PROJECT: MOI AIRPORT/ PORT REITZ ROADS PROJECT

SUBJECT: DESIGN, SUPERVISION AND TESTING OF PILE

FOUNDATIONS
Introduction
The Moi Airport-Port Reitz Project is one of the concerted efforts by the
GoK to open up Mombasa as a premier shipping destination for East
Africa and beyond.
SITE DESCRIPTION
The Moi Airport/ Port Reitz project site is located in Changamwe area,
North of Mombasa Island in the mainland.
It traverses the area, from Mombasa-Nairobi Highway (A109L) as
Changamwe-Magongo, to the Moi International Airport as C110, and
thence to Port Reitz where it joins the completed Toyo junction to the
new birth 19 and forth into Port Reitz Hospital.
The site area abuts the Indian Ocean, to the north, and is relatively flat to
gently undulating, with altitudes ranging between 47m to 52 m above
sea level.
The project scope includes two overpass bridge structures on the
Magongo-Changamwe (A109L)- Moi Airport Access Road (C110)
Junction (65 m long) and Moi Airport Access Road (C110)-Port Reitz
Junction (72 m long), about one kilometer apart.
SOILS
From the superficial and subsurface geotechnical investigations
conducted on the overlying and underlying soil strata, it was established
that the area lies on extensively weathered material to depths of over 35
m.
The coastal belt of Kenya comprises of topographical features which are
closely related to the geological characteristics of the area: the coastal
plain, the foot plateau, the coastal range and the nyika. The altitude of
the coastal plain is generally less than 45 m above sea level. Different
geologic features form the coastal belt. Geomorphologically, the Kenyan
coastal zone is an emergent coastline. It has thus been subjected to
marine regression since the Jurassic period.
The top layers are characteristically silty with sand deposits, followed by
silty clay and finally firm clay deposits. No rock was within reach during
the investigations.
The soils were deemed inadequate to support the bridge substructures
by shallow foundations.
BRIEF HISTORY OF BRIDGES IN THE COASTAL KENYA
At the time of design and implementation of this project, 3 major bridges
exist at the Coast, Nyali, Mtwapa in Mombasa and Kilifi bridge in Kilifi.
The construction of the two bridges in Mombasa started in 1978 and
completed in 1980 and was done by Sumitomo Construction Company
under the supervision of H.P. Gauff.

New Nyali bridge:-It is 391.65 metres long and 26.3 metres wide with a
total of six lanes. The main bridge is 330metres prestressed continuous
box girder over three spans with the centre span of 150 metres. The
outer spans are 90 metres each. The bridge is founded on piled
foundations. Nyali Bridge includes an approach bridge with three spans
totaling 61.65 metres whose superstructure is simply reinforced concrete
beams and the deck.

Mtwapa bridge:-The bridge consists of three spans totaling 192 metres

long and approximately 15 metres wide carrying two lanes. The
superstructure is a prestressed box girder with the centre span of 111.9
metres. The outer spans are 40 metres each. The substructure consists of
normal reinforced concrete Abutments and piers founded on piles. The
construction of Mtwapa bridge was completed in 1980.

Kilifi Bridge is the longest bridge in Kenya with a total length of 420
metres At Sabaki, the mouth of River Athi The superstructure is a
prestressed continuous box girder carrying two lanes. The bridge has
three spans. The substructure is reinforced concrete founded on piles.
The construction of Kilifi Bridge was completed in 1991.

THE PROBLEM

From the geotechnical investigations, it was determined that the

geological formations existing on shallow depth could not support the
expected structural loads on the overpass bridges. The solution was
therefore to adopt deep pile foundations for the foundations.

Theory
All engineered construction resting on the earth must be carried by some
kind of interfacing element called a foundation. The foundation is the
part of an engineered system that transmits to, and into, the underlying
soil or rock the loads supported by the foundation and its self-weight.
The resulting soil stressesexcept at the ground surfaceare in
addition to those presently existing in the earth mass from its self-weight
and geological history.
The term superstructure is commonly used to describe the engineered
part of the system bringing load to the foundation, or substructure.

Piles are structural members of timber, concrete, and/or steel that are
used to transmit surface
loads to lower levels in the soil mass. This transfer may be by vertical
distribution of the load
along the pile shaft or a direct application of load to a lower stratum
through the bearing of pile base.

PILE CAPACITY
Piles are designed to safely transfer both vertical and lateral loads
without suffering structural damage, bearing capacity failure or even
excessive settlements. The structural capacity of piles is governed by its
structural strength and the properties of the supporting soil.
a. Capacity of
When a pile is subjected to a progressively increasing load, the load is
initially carried by skin friction along the pile shaft and there is little or
no transfer of load to the toe of the pile. As the load increases, more and
more skin friction is mobilized along the shaft to a maximum capacity
where part of the load is now transferred by the end bearing of the toe.
Any further load is carried by end bearing until no further load can be
carried and the pile fails.

The total ultimate load Qu is therefore expressed as the sum of the shear
stresses on the shaft and the bearing capacity at the toe, that is,
Qu = Qb + Qf = qbAb+fsAs where Qu = ultimate load applied on
Qf is the part of the load is transmitted to the soil along the length of the
pile as skin friction load and Qb is the proportion of load resisted by end
bearing of pile
The relative proportion of the loads carried by skin friction and base
resistance depend on the shear strength and elasticity of the supporting
soil and is a matter of great complexity and judgement
THEORY OF PILES
By equilibrium, the ultimate capacity of a pile is taken as the sum total
of both shaft and end resistance less the weight of pile;
Qu = Qb+Qs-Wp
Usually, Wp is small in relation to Qu and is normally neglected because
it is not much greater than the displaced soil.
Qu= Qb+Qs
These terms can further be expanded as:
Qb=Aqb=Ab(CNc + 1/2rBNr +rDfNq)
Where
Ab is the area of pile toe at bearing
r is unit weight of soil
C is cohesion of underlying soil
B is the pile width or diameter
Df is depth of pile toe
Nc, Nr and Nq are non-dimensional bearing capacity parameters
dependent on the angle of friction of supporting soil
Qs = qs.As = p fs.l
Where p is the pile perimeter, fs is the unit shaft friction over a length l
Capacity in Cohesionless Soils (Sands)

STRUCTURAL LOADS
The loads are as derived from the structural analysis of the bridge
superstructure.
DESIGN OF PILES