Editorial Note - Vol. 10, No. 3, 2016-Article

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Issue 3 of the <em>Journal of the Deep Foundations Institute</em> features four studies submitted in 2016, including the winner of the 2016 DFI Student Paper competition.

Two companion papers examine spun-cast ductile iron helical tapered piles through instrumented field tests and ABAQUS analyses. The studies assess axial and lateral loading, cyclic effects, loading sequences, ultimate capacity, and how pile taper influences performance.

Cleary and Steward compare field measurements of ground vibrations collected during pile driving near the Mobile River, Alabama, with results from three analysis methods: Horizontal Distance, Scaled Distance, and Seismic Distance. They discuss the strengths and practical challenges of each approach.

Siegel and Lucarelli investigate negative skin friction on axially loaded piles using field observations and FLAC3D modeling. Their results suggest that even small surrounding-soil settlements can mobilize side resistance, and that negative skin friction may develop over time due to installation, consolidation, or other causes of settlement.

The award-winning study by Bougataya and Stuedlein evaluates regional resistance factors for static and wave-equation analyses of driven piles in Washington’s Puget Lowland. Based on 95 piles, the authors find that region-specific calibrations differ from national database values and can improve design reliability, cost-effectiveness, and performance-based analysis.

The editors encourage readers to submit case studies, research, and design projects for future issues.

Keywords

deep foundations

pile driving

helical tapered piles

ground vibrations

negative skin friction

FLAC3D

ABAQUS

static analysis

wave-equation analysis

resistance factors