Abstract
The Expander Body pile (EB) is a combination of a cast-in-situ pile method with an inflated, pump-grouted tip. The EB system's pioneering conjunction with the conventional drilling pile technique has improved work load, foundation security, cost reductions and abrupt displacements in lateritic, porous, unsaturated soils. The aim of this article is to analyze settlement estimates of bored piles equipped with the Expander Body System on tropical lateritic soil, using a deformability modulus obtained from laboratory and field tests. The piles were subjected to compression and uplift load tests. In addition, the estimates of the pile settlement are compared with the measured values, and the findings are discussed. The results strongly support that PMT and SPT tests present the optimal ratios between the measured and estimated settlements for both bored piles and bored piles with the Expander Body System. It can also be observed that CPT tests presented reasonable estimates for tensioned piles. Ultimately, it is verified that straightforward elastic models for the settlement assessment of bored piles can be used reliably in practice for piles equipped with the Expander Body System on tropical unsaturated soils.
Highlights
The pre-planned city of Brasilia, Brazil's capital, was built to support the national government and employees
This article emphasized the use of the Expander Body System to improve abrupt displacements observed in lateritic, porous, unsaturated soils, as well as settlement estimate evaluation using field and laboratory tests parameters
The use of the Expander Body System in conventional bored cast-in-place has presented larger bearing pile capacity, and smaller pile displacements for both compression and uplift loads, demonstrating the potential that this innovative system has for practical use
Summary
The pre-planned city of Brasilia, Brazil's capital, was built to support the national government and employees. The campus of the University of Brasília (UnB) is situated within the city of Brasília, in an area, most known as "north wing", due to Brasilia’s airplane shape. Cunha (2011) describes that given the city of Brasilia’s distance from major Brazilian cities with already established foundation practice, design solutions for the region, together with the unique conditions of the local tropical subsoil, must be used solely based on local expertise. Continuous flight auger and bored cast-in-situ concrete piles have been widely adopted in pile foundation engineering design in the city of Brasília by local engineering firms, due to the local tropical subsoil's peculiar conditions (collapsible and lateritic). New technologies and procedures have been designed and tested. In this regard, the use of bored cast-in-situ piles equipped
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