Field testing of driven piles in cemented carbonate sediment
Field testing of driven piles in cemented carbonate sediment
This research presents a selection of results from medium-scale field tests undertaken to investigate the installation performance of impact-driven piles in cemented carbonate sediment. An onshore site in Perth, Western Australia was selected due to it being broadly representative of offshore cemented carbonate deposits. Open-ended small-diameter piles with a range of diameter-to-wall thickness ratios were driven to depths up to 4.5 m using a Movax DH-35 hydraulic impact hammer and subsequently tested (in tension) to failure. Penetration rates (in terms of blow count per 250 mm) were seen to vary significantly with driving energy, and ultimate shaft friction were shown (in the tests presented) to reduce with increasing driving. After recovery of the piles, cross sections were cut to reveal varying degrees of plug fracture, which increased with distance from the pile tip. These results offer valuable insights for addressing challenges in pile driving and pull-out capacity in cemented carbonate sediment, which advances the understanding of offshore pile design.
MD. Kamrul Ahsan; Phil Watson; M. Fraser Bransby; Muhammad Shazzad Hossain; Barry M. Lehane; Carl Erbrich; Marcelo Furtado Silva
5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG2025)
7 - Pile design and installation in challenging soil conditions: glauconite, carbonated soils, cemented soils, gravels and rocks
https://doi.org/10.53243/ISFOG2025-395
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