Drained Timber Pile Ground Improvement for Liquefaction Mitigation

TRB's Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis Highway Report 180: Drained Timber Pile Ground Improvement for Liquefaction Mitigation explores joining two existing technologies currently available in the marketplace that are not frequently used to mitigate liquefaction. The product evaluated herein is a pile fitted with drainage elements that, under sufficient conditions, serves to increase the tendency of soil to densify during pile driving. The result is improved densification and resistance to cyclic shear stresses that are generated during earthquakes. The development and evaluation of this technology serves to provide the owners of public and private civil infrastructure with another alternative for surviving strong ground motion and its effects.