The rapid urban development that Chile has experienced since the early 2000s, has motivated real estate
developers to conceive higher buildings and deeper excavation pits, in order to use the available spaces
more efficiently.
Chile is among the countries with the highest seismicity in the world, therefore both the structural and the
geotechnical design are confronted with complex and challenging conditions, and have to fulfill the safety
requirements stablished by the national construction regulations, seeking the best technical and economical
solutions.
The implementation of worldwide well known technologies and construction methods, such as micropiling,
has enabled designers to come up with optimal solutions in order to satisfy the requirements of the urban
development.
The following article presents the case study of the project “Piedra Real”, located in Concepcion, the 2nd
largest city of Chile. The border conditions of the project, as well as it´s specific geological and geotechnical
parameters will be briefly described.
This paper will focus mainly on the geotechnical design of the permanent uplift reinforcement of the
building, materialized by self-drilling grouted Ischebeck TITAN micropiles. The design considerations
regarding the structural capacity and durability of the reinforcement system will be presented.
Furthermore, the direct interaction of the uplift reinforcement system with other relevant items of the project,
such as the temporary shoring of the excavation pit and the temporary ground water lowering, will be
discussed.
Finally, an overview of other potential application fields for the case study solution, such as road and railway
infrastructure, will be presented.
Subjects: Micropiling, geotechnical design, seismicity, uplift reinforcement, excavation shoring, urban development,
infrastructure
Author: Freddy Lopez, Juan Manuel Fernandez
Publisher: ISM, DFI, ADSC