**Construction Specification 713---Piling**

**1. Scope**

The work consists of furnishing and installing the specified kinds and
types of piles at the locations shown on the drawings.

**2. Material**

Piles shall conform to the requirements of Section 834, Pilings --
Timber, Concrete, and Steel, of the latest edition of the [Alabama
Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Highway
Construction.](http://www.dot.state.al.us/internetdocs/pdfs/bureaus/construction/spec_2002/2002_aldot_spec_book.pdf)

**3. Site preparation**

All excavation within the area to be occupied by bearing piles shall be
completed before the piles are driven.

**4. Protection of pile heads**

The heads of all piles shall be protected during driving by suitable
caps, rings, heads, blocks, mandrels, and other devices.

The heads of timber piles shall be fitted into a steel head block or
fitted with heavy steel or wrought iron rings or wire wrapping.

The heads of steel piles shall be cut square and fitted with a steel
driving cap.

The heads of precast concrete piles and casings shall be fitted into
cushion type drive caps having a rope or other suitable cushion next to
the pile head and fitting into a casting that in turn supports a timber
shock block.

Driving heads, mandrels, and other devices shall be provided by the
contractor as needed for special types of piles and shall conform to the
recommendations of the pile manufacturer.

**5. Piles, general**

The contractor shall notify the engineer before pile driving operation
commences. Such notice shall be far enough in advance, a minimum of 24
hours, to provide the engineer adequate time to be present for the
driving operations. Piles shall be driven only in the presence of the
engineer or authorized representative.

The determination of piling order lengths shall be the contractor\'s
responsibility unless otherwise specified.

Unless otherwise approved, piles shall be driven with steam, air, diesel
powered hammers or a combination of hammers, or by vibration or water
jets. Water jets may be used only when specifically authorized by the
engineer. Where jetting is authorized, the jets shall be withdrawn
before the specified depth or bearing capacity is obtained and the piles
shall be driven with the hammer to the final penetration.

When drop hammers are permitted, the height of drop shall not be more
than 8 feet for concrete piles or 12 feet for steel and timber piles,
unless otherwise specified.

The driving of piling with followers shall be allowed only when
expressly approved by the engineer. Piles shall not be driven within 20
feet of concrete less than 7 days after placement, including concrete
placed in cast-in-place piles with or without predriven shells or
casings.

The contractor shall not attempt to drive piles beyond the point of
refusal, as indicated by excessive bouncing of the hammer or kicking of
the pile.

**6. Bearing piles**

Bearing piles shall be driven to the position, line, and batter
specified on the drawings. Each pile shall be driven continuously and
without interruption to the specified depth or until the specified
bearing capacity is obtained. Deviation from this procedure is permitted
only when interruption of driving is caused by conditions that could not
reasonably be anticipated.

When a diesel hammer is used, it shall be operated at full throttle when
blows are counted for determination of bearing capacity except that
throttle adjustments shall be made as necessary to prevent the
nonstriking parts of the hammer from rising from the pile on the ram
upstroke.

**7. Sheet piles**

The piling shall be driven in a manner that ensures perfect interlocking
throughout the entire length of each pile. The piles shall be held in
proper alignment during driving by assembling frames or other suitable
temporary guide structures. Temporary guide structures shall be removed
when they have served their purpose.

Anytime the forward edge of the sheet pile wall is found to be out of
correct alignment,

a\. The piling already assembled and partly driven shall be driven to
the required depth.

b\. Taper piles shall then be driven to bring the forward edge into
correct alignment before additional regular piling is assembled and
driven. The maximum permissible taper in a single pile shall be 0.25
inch per foot of length.

**8. Estimating bearing capacity**

When load tests are not required, the bearing capacity of each pile
shall be estimated using one of the following formulas, as appropriate:

Gravity hammers:

![](media/image1.wmf){width="0.5972222222222222in"
height="0.3611111111111111in"}

Single-acting steam or air hammers and diesel hammers having
unrestricted rebound of the ram:

![](media/image2.wmf){width="0.6944444444444444in"
height="0.3611111111111111in"}

Double-acting steam or air hammers and diesel hammers having enclosed
rams:

![](media/image3.wmf){width="1.0277777777777777in"
height="0.4027777777777778in"} or
![](media/image4.wmf){width="0.6944444444444444in"
height="0.3611111111111111in"}

where:

R = safe bearing capacity, in pounds

W = weight of striking parts of hammer, in pounds

H = height of fall, in feet

A = area of piston, in square inches

P = pressure of steam, air, or other gas exerted on the hammer piston or
ram, in pounds per square inch

E = the manufacturer\'s rating for foot-pounds of energy developed by
double-acting steam or air hammers, or 90 percent of the average
equivalent energy developed by diesel hammers having enclosed rams as
evaluated by gauge and chart readings, in foot-pounds

S = average penetration for the last 5 to 10 blows of a gravity hammer
or the last 10 to 20 blows for steam, air, or diesel powered hammers, in
inches per blow

These formulas are applicable when:

• The hammer has a free fall.

• The head of the pile is not crushed.

• The penetration is reasonably quick and uniform.

• There is no sensible bounce after the blow.

• A follower is not used.

Twice the height of the bounce shall be deducted from **H** to determine
its value in the formula.

If case water jets are used in conjunction with the driving, these
formulas are used to determine the bearing power from the results of
driving after the jets have been removed.

**9. Load tests**

When load tests are specified, the test loads shall be applied
gradually, without impact, and in a manner that no lateral forces are
applied to the pile. Load testing shall not be started until 24 hours
after driving of the test pile is completed unless otherwise specified
in section 14 of this specification. Except as otherwise specified, load
tests shall be performed according to the following procedures.

The total test load shall be twice the specified working load and shall
be applied to the pile in increments equal to 25 percent of the working
load. Settlement of the top of the pile shall be measured to an accuracy
of 0.01 inch before and after the application of each load increment and
at 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after, and then every 2 hours until
the next load increment is applied. Additional load shall not be applied
until the rate of settlement is less than 0.01 inch in 1 hour.

The total test load shall remain on the pile for a minimum of 24 hours.
Settlement shall be measured at 6-hour intervals during this period and
at the end of the period, at least twice during removal of the load, and
immediately after all of the test load is removed. The net settlement
shall be measured about 24 hours after the total load has been removed.

If settlement continues in excess of 0.01 inch per hour under less than
the total test load, no additional load shall be applied. However, the
load that has been applied shall remain on the pile a minimum of 24
hours, and settlement measurements while the load is on the pile and
during and after removal of the load shall be made as if it were the
total test load.

**10. Cutting off piles**

The contractor shall cut the piles at the specified elevations. The
length of pile cut off shall be sufficient to permit the removal of all
damaged material. Steel shells or concrete casings for cast-in-place
concrete piles shall be cut off at the specified elevation before being
filled with concrete.

Steel bearing piles shall be cut off in clean, straight lines as shown
on the drawings. Any irregularities shall be leveled off with deposits
of weld metal or by grinding before placement of bearing caps.

Precast concrete piles and concrete casings shall be cut off in a manner
that prevents damage to the rest of the pile or casing or to the
projecting reinforcement required for connecting the piles to the
structure.

Timber piles that are to be capped shall be accurately cut off so that
true bearing is obtained on every pile without the use of shims.

**11. Defective piles**

Any pile damaged in driving, driven out of proper location, driven below
the specified cutoff elevation, or inaccurately cut off shall be
corrected by one of the following methods, as approved by the engineer:

a\. The defective pile shall be pulled and replaced or re-driven.

b\. A new pile shall be driven adjacent to the defective pile.

c\. The defective pile shall be spliced or built up or a sufficient part
of the footing shall be extended to properly embed the pile.

Pile shells abandoned in place after driving shall be filled with
concrete or sand-cement grout as appropriate to the conditions that are
present.

All piles pushed up by the driving of adjacent piles or by any other
cause shall be re-driven to final grade.

Any sheet pile ruptured in the interlock or otherwise damaged during
driving shall be pulled and replaced.

**12. Correcting surface heave**

Any excess material resulting from displacement of earth by pile driving
shall be removed. Materials disturbed by pile driving shall be
conditioned and compacted to a minimum density equal to adjacent
undisturbed material.

**13. Measurement and payment**

***Method 1---***For items of work for which specific unit prices are
established in the contract, each type, kind, and length of pile driven
in place is counted. Payment for furnishing and driving each type, kind,
and length of pile is made at the contract unit price. Such payment will
constitute full compensation for all labor, equipment, materials, and
all other items necessary and incidental to the completion of the work.

***Method 2---***For items of work for which specific unit prices are
established in the contract, each type, kind, and length of pile
furnished, accepted, and stockpiled in good condition at the site of the
work is counted. Payment for furnishing each type, kind, and length of
pile is made at the contract unit price. Payment for driving each type
and kind of pile is made at the contract unit price. Such payment will
constitute full compensation for all labor, equipment, materials, and
all other items necessary and incidental to the completion of the work.

***Method 3---***For items of work for which specific unit prices are
established in the contract, the length of each type and kind of pile
driven is computed to the nearest foot as the difference between the
measured length of pile before driving and measured length of pile cut
off after driving. Payment for furnishing and driving each type and kind
of pile is made at the contract unit price. Such payment will constitute
full payment for all labor, equipment, materials, and other items
necessary and incidental to the completion of the work.

***Method 4---***For items of work for which specific unit prices are
established in the contract, the area of sheet pile walls, acceptably
placed in accordance and within the neat lines shown on the drawings, is
computed to the nearest square foot. Payment is made at the contract
unit price for each type, kind, and weight of piling. Such payment will
constitute full payment for all labor, equipment, materials, and other
items necessary and incidental to the completion of the work.

***All Methods---***The following provisions apply to all methods of
measurement and payment:

The measurement of the number of linear feet of piles (or number of
piles) furnished and the number of piles driven shall include test and
tension piles specified in the contract. Piles furnished and driven at
the option of the contractor are not included. No payment is made for
furnishing or driving pile, including test piles, to replace piles lost
or damaged before the completion of the contract while in stockpile or
during handling and driving.

When load tests are specified, payment for each test is made at the
contract unit price per test. Such payment will constitute full
compensation for all labor, equipment, materials, and all other items
necessary and incidental to perform the test, except furnishing and
driving piling.

When splices are specified, payment for each splice is made at the
contract unit price. Such payment shall constitute full compensation for
labor, equipment, materials, and all other items necessary and
incidental to the completion of the work.

Compensation for any item of work described in the contract, but not
listed in the bid schedule is included in the payment for the item of
work to which it is made subsidiary. Such items and the items to which
they are made subsidiary are identified in section 14 of this
specification.

**14. Items of work and construction details**

Items of work to be performed in conformance with this specification and
the construction details therefore are:

[Bid Item 10, Sheet Piling]{.underline}

(1) This item shall consist of furnishing and installing the sheet
    piling as shown on the drawings. This item shall include field
    cutting the side slopes of the sheet piling to the specified 2:1
    grade as shown on the drawings.

(2) The sheet pilings and appurtenant metalwork shall meet the
    requirements of ASTM A328. The sheet piling will be installed
    starting from the centerline of the weir section and progressing
    away from the centerline.

(3) Sheet piling shall have the following requirements:

    a.  Minimum section modulus of 18.1 cu.in. per foot of wall.

    b.  Minimum wall thickness of 3/8 inch.

    c.  An installation length of about 26 ft.

    d.  Embedded length about 15 ft. beneath the geotextile in the
        outlet channel.

(4) The battered pile and waler connectors will require that the claw
    portion of the sheet pile connection be cut off the minimum
    necessary for the angle iron to fit flush with the waler brace.
    Other types of connections will require the approval of the
    engineer.

(5) Measurement and payment shall be by Method 4.