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Design of Pile Foundations

Course Outline

This course provides engineers and contractors with design guidances and citeria for design of pile foundations based on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Manual on Design of Pile Foundations. This manual provides information, foundation exploration and testing procedures, load test methods, analysis techniques, allowable criteria, design procedures, and construction consideration for the selection, design, and installation of pile foundations. The guidance is based on the present state of the technology for pile-soil-structure-foundation interaction behavior. This manual provides design guidance intended specifically for the geotechnical and structural engineer but also provides essential information for others interested in pile foundations such as the construction engineer in understanding construction techniques related to pile behavior during installation. Since the understanding of the physical causes of pile foundation behavior is actively expanding by better definition through ongoing research, prototype, model pile, and pile group testing and development of more refined analytical models, this manual is intended to provide examples and procedures of what has been proven successful. This is not the last nor final word on the state of the art for this technology. We expect, as further practical design and installation procedures are developed from the expansion of this technology, that these updates will be issued as changes to this manual.

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

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Course Content

The purpose of this course is to provide design guidelines and criteria for selection, design and installation of pile foundations. You will be directed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' website to study Engineering and Design - Design of Pile Foundations (Engineer Manual EM 1110-2-2906, 1991 edition, 186 pages, PDF file format), which discusses geotechnical, structural, installation and testing aspects of pile foundations.

 

The following contains the outline of the Engineer Manual EM 1110-2-2906:

Design of Pile Foundations

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

Purpose
Applicability

References, Bibliographical and Related Material

Definitions

CHAPTER 2. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

General
Structural and Geotechnical Coordination
Design Considerations
Nature of Loadings
Foundation Material
Identification and Evaluation of Pile Alternatives
Field Responsibilities for the Design Engineer
Subsurface Conditions
Pile Instrumentation

CHAPTER 3. GEOTECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Subsurface Investigations and Geology
Laboratory and Field Testing
Foundation Modification
Ground-Water Studies
Dynamic Considerations
Pile Load Test
Selection of Shear Strength Parameters

CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

General
Design Criteria
Pile Capacity
Settlement
Pile Group Analysis

Design Procedure
Special Considerations

CHAPTER 5. ENGINEERING CONSIDERATIONS PERTAINING TO CONSTRUCTION

General
Construction Practices and Equipment
Pile Driving Studies
Control of Pile Driving Operations
Results of Corps Experiences
As-Built Analysis
Field Evaluation

CHAPTER 6. FIELD PILE TESTS

General
Decision Process
Axial Load Test
Monotonic Lateral Load Test

APPENDIX A. REFERENCES A-1
APPENDIX B. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AND RELATED MATERIAL B-1
APPENDIX C. CASE HISTORY - PILE DRIVING AT LOCK AND DAM C-1 NO. 1 RED RIVER WATERWAY
APPENDIX D. PILE CAPACITY COMPUTATIONS D-1

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

Take a Quiz


DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.org 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 professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.