Osterberg load cell testing results and analysis for rock socket design validation - bridge over Beauharnois Canal, Autoroute 30, Montréal

Andrew Cushing, Ivan Hee, Andy Dodds, Robert Talby, Gabriel Menendez-Pidal

In the proceedings of: GEO2011: 64th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, 14th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 5th Pan-American Conference on Teaching and Learning of Geotechnical Engineering

Session: In Situ Testing

ABSTRACT: A major component of the Autoroute 30 project near Montréal is a 2km long bridge over the Beauharnois Canal. Foundation support includes groups of 1.85m diameter drilled shafts socketed into very strong and abrasive sandstone. An initial load testing program was implemented to validate the design and promote a cost-effective foundation solution. This consisted of two sacrificial, heavily-instrumented 1.18m diameter shafts tested using Osterberg load cells. Telltales were also installed in the test piles and in the adjacent rock mass to monitor possible movement. The results and subsequent analysis of these tests, which are presented in this paper, culminated in a revision to the initial design and provided a greater understanding of the cone uplift mechanism in rock. Insights gained are discussed and economies of the load testing program presented.

RÉSUMÉ: Un élément majeur de l'autoroute 30 près de Montréal est un pont de 2 km de long sur le canal de Beauharnois. Les supports de fondation comprennent des groupes de pieux forés de 1,85 m de diamètre ancrés dans du grès très solide une solution de fondation économique. Ce programme consistait de deux pieux forés sacrificiels fortement instrumentés massif rocheux adjacent pour surveiller les mouvements possibles. Les résultats et l'analyse ultérieure de ces essais, qui sont présentés dans le présent document, ont abouti à une révision de la conception initiale et ont permis une meilleure compréhension du mécanisme de soulèvement du cône dans la roche. Les enseignements acquis et les

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Cite this article:
Andrew Cushing; Ivan Hee; Andy Dodds; Robert Talby; Gabriel Menendez-Pidal (2011) Osterberg load cell testing results and analysis for rock socket design validation - bridge over Beauharnois Canal, Autoroute 30, Montréal in GEO2011. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{GEO11Paper345,author = Andrew Cushing; Ivan Hee; Andy Dodds; Robert Talby; Gabriel Menendez-Pidal ,title = Osterberg load cell testing results and analysis for rock socket design validation - bridge over Beauharnois Canal, Autoroute 30, Montréal ,year = 2011}