CHALLENGES
Exercising many of the strengths of TorcSill’s multi-faceted foundations solutions approach, the Terminal Dock Metering Project presented a number of challenges, including very corrosive soils, significant shear and moment loads and limited spacing between the columns to be supported. Additionally, the required design life of the piles to be installed was to be at least 50 years.
WHAT WE DID
Taking into account the myriad of challenges, TorcSill Engineering first explored several potential solutions, some of which were to design multiple piles per column or provide a concrete pile cap or steel frame to connect the piles at each foundation location.
Working closely with the facility owner, the design was sharpened to a single large-diameter pile with a steel-to-steel connection at each column, eliminating concrete entirely. The pile design called for 30-inch, multiple-helix piles to be installed to 40 feet.
A successful load test supported the initial design based upon the geotechnical information provided, confirming an ultimate capacity of 320 kips at each pile.
SOLUTION
After intensive design engineering and Project-specific hardware and pile manufacturing, TorcSill’s Construction Services TEAM safely installed to 250 ft-kips an all-steel helical foundation solution that met or exceeded a life expectancy of at least 50 years.
