General Information

Figure 1 shows a two-lane road beam bridge.

Beam bridge.
Beam bridge over a river
Main span ≅ 20 m
Girder Prestressed concrete beam

Partially Embedded Piles

The foundation of each two-column pier consists of a pile cap and piles, as shown in figure 2.

Foundation.
Foundation of a beam bridge with partially embedded piles

The piles are partially embedded in the ground.

  • What are some possible reasons for using partially embedded piles?
    What are the main structural and constructive problems?

    • Figure 3 shows a foundation.

    Foundation.
    Pile cap and partially embedded piles of a beam bridge

    There are a total of 14 piles, and two of them are damaged. Figure 4 shows an enlarged view of the piles.

    Piles.
    Damaged partially embedded piles
  • What are some possible causes of the damaged piles?
    Does the bridge have a structural safety or serviceability problem with the above shown damaged piles?

    • © Copyright 2022 - 2024, all right reserved, used with permission.