A refinery expansion project for Marathon Petroleum Company in Southern Louisiana required existingmedium to large pipe racks to be expanded for additional capacity. Foundation modifications werenecessary in order to add levels to the existing pipe racks. New piles were added and existing pile capfoundations were expanded. Several different pile types were considered. Custom designed large diameterhelical piles were chosen, because they can be installed quickly with low overhead restrictions, produceminimal soil spoils, and are cost effective. The load capacity required for piles was higher than typical,off-the-shelf helical piles. In particular, the lateral load capacity demand was high due to wind loads of ahurricane prone region. Methods used to design and size helical piles are summarized including capacityto torque ratio estimation for composite helical piles. Pile load testing was performed in order to confirmdesign capacities of the helical piles under axial and lateral loading. Measured axial and lateral deflectionscompared well with predicted values. This case history evaluates the effectiveness of modern helical piledesign methods within the context of a real and practical example.
展开▼
