International Press-in Association

Volume 8, Issue 3

www.press-in.org

I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE
1. Messages (P1)
New Directors
2. Special Contribution (P3)
3. Director’s Research &Activities (P9)Messages

From the New Director
Jianfeng Xue
Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering and Technology
The University of New South Wales, Australia
Press-in technology is becoming more and moreversatile with the development of driving machinery. It
can be operated in various environment and groundconditions that are normally not accessible for hammerin techniques or not safe for bored piles.

4. Reports (P15)・Case History in USA
・IPA board meeting
・IPA seminar in Taiwan
5. Young Members (P24)
6. Announcements (P28)
7. Event Diary (P29)
8. Corporate Members (P30)
9. Editorial Remarks (P32)

EDITORIAL BOARD
Nor Azizi Bin Yusoff
Michael Doubrovsky
Ramin Motamed
Chun Fai Leung
Pastsakorn Kitiyodom
Anh Tuan Vu
Mark Albert H. Zarco
Shinji Taenaka
Adnan Anwar Malik
Chen Wang
Tsunenobu Nozaki
Daisuke Hirose
Hongjuan He
Maki Kato

September 2023

Since the press-in technology uses static loading to push
piles or sheet panels into the ground, it follows the samepress-in mechanisms of Cone Penetration Test (CPT).
Being the most commonly used in-situ site investigation
technique, CPT results provide the variation of the ground conditions, soil properties
and water pressure profile. The tip resistance of the cones has been used widely toderive the bearing capacity of driven and bored piles. Due to the similar driven
mechanisms used in CPT and press-in piles, it is more sensible and reliable to use CPT
profiles to derive the bearing capacity of press-in piles and to use the press-in record
to calibrate the variation of CPT readings, especially the variation of tip resistance inthinly layered soils.
With the development of machine learning and big data analysis algorithm, it ispromising to establish are more reliable correlation between CPT profiles and thebearing capacity of press-in structures. Using advanced numerical modeling and dataprocessing techniques can enhance the reliability of predicting the behaviors ofpress-in piles/sheet piles. In addition, the database developed from the CPT andpress-in record of piles can enhance the reliability of probabilistic based design
method for such structures.
Therefore, it is critical for the industry and academic community to work together toestablish a database of press-in records and CPT profiles so that it can be used bymore users to enhance the development of the technology. I look forward tocollaborating with the member organizations within IPA to advance the technology.

◆ A brief CV of Dr. Jianfeng Xue

Jianfeng Xue is a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. He
is a Chartered Professional Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers
Australia. His research interests are in the areas of reinforced pavement engineeringand probabilistic-based analysis of geotechnical structure.

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September 2023

Messages

From the New Director
Hidetoshi Nishioka
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Chuo University
I am the newest Director of the IPA. I am honored to address our members in this newsletter.
My specialty field is foundation structures and underground structures in geotechnicalengineering. In particular, I focus on seismic design problems, which are particularly importantin Japan, and scouring problems of river bridge foundations during heavy rainfall. I am alsointerested in reliability design methods.
My research approach is mainly based on model experiments in a gravity field. In the past, I
have conducted many experiments using dry sand. However, in recent years, I have conductedmany experiments using aluminum rod laminates to model the sand in two dimensions. Thismethod is a very simple experimental method. It has the advantage that the behavior of sandas a discrete granular material can be expressed easily and clearly, and even inexperienced
young students can easily conduct highly reproducible experiments, which is excellent from an
educational point of view. Another advantage is that image analysis technology, which has developed rapidly and becomeless expensive in recent years, can be easily applied to evaluate the interaction between the ground and structuralmembers.
In addition, we are trying to clarify phenomena from model experiments and establish design and construction methods
that can be applied to actual projects. For example, I am researching a method for seismic reinforcement of foundations
using sheet piles for foundation structures. For more details, please refer to "Pile Foundation" in the "IPA Booklet Series"
available to members on the IPA website. Recently, we are also conducting experiments on the seismic behavior of box
culverts and bearing capacity problems of scoured foundations.
I would like to contribute to making IPA more attractive to its members.

◆ A brief CV of Prof. Hidetoshi Nishioka

Hidetoshi Nishioka is a professor at the Foundation and Underground Structure
Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Faculty of Scienceand Engineering, Chuo University. He graduated from Tohoku University, Japan, in 1999
and received his Master of Engineering degree in 2001. Since 2001, he worked as a
researcher at the Railway Technical Research Institute, and in 2018 he became the headof the Foundation & Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory. Then, in 2019, he moved to
Chuo University as a professor. He received the degree of Doctor of Engineering from theTokyo Institute of Technology in 2009. He has received both the Best Research Paper
Award and the Innovative Technique Award from the Japanese Geotechnical Society and
the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, respectively.
His hobby is skiing, and he passed the Crown Prize, the highest technical test of the SAJ (Ski Association of Japan),when he was a student at Tohoku University. Lately, however, he seems to be overspeeding due to his weight gain.

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Volume 8, Issue 3

September 2023

Special Contribution

Numerical Simulation of Penetration into Ground
Yosuke Higo
Professor, Graduate School of Management (double appointment)
Graduate School of Engineering, Dept. Urban Management
Kyoto University

1. Introduction
When structures such as sheet piles and piles are driven into the ground, the ground around the structures is significantly
disturbed by large shear forces due to friction between the ground and the structures. In the case of pile driving, large
deformation also occurs at the pile tip. It is very important to accurately analyze such large deformation of the groundand to evaluate the impact of structure penetration on the surrounding ground. This article reviews the Material Point
Method (MPM), which is one of the mesh-free deformation simulation methods for soils. MPM has been rapidly
developed as a method for simulating large deformation of solids and is spreading internationally. Applicability of MPM
to numerical simulation of penetration into ground is shown through numerical examples of sheet pile penetration andfooting penetration simulations.

2. Material Point Method
Numerical simulation techniques within a continuum mechanics framework are classified into three primary groups
based on their definition of the element control domain. The initial category is the mesh-based approach, represented
by the Finite Element Method (FEM). In FEM, the element domain is determined by nodes and their connectivity,
distinctly outlining the control domain through node coordinates. Though adept for boundary value problems, FEM canface mesh-tangling during severe deformation due to the connectivity of elements. The second category involves particlebased method, where material properties gather around representative points. Interpolation functions define the circular(2D) or spherical (3D) control domain shape. Well-known within particle-based methods are the Moving Particle Semiimplicit (MPS) method (e.g., Koshizuka and Oka, 1996) and Smooth Particle Hydro-dynamics (SPH) method (e.g.,
Monaghan and Lattanzio, 1985), which describe the material domain through particle assemblies. Unlike FEM, particlebased methods lack clear material boundaries, necessitating special treatment of boundaries. Conversely, particle-based
methods can avoid mesh-tangling since individual particle domains, formed by interpolation, remain disconnected. The
third type is the grid-particle hybrid method, typified by the Particle-in-Cell (PIC) method (Harlow, 1956), Fluid-ImplicitParticle (FLIP) method (Brackbill and Ruppel, 1986) for fluid mechanics, and Material Point Method (MPM) (Sulsky et al.,1994) for solid mechanics. These methods also depict the material domain through particle assemblies. While similar toother particle-based methods in simulating objects through arranged particles, grid-particle hybrids offer clear boundary
condition definition by applying conditions to grids. The boundary setup in hybrid methods resembles FEM, facilitatingeasier configuration compared to particle-based approaches. In these methods, material properties center on material
points, while governing equations are solved at grid nodes. Interpolation functions aid in exchanging physical quantities
between material and grid nodes.
Sulsky et al. (1994) initially introduced MPM as a derivative of the PIC method for solid mechanics, termed the "original
MPM" in this context to differentiate from other MPM derivatives. Ongoing MPM evolution mainly centers on integrating
control domain deformation. A novel method applied to geomaterial deformation, termed Arbitrary Particle Domain
Interpolation (APDI) permits flexible material point control domain definitions (Kiriyama and Higo 2020). Fig. 1 illustrates
the relationships among various 2D and 3D MPM implementations, defining their control domains. The original MPM
represents a material point as a simple point (Fig. 1(a)), but this leads to numerical oscillations when material points crossgrid boundaries. To mitigate this, Bardenhagen and Kober (2004) proposed the Generalized Interpolation Material Point(GIMP) method. GIMP manifests in uniform/unchanged (uGIMP) and contiguous particle (cpGIMP) forms. In cpGIMP (Fig.
1(c)), the control domain updates with deformation, while Sadeghirad et al. (2011, 2013) further advanced GIMP into theConvected Particle Domain Interpolation (CPDI) method, accommodating shear and rotational control domain
deformations. CPDI divides into CPDI1 (Fig. 1(d)), with parallelogram deformations, and CPDI2 (Fig. 1(e)), withquadrilateral deformations. Extending to three dimensions involves expanding from two dimensions for the original MPM,
GIMP, and CPD1 methods. CPDI2's three-dimensional formulation necessitates a distinct approach, using direct
integration for volume integration. The APDI method circumvents this complexity through numerical integration, offering
a comprehensive formulation for both 2D and 3D, along with adaptable control domain deformations. CPDI2 uses
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September 2023

quadrilateral control domain deformation, whereas APDI accommodates diverse control domain deformations.
The governing equations of MPM are fundamental laws of mechanics: the conservation of mass and the linear
momentum. The mass conservation always holds because the material point possesses mass throughout the calculations.
Hence the conservation of the linear momentum, i.e., the equation of motion, is only one equation to be solved. Notethat governing equations for liquid phases and interaction with the solid phase, e.g., Darcy’s law, are needed whensimulating hydro-mechanical coupled behavior of soils as porous media. The algorithm of MPM is schematically shownin Fig. 2. The continuum body is divided into multiple subdomains and represented by material points with mass of the
subdomain. The history-dependent variables such as stress and strain are stored and delivered by material points. Hence,
history-dependent constitutive equations can be introduced. The governing equations are solved on the background
Eulerian computational grid and thus MPM does not face to mesh tangling problem even when the severely large
deformation. Similar to FEM, the boundary conditions are imposed on the computational grids. Although the grids
containing the particles can roughly define the boundaries of a continuum body, exact representation of the boundaries
need coupling with element-based method.

2D
Point

SquareRectangular

Parallelogram

Quadrilateral(CPDI2)

TriangleHexahedron

Tetrahedron

3D
Point

Cube

Rectangular

Parallelopiped(a) Original MPM(b) uGIMP(c) cpGIMP(d) CPDI1(e) APDI

Fig. 1. Variations of particle domain for Material Point Method

Fig. 2. Numerical algorithm of Material Point Method

3. Steel Sheet Pile Penetration
Numerical simulation of steel sheet pile penetration was conducted using a displacement-control method for simulating
quasi-static press-in penetration and a stress control method for simulating dynamic hammer-blow penetration. The
particle configuration and the boundary conditions are shown in Fig. 3. The thickness of the steel sheet pile is describedby four particles allocated in two grids, which is much thicker than the real sheet piles, to avoid numerical instability whenusing smaller number of particles. The larger number of particles in one computational grid generally makes the accuracyof MPM simulation higher. The steel sheet pile is assumed to be a linear elastic body whose Lame constants 𝜆 and 𝜇
are 4.2×107 kN/m2 are 2.80×107 kN/m2, respectively. Although the second moment of area is larger than that of the real
sheet pile, the set of elastic constants is determined to satisfy the bending stiffness of a real steel sheet pile. Consequently,
the axial stiffness is underestimated. The model ground is an elasto-plastic body described by Mohr-Coulomb type yieldfunction and Drucker-Pager type potential function. The internal friction angle and the cohesion are 30 degree and 8.5
kN/m2, respectively. Particles of the ground in the vicinity of the sheet pile are modeled as interface particles whose
internal friction angle and cohesion are assumed to be 20 degree and zero, respectively.
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The loading conditions are shown in Fig. 3. In the displacement-controlled method, a constant displacement of 0.02
m/s was applied to the steel particles above the ground surface to penetrate the sheet pile. In the stress-control method,
the top four steel particles were subjected to linearly varying surface forces in the form of triangular waves at intervalsof 0.04 s to a maximum of 100 kN per unit depth, for a total of 400 kN, and the same surface forces were applied again
after 0.56 s, repeated 19 times. The results of the analysis for a single blow were conducted beforehand, and the blow
interval was determined as the time required for the ground vibration caused by the blows to settle down. The numberof blows was set to be sufficient for the steel head to penetrate below the ground surface.
(m)

0.02 m/s

Static penetration(displacement control)

(sec)

(kN)
19 blows

Dynamic penetration(force control)

………
(sec)

Fig. 3. 2D sheet pile penetration model (unit: m) and the loading conditions.

(a) Static press-in penetration(b) Dynamic hammer-blow penetration
Fig. 4. Numerical simulation of sheet pile penetration into ground. Maximum shear strain distribution for the static anddynamic penetration cases.

(a) x-direction(b) y-direction
Fig.5. Distribution of acceleration for the dynamic penetration case just after the first blow (0.12 second).

5Volume 8, Issue 3

September 2023

Fig. 4 show the maximum shear strain distribution at the end of penetration for the static and dynamic penetration. The
results show that both the displacement-controlled and stress-controlled methods can simulate the behavior of steel
penetration into the ground with large shear strain around the sheet pile. In the case of static penetration, the sheet piledrags the surrounding soil into the ground as the sheet pile penetrates, resulting in a large settlement. On the other hand,in the case of dynamic penetration, the steel penetration is observed without significant drag of the ground as observedin the case of the static press-in penetration.
The acceleration distributions in the x and y directions for the first blow in the dynamic penetration analysis are shownin Fig. 5. In dynamic penetration, the acceleration is distributed alternately positive and negative, and the acceleration
propagates in the direction away from the sheet pile. In other words, the impact by the blow generates sparse and dense
waves in the ground. While the ground is sparse near the steel, the confining pressure on the steel is reduced, which also
reduces the frictional resistance between the ground and the sheet pile, which suppresses the dragging of thesurrounding ground. On the other hand, in static penetration, the steel is constantly confined by the surrounding ground
during penetration. Thus the frictional resistance is not reduced and the shear surface due to the frictional force reaches
the ground surface as shown in Fig. 5. This causes significant drag of the surrounding ground over a wide area.
To evaluate even the stress level of sheet pile, much more particles must be placed in the thickness direction of the sheet
pile, which is computationally too expensive. Although such an analysis is possible with a large-scale analysis using parallel
computation, it will be difficult to implement in practice in the near future. However, it is possible to evaluate the behaviorof the surrounding ground at least in practice by correctly evaluating the interaction between the ground and thestructure.

4. Footing Penetration
Computational cost of three-dimensional numerical simulation by an explicit numerical integration scheme is too
expensive to be done. A practical implementation scheme, the particle-element coupled method has been proposed. In
this scheme, with the GIMP interpolation function, highly deformable regions are represented by material points. With
the APDI interpolation function, material points are used, as if they were FEM elements, in the rest of the highly
deformable regions. This combination of the GIMP and APDI methods makes it possible to divide the material domain
into spatial discretization with different sizes. The particle-element is able to simulate extreme deformation by GIMP
particles as well as to evaluate boundary values by APDI elements for the area of focus, which is sometimes difficult inpurely particle-based methods due to the lack of an element boundary. The boundary between the particle and theelement domains does not require any special treatments, but simply use interpolation function which satisfies partitionof unity for each domain.
The three-dimensional model of the shallow foundation bearing capacity problem is shown in Fig. 6. The space aroundthe footing and down to the bottom of the base ground is modeled with GIMP particles in a cubic manner. Each
computational grid is a cube, 0.2 m on each side, and 8 particles are allocated per cell for the GIMP particles. Considering
the symmetry of the scenario, a quarter of the domain is modeled. The normal direction of the lateral boundary is fixed(vertical roller condition), and the bottom surface is fixed. The other conditions for the three-dimensional analysis arelisted in Table 1. Vertical load is incrementally applied to the base ground from 100 kPa to 600 kPa.
The snapshots of maximum shear strain distribution are shown in Fig. 7. At 100 kPa, the maximum shear strain is
distributed like a stress bulb in the Boussinesq solution based on the elastic theory. At 200 kPa, the maximum shear strain
is concentrated at the outer edge of the footing, forming a punching wedge beneath the footing. This strain concentration
at the outer edge of the footing is identical to the theoretical solution for cohesive material. In the regime beyond 300
kPa, the base ground reaches the slip failure mode and the resisting slip line spreads in space. Settlement then increases
continually to 400 kPa and surface deformation becomes visible in Fig. 7(d). However, there is no visual discontinuity inthe base ground at this stage. The loading block continues to penetrate into the base ground up to 500 kPa and 600 kPa,
where discontinuity between the loading block and the base ground becomes visible (Fig. 7(e) and (f)).
These results demonstrate that the particle-element coupled method is applicable to three-dimensional problems,
reducing the implemental complexity and computational cost by dividing the domain into two parts (a large deformation
domain and a small deformation domain). The computational cost is reduced by implementing the GIMP particles in thelarge deformed domain and the APDI particles in the small deformation domain. Use of a full particle model for the threedimensional problem would result in an extremely high computational cost as compared with the two-dimensional model,
but the particle-element coupled method makes it possible to perform the three-dimensional simulation at a reasonable
computational cost.
6Volume 8, Issue 3

APDI
Loading Block

4
8
4

8
4

uGIMP

Items
ValuesParticles per cell
8Dimensions(H x W x D)
6 m x 12 m x 12 m
Width of cell
0.2 mTime increment
0.00025
Damping factor
0.8
Convergence criteria
0.0001
Number of uGIMP interpolation Material Points
Nearby Ground64,000
Number of APDI interpolation Material Points
Loading Block
8,000
Surrounding Ground
24,580Fig. 6. 3D element-particle coupled footing penetration model(unit: m)

0

0.010

September 2023

Table 1. Simulation conditions

0

0.047

Elastic bulb

Wedge formation(a) 100 (kN/m2)
0(b) Pressure=200 (kN/m2)

0.158

0

0.838

Vertical concentration(c) Pressure=300 (kN/m2)
0(d) Pressure=400 (kN/m2)

3.11

0

5.47

Penetration(e) Pressure=500 (kN/m2)(f) Pressure=600 (kN/m2)

Fig. 7. 3D numerical simulation of footing penetration into ground. Maximum shear strain distribution at increasing
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5. Summary and Future Perspectives

September 2023

loading pressures.

The numerical simulations of penetration into ground successfully performed by MPM are demonstrated. To evaluate
even the stress level of steel, multiple particles must be placed in the thickness direction of the steel, which requires avery large number of particles and is computationally too expensive. Although such an analysis is possible with a largescale analysis using parallel computation, it will be difficult to implement in practice in the near future. However, it ispossible to evaluate the behavior of the surrounding ground at least in practice by correctly evaluating the interaction
between the ground and the structure.
In general, design and analysis are performed assuming ideal conditions after sheet pile and pile driving. In addition to
MPM, several other methods have been developed that can be applied to large deformation simulations. Among them,
MPM is similar to FEM in that the governing equations are solved on a background grid, and users of FEM, which iscurrently the most popular numerical analysis method, can use MPM relatively easily.

Acknowledgements
The author expresses sincere gratitude to the following three colleagues who performed the numerical simulations
shown in this article: Dr. Takatoshi Kiriyama (Institute of Technology, Shimizu Corporation), Mr. Yudai Takegawa (Railway
Technical Research Institute), and Gengo Kamamori (mater course student, Kyoto University).

References
Bardenhagen, S.G., Kober, E.M., The generalized interpolation material point method. Comput. Model. Eng. Sci. 5 (6),447–495, 2004.
Brackbill, J.U. and Ruppel, H.M., FLIP: A method for adaptively zoned, particle-in-cell calculations in two dimensions,
Journal of Computational Physics, 65, 2, 314-343, 1986.
Harlow, F.H., A machine calculation method for hydro-dynamic problems, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory report LAMS,
1956.
Kamamori, G., Higo, Y., Takegawa, Y., Miyoshi, T., Analysis of subsoil behavior during static and dynamic steel penetrationby Material Point Method, Proc. The 57th JGS annual conference, 21-6-1-05, 2022. (in Japanese)
Kiriyama, T. and Higo, Y., Arbitrary particle domain interpolation method and application to problems of geomaterial
deformation, Soils and Foundations, 60 (6), 1422-1439, 2020.
Koshizuka, S. and Oka, Y., Moving particle semi-implicit method for fragmentation of incompressible fluid, Nuclear Scienceand Engineering, 123, 421–434, 1996.
Monaghan, J.J. and Lattanzio, J.C., A refined particle method for astrophysical problems, Astronomy and Astrophysics,
149, 1, 135-143, 1985.
Sadeghirad, A., Brannon, R.M., Burghardt, J., A convected particle domain interpolation technique to extend applicabilityof the material point method for problems involving massive deformations, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 86 (12), 1435–
1456, 2011.
Sadeghirad, A., Brannon, R.M., Guilkey, J.E., Second-order convected particle domain interpolation (CPDI2) withenrichment for weak discontinuities at material interfaces, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 95 (12), 928–952, 2013.
Sulsky, D., Chen, Z., Schreyer, H.L., A particle method for history-dependent materials, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech.
Eng., 118, 179–196, 1994.

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Directors’ research and development activities

R & D activities on the structures constructed by the press-in
methodYukihiro Ishihara, Nanase Ogawa, Masashi Eguchi, Kazunori Toda
Scientific Research Section, GIKEN LTD.
Some of the IPA events in Kochi this July were held in the newly opened facility of GIKEN “RED HILL 1967” (GIKEN, 2023).
This facility is mainly composed of an exhibition area showing the real-scale “Implant™” structures constructed by thepress-in method and two innovative buildings of steel sheet piles, and provides a variety of information on a “seeing isbelieving” basis. This article will briefly introduce some examples of the researches on these structures, conducted by
the research team in GIKEN or by other researchers. Please note that it does not provide a comprehensive review ofrelated research on each structure.

1. Implant Bell Cap Bridge – a bridge on a hatted tubular pile constructed with special press-in pilingsystemThe “Implant Bell Cap Bridge” is a bridge utilizing the “hatted tubularpile” (Fig. 1) as its pier pile and securing the bridge function by settling
the deck panels on the hatted tubular piles via the T-shaped beams,
constructed by a special press-in construction system (Fig. 2). The hatted
tubular pile consists of an open-ended tubular pile (a “pile part”) and abell-shaped cap (a “hat part”), with the hat part being connected to thepile part near the ground surface. This bridge can be constructed in asmall space within a short period, since (1) the construction system canbe positioned and move on the bridge and (2) the embedment depth ofthe pier pile can be smaller than the conventional tubular pile due to theeffect of the hat part. The construction procedure of the bridge is to (1)install the hatted tubular pile, (2) settle the T-shaped beam on the pierpile, (3) settle the deck panels on the T-shaped bars and (4) move theconstruction machine forward on the deck panels. The removal of thebridge can be conducted by following the reverse procedure.
The vertical and horizontal resistance of the hatted tubular pile were
investigated by the 1-g model tests and full-scale field tests (Ishihara etal., 2016).
In the full-scale field tests, the static vertical and horizontal load tests
were conducted on the tubular pile (with the outer diameter Do being
0.8 m) and the hatted tubular pile (with Do being 0.8 m and the outer
diameter of the hat part being 2.2 m). The hat part was rigidly connectedto the pile part. The embedment depths of the tubular pile and thehatted tubular pile were 4.4 m and 4.7 m respectively.
The vertical load displacement curves obtained in the field tests areshown in Fig. 3. The vertical capacity of the hatted tubular pile wasaround 1.7 times greater than that of the tubular pile, if the capacity wasdefined as the resistance at the base displacement of 1/10 of Do. One of
the mechanisms to increase the vertical capacity of the hatted tubular
pile was expected to be the increase in the soil stress beneath the hatted
part and the subsequent increase in the shaft resistance of the pile part.
This mechanism was investigated in the field test by comparing the axial
stresses of the pile part or the tubular pile at several levels, but was notclearly observed. The initial vertical stiffness (when the basedisplacement was smaller than 1/100 of Do) was comparable in thehatted tubular pile and the tubular pile. This was thought to be becausea certain displacement was necessary to achieve the fully plugged
condition of the hat part and the full mobilization of the strength of the9

Fig. 1. Hatted tubular pileFig. 2. Press-in construction system
for the Implant Bell Cap Bridge

Fig. 3. Results of full-scale vertical load
tests (after Ishihara et al. (2016))

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soil beneath the hat part.
The horizontal load displacement curves obtained in the field tests areshown in Fig. 4. The horizontal capacity, defined as the resistance when
the horizontal displacement of the pile at the ground surface level
reached 15 mm, of the hatted tubular pile was around 1.5 times greaterthan that of the tubular pile. The initial horizontal stiffness of the hatted
tubular pile was also greater than that of the tubular pile.

2. Confined Ground Seismic Damper – aseismic technology
using a pressed-in sheet pile wall with a closed shape

Fig. 4. Results of full-scale horizontal load
tests (after Ishihara et al. (2016))

The “Confined Ground Seismic Damper” consists of a pressed-in sheet
pile wall with a closed shape and the ground confined by the wall. As
exemplified in Fig. 5, it can be used beneath the structure (Fig. 5a) or asa structural component of the whole structure (Fig. 5b). It is expected toreduce the displacement of the structure due to the liquefaction of theground, by preventing or mitigating (1) the sliding failure of the soil, (2)the deformation of the soil inside the wall, (3) the lateral movement of
the liquefied soil, (4) the transmission of the excess pore water pressureand (5) the uneven settlement of the structure. It is also expected toprovide a seismic damping function, by taking advantage of its structural
flexibility in the liquefied ground.
As for the effectiveness for reducing the settlement and the inclination(a)of the structure due to liquefaction, Kato et al. (2014) carried out 1-g
model tests, centrifuge model tests and numerical analyses. The housemodels having the uneven load (Fig. 6) were used, with the sheet pilewall being connected to the spread foundation of the house. The ratio of
the embedment length of the sheet pile wall to the thickness of theliquefiable layer (embedment ratio, zemb / Hliq) was varied. The results are
summarized in Fig. 7. When the embedment ratio was 1, the settlement(b)and the inclination of the house were reduced by 90 % and 80 %Fig. 5. Application examples of Confined
respectively, as compared with the house having no sheet pile wall. In
Ground Seismic Damper (GIKEN (2023))
addition, the settlement and the inclination were confirmed to be
reduced even when the embedment ratio was smaller than 1.
Toda et al. (2022, 2023) and Haigh (2022) conducted a series of 1-g largescale model tests to investigate the vertical and horizontal resistance ofthe slab with a square sheet pile wall in a liquefiable ground. The tests
were conducted using a soil tank shown in Fig. 8, where the liquefactionof the ground (the reduction of the effective stress) is simulated by using
the seepage force generated by the water injection at the bottom of thesoil tank (Ogawa et al., 2018). The extent of liquefaction was judged by
the excess pore water ratio (ru). The static vertical and horizontal load
tests were conducted, with ru being controlled constant during the tests
either at 0, 0.3 or 0.6. Both the vertical and horizontal resistance were
Fig. 6. House model used in the model
found to be smaller in the tests with larger ru values. If plotted against ru
test (after Kato et al. (2014))
as shown in Fig. 9, both the verticaland the horizontal capacity were
found to vary roughly linearly withru. These trends were consistent
with those found for the single
closed-ended
tubularpile(Willcocks, 2021). These findings
would be suggesting that theresistance of these structures in aliquefied ground could be estimatedfrom their resistance in a nonliquefied ground.
Haigh (2022) conducted centrifuge
Fig. 7. Experimental results on the effect of square sheet pile wall on reducing
tests and numerical analyses tosettlement and inclination of house due to liquefaction (Kato et al. (2014))
10

Volume 8, Issue 3(a) Plan view(b) Side viewFig. 8. Large-scale test apparatus for liquefaction (Ogawa et al. (2018))
investigate the vertical andhorizontal resistance of thesame structure as was treatedin the above-mentioned largescale model tests, by applying a
0.36 g seismic loading to themodel. She showed that acolumn of non-liquefied soil iscreated in and beneath the
sheet pile wall a s shown in Fig.
10, and suggested that this will
be one of the mechanisms forthe structure to exhibit someresistance in a liquefied ground.

September 2023

Fig. 9. Horizontal capacity vs. ru(after Toda et al. (2023))(a) Slab only(b) Slab with sheet pile wallFig. 10. Results of numerical analysis (in kPa) (after Haigh (2023))

3. Preload Retaining Wall – a preloaded retaining wall consisting of steel sheet piles
The “Preload Retaining Wall” is a retaining steel sheet pile wall having an inclination angle and a bow shape. As shown in
Fig. 11, the construction procedure of this wall is to (1) install the sheet piles by the press-in method at a certain inclination
angle, (2) excavate one side of the wall, (3) apply a horizontal load (Preload) to the wall in its head, (4) fill the gap behind
the wall with a backfill material and (5) remove the Preload.
Gao (2014) and Ishihara et al. (2015) conducted 1-g model tests and field tests to compare the deformation of a normal
wall (a retaining sheet pile wall having no inclination), a slanting wall (a retaining sheet pile wall having an inclination
angle of 5 degrees) and the Preload Retaining Wall having the same inclination angle with the slanting wall, when aFig. 11. Construction procedure of Preload Retaining Wall (Ishihara et al. (2015))
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backside surcharge was applied behind each wall. The results areillustratively summarized in Fig. 12. The horizontal displacement
caused by the surcharge of 20 kPa was smaller in the Preload
Retaining Wall than in the slanting wall, by 99 % at the wall head
and 74 % for the entire wall. The deformation pattern of thePreload Retaining Wall was different from that of the slanting
wall. The maximum horizontal displacement was found near the
excavation bottom in the Preload Retaining Wall, while it was
found in the wall head in the slanting wall.
Ishihara et al. (2015) conducted numerical analyses to investigate
the mechanisms for the smaller deformation of the Preload
Retaining Wall confirmed in the field tests. They suggested basedon the analysis results that the possible mechanisms were (1) the
enhanced stiffness of the soil in the excavation bottom as a resultof the loading history due to the Preload and (2) the improved
shear strength of the backside soil as a result of the increased
horizontal stress due to the elastic reaction of the steel sheet pilewall to the Preload, as summarized in Fig. 13.
A simple method to determine the amount of Preload was
proposed by focusing on the first of the above-mentioned two
mechanisms (Ishihara et al., 2015). The appropriate amount of
Preload was assumed to correspond to the amount of thesurcharge to be experienced in service, in terms of the effect on
the soil in the excavation side. A conceptual two-dimensional
diagram was introduced as shown in Fig. 14, where the effect of
the Preload or the surcharge is expressed by the combination of
the horizontal load and the moment at and around the cross pointof the wall and the excavation bottom (in the vertical axis), while
the deformation of the soil in the excavation side is represented
by the summation of the horizontal displacement of the wall
below the excavation bottom (in the horizontal axis).

September 2023

(a) Slanting wall(b) Preload Retaining Wall
Fig. 12. Field test results (Ishihara et al. (2015))

Fig. 13. Mechanisms of smaller deformation ofPreload Retaining Wall (Ishihara et al. (2015))

4. Implant Barrier – a protective wall consisting of strut
members (steel tubular piles) and wall members(concrete, metal, fiber etc.)
The “Implant Barrier” is a protective wall to be used for thedisaster prevention and mitigation, by reducing thehydrodynamic load of tsunamis, wave surges and so on. As shownin Fig. 15, it mainly consists of the strut members (steel tubularpiles) and wall members (made of concrete, metal or fiber). The
strut members are aligned with a certain distance with eachother, by being installed into the ground by the press-in method.
The wall members are made either of concrete, metal or fiber,
and are fixed to the strut members. The structural stability of the
Implant Barrier is supposed to be assured by the strut members
and optionally by the sheet piles.
The wall members of the Implant Barrier (hereinafter called“Barrier”) can be porous sheets made of fiber. In this case, thereduction of the hydrodynamic load will be achieved by theenergy loss of the flow when it passes through the Barrier. Suzuki
et al. (2016) proposed a theoretical approach shown in Fig. 16 toconsider the energy loss of the flow by introducing the “lossfactor” (η), defined by η = f / λ2 where f is the friction factor andλ is the aperture ratio of the Barrier. They confirmed its validity
by conducting a series of two-dimensional hydraulic model tests
in the apparatus shown in Fig. 17, using a surge-type tsunami. As
shown in Fig. 18, the estimated and the measured tsunami loadon the Barrier (FB) and the flowrate of the tsunami after passing
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Fig. 14. Conceptual diagram for design of Implant
Preload Wall (Ishihara et al. (2015))

Fig. 15. Basic structure of Implant Barrier(after GIKEN (2023))

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Fig. 16. Theoretical approach for Implant Barrier(after Suzuki et al. (2016))

September 2023

Fig. 17. Experimental apparatus to simulate tsunami(after Ishihara et al. (2018))

Fig. 18. Experimental results in comparison with estimated results(after Suzuki et al. (2016))

Fig. 19. Shapes of wall members(after Toda et al. (2021))

the Barrier (Qt) were confirmed to agree with each other to some extent, if tsunami did not overflow the Barrier. A tradeoff relationship was confirmed between FB and Qt with regard to the loss factor η, where increasing the η value (i.e.
reducing the aperture ratio λ) led to greater FB and smaller Qt values. In addition, an experimental method to obtain η
was also introduced to cope with the difficulty in defining the λ value of the porous sheet made of fiber.
Toda et al. (2021) proposed a method to apply the theoretical approach of Suzuki et al. (2016) to the tsunami overflowing
the Barrier, by introducing the “equivalent aperture ratio” and the “equivalent loss factor”. Its validity was assessed bycomparing with the results of the hydraulic model tests conducted in the same apparatus. As a result, the water depth
behind the Barrier was well estimated, while the water depth in front of the Barrier and the tsunami load on the Barrier
were underestimated.
Toda et al. (2021) also investigated the effect of the shape of the wall members of the Barrier (flat or flexural, as shownin Fig. 19) on reducing the tsunami load behind the Barrier (FD), by using the porous sheet made of fiber for the wall
members. They confirmed that the flexural shape was slightly more effective. For example, the Barrier with λ = 24 % was
confirmed to reduce FD by 75 % if the wall members were flat and by 80% if they were flexural.

References
Gao, G. 2014. Comparing performance of different sheet pile walls. M.Eng. Thesis, University of Cambridge, 50p.
GIKEN. 2023. GIKEN RED HILL 1967, Akaoka Kochi, Japan. https://redhill1967.giken.com/en/
Haigh, A. 2022. Performance of Implant structures. M.Eng. Thesis, University of Cambridge, 52p.
Ishihara, Y., Ogawa, N., Okada, K. and Kitamura, A. 2015. Implant Preload Wall: a novel self-retaining wall with highperformance against backside surcharge. Press-in Engineering 2015, pp. 68-82.
Ishihara, Y., Ogawa, N., Okada, K., Inomata, K., Yamane, T. and Kitamura, A. 2016. Model test and full-scale field test on
vertical and horizontal resistance of hatted tubular pile. Proceedings of the Third International Conference Geotec
Hanoi 2016 - Geotechnics for Sustainable Infrastructure development, pp. 131-139.
Kato, I., Hamada, M., Higuchi, S., Kimura, H. and Kimura, Y. 2014. Effectiveness of the sheet pile wall against housesubsidence and tilting induced by liquefaction. Journal of Japan Association for Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 14, No.
4, pp. 35-49. (in Japanese)
Ogawa, N., Ishihara, Y., Ono, K. and Hamada, M. 2018. A large-scale model experiment on the effect of sheet pile wall on
reducing the damage of oil tank due to liquefaction. Proceedings of the First ICPE 2018, Kochi, pp. 193-202.
Suzuki, N., Ishihara, Y. and Isobe, M. 2016. Experimental study on influence of porosity and material of pile-type porous
tide barrier on its tsunami mitigation effect. Journal of Japan Society of Civil Engineers, Ser. B3 (Ocean Engineering),
Vol. 72, No. 2, pp. I-491-I-496. (in Japanese)
Toda, K., Mori, A., Ishihara, Y. and Suzuki, N. 2021. Experimental study on tsunami mitigation effect of pile-type porous
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September 2023

tide barrier. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Press-in Engineering 2021, Kochi, pp. 444-453.
Toda, K., Ishihara, Y., Eguchi, M. and Mori, A. 2022. Experimental study on a foundation reinforced by square sheet pilewall. Japan Society of Civil Engineers 2021 Annual Meeting, 2p. (in Japanese)
Toda, K., Ishihara, Y., Eguchi, M. and Mori, A. 2023. Horizontal resistance of a slab reinforced by square sheet pile wall ina liquefied ground. Japan Society of Civil Engineers 2023 Annual Meeting, 2p. (in Japanese)
Willcocks, F. 2021. The vertical and horizontal performance of pressed-in tubular piles in liquefied ground. M.Eng. Thesis,
University of Cambridge, 52p.

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September 2023

Case History

Permanent Basement Walls with Pressed-in Sheet Piles
in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
Takefumi Takuma
Senior Advisor
Giken America Corp.

Steel sheet piles are utilized as temporary as well as permanent earth retaining elements. As a matter of fact, a sheet pilewall can be designed and built to function in both ways to achieve faster construction with lower project cost. Some of
the new multi-unit residential and office buildings in the U.S. are built with sheet pile basement walls instead of moretypical concrete-based walls, such as diaphragm and secant pile walls. Sheet pile basement walls come with the following
advantages in many cases.






Simpler design and construction with a choice of a cantilevered, braced, or anchored wall.
More flexible choice for a basement construction sequence among top-down, bottom-up, or hybridof both.
Narrower wall footprint, i.e., larger inner space of a basement. See Fig. 1.
Can be designed to bear vertical loads, which likely reduce the size or the number of vertical loadcarrying columns.
Can achieve watertightness with sealing or welding of interlocks.

Fig. 1. Larger inner apace with sheet pile wall than with secant pile wall
(Base drawing: Nucor Skyline)
Fire resistance should be attained with intumescent paint coating or placement of insulating panels, curtain walls, orconcrete. Some sheet piles have been tested to meet applicable codes and standards.
A large-scale urban redevelopment project in Portland, Oregon in the U.S.A. took advantage of the sheet pile wallbasement structure with the footprint of 140m x 61m. The 2018 project built 380 apartment units, 1,900m2 of groundlevel retail space, and two levels of underground parking structures for 602 parking spaces on two city blocks. See Fig. 2
for an architect’s rendering of one of the buildings. Due to its proximity to nearby buildings, a tight installation tolerance,and hard soil conditions with gravel and cobbles below a certain depth, press-in piling with an auger attachment was
adopted as shown in Fig. 3. Excavation followed press-in piling as shown in Fig. 4 and tie-backs were installed for further
excavation. Fig. 5 shows a basement garage with sheet pile walls of a different project as an example.
ArcelorMittal provides reference materials on this type of underground structure at the following link.
https://sheetpiling.arcelormittal.com/applications/underground-car-parks/

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Acknowledgement
The author appreciates assistance provided by Dennis Guimond, a retired employee of Nucor Skyline, Blake Patsy of KPFF
Consulting Engineers, Chris DellAringa and Taylor Stevenson of Blue Iron Foundations and Shoring LLC, and Ian Vaz ofGiken America Corp.

Fig. 2. Architect’s rendering of Conway Block 294E Building in Portland, Oregon(https://cairnpacific.com/block-2945-e)Fig. 3. Press-in piling with auger attachment(Photo: Blue Iron Foundations and Shoring LLC)

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Fig. 4. Press-in piling (far right) followed by excavation(Photo: Blue Iron Foundations and Shoring LLC)

Fig. 5. Example of completed basement with sheet piles (different project)

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Reports

IPA Board Meeting 2023 and related events
IPA Secretariat

On July 3rd, 2023, the 13th IPA Board Meeting was held at the GIKEN’s newly established facility "RED HILL 1967" inAkaoka, Konan City, Kochi Prefecture, which was opened in April this year. Last year in July, Chairman Leung visited thesame facility and was deeply impressed by its development as a new base for press-in technology dissemination. With
the intention of having other board members experience the facility as well, this gathering was realized. A total of 23
directors and auditors, consisting of 13 members from overseas and 10 members from Japan, gathered in Kochi.
On July 3rd, before the Board Meeting, there was a facility tour of "RED HILL 1967" and after the meeting, there wasanother facility tour of the GIKEN LTD.’s Kochi Head Office, followed by a social gathering with the company’s executives
and their employees. On the following day, July 4th, the participating directors and auditors split into four groups andengaged in various activities aimed at contributing to the local community from an academic perspective, increasing therecognition of IPA, and advancing press-in engineering.

Board of Directors Meeting 2023
The IPA Board Meeting on July 3rd was held in a hybrid format, with a
total of 25 directors participating, exceeding the quorum (Photo 1).
Out of the 25, 21 directors and 2 auditors attended the meeting inperson, 1 director joined online, and 3 directors submitted proxies.
The meeting began with a greeting from Chairman Leung, who
introduced the successful IPA Seminar on Press-in Technology held in
Taipei in June of this year, which attracted nearly 100 participants andlocal sponsors. It was also mentioned that there are plans to holdsimilar seminars in the future in Europe, including the Netherlands, aswell as in Asia, including Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.

Photo 1 Board meeting

At the Board Meeting, important matters related to the operation of the IPA were proposed, confirmed and approved,
such as the appointment of Vice Presidents for FY2023-2024, the appointment of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson ofeach Standing Committee, the confirmation of members, and the establishment of the Steering Committee and theNomination Committee. In addition, as a report item, Chairperson of each standing committee explained the activity planfor this year, and the information on the preparation status of ICPE2024 was shared with the members by President Leung.
Finally, there was a discussion regarding the revision of the articles to add some provisions in order to translate theoriginal text of the Constitution, By-Laws, and Regulations into English. This proposal received unanimous approval fromall attending directors. The revision proposal is scheduled to be presented at the general meeting next year.
Following the Board Meeting, each Standing Committee Meeting was held to discuss this year's activity plan and specificmeasures. At the joint committee meeting of the Administration Committee, Development Committee, and Awards
Committee, there was a lively discussion on measures to promote the active participation of young researchers andengineers, including students.

Tour of "RED HILL 1967"
Prior to the Board Meeting, a tour of GIKEN LTD.’s new facility “RED HILL 1967” was held (Photo 2). At the beginning of
the tour, Mr. Kitamura, Honorary President of IPA and Executive Chairman of GIKEN LTD., explained the history andbackground of the development of this facility in Akaoka, his birthplace, and the concept of the facility development,“seeing is believing”. During his speech, Mr. Kitamura referred to the challenges faced by the outdated constructionindustry and the mission of press-in technology. He highlighted the need for the construction industry to embrace thelatest technologies in order to realize something unprecedented, and emphasized that press-in incorporates many ofthese cutting-edge technologies. He encouraged the experts and professionals present to investigate how press-in differsfrom conventional methods based not on precedents but on fundamental principles. Mr. Kitamura expressed his desire
to receive various opinions to further refine and enhance press-in technology.
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During the facility tour, Honorary Chairman Kitamura took the lead in giving an explanation, and the directors and auditors
asked many technical questions about GIKEN's unique facility structure and construction principles of the machines on
display.

"RED HILL 1967" will be introduced in detail in another issue, but it is a facility named after the place name "Akaoka",
and 1967, the year when GIKEN LTD. was founded. The facility has a total area of 36,000 square meters and consistsof the following four main parts:
The first is the Museum of Piling Machines, which includes the first Silent Piler and piling machines for other methods.
The second is a demonstration area showing the press-in system and the pile structures built with the system, the third
is a research building built with a structure in which the pressed-in steel sheet piles serve as both foundation and frameof the building, and the last one is GIKEN’s largest plant Kochi No. 3 plant.

Photo 2 Group photo at “RED HILL 1967”

Tour of Facility of GIKEN
After the IPA Board Meeting at RED HILL 1967, we moved to the Kochi
Head Office of GIKEN LTD., where we had a facility tour (Photo 3).
During the facility tour, GIKEN presented some examples of the use ofstructures using pile materials constructed with press-in machines
promoted by GIKEN and the test equipment that demonstrates theirsuperiority as structures, such as a mechanical underground parking lot
built by pressing piles into the ground in a cylindrical shape, a tsunami
simulator using a pile-type breakwater model that is firmly supported
by being pushed into the ground, and a caisson-type breakwater modelthat can withstand the external force by its own weight. The IPA
directors and auditors, although some of them were visiting thecompany’s facilities for the first time, were very interested in the GIKEN
Group's technology, which promotes practical solutions to various
social problems and issues related to construction through researchand development.

Photo 3 Facility tour in GIKEN office

Afterwards, 15 executives and employees from GIKEN participated in the social gathering sponsored by GIKEN, where
local cuisine and local sake from Kochi were served. We were able to feel that the interaction and exchange of opinionswith IPA Honorary Chairman Kitamura and other GIKEN Group officers and employees has become a very valuable andimportant opportunity for the IPA directors and auditors as well.
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Lecture Tour in Kochi
Acquisition of young members including students and promotion of their activities is one of the important issues for thedevelopment of the society and the progress of press-in engineering. Taking advantage of this opportunity whereprominent directors in the field of geotechnical engineering were gathering from all over the world, IPA held some
lectures by IPA directors on July 4th, for students majoring in geotechnical engineering at local academic institutions,
Kochi University of Technology, and National Institute of Technology, Kochi College. Nearly 80 students attended eachsession, and the students listened intently to the insightful lectures given by each director.
Academic Lecture at Kochi University of Technology
Lecture 1

Lecture 2

Learning Soil Mechanics in 45 Minutes
Executive Director, IPA
Dr. Osamu Kusakabe
Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Relationship between "Soil Mechanics" and "Social Infrastructure Facilities"
Director, IPA
Dr. Kenichi Horikoshi
President & Representative Director, Seiwa Consultants Co., Ltd.

Academic Lecture at National Institute of Technology, Kochi College
Lecture 1

Lecture 2

Lecture 3

Singapore - Garden City and Sustainability
President, IPA
Prof. Chun Fai Leung
Emeritus Professor, National University of Singapore
HIPER™ Piles for Sustainability
Vice President, IPA
Dr. Andrew McNamara
City, University of London and Chief Engineer, Skanska UK Building
The Role of the Geotechnical Engineers in Solving Global Challenges
Vice President, IPA
Prof. Kenneth Gavin
Professor, Delft University of Technology

Photo 4 Group photo at Kochi University of Technology

Photo 5 Group photo at National Institute of Technology,
Kochi College

Research Interaction with GIKEN Science Department
Following the previous day, we held an opinion exchange meeting among IPA directors and auditors and the members of
the Scientific Research Section of GIKEN LTD. on July 4th at RED HILL 1967, for the purpose of connecting researchers andpractical engineers and promoting the progress of press-in engineering in theory and practiceSome presentations were made for the 12 directors and auditors regarding the joint research with the University ofCambridge, utilization of press-in construction data, some research outcomes regarding the performance of riverembankments with double sheet pile wall structures, and some others. There was a lively question and answer session
on the content of the presentations, and it was a meaningful time for both parties.

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September 2023

Seminar for the public on geotechnical engineering
On July 4th, 2023, the ``Seminar on Geotechnical Engineering - From the Laboratory to the Field -'' was held in Kochi City.
Approximately 60 people participated, including policy makers, researchers, engineers, contractors, and students. It washeld locally, and five IPA directors, and each director introduced the contents of research in their specialized fields andthe latest topics. The program was as follows.
Presentation 1

Presentation 2

Presentation 3

Presentation 4

Presentation 5

Development of Rapid Loading Test of Piles
Vice President, IPA
Prof. Tatsunori Matsumoto
Emeritus Professor, Kanazawa University
Pixel-free image analysis technology and model experiments
Director, IPA
Dr. Katsutoshi Ueno
Associate Professor, Tokushima University
Scouring damage of river bridge foundations and its restoration technology
Director, IPA
Prof. Hidetoshi Nishioka
Professor, Chuo University
Topics related to piles used in harbors and oceans
Director, IPA
Prof. Yoshiaki Kikuchi
Professor, Tokyo University of Science
Deformation and failure behavior simulation of foundations and retaining wall structures using
centrifugal models
Director, IPA
Dr. Jiro Takemura
Associate Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology

After each lecture, questions were accepted, and there were scenes where researchers asked questions to each other.
Furthermore, several directors commented that new challenges from both research and practical perspectives could leadto societal innovation and change. During the break time, lively discussions were also observed, and the event ended
successfully.
The video recordings of the lectures of this seminar (in Japanese) are now available on the IPA members' website. If you
wish to watch them, please visit the following URL.
IPA members’ site: https://member.press-in.org/en/login
To watch the videos, membership registration with the International Press-in Association is required. You can proceedwith the registration process by visiting the following URL.
URL: https://www.press-in.org/en/page/join

Photo 7 Q&A Session at the seminar

Photo 6 Group photo at the seminar

Finally, we are firmly convinced that this series of events has marked a significant step forward for the International
Press-in Association (IPA) in its pursuit of "integrating theory and practice" to visualize the invisible undergroundand create and provide the true value that society truly needs.

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September 2023

Event Report
IPA Seminar on Press-in Technology in Taiwan
IPA Secretariat
The IPA Seminar on Press-in Technology in Taiwan was held on June 14, 2023, at the Importers and Exporters Associationof Taipei (IEAT) in the central Taipei, Taiwan. It was cosponsored by the Taiwan Geotechnical Society (TGS), the Taiwan
Foundation Engineering Institute, the Taipei Foundation Engineering Institute and the Sino-Geotechnics Research andDevelopment Foundation. The one-day seminar was attended by about 100 people, including engineers, contractors,
academic researchers, machine manufacturers, pile suppliers and other interested industry colleagues. The seminarcovered the full spectrum of the press-in piling method, which was requested by the press-in piling industry in Taiwan inorder to expand their capability for future projects.
The seminar began with an opening address by Prof. Tai-Tien Wang, the president of the Taiwan Geotechnical Society(TGS), followed by nine presentations covering the following topics.

1.

Prof. Chun Fai Leung, the president of the IPA, delivered a presentation titled “The prospect of International Pressin Association (IPA)”. He outlined the advantages of the press-in piing method and activities of the IPA, including its
future prospects.

2.

Mr. Tomotaka Hirose, assistant manager of GIKEN Seisakusho Asia Pte., Ltd., provided his presentation on “Press-in
Retaining Structures: A Handbook (Construction)”, which was revised in 2021.

3.

Mr. David, Kuo-Wei LIN, the president of Chuen Chang Enterprise Co., Ltd., introduced the current status of the pressin piling industry in Taiwan in his presentation, “To see the new possibilities for future application of steel sheet piles
from the past summary of the silent piling work in Taiwan”.

4.

Prof. Tatsunori Matsumoto, the vice president of the IPA, an emeritus professor at Kanazawa University, explained“Press-in Retaining Structures: A Handbook (Design)”, in line with the previous presentation which featured the“Construction” portion of the handbook.

5.

Mr. Kai-Yu Wu, the assistant general manager of Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corporation, described the challenge todevelop steel sheet piles in Taiwan, with structural improvement over the current sheet pile models available in the
Taiwan market.

6.

IPA director and assoc. prof at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Jiro Takemura, lectured on one of the IPA’s research
activities “Application of cantilever type steel tubular pile wall embedded to stiff ground (TC1)”.

7.

Mr. Chou, Yung-Chuan, the business manager of CECI Engineering Consultants, Inc., presented his experience withthe press-in method on his previous project as “Case Study of Press-in Method for Archeology at Historic Site of
Taipei MRT Station”.

8.

Mr. Yasuhiko Nishi, the Senior Advisor of the GEOTETS Method Research Society, detailed their innovative grounddisplacement prevention method in his presentation “Simultaneous removal and filling method for earth retaining
members contributing to SDGS”.

9.

Mr. Tsunenobu Nozaki, the General Manager of the IPA, featured “Case Histories of the Press-in Piling Technologies
and Applications for Permanent Structures”, which covered a wide variety of applications of the press-in piling
method.

This was the first full in-person conference, with invited speakers, held by the IPA post Covid-19 pandemic. The main
advantage of a full in-person conference over an online or hybrid conference is the person-to-person proximity to otherattendees. The day before the conference day we had a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, to warm up the relationshipbetween the co-organizers in Taiwan and the IPA (Photo 1). It was also a good opportunity to update guests on information,
regarding both the Taiwan construction industry and the press-in piling industry.

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Photo 1. The welcome dinner
On the day of the conference (Photo 2), there were enthusiastic questions after each session to obtain in-depth
knowledge of the latest press-in piling method. Apart from the technical discussions, break times and lunch times werealso used by the attendees as an in-person networking opportunity. Possible future plans in Taiwan, further activities of
the IPA and mutual business developments were keenly discussed among the parties.

Photo 2. Conference day
The conference was sponsored by the 6 organizations, whose advertisements were inserted into the conference
guidebook and circulated to all attendees.
Gold:
Chuen Chang Enterprise Co., Ltd.
GEOTETS Method Research Society
GIKEN LTD.
Silver:Taiwan Foundation Engineering Institute and Taipei Foundation Engineering InstituteTaiwan Professional Geotechnical
Tung Feng Construction Engineering Co., Ltd.
Bronze:Engineers Association
Up to now, U-shaped steel sheet piles type 3 and type 4 have been predominantly used in Taiwan. Due to the limited
availability of other pile types, the press-in piling method has been almost exclusively used for temporary earth retaining
structures and cofferdams. In regards to the market area, the press-in piling method has been mostly utilized in the southof the country due to geographical reasons and ground conditions. Therefore, the IPA feels that there is substantial future
potential for the expansion of the press-in piling method in Taiwan. The key factors of the expansion will be theintroduction of a wider range of applicable pile types, applicable substructure types and methods for the construction ofdeeper foundations.
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Young Members

Introduction of Recent Initiatives and Bidirectional Cyclic
Simple Shear Apparatus on Research of Liquefaction
Atsushi Mohri
Researcher, Port and Airport Research InstituteNational Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology
I completed my doctoral program at the Department of Civil Engineering, Graduate School ofTokyo University of Science in March 2022. My research theme from the master's course
onwards is about piles, and I had an opportunity to make a presentation at ICPE2018, Kochi, and
ICPE2021, Kochi, while I was in school. In particular, since ICPE2018 was the first international
conference for me, it was a memorable experience for me to get a real sense of overseas
research situations.
As the theme of my doctoral program, I conducted model experiments on the behavior ofground reaction forces acting on passive piles, targeting the piles used in the steel pipe pile-typebreakwater reinforcement method. In this construction method, by installing steel pipe piles ina row on the inner port side of the breakwater, it could be expected that the passive resistancereceived from the ground on the port side when the piles are displaced should have a reinforcing
effect. Since various pile deformation modes could be considered depending on the distribution of the external force
acting on the pile, it was necessary to investigate the behavior of the ground reaction force under different deformation
modes. Based on the experimental results, I attempted to show this behavior in terms of the magnitude and depth
distribution of ground reaction coefficients. However, I thought that the analysis method that examines the differencesin ground shear modes (simple shear, compression/extension, rotation) at the ground element level might be more
appropriate for such phenomena, so I am currently preparing to implement this theme.
I joined the Port and Airport Research Institute last year. The research themes so far have focused on: (1) the effect ofseismic reinforcement of existing coastal parapet levees using high-stiffness sheet pile walls by means of a threedimensional underwater shaking table, and, (2) the liquefaction test focusing on the effects of shear direction and shear
history by using a Bidirectional cyclic simple shear testing apparatus.
In the first research on the seismic reinforcement effect of seawalls, as shown in the Fig. 1, I focus on a structure wherea high-stiffness sheet pile wall is to be newly installed on the front side of the parapet, which is a coastal protection facility,
and the front side of the ground is to be improved. In this structure, the lower end of the newly installed sheet pile wall
is located in the liquefaction layer. Therefore, I am conducting model experiments and a validity check of the analysis
model to confirm its subsidence behavior.

Fig. 1. Cross section of the seawall seismic reinforcement24Volume 8, Issue 3

September 2023

In the second study on liquefaction, I am using a bidirectional cyclic simple shear apparatus, developed by Dr. Yudai Aoyagi(currently affiliated with the Public Works Research Institute) shown in Photo 1. This test equipment is designed so thatthe bottom cap under the specimen can move freely in the horizontal plane under back pressure and confining pressure.
Moreover, instead of using conventional methods such as wire-reinforced membrane or stacked rigid rings for the K0
condition of the specimen, it adopts a cell pressure-controlled method, which enables detailed examination of the stressstate of the specimen. By using the test equipment with these characteristics, I am investigating the effects of multidirectional and irregular seismic motions on liquefaction and re-liquefaction strength. In addition, by further improving
this test equipment, I would like to utilize it for my research on the resistance behavior of the ground around piles
subjected to horizontal forces at the ground element level.

Photo 1. Bidirectional cyclic simple shear apparatus

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Young Members

Revised Empirical Method for Predicting the Ultimate Bearing
Capacity of Concrete Driven Piles Based on the PDA Results
Kong Sotheara
Instructor, Faculty of Georesources and Geotechnical Engineering
Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC)
Deep foundation systems consisting of precast concrete driven piles are commonly used in
Cambodia due to the often-challenging geotechnical conditions underlying most project sites.
Numerous searchers have proposed empirical methods to predict the ultimate bearing capacityof concrete driven piles based on correlations with in-situ tests such as the Standard
Penetration Test (SPT), Cone Penetration Test (CPT), and Pressure Meter Test (PMT) and pileload test results. One of the most widely used empirical methods in Cambodia is that proposed
by De Court (1982, 1995), which takes into account both the soil type and method of installation.
In De Court’s method, the shaft resistance for a pile with perimeter Pi in a soil layer with a SPT
N-value of Ni and thickness of Δzi is given by the relationship:
fs = (AN + BN⋅Ni ) Pi Δzi
For displacement piles, AN = 10 and BN = 2.8, while for non-displacement piles, AN ranges between 5 to 6 and BN ranges
between 1.4 to 1.7. The base resistance for a pile with a cross-sectional area of Ab in De Court’s method is given by the
relationship:
qb = (CN Nb ) Ab
where Nb is the average SPT N-value within the effective depth of influence below the pile base which is often taken to
be 3 pile diameters. Values of CN for different soil types and methods of installation are summarized in the Table 1.
Table 1. 𝑪𝑵 Factor for Base Resistance
NonDisplacement
Soil Type
Displacement
Pile
Piles
Sand
325
165
Sandy Silt
205
115
Clayey Silt
165
100
Clay
100
80
In this study, the correlation between the shaft and base resistance estimated using De Court’s Method with estimatesobtained from CAPWAP Analysis of High-strain Dynamic Pile PDA Tests performed on driven concrete piles in Cambodia
and the Philippines investigated. The number of sites, piles and boreholes used in this is summarized in Table 2.
Data
SourceCambodia
Philippine

Table 2. Summary of Data Set
Pile Type
Regular Concrete Driven Pile
(Dia. 0.3 x 0.3 & 0.4 x 0.4)
Spun pile(Outside Dia. 0.35)
Regular Concrete Driven Pile
(Dia. 0.4 x 0.4, 0.45 x 0.45 & 0.5 x 0.5)

26

Sites

Number
Piles

Boreholes

6

23

15

1

13

4

3

15

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Volume 8, Issue 3

September 2023

For De Court’s Method, SPT N-values were normalized to an overburden of 1 ton/ft2 and an efficiency 60%. The resulting
adjusted SPT value N1,60 was used in subsequent calculations used to estimate the side and end resistance using De Court’s
Method. The analysis of correlation used a linear regression with an assumed zero intercept. Table 3 summarizes the ratioof the estimate based on the PDA test results versus the theoretical estimates based on SPT N-values using De Court’s
Method, and the corresponding Coefficient of Correlation R2.

Data
SourceCambodia
Philippines

Table 3. Summary of Ratios and Coefficients of Correlations
Ratio and Coefficient of Correlation
qb (PDA)
Qult (PDA)
fs (PDA)
Pile Typeq(SPT)
Qult (SPT)
fs (SPT)
b
2
2
R
R2
R
Regular Concrete Driven Pile
2.08470.98461.7607(Dia. 0.3 x 0.3 & 0.4 x 0.4)
0.705
0.79750.8400Spun pile1.54040.3231
1.038(Outside Dia. 0.35)
0.97810.8764
0.9796
Regular Concrete Driven Pile
1.141
1.0093
1.137(Dia. 0.4 x 0.4, 0.45 x 0.45 & 0.5 x 0.5)
0.97730.89600.9773

The ratios summarized in the preceding table can be used to estimate the equivalent PDA side resistance, end resistance,
and total axial capacity of driven piles. In all cases, the correlation coefficient was greater than 0.7. The regression model
generally tended to slightly underpredict the equivalent PDA resistance based on the theoretical resistance estimatedfrom De Court’s Method. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that De Court’s Method can be used toestimate the equivalent side resistance, end resistance, and total axial capacity of regular concrete piles driven in thePhilippines. For Regular concrete piles driven in Cambodia, De Court’s Method tended to accurately estimate theequivalent PDA end resistance while underestimating the side resistance by a factor of 0.5. For Spun piles driven in
Cambodia, De Court’s Method tended to overpredict the PDA end resistance by a factor of 3.0 while overestimating theside resistance by 0.67. The overprediction of the end resistance of spun piles can be attributed to the assumption thatthe pile tip is closed and thus treated as a displacement pile despite it being open at the start of driving. One explanation
for the difference between piles driven in the Philippines and Cambodia concerning the factor for side resistance is thatin the Philippines, the practice is to proof-test the pile to double the design load. In contrast, in Cambodia, piles are
generally tested to three times the design load.

◆ A brief CV of Mr. Kong Sotheara

Kong Sotheara is an Instructor at the Faculty of Georesources and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Technology ofCambodia (ITC). He is also a student in the MS Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering) Program of the University of
the Philippines Diliman. His areas of expertise are in the general area of pile foundations and stability of MSE Walls. He
graduated with an Engineer’s degree in Georesources and Geotechnical Engineering, Faculty of Georesources andGeotechnical Engineering (GGE) from Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC).

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Volume 8, Issue 3

September 2023

Announcement

Recent Highlights in the Press-in Piling Industry
IPA Secretariate
1. “RED HILL 1967” A facility to witness and experience the superiority of the Press-in Technologies opens
News Articles by GIKEN LTD.: https://www.giken.com/en/release/02_jun_2023/
GIKEN LTD. has opened the Information Transmission Base “REDHILL 1967”, a facility for expanding the awareness of thesuperiority of press-in technologies located in Akaoka-Cho, Konan
City, Kochi Prefecture. The facility was already shown to
stakeholders, prior to the start of accepting tours for the public on
16 May.

2. World Heritage-listed Canal Quay Wall Renovation Project in the Netherlands Receives Japan Construction
International Award
News Articles by GIKEN LTD.: https://www.giken.com/en/release/12_jun_2023/
GIKEN Group is participating in a project to renovate the quay wallsof World Heritage-listed canals in the Netherlands. The project hasreceived an award in the Pioneering Activity Category of the 6thJapan Construction International Award of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan (MLIT). This
category recognizes activities that contribute to the realization ofhigh-quality infrastructure overseas.

3. Dakar Port No. 3 Terminal Renovation Project in Senegal Receives Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement
Award [Group-2] from Japan Society of Civil Engineers
News Articles by GIKEN LTD.: https://www.giken.com/en/release/13_jul_2023/
GIKEN SEKO CO., LTD., a company of GIKEN Group is participating
in a Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) project inSenegal. This project, the Dakar Port No. 3 Terminal Renovation
Project, has received a 2022 Outstanding Civil Engineering
Achievement Award from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers(JSCE). The award is given to groundbreaking projects that makeimportant contributions to the development of civil engineering
technology and to the development of society.

28Volume 8, Issue 3

September 2023

Event Dairy

Title

Date

Venue

■ IPA Events
https://www.press-in.org/en/event

The Third International Conference on Press-in
Engineering (ICPE 2024)

3-5 July 2024

Singapore■ International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
http://www.issmge.org/events

11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCOUR AND
EROSION (ICSE-11)

17-21 September 2023

Copenhagen, Denmark

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “CASE HISTORIES INGEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING” & 4th AsRTC6 URBANGEOENGINEERING SYMPOSIUM

25-28 September 2023

West Jakarta, Indonesia

THE SECOND MEDITERRANEAN SYMPOSIUM ON
LANDSLIDES

5-7 October 2023

Hammamet, Tunisia

First International Conference on Geotechnics ofTailings and Mine Waste

24-26 October 2023

Ouro Preto, Brazil

21st Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference and
4th AGSSEA Conference (SEAGC-AGSSEA 2023)

25-27 October 2023

Bangkok, Thailand

The 5th International Conference on Geotechnics for
Sustainable Infrastructure Development

14-15 December 2023

Hanoi, Vietnam

DFI-India 2023: 12th Annual Conference on Deep
Foundation Technologies for Infrastructure
Development in India

5-7 October 2023

Vadodara, Gujarat, India

48th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations

31 Oct. -3 Sep. 2023

Seattle, United States

20-22 November 2023

Fukuoka, Japan■ Deep Foundations Institutehttps://www.dfi.org/events/■ Others
2nd International Conference on Construction
Resources for Environmentally Sustainable
Technologies

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September 2023

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September 2023

Volume 8, Issue 3

September 2023

Editorial Remarks from persons in charge
We are pleased to publish the September issue. This issue emphasizes the idea of the 'seeing is believing' basis andintroduces various research and development activities, including analytical ground visualization, and examples ofapplications in the USA. In addition, the IPA Board meeting and related events and a seminar in Taiwan will be reported.
Record-breaking heat continues in Japan, with temperatures approaching 40℃ above body temperature in many places,
expected to continue into September. In July, the UN chief issued a warning that“the era of global boiling has arrived”,
and extreme heat waves are occurring in several regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including southwestern USA,
Mexico and southern Europe, as well as Japan and China. This has resulted in higher sea water temperatures, more
frequent hurricanes and stronger typhoons, and in some areas large-scale fires. We must make sure that we tackle theseclimate change-induced disasters. The Press-in Method has achieved a great deal in disaster countermeasures anddisaster recovery, and research and development is underway to make further contributions. The International Press-in
Association would like to deepen the discussion with the directors and members on what we can do.
The 3rd International Press-in Conference will be held next year on 3-5 July 2024. The theme of this international
conference is 'Superiority of press-in piling towards sustainable construction in tackling climate change for infrastructuredevelopment' The deadline for submission of abstracts has been extended to 31 October 2023 (https://2024.icpeipa.org/abstracts). We look forward to discussing with you at this international conference.

Shinji Taenaka

Tsunenobu Nozaki

32