DESCRIPTION

This 13,541 sf cafeteria provides nutritional breakfasts and lunches to both military and civilian personnel. The one-story building contains necessary cafeteria functions, including a service area, kitchen, storage, office, and delivery areas. Additionally, the facility serves as a gathering space and focal point for the surrounding campus.

CHALLENGE

A very soft soil profile and shallow groundwater table required an innovative foundation system for this design-build project. The fat clay could not support normal spread footings and a deep foundation system extending 35 ft or more below grade was not cost-effective.

SOLUTION

Ground improvement using Impact® Pier elements provided the necessary soil bearing capacity and settlement control for the spread footing foundation system. The Impact Pier system was selected since it provided the high capacity needed in the soft soil profile and could be installed below the groundwater table which was relatively shallow at this site. Over 600 Impact Pier elements were installed to support the building loads, as well as several ft of new structural fill that was placed to carry the building’s foundations and slab-on-grade. At lengths ranging from 15 to 18 ft, the Impact Pier elements extended 10 ft or more into the groundwater table yet were capable of providing a 50 kip capacity and satisfactorily controlled building settlements. Overall, the Impact Pier system provided a cost-effective ground improvement solution that helped save time and money.