<p>Foundation is one of the most important part of construction. Is it a connection between the a structure and a ground that support it. Even in ancient times it was known that most carefully designed structure will fail if the foundationi do not give sufficient support. Thus the proper design of foundation and selection of adequate kind of foundation allow to avoid later constructional problems. Early foundation design was based mostly in intuition and common sense. Builders developed rules for sizing and constructing foundation through trial-and-error method.</p>

Foundation is one of the most important part of construction. Is it a connection between the a structure and a ground that support it. Even in ancient times it was known that most carefully designed structure will fail if the foundationi do not give sufficient support. Thus the proper design of foundation and selection of adequate kind of foundation allow to avoid later constructional problems. Early foundation design was based mostly in intuition and common sense. Builders developed rules for sizing and constructing foundation through trial-and-error method.

The geotechnical conditions of the soil can fluctuate greatly across the wind farm. This is an issue since geotechnical modelling is the base of the structural design of an offshore wind farm, and the efficient installation of the wind turbines depends on its accuracy. This paper deals with the characterization of the seabed, predicting the soil properties over the total affected area by a wind farm, with the challenge to reduce the required data samples in the site investigation under the number of installed wind turbines, to reduce its cost. It is compared the prediction outcome from two different interpolation methods, kriging and radial basis function, assessing their accuracy by the Mean-Squared Error and the Goodness-of-Prediction Estimate, as well as with a visual examination of their mapping; obtaining higher accuracy for radial basis function and reducing to half the required sample points, from the initial value of installed wind turbines. In a second stage it is studied the soil effect over the foundation, analyzing the results from a FEA, where different geometries of the structure are compared submitted to different load cases to check its limit states. Those results show that the foundation cost can increase four times due to the soil conditions, taking into account only the steel volume, and demonstrating how important is the soil characterization in the foundation design, as it gives the chance to relocate those wind turbines that require more expensive foundations.

In the state of Florida one of the primary factors which influences design of structures is the effect of hurricane force winds on structures. These forces can be greater than any other force encountered throughout the lifetime of said structure. For this reason, designing a structure to resist such forces can greatly increase the cost and time required for completing construction projects. Traditionally, large concrete footings have been utilized to resist wind-induced uplift forces. These footings do little more than act as large reaction masses to weigh down the building. An alternative and little-used method for resisting these large uplift forces is the use of mini-pile anchors. Mini-pile anchors generate side shear at the interface between the pile and the soil which resists the uplift forces.This thesis provides an overview of the design methods used to estimate wind-induced uplift forces and several foundation options used to withstand these forces. More traditional/less complicated foundations are compared to the more sophisticated mini-pile method which makes more efficient use of construction materials. The cost efficiency of each method is evaluated which provides a guideline for where and when a given foundation option is appropriate.Finally, a case study where the new method was used is presented which documents the design and construction procedures.

Se retirará este documento a solicitud del Sandra Rodriguez Dionisio, Coordinador de carrera de Ingeniería Civil. Fecha de solicitud mediante correo electrónuico 19-09-2019 / La investigación consiste en la evaluación técnico-económica de tres alternativas de cimentación, las cuales son platea de cimentación, sistema de zapatas y micropilotes, estudiadas en tres proyectos situados en un suelo de baja capacidad portante igual a 1.01kg/cm2. Esto con el objetivo de determinar la alternativa de solución más óptima en función a los criterios técnico y económico, teniendo en cuenta que la opción de platea de cimentación es comúnmente la más empleada. En cuanto a los proyectos, estos corresponden a edificios multifamiliares de 4, 6 y 8 pisos, de material de concreto armado, de sistema estructural a base de muros y sin sótanos. Estos ese encuentran situados en un suelo arenoso (SP-SM), sin presencia del nivel freático ni fallas geológicas, perteneciente al distrito de Ica, provincia de Ica, departamento de Ica, Perú. Respecto al diseño de las alternativas de cimentación, estas se rigen bajo las exigencias de las normas de diseño vigentes en el Perú, correspondientes al Reglamento Nacional de Edificaciones (RNE). Asimismo, se utilizaron programas de software como ETABS y SAP2000, para complementar el análisis estructural de los edificios y diseño de las alternativas de cimentación. Posterior al diseño, se realizó la evaluación técnico-económica, proponiendo un plan de ejecución (cronograma) acorde con las características y contexto del proyecto, como también un presupuesto económico para cada caso. Finalmente, mediante un análisis comparativo que contrasta ambos criterios, se concluye la alternativa de cimentación más óptima para cada caso de estudio. / The investigation consists in technical and economic evaluation of foundation alternatives, which are foundation plate, shoe system and micropiles, for three projects located in a low bearing capacity soil of to 1.01kg/cm2. The study objective is determine the best foundation alternative according to technical and economic criteria, taking into account that foundation plate is commonly the most used. Corresponding to the projects, these are multifamily buildings of 4, 6 and 8 floors, of reinforced concrete material, structural system based on walls and without basements. In the same way, these projects are located in a sandy soil (SP-SM), without freatic level presence neither geological fails, located in Ica district, Ica province, Ica department, Peru. On the other hand, according to the foundation alternatives design, these are supported by the requirements of the peruvian design rules “Reglamento Nacional de Edificicaciones” (RNE). In the same way, software programs such as ETABS and SAP2000 were used to complement the study of buildings structural performance and foundation alternatives. After design, the technical-economic evaluation was carried out, proposing an execution plan (schedule) according to the characteristics and context of the projects, and an economic budget for each case. Finally, through a comparative analysis that contrats both criteria, the best foundation alternative por each case is concluded. / Tesis

Due to the similarity between the geometry and full displacement installation method of a cone penetrometer and displacement pile, the axial capacity of displacement piles is often assessed using data from a cone penetration test (CPT). As there are many more factors influencing pile axial capacity than affecting CPT cone resistance, there are a wide range of CPT-based empirical design methods in use. These methods have various levels of predictive success, which usually depends upon the soil conditions, pile geometry, pile installation method, and time between installations and loading. An improved understanding of the basis and reliability of respective design methods is essential to improve the quality of predictions in the absence of site specific load test data. This thesis explores the influence of soil state and drainage conditions on piezocone penetration test (CPTU) tip resistance (qc) and penetration pore pressures (u2). For cone penetration testing identified as 'drained', factors influencing the correlation between cone tip resistance and displacement pile shaft friction in sand are investigated through (i) a review of previous research and the performance of existing design methods; (ii) centrifuge studies of piles of differing widths with measurements of local lateral stress; (iii) field tension tests at different times between installation and loading for uninstrumented driven piles with different diameters and end conditions; and (iv) field tension tests at different times between installation and loading on closed ended strain gauged jacked segmented model piles with different installation sequences. CPTU qc and u2 are primarily controlled by soil state and drainage conditions, with effective stress strength parameters and soil stiffness also influencing the measurements. The primary mechanisms identified to control the correlation between cone tip resistance and shaft friction on displacement piles are identified as; (i) the initial increase in radial stress due to soil displaced during installation of a pile; (ii) different levels of soil displacement induced by open, closed, and partially plugged piles; (iii) reduction in radial stress behind the pile tip; (iv) additional reduction in radial stress with continued pile penetration (friction fatigue); (v) changes in radial stress during loading; (vi) constant volume interface friction angle between soil and steel; and (vii) changes in the effects of the above mentioned mechanisms with time between installation and loading. The relative effect of each of these factors is investigated in this thesis.

A renewed commitment in the United States and abroad to electricity from renewable resources, such as wind, along with the recent deployment of very large turbines that rise to new heights, makes obtaining the most efficient and safe designs of the structures that support them ever more important. Towards this goal, the present research seeks to understand how optimization concepts and Microsoft Excel's optimization capabilities can be used in the design of wind turbine towers and foundations. Additionally, this research expands on the work of previous researchers to study how considering the tower and foundation as an integral system, where tower support conditions are not perfectly rigid, affects the optimal design. Specifically, optimization problems are formulated and solved with and without taking into account the effect of deflections, resulting from the foundation's rotational and horizontal stiffness, on natural frequency calculations. The general methodology used to transcribe the design of wind turbine towers and foundations into an optimization problem includes: 1) collecting information on design requirements and parameter values 2) deciding how to analyze the structure 3) formulating the optimization problem 4) implementation using Microsoft Excel. Key assumptions include: 1) use of an equivalent lumped mass method for estimating natural frequency 2) International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400-1 extreme loading condition controls design (i.e. fatigue loading condition is not considered) 3) extreme loads are obtained from manufacturer provided structural load document that satisfies loading cases outlined in IEC 61400-1 4) wind forces on the tower are calculated in accordance with IEC 61400-1 5) optimization variables are continuous. The sum of the tower material and fabrication cost and the total foundation cost is taken as the objective function. Important conclusions from this work include: 1) optimization concepts and Microsoft Excel's optimization capabilities can be used to obtain reasonable conceptual level designs and cost estimates 2) detailed designs and cost estimates could be achieved using a solver capable of handling discrete optimization problems 3) considering the tower and foundation as an integral system results in a more expensive, but safer, design 4) for the assumed parameter values, the constraint on the tower's natural frequency was found to control the tower design and the bearing capacity constraint was found to control the foundation design 5) relaxing or tightening the limit on the natural frequency will result in the greatest benefit or penalty, respectively, on the optimum solution.

In the present work, a settlement-based method is proposed to design piled raft foundation. The proposed design method is found to be very efficient, economical and requires less calculation time. Simple software can be used to execute all the interactions and loop calculations.<p>Unlike methods with numerical techniques, there are practically no limitations for the number of individual piles under the raft, size of the group and the group shape or layout. It can also be applied to piles with different length or piles that are located within multi-layered soils.<p>The raft is designed first according to the allowable settlement that is pre-defined by the structural requirements and with the necessary factor of safety. When raft suffers excessive settlement, then the load that causes excess raft settlement beyond the required limit is to be transferred to the fully mobilised frictional piles. <p>The fully mobilised shaft (with no end bearing) piles are designed with factor of safety close to unity since their function is only to reduce raft settlement and since the raft has an adequate bearing capacity.<p>Geometry of these piles is chosen to fully mobilise their shafts capacity with low settlement level in order to comply with load/settlement requirement and reduce raft settlement to the pre-defined level. <p> / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Frequently, deep foundations extend through potentially liquefiable soils. When liquefaction occurs in cohesionless soils surrounding a deep foundation, the skin-friction in the liquefied layer is compromised. After cyclical forces suspend and pore pressures dissipate, effective stress rebuilds and the liquefied soil consolidates. When the settlement of the soil exceeds the downward movement of the foundation, downdrag develops. To investigate the loss and redevelopment of skin-friction, strain was measured on an instrumented micropile during a blast-induced liquefaction test in Mirabello, Italy. The soil profile where the micropile was installed consisted of clay to a depth of 6m underlain by a medium to dense sand. The 25cm diameter steel reinforced concrete micropile was bored to a depth of 17m. Pore pressure transducers were placed around the pile at various depths to observe excess pore pressure generation and dissipation. Soil strain was monitored with profilometers in a linear arrangement from the center of the 10m diameter ring of buried explosives out to a 12m radius. Immediately following the blast, liquefaction developed between 6m and 12m below ground. The liquefied layer settled 14cm (~2.4% volumetric strain) while the pile toe settled 1.24cm under elastic displacement. The static neutral plane in the pile occurred at a depth of 12m. From 6m to 12m below ground, the incremental skin-friction was 50% compared to pre-liquefaction measurements. The decrease in residual skin-friction is consistent with measurements observed by Dr. Kyle Rollins from previous full-scale tests in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Christchurch, New Zealand, and Turrel, Arkansas.

Frequently, deep foundations extend through potentially liquefiable soils. When liquefaction occurs in cohesionless soils surrounding a deep foundation, the skin-friction in the liquefied layer is compromised. After cyclical forces suspend and pore pressures dissipate, effective stress rebuilds and the liquefied soil consolidates. When the settlement of the soil exceeds the downward movement of the foundation, downdrag develops. To investigate the loss and redevelopment of skin-friction, strain was measured on an instrumented micropile during a blast-induced liquefaction test in Mirabello, Italy. The soil profile where the micropile was installed consisted of clay to a depth of 6m underlain by a medium to dense sand. The 25cm diameter steel reinforced concrete micropile was bored to a depth of 17m. Pore pressure transducers were placed around the pile at various depths to observe excess pore pressure generation and dissipation. Soil strain was monitored with profilometers in a linear arrangement from the center of the 10m diameter ring of buried explosives out to a 12m radius. Immediately following the blast, liquefaction developed between 6m and 12m below ground. The liquefied layer settled 14cm (~2.4% volumetric strain) while the pile toe settled 1.24cm under elastic displacement. The static neutral plane in the pile occurred at a depth of 12m. From 6m to 12m below ground, the incremental skin-friction was 50% compared to pre-liquefaction measurements. The decrease in residual skin-friction is consistent with measurements observed by Dr. Kyle Rollins from previous full-scale tests in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Christchurch, New Zealand, and Turrel, Arkansas.