr. Sam Salem, president of Scientific Applied Concepts Ltd., complete a full analysis of the data generated on April 17th in Mobile. Alabama DOT deputy material and test engineer Kaye Davis was key to obtaining an original soil test, as well as securing the DOT-owned testing site..
Prior to conducting the test, the JV determined the novel testing would have two primary goals: 1. To understand the physics of the TSFP design and how it reacts with residual forces and dynamics of the soil under an external compressive load. And, 2. To understand a comparison between the performance of a straight side round, steel tubular pile and a tapered steel tubular friction pile in coarse grain soil. The team used five piles over the course the testing program.
As previously stated, Dr. Fellenius is developing a formal report on the program, and will coordinate with representatives of The Loren Group to deliver presentations on the program before academics, entities owning public infrastructure projects, and parties interested in obtaining TSFP for foundation installation purposes. The program team has also indicated it would submitting its findings in narrative form for potential publication in an upcoming PileDriver magazine.
Photos from the TSFP test program:
Prior to conducting the test, the JV determined the novel testing would have two primary goals: 1. To understand the physics of the TSFP design and how it reacts with residual forces and dynamics of the soil under an external compressive load. And, 2. To understand a comparison between the performance of a straight side round, steel tubular pile and a tapered steel tubular friction pile in coarse grain soil. The team used five piles over the course the testing program.
As previously stated, Dr. Fellenius is developing a formal report on the program, and will coordinate with representatives of The Loren Group to deliver presentations on the program before academics, entities owning public infrastructure projects, and parties interested in obtaining TSFP for foundation installation purposes. The program team has also indicated it would submitting its findings in narrative form for potential publication in an upcoming PileDriver magazine.
Photos from the TSFP test program:
