Cost and schedule comparison and risk analysis for pile foundation systems

地基是荷载从上部建筑传递到下部土壤或岩石的媒介。系统地考虑各种基础类型，并根据上层建筑要求、地下条件和经济性选择最佳方案是至关重要的。从工程设计的角度来看，不同的桩基础体系可以是实现相同目的（即在相同的土壤条件下满足相同的荷载要求）的可行替代方案。然而，从纯粹的设计角度来看，潜在的基础解决方案可能是最经济的，但当充分考虑到施工活动的限制时，可能不是最经济的。通过之前的Engage Grant， PI在阿尔伯塔大学的建筑工程与管理（CEM）研究小组成功地与Almita合作，对上述三种基础系统进行了成本和进度比较，保持了技术性能不变。虽然“参与拨款”产生了大量成果，但这些因素证明有必要进行更广泛的研究，以便与Almita合作，以全面、复杂的方式评估打桩基础建筑系统的成本、工期和风险。在实现后续Engagement Plus拨款的目标后，亚利桑那大学的研究团队将在不久的将来以技术报告的形式向Almita提供有效的决策支持，报告总结了所有发现，并提供了用于螺旋桩工程和施工的计算机模拟工具以及Excel电子表格界面。

A foundation acts as the load transfer media from the superstructure to the underlying soil or rock. It is essential to systematically consider various foundation types and to select the optimum alternative based on the superstructure requirements, the underground conditions, and economy. From the perspective of engineering design, different pile foundation systems can be feasible alternatives to fulfill the same purpose (i.e. satisfying identical loading requirements in identical soil conditions). However, a potential foundation solution may appear to be the most economical from a pure design standpoint, but may not be the most economical when limitations on construction activities are fully considered. Through the previous Engage Grant, PI's construction engineering & management (CEM) research group at the University of Alberta has successfully collaborated with Almita in cost and schedule comparison of each of the three foundation systems named above, keeping technical performance constant. Though substantial outputs had been generated from the Engage Grant, these factors as identified justify the need of extended research in order to evaluate cost, duration and risks of piling foundation construction systems in a comprehensive, sophisticated fashion in collaboration with Almita. Upon realization of the objectives in a follow-up Engagement Plus grant, the U of A research team will lend effective decision-support to Almita in the form of a technical report summarizing all the findings and a computer simulation tool along with Excel spreadsheet interface for helical pile engineering and construction in the near future.