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What are Floating Caissons? Advantages and Applications

Floating caissons are an essential innovation in marine construction, providing robust and reliable solutions for building underwater foundations. Used extensively for docks, piers, bridges, and offshore structures, floating caissons are large, watertight chambers that can be floated to the desired location and then sunk into place. This article delves into the various aspects of floating caissons, highlighting their advantages, applications, and the technology behind their construction.

What are Floating Caissons?

Floating caissons, also known as floating cofferdams, are prefabricated hollow structures typically made of reinforced concrete or steel. These caissons are floated to the construction site and then gradually filled with water or other ballast materials to sink them into position. Once in place, they provide a dry working environment for the construction of foundations and other substructures.

Types of Floating Caissons

Open Caissons: These are simple, box-like structures open at the top and bottom. They are floated to the site and sunk into position, where the excavation continues through the open bottom until the caisson reaches the desired depth.
Box Caissons: These are closed at the bottom and open at the top. Box caissons are floated into position and sunk by filling them with ballast. They are then filled with concrete to create a solid foundation.
Pneumatic Caissons: These are similar to open caissons but include an airtight working chamber at the bottom. Compressed air is used to keep water out of the working area, allowing for excavation and construction in dry conditions even below the water table.

Advantages of Floating Caissons

Versatility: Floating caissons can be used in a wide range of marine construction projects, from small docks to large offshore platforms. Their adaptability makes them a go-to solution for various underwater construction needs.
Ease of Installation: Prefabricated offsite, floating caissons can be transported to the construction site and installed with relative ease. This reduces on-site construction time and minimizes environmental disruption.
Cost-Effectiveness: By reducing the need for extensive underwater excavation and complex temporary structures, floating caissons offer a cost-effective solution for creating robust foundations.
Durability: Constructed from reinforced concrete or steel, floating caissons provide long-lasting, durable foundations that can withstand harsh marine environments.
Environmental Impact: Floating caissons can be installed with minimal disturbance to the seabed and surrounding marine ecosystems, making them a more environmentally friendly option compared to traditional methods.

Applications of Floating Caissons

Bridge Foundations: Floating caissons are widely used for constructing bridge piers in deep water. Their ability to provide a stable, dry working environment is crucial for the safe and efficient construction of bridge supports.
Harbors and Docks: Caissons are ideal for creating sturdy foundations for docks, wharves, and other harbor structures. They offer the strength needed to support heavy loads and withstand marine conditions.
Offshore Structures: In the oil and gas industry, floating caissons are used for the foundations of offshore platforms. Their robustness ensures the stability of these critical structures.
Seawalls and Breakwaters: Floating caissons are also employed in the construction of seawalls and breakwaters, providing essential coastal protection against erosion and storm surges.

Construction Process of Floating Caissons

Design and Prefabrication: The design of floating caissons is tailored to the specific requirements of the project. They are prefabricated in a controlled environment, ensuring high quality and precision.
Transportation: Once completed, the caissons are floated to the construction site using tugboats or other means of marine transport.
Positioning and Sinking: At the site, the caissons are carefully positioned and gradually filled with water or ballast to sink them into place. Precision is key to ensure they are correctly aligned and at the desired depth.
Final Construction: After sinking, the caissons may be filled with concrete or other materials to complete the foundation. Any additional construction work, such as building piers or supports, is carried out within the dry environment provided by the caisson.

Conclusion

Floating caissons represent a revolutionary advancement in marine construction, offering a versatile, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solution for underwater foundations. Their ease of installation, durability, and wide range of applications make them an indispensable tool in modern civil engineering projects. As technology and materials continue to improve, the use of floating caissons is likely to expand, further enhancing their role in building the infrastructure of the future.

By understanding the benefits and applications of floating caissons, engineers and construction professionals can make informed decisions to ensure the success and longevity of their marine projects. Whether for bridge foundations, offshore platforms, or harbor structures, floating caissons are a cornerstone of effective and efficient underwater construction.

Design Analysis of Beams, Circular Plates and Cylindrical Tanks on Elastic Foundations

This book deals with computer-based linear-elastic analyses of beams, strips, circular plates and circular-cylindrical tanks resting on elastic foundations and/or unyielding supports. Winkler springs and smooth, homogeneous, elastic half space foundation beds are employed.

By Edmund Melerski

* Publisher: Taylor & Francis
* Number Of Pages: 304
* Publication Date: 2006-03-30
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 041538351X

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Das B. M., Principles of Foundation Engineering, 8th ed, 2016

Master the fundamental concepts and applications of foundation analysis design with PRINCIPLES OF FOUNDATION ENGINEERING. This market leading text maintains a careful balance of current research and practical field applications, offers a wealth of worked out examples and figures that show you how to do the work you will be doing as a civil engineer, and helps you develop the judgment you’ll need to properly apply theories and analysis to the evaluation of soils and foundation design.

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Soil Mechanics Fundamentals and Applications

Soil Mechanics Fundamentals is written with the intention of providing a very

basic yet essential concept of soil mechanics to students and engineers who are learn-
ing the fundamentals of soil mechanics for the first time. This book is meant mainly

for college students who have completed key engineering science courses such as
basic calculus, physics, chemistry, statistics, mechanics of solids, and engineering
materials and are ready to enter into one of the specialty areas of civil, architectural,

and geotechnical engineering. This book is intended to provide a thorough, funda-
mental knowledge of soil mechanics in a simple and yet comprehensive way, based

on the students’ knowledge of the basic engineering sciences. Special emphasis is
placed on giving the reader an understanding of what soil is, how it behaves, why it
behaves that way, and the engineering significance of such behavior.

Soil Mechanics Fundamentals is written with the intention of providing a very

basic yet essential concept of soil mechanics to students and engineers who are learn-
ing the fundamentals of soil mechanics for the first time. This book is meant mainly

and geotechnical engineering. This book is intended to provide a thorough, funda-
mental knowledge of soil mechanics in a simple and yet comprehensive way, based

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Analysis and Design of Shallow and Deep Foundations

Advances in foundation engineering have been rapid in recent years. Of note
are the maturity of the concepts of soil–structure interaction, the development
of computer codes to deal with advanced topics, the advent of new methods
for the support of structures, and the proliferation of technical publications
and conferences that present a variety of useful information on the design and
performance of foundations.

This book takes advantage of these advances by presenting methods of analysis while being careful to emphasize standard methods such as site visits and the role of engineering geology.

The goals of the engineer in the design of foundations are to achieve a
system that will perform according to stipulated criteria, can be constructed
by established methods, is capable of being inspected, and can be built at a
reasonable cost.

Builders have realized the need for stable foundations since structures began
rising above the ground. Builders in the time of the Greeks and the Romans
certainly understood the need for an adequate foundation because many of
their structures have remained unyielding for centuries.

Portions of Roman aqueducts that carried water by gravity over large distances remain today. The Romans used stone blocks to create arched structures many meters in height
that continue to stand without obvious settlement.

The beautiful Pantheon, with a dome that rises 142 ft above the floor, remains steady as a tribute to builders in the time of Agrippa and Hadrian. The Colosseum in Rome, the
massive buildings at Baalbek, and the Parthenon in Athens are ancient structures
that would be unchanged today except for vandalism or possibly
earthquakes.

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Piles and Pile Foundations

Piled foundations are generally designed using empirical methods, in particular the traditional capacity based approach on which the majority of codes of practice are based.

However in recent years the analysis of pile groups and piled rafts has undergone substantial development in the light of new research and the mechanisms for the interactions between piles, soil and rafts or caps have been largely clarified.

Paradoxically, with relatively large piled rafts it has been found that a design based on the criterion of serviceability, with the limitation of absolute and/or differential settlement, not only allows a more rational and economical design, but is also simpler and more reliable than one based on the traditional approach.

This book provides an overview of present design practice of piled foundations, under both vertical and horizontal loads, and then a presentation of recent advances in the analysis and design of piled rafts. Altogether it forms a thorough guide to the design and analysis of efficient and effective piled rafts, and it also serves as a useful design handbook for traditional pile foundations.

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Pile Design For Structural And Geotechnical Engineers

Description

All objects and structures transfer their load either directly or indirectly to the earth. The capacity of the earth to support such loads depends on the strength and stability of the supporting soil or rock materials. Pile foundations are the part of a structure used to carry and transfer the load of the structure to the bearing ground located at some depth below ground surface. There are many texts on pile foundations.

Generally, these books are complicated and difficult to understand. Easy to use and understand, this book covers virtually every subject concerning pile design, featuring techniques that do not appear in other books on the subject. It contains design methods with real life examples on pin piles, bater piles, concrete piles, steel piles, timber piles, auger cast piles, underpinning design, seismic pile design, negative skin friction and design of Bitumen coated piles for negative skin friction and many other subjects.

This book is packed with design examples, case studies and after construction scenarios are presented for the reader’s benefits. This book enables the reader to come away with a complete and comprehensive understanding of the issues related to the design, installation and construction of piles.

* Handy guide for engineers perparing for professional engineer (PE) exam.
* Numerous design examples for sandy soils, clay soils, and seismic loadings
* Methodologies and case studies for different pile types

About the Author

Ruwan Rajapakse is presently a project manager for STV Incorporated, one of the most prominent design firms in New York City. He has extensive experience in design and construction of piles and other geotechnical engineering work. He is a licensed professional engineer (PE) in New York and New Jersey and a certified construction manager (CCM).

He is currently an adjunct professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology conducting the graduate level geotechnical engineering course. He is the author of four books including Geotechnical Engineering Calculations and Rule of Thumb and Pile Design and Construction Rules of Thumb by Butterworth-Heinemann.

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Foundation Design & Construction 6th Edition

Foundation Design and Construction has long been established worldwide as the most comprehensive.

The sixth edition has undergone major revision in line with current practices and recent research.

The book first introduces basic theory such as:

Case Studies, Practical Examples and Design Charters,
Develops a thorough understanding of foundation design and construction methods.

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