Abstract

Pile reuse has become an increasingly popular option in foundation designs, mainly due to its potential cost and environmental benefits and the problem of underground congestion in urban areas. However, key geotechnical concerns remain regarding the behaviour of reuse piles and the modelling of foundation systems involving old and new piles to support building loads of the new structure.

In this seminar, a design and analysis tool for pile reuse projects will be introduced. The tool allows coupling of superstructure stiffness with the foundation model, and includes an optimisation algorithm to obtain the best configuration of new piles to work alongside reuse piles. Under the concept of Pareto Optimality, optimisation analyses can also reveal the relationship between material usage and the corresponding foundation performance, providing a series of reuse options at various foundation costs. The components of this analysis tool will be discussed, with case histories presented to demonstrate its application to foundation reuse projects.