Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

REPAIR OF A TILTED BUILDING RESTING ON A DEEP SOFT CLAY

USING MICROPILES AND RAFT
Sherif S. AbdelSalam, M. ASCE1
1

Assistant Professor and Program Director, Civil Engineering Dept, Faculty of Engineering, the
British University in Egypt, Cairo-Suez Road, Al-Sherouk City, Egypt, 11837. E-mail:
sherif.abdelsalam@bue.edu.eg

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a case history of an efficient repair system that
was developed to stop the tilt of a 15 story residential building constructed on and
supported by deep, soft clays in Alexandria, Egypt. The as-designed foundation
system utilized isolated groups of continuous flight auger (CFA) bored piles with pile
caps. About eight years after the completion of construction, there were a noticeable
tilt and cracks throughout the building, resulting in several serviceability problems. A
survey was conducted to monitor the rate of the building tilt, which revealed that the
maximum displacement at the top of the building reached about 65 cm. From the soil
investigation program, it was determined that, in this area, the soft clay layer extends
about 16 m below the ground surface. In addition, it was determined that the type
(Straws piles) and load carrying capacity of the as-constructed piles were different
than the as-designed foundation system (CFA piles). Moreover, from the structural
analysis, it was concluded that the centroid of the structural loads did not coincide
with the centroid of the foundations area, thereby resulting in a relatively large
eccentricity (and additional compressive loading) on the foundations on the north side
of the building. Under a tight budget, a repair foundation system utilizing 60
micropiles and a raft footing was proposed to stop the tilting of the building. The
movement of the building was monitored for two years after the installation of the
repair system, and it was found that the tilt had completely stopped. The repair
system used has proven to be successful and cost-effective, and may be useful for
similar cases in the Alexandria soft clay.
INTRODUCTION
The city of Alexandria is considered to be the second capital of Egypt, which has
been recently facing the occurrence of damage and collapse of residential buildings.
Typically, the height of residential buildings in this city ranges from 5 to 20 stories.
Within the past few years, the number of collapsed buildings in Alexandria has
exceeded more than 15 cases, while a vast number of other buildings are extremely
damaged and face the same danger. According to the official statistical study

4280

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

conducted in 2010 within the governorate of Alexandria (Al-Akhbar, 2010), the

number of damaged buildings has reached ten thousand, which has put the life of the
people in the city at great risk.
In most cases, the types of damage that occurs in these buildings are in the form of
excessive differential settlement, which may reach up to 2 to 2.5 m; excessive
differential settlement between adjacent isolated footings, which causes visible cracks
in the structural elements accompanied by large 45o inclined wall cracks; or, in some
cases, tilt and distortion of the entire building, which occurs when the type of
foundation used is a raft (mat) or a deep foundation with rigid pile caps and tie
beams. It was noticed that the tilt of some structures in Alexandria reached a ratio of
1:50 (1 in the horizontal to 50 in the vertical), which exceeds the allowable value
provided in the Egyptian code of practice (ECP, 2001) of 1H:150V.
The geological profile in Alexandria consists mainly of the following two
formations: 1) in the east, deep medium to soft clay layers with thickness varying
from 15 to 25 m underlain by medium-to-dense sand; and 2) in the west, moderately
weathered layers of shale, limestone, and gypsum (Al-Akhbar, 2010). Generally and
because Alexandria is a coastal city on the Mediterranean Sea, the depth to the
ground water table (GWT) within the city is shallow and fluctuates between 1.5 to 3
m. It is also worth noting that Alexandria lies within the delta of the Nile River,
which is well known for its highly compressible deep soft clay layers. On the east
side of the city, the soft clays are considered highly compressible or, in some other
cases, highly swelling, which could be the primary reason for many tilts and
distortions that occur to the foundations (Al-Akhbar, 2010). The repetitive tilt and
serviceability problems that occur to buildings in Alexandria made this phenomenon
known as dancing buildings (Asharq Al-Awsat, 2012). Additionally, it was
indicated in several geotechnical reports that a number of sudden ground excessive
deformations/failures occur due to leakage from dilapidated sewage or high pressure
water pipelines, which disturbs/scours the weak soils directly located below the
shallow foundations.
An official in the Department of Urban Planning of Alexandria (DUPA) referred to
the soil strength and serviceability problem as the main reason behind successive
damages and collapses of buildings (Asharq Al-Awsat, 2012). Moreover, the official
added that another potential reason for the growing problem is the recent construction
operations that have occurred during the past few decades where existing residential
buildings were heightened without first obtaining the required licenses or permissions
from the appropriate governmental authorities. DUPA reported that most of these
potentially illegal residential buildings were constructed during the 1970s.
Hence, it is obvious that a part of the problem is related to the increase in the
structural loading, which exceeded the bearing capacity of the soils supporting the
foundations. Furthermore, a part of the problem is related to the fact that the designed
foundations were already supported on problematic soils and/or that the wrong types
of foundations were utilized in such harsh soil conditions. The DUPA official also
indicated that the most vulnerable areas in the city affected by such foundation
problems are Old Alexandria, Al-Agamy, Al-Syouf, Somoha, and the North Coast.
This paper presents the case history for a 15 story residential building constructed
over the deep soft clay layers of Alexandria. The building is located in Somoha,
2

4281

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

4282

which is one of the locations containing the problematic soils (i.e., Alexandria soft
clay). Eight years after construction, noticeable inclination and cracks in the building
were observed, causing several serviceability problems. Under a tight budget, a
foundation system was proposed to retrofit the structure to stop the continued tilting
of the building. After completing the retrofit installation, the tilt of the building was
monitored over a two year period, and it was determined that the tilting has
completely stopped (Habrouk, 2007).

14t
ho
fM
ay
Brid
ge

BUILDING DESCRIPTION
The structure (i.e., Somoha Building) described within this case history is located in
close proximity to the ring road in the district of Somoha in Alexandria, Egypt. The
construction of the building began in 1998 and was completed in 2001. The Somoha
building has a total area of about 8160 m2, and consists of one basement, one ground
floor, and 14 typical stories. The basement and ground floors are used for commercial
purposes while the other 14 stories are used for residential purposes (i.e., each story
contains four apartments). As shown in the layout in Figure 1, the Somoha Building
is located at the intersection of two streets, and there is an adjacent 15 story structure
to the south and another small service 2 story building to the north.

Neighboring
Building
23.3 m

BH2
Somoha
Building

24.0 m

29.7 m

BH1
Main Street

Service
Building

Secondary
Street

et
Stre
dia
u
o
m
Mah

North

Figure 1. Layout for Somoha building and location of boreholes

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

4283

For the Somoha Building, the structural system of the basement and ground floors
consists of solid slabs with drop beams, while the system for the residential floors
consists of flat slabs. The foundation system, as-designed and shown on the original
contract drawings, should have consisted of groups of continuous flight auger (CFA)
bored piles with pile caps. Each CFA pile (a total of 176) was designed to have a
diameter of 60 cm and a length of 18 m (but the length should vary to sufficiently
embed the pile tip in the strong underlying stratum). The steel reinforcement for each
CFA pile consisted of 8 ea, no. 16 mm bars resulting in a design capacity of around
900 kN/pile. The shape of the pile caps was irregular, but each had a thickness equal
to 1 m. The original design of the foundation system for the Somoha Building is
shown in Figure 2. Unfortunately, the aforementioned foundation system was not
constructed according to the original design, which is discussed later in this paper.

2.50 m
2.50 m

Original pile
caps

Borders of the
new raft

N
New micropiles

North

Original Straws
piles

Isolated
Footing
Column no. 40

176 original Straws piles (D50 cm/ L18 m)

60 new micropiles (D15 cm/ L20 m)
2.60 m
1.50 m
13.5 m

1.50 m

Figure 2. Layout of the original and new foundations for the Somoha Building

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

VISUAL INSPECTION
After reviewing all of the available (original) construction drawings and monitoring
records, a visual inspection was performed during the first field visit in May 2006.
The major observations of the visual inspection on the superstructure and the
surroundings were as follows:
1. there was a northerly tilt in the Somoha Building (i.e., towards the small 2
story service building) that was clearly noticeable. The horizontal
displacement at the roof elevation (about 47 m above the ground surface) was
about 65 cm resulting in an inclination ratio of 1H:72V;
2. there was a tilt in the Somoha Building in the westerly direction (i.e., towards
the side street) resulting in an inclination ratio of around 1H:150V;
3. inclined hairline cracks were detected scattered along the exterior walls on the
north side of the Somoha Building. The primary reason for these cracks could
be due to the excessive tilt; and,
4. large cracks ranging from 5 to 10 mm in thickness were clearly evident on the
exterior walls of the neighboring service building on the north side, toward
which the Somoha Building leaned.
Photos taken of the Somoha Building and the neighboring building are shown in
Figure 3 to illustrate the tilting that occurred. Also, the results from eight different
survey observations conducted from 2007 (before repair) until 2009 (after repair)
using total station survey measurements for the Somoha Building are summarized in
Table 1. The values provided in the table were mainly to determine the rate of
displacement with respect to time, just before and after repair.
Table 1. Vertical displacement observations conducted before and after repair
SepSep- Feb- Apr- Sep- Nov- Feb- Apr08(2)
07(1)
08
08
08
09
09
09
North 0.00 41.95 54.62 57.43 57.44 57.44 57.44 57.64
Vertical
disp. (mm) South 0.00 6.25 15.33 17.56 17.60 18.00 18.00 18.30
Note: (1) setting points and default readings for the total station; and (2) repair completed
Date

Some locations at exterior and interior columns in the basement were selected for
excavation (i.e., backfill above the pile caps was removed for inspection). This was
performed to measure the as-built dimensions of the pile caps and to verify the pile
caps were constructed as originally designed. Insignificant dissimilarities were
detected in the as-built pile caps as compared with the original drawings of the pile
caps. However, it was confirmed that the foundation of column no. 40 was an isolated
shallow footing located at one of the edge columns on the north side where the tilting
problem existed (Figure 2). To verify the as-built length and diameter of the bored
piles, two large trial pits were excavated next to exterior piles: one pit on the north
side and the second on the south.
It was found that the type of piles used was not a CFA pile, but was a mechanically
bored pile, referred to in Egypt as Straws piles. In addition, the as-built diameter of
the Straws piles measured to be 50 cm instead of 60 cm, as indicated on the original
drawings. It was quite difficult to precisely determine the depth of all of the piles
under the building, but there was some evidence that the length of the piles was 18 m;
5

4284

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

therefore, the pile length should be in accordance with the original design. In order to
characterize the as-built Straws pile capacity and settlement behavior, and then
compare it with the original CFA pile, a soil investigation program was planned and
performed. Additional details and results from the investigation program are
presented in a subsequent section of this paper.

Figure 3. Photos for Somoha building and the neighboring building showing tilt
SOIL INVESTIGATION
Two boreholes, BH1 and BH2, were formed to a depth of about 32 m adjacent to
the Somoha Building (Figure 1). From the boring logs, which are schematically
represented in Figure 4, the general soil formation at the site consists of five main soil
layers (FACB, 2006) as follows: 1) a fill layer of medium dense-to-loose sand with
trace of bricks from the ground surface to a depth of 4 m; 2) a deep layer of soft-tovery soft clay with trace of silt from a depth of 4 m to 16 m; 3) a layer of dense-tomedium dense silty sand from a depth of 16 m to 23 m; 4) a layer of stiff silty clay
from a depth of 23 m to 27 m; and 5) a layer of dense sand from a depth of 27 m to
32 m (depth of the borehole). The GWT at the time of in situ testing was located at a
depth of about 1.6 m below the ground surface (Figure 4).
The cohesionless and cohesive layers were preliminary characterized using in situ
Standard Penetration Testing (SPT) and the pocket Penetrometer, respectively.
Moreover, disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected for laboratory
testing, which included basic soil classification (e.g., soil gradation, and liquid and
plastic limits), eight direct shear tests (DST), and three 1-D consolidation tests
(FACB, 2006). The locations of the soil samples collected for the DST and 1-D
consolidation tests are shown in Figure 4. The figure also includes the SPT blow
6

4285

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

4286

counts (N), corrected for the effect of the soil overburden pressure (N1). From the
SPT results, it was determined that the fill layer has a N1 value ranging from 25 to 27
blows/0.3 m, while the N1 value for the silty sand layer exceeds 50 blows/0.3 m.

0
2

Ground Surface
Fill
GWT
= 16.0 kN/m3

BH1
BH2
DST - 4 (BH2)

4
6
8
10
12

DST - 1 (BH1)

BH1
BH2 -----------------Soft to very soft clay
= 16.5 kN/m3

DST - 5 (BH2)
DST - 6 (BH2)

14

Depth (m)

SPT-N1
10 20 30 40 50 >6060

1-D Cons. 1 (BH1)

16
18
20

DST - 7 (BH2)
DST - 2 (BH1)

Med. dense silty sand

= 20.6 kN/m3

22
24
26

DST - 3 and 1-D Cons. 3 (BH1)

DST - 8 (BH2)
1-D Cons. 2 (BH1)

Stiff silty clay

= 19.5 kN/m3

28
30
32

SPT N1-values in SI
units (blows/0.3 m)

Dense sand
= 21.0 kN/m3
End of BH1 and BH2

Figure 4. Soil profile from BH1 and BH2 including the corrected SPT N-values
and the locations of collected samples for the DST and 1-D consolidation tests
For the eight DSTs, the tests were conducted on soil samples collected at depths of
approximately 4, 6, 12, 14, 18, 19, 24, and 25 m below the ground surface, reflecting
the main soil layers along the embedded length of the Straws piles. The MohrCoulomb failure envelopes obtained using the DST results for the soil material
collected from BH1 are shown in Figure 5. Also, the values of the water content, total
soil unit weights, normal stresses used during DST testing, and the soil shear strength
parameters (i.e., c and ) for all the eight DSTs that were conducted on samples
collected from BH1 and BH2 are summarized in Table 2.

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

Shear Stress (kPa)

150

DST-1 (6.0 m)
DST-2 (19.0 m)
DST-3 (24.0 m)

125
100

4287

y = 0.73x + 24.333

BH1
y = 0.418x + 35.133

75
50
25

y = 0.0161x + 7.5233
0
0

50

100

150

200

Normal Pressure (kPa)

Figure 5. Failure envelops using the DST results for soil collected from BH1
Table 2. Water content, unit weights, normal stresses, c and ' from DSTs
Shear
Stress*
(kPa)
4
Fill
BH2 65.6%
16
9.7
DST-4
6
Soft Clay BH1 62.1%
16.5
119
DST-1
12
Soft Clay BH2 59.0%
16.5
77
DST-5
14
Soft Clay BH2 29.4%
16.5
27.8
DST-6
18
Silty Sand BH2 16.1%
20.6
8.5
DST-7
19
Silty
Sand
BH1
15.2%
20.6
11.7
DST-2
24
Silty Clay BH1 26.8%
19.5
83
DST-3
25
Silty Clay BH2 39.3%
19.5
85.4
DST-8
Note: * Shear stress corresponds to a normal stress of 100 kPa
DST #

Depth
(m)

Soil Type

BH #

w c%

t
(kN/m3)

c
(kPa)

(deg.)

24.6
7.5
8.5
3.2
9
24.3
35.1
46

0o
0o
0o
4o
37o
36o
23o
18o

The three 1-D consolidation tests were conducted on samples from the soft clay and
the stiff clay layers at depths of approximately 15, 24, and 26 m (Figure 4) to obtain
the pre-consolidation pressure (p), the vertical coefficient of consolidation (Cv), the
modified compression index (CC = cc / 1+eo), and the modified recompression index
(CR= cr / 1+eo). The results from the consolidation tests for the clay samples obtained
from BH1 at depth 15 m (representing the soft clay layer surrounding the pile shaft)
and from BH2 at depths of 24 m and 26 m (representing the stiff clay layer) are
shown in Figure 6. From Figure 6, it can be seen that for the sample from BH1,
p=117 kPa, Cv=0.043 cm2/min, Cc1=0.10, and CR1=0.02. For the sample from
BH2, p=162 kPa, Cv=0.008 cm2/min, Cc2=0.11, and CR2=0.025. Based on the
aforementioned values, the expected final consolidation settlement (Hf) for the soft
clay layer was calculated for the north side of the building to be approximately 51
cm. The time required to reach the ultimate settlement was estimated to be around
28.4 years. Moreover, since the problem occurred between 1998 and 2007
corresponding to about 8 years since the completion of construction, the
consolidation settlement at t=8 years (H@8yrs) was calculated to be 39 cm,
corresponding to an average degree of consolidation (U) equal to 76%.
8

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

1.5

4288

BH1 (15.0 m) 'p = 117 kPa

BH2 (24.0 m) ' p = 133 kPa
BH1 (26.0 m) ' p = 162 kPa

1.4
1.3

e (void ratio)

1.2
1.1
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.1

10

Normal stress (Kg/cm2)

Figure 6. Consolidation results for clay samples obtained from BH1 and BH2
ANALYSIS FOR EXISTING STRUCTURE AND FOUNDATIONS
Structural Analysis
The first step towards conducting a full-scale structural analysis was to determine
the actual strength of the concrete used for different structural elements of the
Somoha Building. According to original drawings, the design compression strength
of the concrete was 250 kg/cm2. Consequently, a number of Schmidt hammer tests,
following the guidelines of the ASTM C805 (2002), were performed on various
structural elements of the building, and the Schmidt hammer rebound values acquired
for columns had an average reading of about 39.4, which indicates that the strength of
the existing concrete was acceptable and satisfied the original design specifications.
Additionally, a 3-D finite element model was constructed using a commercially
available software package to calculate the actual loads acting on each column of the
Somoha building (i.e., in its original state before the tilting occurred). From this
structural model, it was determined that the axial compressive stress acting on the
columns ranged from 1.3 MPa to 11 MPa, while the supposed uniform stress acting
on the entire area of the building was estimated to be 210 kPa (or 2.1 kg/cm2).
Generally, the stress acting on 85% of the columns was considered acceptable;
nevertheless, the remaining 15% (six columns) required strengthening where the
loading exceeded the ultimate structural capacity.
The most important observation in the previous analysis was the large moment
exerted on the foundations. This large moment developed because the centroid of the
structural loading did not coincide with the centroid of the foundations, resulting in a
relatively large eccentricity equal to 28.1 cm and 19.4 cm in the x- and y-directions,
respectively. Equivalent moments resulting from this eccentricity were 32,621 kN.m
and 22,521 kN.m in the Mx and My directions, respectively.
9

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

Geotechnical Analysis
The original design of the foundation system utilized 176 CFA piles, each with a
diameter of 60 cm, a length of 18 m, and a working capacity of about 900 kN. Hence,
the total design capacity of the pile foundation system should have been about
158,400 kN, which should have provided ample resistance to support the design
structural loading estimated to be about 116,090 kN.
However, the as-constructed Straws pile foundation system utilized pile elements
having a diameter and length equal to 50 cm and 18 m, respectively. In short, the
Straws pile is a manually bored pile that is relatively inexpensive to install especially
in relatively easy drilling soil conditions (e.g., soft clay). According to the Egyptian
Code of Practice (ECP, 2001) because of several deficiencies regarding the integrity
of this pile type, a high factor of safety (greater than 3.0) must be used in the design.
In this study, the working capacity of a single Straws pile was calculated using the
ONeill and Reese method (ONeill and Reese, 1999). For the skin friction
component, it was determined that the fill and the soft clay layers (Figure 4) exerted a
large downdrag load (about 494 kN) on a Straws pile. The computed end bearing
resistance was about 2176 kN, resulting in a total ultimate capacity of the pile of
about 1682 kN tonnes (i.e., 2176 tonnes + (-494 tonnes)). Accordingly, the total
working capacity of the Straws pile is 560 kN. The resulting total capacity of the
foundation system is approximately 98,560 kN (i.e., 560 kN x 176 piles), which is
about 17,530 kN less than that required to support the structural loading, assuming
that the loads are uniformly distributed. However, the structural loads are not
uniformly loaded due to eccentricity described above, which exerts a large moment
on the (already under-designed) Straws piles on the north side (i.e., on the side
towards the lean).
For the analysis, the actual loads acting on the Straws piles were calculated taking
into consideration the large moments acting in the Mx and My directions. For the piles
located on the north half of the foundation system (i.e., towards the lean and
subjected to large compressive loads due to the eccentricity), the loads acting on each
of these Straws piles were computed to be about 913 kN, which exceeds the working
capacity of a Straws pile. For the piles located on the south half of the foundation
system, the loads acting on each of these Straws piles ranged from 300 to 600 kN,
which was considered acceptable.
Therefore, it was believed that the piles located on the north side of the building
were subjected to compressive loads greater than the design capacity, which may
have caused the excessive settlement (or failure) to the piles on that side. As an aside,
in the case where failure of the piles on the north side may have occurred, it was
expected that a portion of the loads acting on these piles should have been
redistributed to the soil layers via the pile caps. As previously stated, the
consolidation settlement of the fill and soft clay layers was calculated as about 39 cm
at eight years after the end of construction. Analyzing and comparing the actual
settlement to the estimated settlement at eight years after construction, it was
determined that the building settled about 40 cm (a tilt of 1:72) on the north side
indicating that the Straws piles failed to safely support the structural loads.

10

4289

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

PROPOSED REPAIR SYSTEM

In the repair approach, the first intention was to reduce or eliminate the imposed
moment due to the eccentricity in the loading, which could be achieved by increasing
the stiffness of the foundations at the north side of the building. Second, new piles
were considered to be added to the existing foundation system in order to support the
additional 17,530 kN from the structural loads.
There were several factors affecting the proposed repair system including:
1) due to the limited vertical clearance of the basement floor (2.5 m), it would be
difficult to add new piles between the existing pile caps;
2) the available space that could accommodate the construction of new piles was
along the outside perimeter of the building on the north, east, and west sides;
3) any vibrations from the construction of the new piles could cause serious
damage to the neighboring structures, especially the service building;
4) due to both the nature of the weak soil layers beneath the existing foundations
and the tilt of the Somoha Building, the type of new piles should cause
minimal or no disturbance to the building; and
5) the funds available for a proposed solution were very limited.
Taking the above into account, it was decided to use micropiles along the outside
boundaries of the Somoha Building, as shown in Figure 2. As stated above, the
primary intentions of the micropiles were to reduce the eccentricity and to support the
additional structural loads. A new raft footing was proposed to connect the new
micropiles with the original pile caps, as shown in Figure 2. In addition to tying the
existing and new pile caps together, the raft footing provides other advantages such as
(1) can be incorporated into the design to assist in reducing the eccentricity, (2) can
increase the rigidity of the foundation system, (3) can facilitate a uniform distribution
of the structural loads (coming from the exterior and interior columns) to the old and
new piles, (4) can reduce the amount of differential settlement or tilt, and (5) can
uniformly transfer a percentage from 5 to 10% of the structural loads through direct
bearing on the soil underneath the raft if needed (Abdel-Salam and Mashhour, 1988).
From the structural and geotechnical analyses along with supplemental analyses
and calculations (SAAB, 2007), a total of 60 micropiles with 15 cm and 20 m in
diameter and length, respectively, and a design capacity of 300 kN, were deemed
adequate to satisfy the objectives of the repair. Under tight budget, the type of the
micropiles was selected based on the available local practice which minimize the
disturbance to the soil and the nearby structures. First, drilling using a hollow stem
auger was conducted accompanied by bentonite as a drilling fluid. After reaching the
desired depth, a primary grout (1 water: 2 cement) was placed through the hollow
stem under low pressure (0.5 to 1.0 MPa) to fully replace the bentonite. The hollow
stem was then removed while a permanent steel casing (thickness of 13 mm) was
inserted, that is perforated along the bottom 4 m. After 48 hours (after hardening of
the primary grout), a secondary grout was injected under high pressure (4.0 to 8.0
MPa) to form an enlarged micropile base and shaft (along the perforated length of the
casing). Finally, a micropile steel head (20 cm x 20 cm) was installed.
In addition to the 60 micropiles, a raft foundation with a thickness of 140 cm was
used to connect the deep foundations with the columns. The micropiles and raft
11

4290

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

4291

system were designed such that the eccentricity was reduced from 28 cm to about 0.8
cm in the x-direction, and from 19 cm to about 0 cm in the y-direction. A cross
section of the new micropiles, new raft and its reinforcement, and the shear dowels
used to connect the raft with the old pile caps and columns is shown in Figure 7.
Concrete Jacket
for column
to connect
with new raft
using shear
Basement floor
dowels

Existing
column

Shear dowels

New raft

New raft (t = 140 cm)

steel reinforcement
7ea., no. 22 mm/m`
(top and bottom)

Original
pile cap

New plane concrete footing Original

Straws
(t = 20 cm)

Micropile
steel head

Original
Straws
piles

piles

60
new
micropiles
D15 cm/
L20 m

Figure 7. Cross section in the reinforcement of the new micropiles and raft
After completing the repairs in 2008, the building was monitored for tilt for a two
year time period, during which it was determined that the tilting had completely
stopped (Table 1). However, a small amount of uniform vertical settlement can be
expected in the future due to consolidation or creep of the fill and soft clay layers.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The Somoha building is a 15 story residential structure that was constructed over
and supported by deep, soft clay layers in Alexandria, Egypt. Eight years after the
completion of construction, an inclination or tilt in the building was noticed. At that
time, the rate of vertical settlement at the foundation level was about 7.3 and 2.9
mm/month on the north and south sides of the structure, respectively, which is a
common concern with the Alexandria soft clays.
In addition to a full-scale structural analysis, a soil investigation program was
conducted to characterize the behavior of the soft clay. It was found that the type of
piles used (Straws piles) and its load carrying capacity were not as indicated on the
original drawings (Continuous Flight Auger piles). It was also found that the centroid
of the structural loads did not coincide with the centroid of the area of the
foundations, thereby resulting in a relatively large eccentricity on the north side of the
building. Consequently, the actual loads acting on the piles within the north half of
the foundation system were subjected to larger compressive loads than anticipated,
which exceeded the working capacity of the as-constructed Straws piles. Therefore, a
large amount of the loading was redistributed to the fill and soft clay layers beneath
the pile caps.
12

Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, GSP 234 ASCE 2014

Under a tight budget, a repair foundations system was proposed to stop the
persisting tilt of the building. The repair system was comprised of 60 micropiles and
a new raft footing constructed at the same level as the original pile caps. The length
and capacity of each micropile was 20 m and 300 kN, respectively. The micropiles
were installed along the outside perimeter of the building to distribute the stresses
beneath the foundations and to reduce the eccentricity from the loading.
The movement and tilt of the building were monitored for two years after the
installation of the repair system was completed, and it was found that the rate of
vertical displacement at the foundation level was reduced to about 0.017 mm/month
on the north side of the building. Hence, the repair system used in this case study has
proven to be successful and cost-effective, and may be useful for similar cases of
foundations in the soft clay of Alexandria, Egypt or anywhere else.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This case study was mainly analyzed by the team of engineers at SAAB EGYPT
Engineering Consulting Office (Prof. Dr. Sayed Abdel-Salam). The author was part
of this team, and would like to thank all the team members especially Dr. Sayed. The
author would also like to express his gratitude for the support received by Prof. Dr.
Mohsen Mashhour. Remarkable appreciation is given to the micropile contractor and
to everyone who helped in the data collection process.
REFERENCES
Abdel-Salam, S. and Mashhour, M. (1988). Repair and Rehabilitation of a
Residential Building at Nile River in Cairo. Proc. of 2nd International Conference
Case Histories in Geotechnical Eng., Univ. of Missouri Rolla, June 1988.
Al-Akhbar Newspaper. (2010). Ground Settlement in Alexandria Streets: A Problem
Needs a Solution. In Arabic by Senara S., 28 March 2010.
Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper. (2012). Catastrophe of Alexandria Collapsing
Buildings A Nightmare that Never Ends. In Arabic by Assem D., 28 July 2012.
ASTM C805 (2002). Standard Test Method for Rebound Number of Hardened
Concrete. Standard published by ASTM International, July 2002.
Egyptian Code of Practice. (2001). Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering.
Part 4 - Deep Foundations, 6th addition, 2001.
Fathi Abdrabbo Consulting Bureau (FACB). (2006). Geotechnical Report for
Somoha Building No. 4743. Vol. 1, January 2006.
Habrouk, H. F. (2007). Survey Results of Somoha Building. Vol. from 1 to 9
starting Sep. 2007 to Sep. 2009.
O'Neill, M. W. and Reese, L. C. (1999). Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and
Design Methods. FHWA Report No. IF-99-025, Federal Highway
Administration, Washington, D.C.
SAAB EGYPT Engineering Consulting Office (2007). Structural and Geotechnical
Report for Somoha Building No. 3356. Vol. 1 and 2, October 2007.

13

4292