Zero Ground Loss

This project followed shortly after finishing the Taylor Family Digital Library project, which was in close proximity to this site on the same campus. Design considerations for the foundations were almost identical to the previous project, with the installation of approximately 175 cast-in-place belled piles. Again, this new building was a result of the fast-growing population at the University of Calgary and the demand for specialty studies with emphasis on future global trends such as clean energy and the environment.

The soil conditions, which are typical and uniform throughout the mentioned site, consisted mainly of silty sand and clay till which is ideal for large capacity belled piles.

• The shafts for the piles were predominantly 900mm, 1000mm, and 1,200mm in diameter.
• The bells were sized at: 2000mm, 2400mm, 2800mm, 3400mm and 3600mm in diameter.

The average founding depth on this project was approximately 13.0m – 17.0m with the need to protect the upper portion of the pile shafts by using temporary casing approximately 8.0m long. The concrete volumes for single piles ranged between 23 – 26 cubic meters. Among the challenges for HCM on this project was installation of piles in close proximity to a concrete utility tunnel. EllisDon approached HCM with a request for shoring and underpinning on a portion of the tunnel.

HCM proposed a design/build tied-back continuous caisson wall method where special consideration was given to the stated goal of zero ground loss from underneath of the tunnel.

Client: EllisDon Corporation
Location: Calgary, Alberta