Underpinning

In construction, underpinning is the process of strengthening and stabilizing the foundation of an existing building or other structure. Underpinning may be necessary for a variety of reasons:

The original foundation is simply not strong or stable enough. The usage of the structure has changed. The properties of the soil supporting the foundation may have changed (possibly through subsidence) or ere mischaracterized during design. The construction of nearby structures necessitates the excavation of soil supporting existing foundations. It is more economical, due to land price or other ise, to or! on the present structure"s foundation than to build a ne one.

Underpinning is accomplished by extending the foundation in depth or in breadth so it either rests on a more supportive soil stratum or distributes its load across a greater area. Use of micropiles #$% and &et grouting are common methods in underpinning. 'n alternative to underpinning is the ea!ening of the soil by the introduction of a grout. 'll of these processes are generally expensive and elaborate. Underpinning may be necessary here ( class (problem) soils in certain areas of the site are encountered. Through semantic change the ord underpinning has become to encompass all abstract concepts that serve as a foundation.

Contents

$ Traditional )ass *oncrete Underpinning + ,eam and ,ase Underpinning - )ini.piled Underpinning / )ini.piled Underpinning 0chemes 1 2allery
o o

1.$ 3eferences 1.+ 4xternal lin!s

Traditional Mass Concrete Underpinning

Traditional mass concrete underpinning is still the most idely used system in the U5. It is adaptable and offers the benefit of allo ing physical inspection of the prevailing soil conditions during construction. The depth of each base can be varied during construction to suit the soil conditions encountered. The system is particularly useful for underpinning to relatively shallo depths (usually belo -.6 metres) or hen the existing foundation loads are particularly heavy ma!ing mini.piling methods unsuitable.

Beam and Base Underpinning

The beam and base method of underpinning is a more technically advanced adaptation of traditional mass concrete underpinning. ' reinforced concrete beam is constructed belo , above or in replacement of the existing footing. The beam then transfers the load of the building to mass concrete bases, hich are constructed at designed strategic locations. ,ase sizes and depths are dependent upon the prevailing ground conditions. ,eam design is dependent upon the configuration of the building and the applied loads. 'nti.7eave precautions are often incorporated in schemes here potential expansion of clay soils may occur.#$%

Mini-piled Underpinning
)ini.piled underpinning is generally used hen the loads from the foundations need to be transferred to stable soils at considerable depths . usually in excess of 1.6 metres. )ini.piles may either be augured or driven steel cased, and are normally bet een $16mm and -66mm in diameter. 0tructural 4ngineers ill use rigs hich are specifically designed to operate in environments ith restricted headroom and limited space, and can gain access through a regular domestic door ay. They are capable of constructing piles to depths of up to $1 metres.

Mini-piled Underpinning Schemes

)ini.piled underpinning schemes include pile and beam, cantilever pile.caps and piled raft systems. *antilevered pile.caps are usually used to try and avoid disturbing the inside of a building and re8uire the construction of tension and compression piles to each cap. These are normally lin!ed by a beam. The pile and beam system usually involves constructing pairs of piles on either side of the all and lin!ing them ith a pile cap to support the all. 'gain, the pile caps are usually lin!ed by reinforced concrete beams to support the entire length of the all. (iled raft underpinning systems are commonly used hen an entire building needs to be underpinned. The internal floors are completely removed, a grid of piles is installed and a reinforced concrete raft is then constructed over the complete floor level, pic!ing up and fully supporting all external and internal alls. $) 0!etch of a cast in situ 3* cantilever needle beam on micro piers or piles. 'ccess to inside not needed. +) 0!etch of a standard needle beam on micro piers or piles. Inside access needed.

-) 0!etch of concrete pier underpinning ith the possibility of raising foundations. /) 0!etch sho ing the traditional method of needling a all to reduce the eight on the foundations during underpinning or!.

Underpinning: If underpinning is necessary to arrest settlement, it is essential that the underpinned foundation should meet the re8uirements of correct allo able bearing pressures. 9epending on the cause of settlement, shallo underpinning

may be satisfactory in some cases,

hereas in some cases the underpinning has to underpinning. Underpinning

be ta!en do n to a deeper : relatively incompressible stratum. Underpinning material are metals in case of comparatively shallo by piles or piers is suitable, only if the ne bearing stratum is deep. l Underpinning piles are normally provided in pairs, one on each side of the load bearing alls or in groups around the sides of columns. l Micro-piles are a useful means of underpinning. They can be installed from the ground surface ithout deep excavation and the e8uipment in installing the piles is suitable for or!ing in confined spaces. The rotary drilling results in less damage ith pre.cast segments are another means of : loss of ground, as compared to the percussion method. l Proprietary jacked piles underpinning. In the proprietary ;pretest< methods of underpinning the underlying ground is preloaded before the load of the structure is finally transferred by means of &ac!ing bet een the tilted existing structure : the ne centralised pumping plant etc. l Underpinning by injection of the ground ith cement or chemicals to fill voids or to permeate and strengthen the ground is sometimes used. =arious forms of grout can be introduced into granular soils or cavernous roc! formations to increase their strength to reduce their compressibility grouts, ho ever, cannot be induced to permeate clays or clayey silts, though by means of high in&ection pressure and using closely spaced points the !hydrofracture" techni#ue can be used to uplift the mass of clay or self : thereby provide a means of raising a structure. 7o ever, it may be orth hile in many cases to ta!e the foundation do n to a deeper : more incompressible stratum say by piles rather than try to compensate : stop the settlement by grouting. underpinning. There are ith various patented systems of &ac!ing, involving interconnection of &ac!s

't the end, it is orth hile bearing in mind that a foundation is not an entirely nor an end in itself. The ability to discern differences in type of framing etc. , is also an essential attribute of an expert investigator. In certain, cases, the results of fresh site investigates ould indicate that the settlement may continue but at a deceasing rate. In that case, a possible solution could be to !eep on monitoring and up?. It is hen the rate of settlement has decreased sufficiently, the building could simply be >patched orth noting that damage investigations include both the design : hich involve >loo!ing bac! ards in operation (or lifetime usage) assessment,

time? as are time dependent. 's stated earlier the concept of time scale is important. In any case, for a good : effective damage investigation, proper causation statement are essential. They need to cover information about the damages, technical details, facts about hat : hen precise explanation of the causes of damages etc. causation is about opinion : fact meshed together so that they explain and it must be based on evidence. This hat happened. There must be clarity ill then load to the appropriate repair :

rehabilitation strategy, al ays bearing in mind that foundation is not an isolated entity but a part of the structure as a hole.