Chapters authored
Integrity Assessment for Drill Shafts Foundation in Public and Private Works with Available Technologies in the Twenty-First Century
The evaluation of the concrete integrity in large-capacity piles (drilled shafts) associated with engineering works, designed to receive service loads from public or private structures, represents an especially important responsibility that is shared among designers, construction engineers, and inspectors. Additionally, this responsibility also lies in the hands of the promoters who may not choose to conduct the investigation for the integrity of the concrete cast in situ with the non-destructive tests available at the presentation date of this chapter. Integrity control tests allow one to know in more detail about the continuity of the concrete pouring in each analyzed element and promptly alert the engineers and managers involved in the site about the existence of anomalies due to flaws or construction defects. This information is available with different types of graphics, data, and tomography images that guide us on the continuity of the emptied concrete in the whole body of the piles. The methodologies on display make it easier to search anomalies in 2 dimensions (2D) and 3 dimensions (3D) for possible flaws and defects that may occur in the cap, shaft and the tip of the drilled shaft. These are techniques that allow the structural and geotechnical engineers to visualize what was previously invisible to the eyes and uncertain to everyone’s knowledge.
Part of the book: Challenges in Foundation Engineering