Modern Advances in the Field Geotechnical Testing Investigations of Pile Foundations

Estimation of the geotechnical engineering and geological conditions of the ground is an essential aspect in design of pile foundations and the calculation of pile capacity and settlement. The results of some of static and dynamic pile integrity tests on problematical soils along the shores of the Ishim River in Astana and in the western part of Kazakhstan around the Caspian Sea will be presented. This data has been used to determine the length of H-piles for the new USA Embassy in Astana which is founded in soft soils. The paper will also present the geotechnical considerations for high rise buildings and buildings with unique architecture in difficult ground conditions in Astana (New Capital) and West Kazakhstan (the coast of Caspian Sea). The method of calculation of pile capacity and settlement based on static and dynamic pile integrity tests will be presented. It is found that geozoning is very important in design, construction and testing of piles in problematic ground in Kazakhstan especially in the new capital city of Astana. The paper presents the geotechnical challenges in the construction of piling foundations in problematical soils for Mega highway projects in Western Kazakhstan. Many factors, such as ground freezing, collapsing of soils, seismic zoning, are needed to be considered for design, testing and construction of the pile foundation.