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Predicting Pile Driving Induced Movements in Gothenburg Soft Clay

Conference Paper · August 2018

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 Predicting Pile Driving Induced Movements in Gothenburg Soft Clay
Attari, Yeganeh 1, Doherty, Paul 1, Quigley, Paul 1, Lusack, Nicholas 2
1
Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions Ltd., Dublin, Ireland
2
MEC AB Gothenburg, Sweden
email: yeganeh@gdgeo.com, pdoherty@gdgeo.com, pquigley@gdgeo.com, nicholas.lusack@multiec.se

ABSTRACT: Extensive depths of extremely soft clay underlying Gothenburg city poses a significant challenge for constructing
deep foundations in the area. Driven pile installations in soft soil deposits displaces the soil, causing construction sites to expand
laterally outwards, stressing the existing foundations of adjacent structures. Hence, predicting movements induced by the proposed
pile driving activities becomes an important prerequisite to ensure the economic pile layout does negatively that minimises
negative impact on adjacent structures. This paper discusses the procedures applied for predicting soil movements induced by
driving 300 precast reinforced concrete piles for a constrained triangular site. The analysis was undertaken by using Volumetric
Expansion (VE) features in Plaxis 3D simulating volumetric strains within the soil body. The numerical problem was initially
validated by modelling a single pile expansion and calibrations were fitted against empirical data using the Shallow Strain Path
Method (SSPM). Following validation, the numerical analysis was expanded to take into account multiple pile installations using
a superpile approach. This methodology allowed groups of smaller piles supporting the structure to be represented as single
‘superpiles’ which were expanded to the equivalent volume of soil displaced by the sum of the real piles. The models also
considered the effect of pre-boring intended to be performed during construction as a mitigation-measure. Furthermore, existing
foundations of adjacent bridge structures and railways were modelled as piled rafts surrounding the new piling location. During
construction phase, heave and lateral displacement were measured on site and were compared with final numerical responses. The
predicted movements of the soft clay were seen to accurately represent the lateral displacements observed during construction. As
a result, The Gamlestad project was successfully completed with no negative impacts on surrounding structures.

KEY WORDS: Pile Driving, Finite Element Modelling, Movement Prediction, Soft Clay, Gothenburg Clay

1 INTRODUCTION
Clay deposits generally exhibit an incompressible behaviour in
the short term (Nenonen & Ruul, 2011). Hence, insertion of
external volumes into the soil would generally result in
excessive movements in the surrounding area. This
phenomenon can induce movements in the adjacent buildings
as well as causing uplift in pile foundations in the surrounding
area (Sagaseta & Whittle, 2001). The current paper discusses
an extensive study that was performed to analyse the effects of
pile driving in extremely soft clay for a development in
Gamlestad, Gothenburg (see architectural view on Figure 1), to
ensure safety of surrounding structures and existing
foundations.
the property. All tram lines around the property were designed
as elevated bridge structures or piled deck structures and the
dual train line consists of a station on a piled bridge structure
(see Figure 2). Hence, there were substantial risks concerning
ground interactions between the different piled structures for
tram, train and the new development. Furthermore, the
footprint of the new building was to be maximised, while
simultaneously trying to minimise any interaction with the
adjacent infrastructure, requiring an innovative engineering
approach.

The proposed development comprised of three buildings

ranging between 5 to 18 stories in addition to two basement
levels, planned to be built on a triangular shaped site. (see
Figure 5). The development was planned to act as a transport
hub interlinking trains, trams and buses connecting the eastern
parts of Gothenburg.
The piled site was bounded by the Gamlestad bridge
(supported on piles) to the west and the River Säveån to the
south. One of the planning requirements was to undertake a
detailed ground movement analysis to confirm the impact of
the construction on the adjacent infrastructure that bordered the
highly constrained site. Neighbouring works by Trafikkontoret Figure 1 Architectural rendering of the proposed
included new double tram tracks on two of the three sides of development, (Credit: Sigma Civil Ltd.)
 Figure 2 Aerial map of the proposed site (Google maps)
The primary geotechnical challenge for this site was of soft clay extending to more than 40m depth overlying
predicting lateral soil displacement as a response to driving of bedrock, necessitating extensive piling works.
300 precast, reinforced concrete piles with square dimensions
Material properties of the soil were estimated based on the
ranging from 235 mm to 350 mm. The piles needed to be driven
recommendations by Edstam & Kullingsjö (2010), for
to 40m below ground to support the new structure. The main
Gothenburg soft clay. The undrained shear strength of the soil
construction measure applied to prevent heave and lateral
(cu) was deemed to be 15kN/m2 with a gradient of 1kN/m2/m
movements in neighbouring areas was pre-augering to a depth
and a constant average stiffness of approximately 9.6MPa was
of 12m before installing a precast pile into the void and driving
assumed (seeTable 1). Furthermore, an undrained behaviour
the pile to the design depth. The aim of the analysis was to
was defined for the surrounding soil to allow for the occurrence
predict the soil movements due to pile driving.
of lateral and vertical displacements generated as a result of
volumetric expansion during pile installation.
2 GROUND CONDITIONS
Regional overview
The site is situated in the southern part of the Göta älv River
valley. Areas of bare bedrock and deep valleys in between the
exposures dominate the Gothenburg region (Claesson, 2003).
During the period after the last ice age, the Baltic Ice Lake was
drained off, resulting in large quantities of fine grained
sediments being deposited in relatively still saline water
conditions. These relatively homogeneous soil layers exist
across the study area. The clays are soft, slightly structured
soils, prone to disturbance and highly compressible. A review
of the characteristics of Gothenburg clay by Olsson (2013)
suggests that the clay is slightly overconsolidated. The clay
overlies thin glacial sands and gravels of variable thickness
which in turn overlie the bedrock. Geological maps provided
by the Geological Survey of Sweden suggest that the bedrock Figure 3 Geological map of Goteborg, depth to bedrock
is a granite or rhyolite. (https://www.sgu.se)
Ground conditions at the site Table 1. Soil Parameters employed in finite element models
The site-specific geotechnical information was reviewed to Description Value
produce a ground model that incorporated the stratigraphy and Soil Unit Weight (kN/m3) 17
mechanical soil characteristics. The ground conditions consist Poisson’s Ratio, ν 0.2
Young’s Modulus, E (MPa) 9.6

Figure 4 Ground investigation information, (extracted from
Geotechnical Investigation report of Gamlestadstorg:
Markteknisk undersökningsrapport, Geoteknik, by Vectura)
Figure 5 Aerial photo of the triangular shaped piling site
bounded by railway bridge, river and tram lines,
(www.hitta.se)
3 METHODOLOGY
The numerical analysis to predict the effect of pile installation
into the soft soil on the adjacent buildings was undertaken using
PLAXIS 3D Finite Element (FE) package. The pile driving was
simulated using the Volumetric Expansion Method (VEM), by
simulating volumetric strains within the soil body. This feature
allows changes in an element’s volume that induces additional
stresses in the surrounding soil which introduces deflections
around the model until a global equilibrium of stresses is
reached.
Constitutive soil model
A Linear Elastic constitutive soil model was used to model the
sub-soil. This soil model was chosen since the deflections
considered were relatively large and outside the “small strain”
zone. The main aim of the study was to capture the Large
Strains occurring in close distances from the piles as a result of
driving. Furthermore, this soil model had provided satisfactory
results in previous research of Gothenburg Clay soil
movements for instance, Edstam & Kullingsjö (2010) and
Nenonen & Ruul (2011). Although the Linear Elastic (LE)
constitutive model is recognised as a relatively simple soil
model in comparison with non-linear models, the successful
use of it in previous research on Gothenburg Clay and the
subsequent calibration detailed below made it a favourable
choice for the purpose of this project.
Calibration practice
Considering the complexity of the problem and the highly non-
linear nature of the calculations, it was deemed necessary to
validate the approach using a simplified geometry. In other
words, Careful calibration was essential in validating the Linear
Elastic model so that the results could be considered accurate.
Hence, the numerical problem was initially validated using a
single pile expansion and comparing the numerical results to a
predictive method, the Shallow Strain Path Method (SSPM).
This method which is an extension to SPM initially developed
by Baligh, (1985) suggests that during pile installation,
movements in the surrounding soil are relative to the pile tip
movement similar to the flow of an incompressible fluid around
the pile tip, regardless of the undrained shear strength or
friction angle of the soil material. In their research on SSPM,
Xu et al. (2006) carried out an experimental programme to
investigate the displacements associated with close ended and
pipe piles. The experimental site is located in a northern suburb
of Shanghai on the deltaic deposit of the Yangtze River, with
normally consolidated or very lightly overconsolidated clay
deposits. The horizontal and vertical settlements were
monitored in order to verify the empirical method suggested.
Based on this method, vertical and radial movements of the
surficial soil due to closed ended pipe installation can be
predicted using the following formula, where L is the pile
embedment length with a diameter of R and r is the radial
distance from pile centre axis (Xu et al., 2006):
𝑅2 1 1
𝛿𝑧 (𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑) = − ( − )
2 𝑟 √𝑟 + 𝐿2
2
𝑅2 𝐿
𝛿𝑟 (𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑) = − ( )
2 𝑟 √𝑟 2 + 𝐿2
Xu et al., (2006) managed to accurately predict ground
movements caused by pile installation in clay deposits using
SSPM. The normalised results of their research was used as a
bench mark for the calibration of the initial numerical model in
this project. For this reason, the output of the single-pile
installation analysis in Plaxis was compared with the results
generated from the empirical method recommended for this
problem by Xu (2006) and good agreement was found between
the results (see Figure 6).
 Figure 6 Predicted heave generated due to a single pile driving in soil using Plaxis 3D by GDG (Green dots and Red line)
compared to Xu et al. (2006) results (piles A and B)
Following this validation exercise, the volumetric expansion
method of analysis was employed with more certainty in the
full numerical analysis stage.
Full numerical analysis
Following validation, the numerical model was expanded to
take into account multiple pile installations according to the
pile layout drawings for the site. One of the challenges
regarding the piling plan was that piles were not spread evenly
throughout the site in a grid layout. Due to the extensive
number of piles, the effect of pile-driving was simulated using
a superpile approach. This methodology allowed groups of
smaller piles supporting the structure to be represented as single
‘superpiles’ which were expanded to the equivalent volume of
soil displaced by the sum of the real piles. Reducing the number
of piles reduced the computational tie required to complete the
analyses and also the likelihood of the model failing to
converge due to the number of elements in the analysis.
The model could take into account the effect of the pre-bore
before the installation of the piles by limiting the deformation
to below the level of the pre-boring. For this reason, no volume
expansion was assigned to the top 12m of the piles.
Furthermore, the pre-existing foundations of the adjacent
bridge structures were also modelled as piled rafts surrounding
the new piling location, based on the as-built drawings (see
Figure 7).
4 RESULTS
Based on the results of the FE analysis, the foundation of the
buildings located to the south and south-west of the piling site
were not excessively affected by the pile driving. However, the
results suggest that the piles to the immediate west of the
foundation may be damaged due to piling works since the
distance between the two sites was less than 1m. It was also
observed that the new pile installations could detrimentally
affect the adjacent piled structures by generating excessive
moments and shear forces in the exiting piles. For these areas,
the use of bored piles instead of driven piles was recommended.
Further numerical predictions indicated that buildings on the
west side of the piling site could be in a critical situation if pile
driving was conducted closer than 7.5m to them; this
established what the minimum safe piling distance was. Final
results of the FE analysis concluded the maximum
displacement in the soil adjacent to the piling works was to be
approximately 50mm (as indicated by the displacement
contours in Figure 8).
 Figure 7 Finite element model in Plaxis 3D
Figure 8 Lateral displacements generated in the surrounding
soil due to pile driving activities based on the Plaxis model
5 CONSTRUCTION PHASE
The models were reviewed by Trafikkontoret and it was
concluded that a maximum lateral displacement of
approximately 50mm was to be expected for the most critical
adjacent structure due to the new pile installation works. Given
the innovative nature of the design, GDG recommended a
practical observational approach to validate the results by using
on-site monitoring to record the ground movements. This
approach also validated the accuracy of the 3D simulations.
During the piling operations, inclinometers were installed on
site in order to monitor the soil displacements in the area.
All of the structures were also monitored by surveying
structural movements. It can be concluded that the FE analysis
gave very accurate result and actual maximum soil movements
were recorded to be below 50mm. The accuracy of predictions
compared to on-site displacements were less than one
millimetre and an accuracy rate of above 95% was achieved.
The maximum movement has since decreased as the effective
stress have equalised following completion of the piling works.
Ultimately, the project was completed on time and in budget,
largely due to the complex numerical modelling that allowed a
detailed piling sequence to be developed.
6 CONCLUSION
The extensive depths of soft clay (>40m) underlying
Gothenburg pose a significant challenge for constructing deep
foundations. Lateral displacement of soil due to pile driving is
a particular concern for adjacent structures. Extensive piling
operations for a development in Gothenburg required analysis
the effect of pile-driving on adjacent structures and their
foundations. This task was fulfilled by employing detailed 3D
numerical modelling using cavity expansion approach, while
calibrating the initial FE model against empirical methods to
predict soil movement due to driving a single pile. The results
of the project conclude pile driving effects in soft clay deposits
can be accurately simulated using the suggested numerical
method. As a result of the accurate method of prediction, the
Gamlestad project was successfully completed with no
negative impact on the surrounding structures and the predicted
movements of the soft clay were seen to accurately represent
the lateral displacements observed during construction (see
Figure 9).
 Figure 9 Site view during the construction phase

REFERENCES
Baligh, M. M. (1985). Strain path method. Journal of Geotechnical
Engineering, 111(9), 1108–1136.
Claesson, P. (2003). Long term settlements in soft clays. Chalmers University
of Technology.
Edstam, T., & Kullingsjö, A. (2010). Ground displacements due to pile driving
in Gothenburg clay. In Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on
Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE),
Trondheim, Norway. Taylor and Francis, London, UK (pp. 625–630).
Nenonen, P., & Ruul, J. (2011). Environmental impact of pile driving -An FE-
analysis of the displacement of the Skäran bridge. Retrieved from
http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/143845.pdf
Olsson, M. (2013). On rate-dependency of Gothenburg clay. Chalmers
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Sagaseta, C., & Whittle, A. J. (2001). PREDICTION OF GROUND
MOVEMENTS DUE TO PILE DRIVING IN CLAY. Journal of
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Xu, X. T., Liu, H. L., & Lehane, B. M. (2006). Pipe pile installation effects in
soft clay. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-
Geotechnical Engineering, 159(4), 285–296.

Plaxis 3D AE Tutorial Manual (2015). Plaxis bv, Delft, the Netherlands.

Plaxis 3D AE Reference Manual (2015). Plaxis bv, Delft, the Netherlands.

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