OasisLMS

Abstract: If you live in the Midwest, chances are you’ ve tasted a frozen pizza from Palermo’ s. Even if you haven’ t had the pleasure of feasting on a “ Screamin’ Sicilian” you can appreciate that making pizzas, or anything, at scale takes a significant facility. When Palermo’ s purchased a plot of land on the outskirts of metropolitan Milwaukee, they knew that the screamin’ deal they got came at a price. The new Palermo’ s site was previously an industrial malt development consisting of several structures across the site. The structures were razed, the rubble left in place and the lot stayed vacant for decades. The concrete and miscellaneous rubble extended to 25 feet below ground surface. Below the rubble fill was lean clay that is typical for the great lakes basin.

These subsurface conditions provide unique challenges for providing building support. If left untreated, the void space in the rubble will lead to significant differential settlements over the long term. The nature of the rubble fill precludes the use of deep foundations supporting structural loads as a driven or drilled pile solution would inevitably meet refusal. To accommodate the obstructions in the rubble and provide the most cost effective ground improvement, Malcolm Drilling applied Deep Dynamic Compaction (DDC) by dropping thirty (30) ton tamper over 50 ft height. The high energy impacts densify the rubble, increasing the bearing capacity of the site while mitigating the potential for differential settlements over the 350, 000 square foot building footprint. By recording the DDC generated crater depths and analysis their distributions as a quality control procedure, the Engineer can identify the soft spots and apply additional treatment.

Using a heavy weight to make the ground suitable for construction is the oldest known form of foundation construction in the world. In the modern world Deep Dynamic Compaction (DDC) is often used on landfill sites and remote areas since the high energy wave propagation can be unpleasant for those nearby and may even damage more fragile proximal structures. Malcolm was able to perform high energy drops in a dense urban setting through careful planning and various innovative techniques protecting houses as close as 100 feet from the construction site.

Since no new materials are used in DDC, it is likely the most sustainable foundation technique available, with minimum carbon footprint. The concrete rubble layer that was seen as a scourge to the site, is ultimately a great building material. Instead of spending more resources and energy trying to remove or penetrate the layer, Malcolm used it to provide a cost effective and resilient end product.

Keywords: DDC, Densification, Workpad Stability, Sustainability

Mr. NOAH MINER; Dr. LISHENG SHAO

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