Databases to INterrogate Geotechnical Observations (DINGO)

The United Kingdom has rapidly ageing civil infrastructure. The ability to re-use deep foundation systems and construct new ones more efficiently will pave the way for considerable savings in financial and carbon resources. Geotechnical engineers frequently rely on past records and experience to design foundations. Foundation performance in the stiff deposits in the UK is difficult to estimate and is often reliant on preliminary pile tests to failure being available. If these tests are not available then very conservative design assumptions are used. This research project will provide the UK geotechnical community with an openly accessible database of pile load tests in UK soil deposits. Much of the data for the database will be sourced from the literature and consultants' records. Using the database, different models that can be used to predict pile settlement response will be compared statistically and re-calibrated. Estimates of 'reserve capacity' in UK foundation systems will also be made to search for insights into the potential for foundation re-use in future construction projects. The results of the analysis can also be used to derive improved partial factors for pile design. These can be used in new and updated codes of practice and design guides. A user friendly web-portal will be developed so that designers and researchers can rapidly access the underlying datasets in the database. This will allow others to calibrate their own models for pile behaviour.

The main societal and economic benefit will be enhancements of codes of practice and reduction of materials use in deep foundation designs. The benefits to standard setting bodies who develop codes of practice will be the availability of better understood and calibrated partial factors for pile foundations in the UK. Papers and briefing notes will be published so that this work can be referenceable in the standards. This is a clear impact for society as it may lead to more efficiently designed deep foundations for civil infrastructures. The civil infrastructure construction and consulting industry will also benefit from this research proposal. Benefits to UK geotechnical practitioners will be derived from the new insights related to the reserve capacity and performance of deep foundations in the UK. This will be mainly due to the outcomes of the analysis of the collected data but also because the underlying data will be widely available and accessible. The database can then develop into a community resource that can be added to. The new resource will be showcased at a series of launch events ideally hosted by industry associations. User manuals and notes will be distributed via the internet for those unable to attend the showcase events. Future UK geotechnical engineers will benefit. The recruited Post Doctoral Research Associate will benefit from the new analytical and data interpretation skills that will be developed. They will also benefit from the input of the project partners (Fugro, Arup and Atkins) during the project meetings and data collection visits.