The ongoing urban development is a global phenomenon which has high demands on urban infrastructure (housing, public services, transportation, telecommunications, etc.). This a very dynamic process, that requires not only the design and construction of new infrastructure, but also to increase the capacity and to extend the serviceability of the existing facilities. Intra-urban interventions are frequently carried out in densely populated and built-up areas, and they have to be implemented in short time frames, causing the less possible disturbance to the daily activities of the population.
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 challenging requirements of the urban development.
The following paper presents an overview of different intervention projects, where self-drilling micropiles were designed and implemented to provide a geotechnical solution for infrastructure in four relevant areas in the urban development: public services (health care and schools), transportation, telecommunications and conservation of patrimonial heritage.
The special requirements of the projects will be briefly described, and the adopted solutions, with their correspondent design considerations and execution process will be presented.
Finally, a review of the advantages, gained experience and future challenges for micropiling will be presented.
Subjects: Micropiling, urban development, design and construction, retrofitting, new and existing infrastructure
Author: Freddy Lopez, MSc.-Ing. and Giorgio Severi, Dott. Ing.
Publisher: DFI, EFFC