MOVEMENT TOWARDS ITS BACKFILL OF PILE SUPPORTED BRIDGE ABUTMENT

AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO CLARIFY THE FACTORS WHICH CAUSED SOME ABUTMENTS, SUPPORTED BY PILES DRIVEN THROUGH PLASTIC CLAY, TO TILT TOWARDS THEIR BACKFILL REQUIRING, IN SOME CASES, EXTENSIVE MAINTENANCE AND EVEN EXTENSIVE REPAIRS. SHEARING DEFORMATIONS IN THE PLASTIC CLAY, ONCE ITS YIELD POINT IS EXCEEDED ANYWHERE WITHIN THE LAYER, ARE SHOWN TO BE THE FACTOR WHICH APPARENTLY GOVERNS OBJECTIONABLE DISPLACEMENTS OF CONVENTIONALLY DESIGNED PILE SUPPORTED ABUTMENTS. THIS FINDING PERMITS THE TENTATIVE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN APPROXIMATE LOWER DANGER LIMIT IN RESPECT TO THE BACKWARD TILTING OF SUCH CONVENTIONALLY DESIGNED ABUTMENTS AND SUGGESTS VARIOUS REMEDIAL MEASURES, INCLUDING CHANGES OF THE DESIGN PROCEDURES. THESE CHANGES SHOULD INCLUDE CONSIDERATION OF UNDERLYING CLAY LAYER DEFORMATIONS, AS WELL AS THREE-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSES OF PILE LAYOUTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF SKEWED WING WALLS. THE CONVENTIONAL TWO- DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS, APPLIED SEPARATELY TO THE MAIN ABUTMENT WALL AND TO ITS WING WALLS, AS IF THEY COULD DEFORM INDEPENDENTLY, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE INADEQUATE. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 51 Pp, 35 FIG
• Corporate Authors:

  New Jersey Department of Transportation

  1035 Parkway Avenue
  Trenton, NJ  United States  08625
• Authors:
  • King
  • Gavaris
• Publication Date: 1970-9

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Backfilling; Bridge abutments; Clay; Deformation; Plastic soils; Shear strength; Soils; Support piles; Yield point
• Uncontrolled Terms: Soil deformation
• Old TRIS Terms: Pile support
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Geotechnology; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00209386
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: May 3 1971 12:00AM