DFI Committee Project Fund
The DFI Board of Trustees established the DFI Committee Project Fund in 2011 to fund DFI Committee projects that advance the state of practice and understanding of deep foundations and produce a usable deliverable. The fund has generated great interest, discussion and activity in the committees. Funding has supported projects proposed by 19 committees, and deliverables include laboratory/field testing, installation/demonstration programs, analytical tools, design guides, journal articles, project reports, databases and surveys. All projects involved significant in-kind contributions or joint funding with allied associations, furthering DFI’s industry-wide collaborative efforts.
Proposals are selected based on the following criteria:
- Benefits to deep foundations industry (broad impact)
- Innovation
- Timeliness/relevance/immediacy of impact from results
- Quality of proposal (clarity, focus)
- Value of deliverable
- Probability of achieving goal
- Cost/benefit and cost sharing (matching funding, in-kind contributions)
Request for Proposals for the 2024 DFI Committee Project Fund are open. The deadline for submission is December 1, 2023. Note that most committees are requesting draft proposals by September 1, 2023.
Completed Projects
DFI of India
Implementation of CFA/ACIP Pile technology in India including demonstration program.
$30,000
Anchored Earth Retention
Website to provide guidance for developing standards and specifications for tiebacks and soil nailing in Peru.
$500
Currently under construction
With Landslides and Slope Stabilization:
Developing Guidelines for Factoring Structural Resistance for Landslide Stabilization and Excavation Support.
$29,650
Analysis of anchor load test data to determine potential limitations of 80% anchor unbonded length criterion.
$26,400
Augered Cast-in-Place Pile
Investigation of Development of Lateral Stresses During Installation of Drilled Displacement Piling
$26,100
Drilled Shaft
Combined Effects of Lateral Spreading and Superstructure Inertia
$29,999
Read the joint project Research Report
View the IFCEE Conference Paper
Design Guidelines for Pile Foundations Subjected to Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Spreading.
$29,999
Driven Pile
Update to the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) Design Guide for Pile Caps.
$15,000
Study of factors that influence vibrodriveability, pile behavior and axial and lateral capacities of vibratory and impact driven piles.
$28,000
Ground Improvement
Survey and synthesis of liquefaction mitigation practices including selection and implementation of ground improvement techniques.
$15,000
Conducting 3D finite element analyses to evaluate lateral loading of unreinforced rigid elements and basal stability of column-supported systems, calibrated to a real life MSE project.
$33,380
Helical Piles and Tiebacks
Development of Design Recommendations for Helical Pile Anchorages Subjected to Cyclic Load Reversals.
$27,210
International Grouting
Diggs Scheme for Rock Grouting Data Transfer
$27,500
Landslides/ Slope Stabilization
Report on update to strain wedge model technique used for analyzing slopes stabilized with one row of piles.
$15,000
Develop a simplified approach to the analysis of lateral loads on A-Walls.
$29,910
Guidance for factoring structural resistance for landslide stabilization and excavation support.
$29,650
With Anchored Earth Retention Committee:
Developing Guidelines for Factoring Structural Resistance for Landslide Stabilization and Excavation Support.
$29,650
Micropile
Literature review and practitioner survey on state of practice for design and construction and research needs for reticulated micropile network info.
$15,300
Seismic and Lateral Loads
Develop revised procedures for design of inelastic behavior of bridge pile foundations under combined liquefaction-induced lateral spreading and superstructure inertia.
$27,000
Minimum required length for lateral stability of rock socketed pile shafts to develop a simple approach to address brittle response of rock mass subjected to lateral loads.
$19,577
Literature review and development of online database of previous large scale pile experiments.
$60,000
Slurry Wall
Consensus guidelines for design and detailing of reinforced concrete diaphragm walls used as permanent basement walls in regions of high seismicity.
$20,000
Soil Mixing
Proposed Research on the Effect of Curing Stresses on soil cement strength.
$28,500
Laboratory study of strength and deformation properties of soil-cement mixtures and appropriate laboratory procedures.
$25,540
Sustainability
EFFC-DFI Carbon Calculator
The EFFC and DFI have created a tool that will calculate the CO2 emissions of foundation and geotechnical works. It is designed to allow contractors and commissioning organisations alike to assess the carbon footprint of their projects.
$45,000
Projects in Progress
| Committee | Project | DFI Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Anchored Earth Retention | Synthesis of Practice for Deformation Criteria for SOE Systems | $25,000 |
| Anchored Earth Retention | Creep Testing of High Strength Steel Threaded Rebar | $19,525 |
| Augered Cast-in-Place and Drilled Displacement Piles | Concrete Stressmeter Gages as an Alternative to Strain Gages in ACIP Piles | $6,000 |
| Augered Cast-in-Place and Drilled Displacement Piles | Evaluation of In-Situ ACIP Pile Volume through Thermal Integrity Profiling. | $10,000 |
| Augered Cast-in-Place and Drilled Displacement Piles | Experimental Evaluation of Confinement Effects on Rigid Inclusions for Improved Seismic Design | $28,424 |
| BIM and Digitalisation | Practical Guide to BIM and Digital Geotechnics | $10,500 |
| Codes and Standards | Research into Test and Reaction Pile Spacing For Axial Load Test with Reference to ASTM D1143 | $30,000 |
| Drilled Shaft | Shear Magnification in Rock-Socketed Piles – Part 2: Numerical and Parametric | $30,000 |
| Drilled Shaft | Old and new – reliability is key: A close-up look into the accuracy of p-y formulations in predicting lateral foundation | $29,900 |
| Ground Improvement | Development of a Simplified Methodology to Evaluate the Factor of Safety for Basal Stability and the Magnitude of Lateral Spreading for CSEs Supported on Rigid Inclusions | $17,100 |
| Ground Improvement | Reinforcing Mechanisms of Soil-Cement Columns in Liquefiable Sand Underneath an Embankment During Strong Earthquake Loading | $29, 889 |
| Ground Improvement | Seismic Performance of Rigid Inclusions | $30,000 |
| Ground Improvement | Seismic Performance of Rigid Inclusions – Phase II | $30,000 |
| Ground Improvement | Polymer grouting: an alternative to cementitious materials | $29,934 |
| Helical Piles and Tiebacks | A Pilot Experimental Study on Helical Piles for Underpinning of Shallow Foundations on Soils Susceptible to Liquefaction | $20,000 |
| Landslides/ Slope Stabilization | Researchers will compare limit equilibrium and advanced numerical methods for slopes reinforced with stabilizing piles. | $13,500 |
| Landslides/ Slope Stabilization | Analyzing the Difference Between a Single Row of Piles vs. Staggered Rows for Slope Stabilization | $9,500 |
| Micropiles | Proposed method for design of bonded connections of micropiles to existing footings. | $29,500 |
| Seismic and Lateral Loads | Design Guidelines for Characterizing the Residual Strength of p-y Curves for Rock | $29,990 |
| Seismic and Lateral Loads | Developing Design Guidelines for Estimating Liquefaction-Induced Soil Displacement Demands on Pile-Supported Wharves | $29,979 |
| Seismic and Lateral Loads | Dynamic retaining Wall-Soil Interaction: new developments and web-platform | $30,000 |
| Seismic and Lateral Loads | DFI Course Development on Recently Completed Seismic and Lateral Load Design and Testing Guidelines | $23,000 |
| Soil Mixing | Continued Research on the Effect of Curing Stress | $29,700 |
| Subsurface Characterization for Deep Foundations | Collaborative Contribution of Geotechnical Characterization to the GeoTechTools Website | $15,303 |
| Subsurface Characterization for Deep Foundations | Towards Improved Service Life Predictions of Previously Installed Steel Piles | $30,000 |
| Testing and Evaluation | Evaluating Thermal Integrity Profiling for Drilled Shafts | $30,000 |