Life-cycle-based considerations in design of driven piles in sand

Abstract

This study conducts a life-cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts of driven shafts across 12 different siliceous sand sites, selected from a database of static load pile tests. Through parametric studies, this paper investigates the influence of soil properties, pile geometry and on-site activities on environmental impacts. For a single pile, the findings demonstrate that material production is the most impactful phase, contributing 88.4% of global warming potential (GWP) per unit capacity, while on-site operations contribute minimally at 1%. Sensitivity analyses show that variations in fuel consumption by ±25% and linear interpolations of blow counts result in negligible difference in GWP (less than 0.1 and 1%, respectively). On average, the total GWPs for steel and concrete piles are approximately 4.3 and 0.92 kg carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per kilonewton capacity, respectively. Although various factors influence pile design and installation, the results presented herein provide a foundational framework for geotechnical engineers to integrate environmental impacts into project planning, design and construction considerations.