Geotechnical Engineering Series - Deep Foundations

Yun Zhou, Ph.D., P.E.

Course Outline

In this course, you need to review Chapter 9 – Deep Foundations from “Reference Manual Volume II, SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS”, Publication No. FHWA NHI-06-089, by Federal Highway Administration of U.S. Department of Transportation. 

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

Upon completion of this course, the student will gain the following specific knowledge: 

• General approach to foundation design;
• Types of deep foundations including driven and CIP (cast-in-place) piles;
• Selection of Driven Pile or CIP Pile Based on Subsurface Conditions;
• Pile type selection based on subsurface and hydraulic conditions;
• Pile design concept and procedures;
• Driven Pile design-construction process;
• Alternative driven pile type evaluation;
• Computation of pile capacity;
• Assessments of pile side and tip resistances;
• Factors of safety for pile design;
• Cost evaluation of alternate pile types;
• Design of single pies;
• Ultimate geotechnical capacity of single piles in cohesionless soils;
• Ultimate geotechnical capacity of single piles in cohesive soils;
• Ultimate geotechnical capacity of single piles in layered soils;
• Plugging of open pile sections;
• Ultimate capacity of piles on rock;
• Ultimate capacity of piles in intermediate geomaterials (IGMs);
• Time effects on pile capacity;
• Axial compression capacity of pile groups in cohesionless and cohesive soils;
• Block failure of pile groups;
• Settlement of pile groups;
• Soil setup;
• Relaxation;
• Downdrag or negative shaft resistance;
• Design of pile groups;
• Design of piles for lateral loads;
• Additional design and construction considerations;
• Computer design programs;
• The DRIVEN Computer Program;
• Construction of pile foundations;
• Selection of design safety factor based on construction control;
• Pile driveability;
• Pile driving equipment and operation;
• Dynamic pile driving formulae;
• Dynamic analysis of pile driving;
• Wave equation methodology;
• Driving stresses;
• Guidelines for assessing pile driveability;
• Pile construction monitoring considerations;
• Dynamic pile monitoring;
• CIP (cast-in-place) piles;
• Drilled shafts;
• Static load testing of deep foundations; and
• Load tests and deformation-compatible side/tip resistances.
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended for geotechnical, civil, mining, structural, and environmental engineers, as well as design and construction personnel involved with the planning, design, and construction of earth slopes.

Benefit to Attendees

Attendee of this course will be able to understand and deal with issues associated with design and construction of foundations.

Course Introduction

The selection of the most cost-effective foundation requires cost and performance evaluations of both shallow and deep foundations.  For situations where shallow foundations are inappropriate for support of structural elements, deep foundations are necessary to transfer structure load through unsuitable subsurface to suitable bearing strata.

Course Content

The associated course materials are contained in an Adobe Acrobat pdf format of Chapter 9 – Deep Foundations from “Reference Manual Volume II, SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS”, Publication No. FHWA NHI-06-089, by Federal Highway Administration of U.S. Department of Transportation.

Chapter 9 – Deep Foundations

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Course Summary

This course, as a part of Geotechnical Engineering Series, covers basic theories, engineering evaluations, design approaches, field load tests, and practical CQC (construction quality control) procedures for design and construction of deep foundations.

Related Links

For additional information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

PDHonline Course C538 - Geotechnical Engineering Series – Slope Stability
PDHonline Course C539 - Geotechnical Engineering Series – Shallow Foundations
PDHonline Course C541 - Geotechnical Engineering Series – Earth Retaining Structures

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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