The paper describes the design and construction of pile-toe, post-grouted drilled piles for bridge foundation, in sandy alluvial soils of rivers Piraí, Yapacaní, and Ichilo, in Bolivia. The grouting system is based on a grouting cell located at the pile toe, which allows distribution of the grout in a known zone underneath the pile toe. The cell’s behavior is similar to a hydraulic cell that stresses the ground downward and the pile itself upward. An advantage of this system is that it measures the force that is exerted on the toe (grouting pressure times cell area). The toe force is supported by the reaction developed along the pile shaft. Thus the lower bound value of the shaft resistance is obtained. Additionally, if the upward and downward movements of the toe cell are monitored, the process is similar to that of a bi-directional loading test.
Subjects: toe-grouting, grouting cell, drilled pile on sands
Author: Tomás Murillo Pérez, Geotechnical engineer
Publisher: DFI, EFFC