Vibrations from driven concrete piles in layered soft soils close to a railway embankment

Abstract

Driven concrete piles are a well-known method for foundations for various structures on soft soils. In Aalborg, Denmark, the area around an old liquor factory is to be redeveloped. Due to soft soils in the upper 15 to 30 m, all buildings are to be built on foundations based on driven, concrete piles. On the western site boundary is a railway embankment, which is also placed on soft soils. Vibrations from driven piles are a well-known problem and can lead to damage to nearby structures. The procedure for installing piles under the new buildings called for a desk study to be performed concerning the surface vibrations, caused by the pile driving. Moreover, a field test programme was set up, measuring surface vibrations due to pile driving on the site. A total of 24 piles were monitored during driving, logging peak point velocity used to quantify the vibration magnitude at various distances. All data was processed, and a model was set up to predict magnitude of vibrations from pile driving as a function of distance from the pile. This paper presents the derived model and comparisons with other published models.