Field testing of stiffened deep cement mixing piles under lateral cyclic loading

Construction of seaside and underground wall bracing often uses stiffened deep cement mixed columns （SDCM）. This research investigates methods used to improve the level of bearing capacity of these SDCM when subjected to cyclic lateral loading via various types of stiffer cores. Eight piles, two deep cement mixed piles and six stiffened deep cement mixing piles with three different types of cores, H shape cross section prestressed concrete, steel pipe, and H-beam steel, were embedded though soft clay into medium-hard clay on site in Thailand. Cyclic horizontal loading was gradually applied until pile failure and the hysteresis loops of lateral load vs. lateral deformation were recorded. The lateral carrying capacities of the SDCM piles with an H-beam steel core increased by 3-4 times that of the DCM piles. This field research clearly shows that using H-beam steel as a stiffer core for SDCM piles is the best method to improve its lateral carrying capacity, ductility and energy dissipation capacity.

Deformation and stability of the seawall,considering the strength uncertainty of cement mixing piles

The cement mixing (CM) pile is a common method of improving soft offshore ground. The strength growth of CM piles under complex conditions is affected by many factors, especially the cement and moisture contents, and shows significant uncertainty. To investigate the stochasticity of the early strength of CM piles and its impact on the displacement and stability of a seawall, a series of laboratory tests and numerical analyses were carried out in this study. Vane shear tests were conducted on the cement-solidified soil to determine the relationships between the undrained shear strength s_(u) of the cement soil curing in the seawater and the cement content a_(c), as well as the in situ soil moisture content w. It can be inferred that the 24 h undrained shear strength follows a normal distribution. A numerical model considering the random CM pile strength was established to investigate the deformation of the seawall. Due to the uncertainty of CM pile strength, the displacement of the seawall demonstrates a certain discreteness. The decrease of the mean undrained shear strength of CM piles causes a corresponding increase in the average displacement of the seawall. When the mean strength of CM piles is lower than a certain threshold, there is a risk of instability. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the strength within an individual CM pile also has an impact on seawall displacement. Attention should be paid to the uncertainty of CM pile strength to control displacement and stability.

Bearing Behaviors of Stiffened Deep Cement Mixed Pile

A series of investigations were conducted to study the bearing capacity and load transfer mechanism of stiffened deep cement mixed （SDCM） pile. Laboratory tests including six specimens were conducted to investigate the frictional resistance between the concrete core and the cementsoil. Two model piles and twenty-four full-scale piles were tested to examine the bearing behavior of single pile. Laboratory and model tests results indicate that the cohesive strength is large enough to ensure the interaction between core pile and the outer cement-soil. The full-scale test results show that the SDCM piles exhibit similar bearing behavior to bored and cast-in-place concrete piles. In general, with the rational composite structure the SDCM piles can transmit the applied load effectively, and due to the addition of the stiffer core, the SDCM piles possess high bearing capacity. Based on the findings of these experimental investigations and theoretical analysi , a practical design method is developed to predict the vertical bearing capacity of SDCM pile.

Reliability-based settlement analysis of embankments over soft soils reinforced with T-shaped deep cement mixing piles

This paper presents a reliability-based settlement analysis of T-shaped deep cement mixing(TDM)pile-supported embankments over soft soils.The uncertainties of the mechanical properties of the in-situ soil,pile,and embankment,and the effect of the pile shape are considered simultaneously.The analyses are performed using Monte Carlo Simulations in combination with an adaptive Kriging(using adaptive sampling algorithm).Individual and system failure probabilities,in terms of the differential and maximum settlements(serviceability limit state(SLS)requirements),are considered.The reliability results for the embankments supported by TDM piles,with various shapes,are compared and discussed together with the results for conventional deep cement mixing pile-supported embankments with equivalent pile volumes.The influences of the inherent variabilities in the material properties(mean and coefficient of variation values)on the reliability of the piled embankments,are also investigated.This study shows that large TDM piles,particularly those with a shape factor of greater than 3,can enhance the reliability of the embankment in terms of SLS requirements,and even avoid unacceptable reliability levels caused by variability in the material properties.