DFI’s Technical Committees are often described as the backbone of DFI, and the DFI trustees are committed to supporting their many and varied activities. The trustees established the DFI Committee Project Fund in 2011 to fund DFI committee projects that advance the state of practice and understanding of deep foundations and produce a usable deliverable. The fund has generated great interest, discussion and activity in the committees, and since its inception, DFI has awarded over $417,000 for design and construction-related deep foundations projects. Funding has supported projects pro- posed by 12 technical committees, and deliverables include analytical tools, design guides, journal articles, project reports, data- bases and surveys. All projects involved significant in-kind contri- butions or joint funding with allied associations, furthering DFI’s industry-wide collaborative efforts. DFI members are encouraged to review and use these deliverables as applicable in practice. Published Projects by Committee Augered Cast-in-Place Pile DFI Funding: $17,000 Review and analysis of available pile design information, load testing results and associated pile construction costs to assess validity of acceptance criteria in the building codes. Available in DFI Journal, Volume 8, Issue 1, April 2014. Drilled Shaft DFI Funding: $10,000 International technical working group to define best practices in North America and Europe for design, construction, contracting, QC/QA and innovations. Project presentations at IFCEE (March 2015). Project reports to be published in DFI Journal in 2016. Driven Pile DFI Funding: $15,000 Update to the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) Design Guide for Pile Caps. Available for purchase through DFI publications web page. Ground Improvement DFI Funding: $15,000 Survey and synthesis of liquefaction mitigation practices including selection and implementation of ground improvement techniques. Available in DFI Journal, Volume 7, Issue 1, August 2013. Helical Piles and Tiebacks DFI Funding: $24,000 Literature review and practitioner survey on design and construction practices for helical piles and tiebacks. Available in DFI Journal, Volume 9, Issue 1, April 2015 Landslides/ Slope Stabilization DFI Funding: $13,800 Report on update to strain wedge model technique used for analyzing slopes stabilized with one row of piles. Project report available through committee web page. Seismic and Lateral Loads & Drilled Shafts DFI Funding: $30,000 Literature review and development of online database of previous large scale pile experiments. Visit www.findapile.com. Additional load test data being added as Phase 2 work. Sustainability 34 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAY/JUNE 2015 DFI Funding: $45,000 DFI Carbon Calculator. Go to www.geotechnicalcarboncalculator.com. DFI Committee Project Fund – Project Reports Available Tiebacks and Soil Nailing Projects in Progress by Committee Drilled Shaft Landslides/ Slope Stabilization Landslides/ Slope Stabilization DFI Funding: $26,400 Analysis of anchor load test data to determine potential limitations of 80% anchor unbonded length criterion. Project report available through committee web page. DFI Funding: $30,000 Joint project with European Federation of Foundation Contractors (EFFC) to improve tremie concrete practices for deep foundations. DFI Funding: $13,500 Researchers will compare limit equilibrium and advanced numerical methods for slopes reinforced with stabilizing piles. DFI Funding: $29,910 Develop simplified approach to the analysis of lateral loads on A-Walls. Marine Foundations Micropile DFI Funding: $28,000 Study of factors that influence vibrodriveability, pile behavior and axial and lateral capacities of vibratory and impact driven piles. DFI Funding: $15,300 Literature review and practitioner survey on state of practice for design and construction and research needs for reticulated micropile network info. Seismic and Lateral Loads Slurry Wall DFI Funding: $23,000 Workshop on DFI’s Seismic and Lateral Load Testing and Design Guidelines. DFI Funding: $20,000 Consensus guidelines for design and detailing of reinforced concrete diaphragm walls used as permanent basement walls in regions of high seismicity. Soil Mixing DFI Funding: $29,940 Laboratory study of strength and deformation properties of soil- cement mixtures and appropriate laboratory procedures. Proposals for the Next Round of Project Funding The most recent Committee Project Fund Request for Proposals was issued May 1, 2015. All proposals must be submitted through a technical committee for consideration by the Review Committee. The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2015. The CPF Review Committee short lists and recommends proposals for approval by the DFI trustees at the 2016 Winter Planning Meeting (February 2016). All proposals are welcome. Selection criteria is as follows: • Benefits to deep foundations industry (broad impact) • Innovation • Timeliness/relevance/immediacy of impact from results • Quality of proposal (clarity, focus) • Value of deliverable • Probability of achieving goal • Cost/benefit and cost sharing (matching funding, in-kind contributions) Contact Mary Ellen Large at [email protected] with questions.
