APPLICATIONS

INDUSTRIAL TANKS • TRANSPORTATION •

BIOFUEL FACILITIES • FLOOR SLABS • UPLIFT • LIQUEFACTION/SEISMIC • RAILROAD
• WIND TURBINES • FOUNDATIONS
Rammed Aggregate Pier® Foundation Systems

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Parking Garage, Walnut Creek, CA

The Geopier Construction Process

®

Rammed Aggregate Pier® (RAP) elements are constructed by drilling a cavity and ramming select crushed
stone into the cavity in thin lifts. Heavy duty steel uplift anchors are installed near the bottom of the pier
during the Geopier® construction process to provide resistance to uplift loads. This results in very dense
aggregate piers used to reinforce soft soils, control foundation settlement and resist tensile forces.

1 The process first involves drilling a cavity. Drill depths normally

range from about 7 to 30 feet, depending on design requirements.
Pre-drilling allows you to visually inspect the soil between the
borings, allowing the piers to reinforce the appropriate soils.

2 Following construction of the bottom bulb of aggregate, a steel

uplift plate fastened to steel rods is placed near the bottom of the
pier. Layers of aggregate are then placed into the cavity in thin
lifts of one-foot compacted thickness. A patented beveled tamper
rams each layer of aggregate using vertical impact ramming
energy, resulting in superior strength and stiffness. The tamper densifies aggregate
vertically and forces aggregate laterally into cavity sidewalls. This results in improved
soil stiffness, excellent coupling with surrounding soils and provides superior frictional
resistance along the installed pier shaft.

3 Following installation, the Rammed Aggregate Pier (RAP) systems

support shallow footings, mats and industrial foundations.
Compressive and uplift loads are concentrated to the stiff piers,
resulting in engineered settlement control and uplift resistance.

800.371.7470
www.geopier.com T H E I N T E R M E D I AT E F O U N DAT I O N ® T E C H N O L O GY
 INDUSTRIAL TANKS • TRANSPORTATION •
BIOFUEL FACILITIES • FLOOR SLABS • UPLIFT • LIQUEFACTION/SEISMIC • RAILROAD
• WIND TURBINES • FOUNDATIONS

Increased Bearing Support

Construction of stiff Rammed Aggregate Pier elements using vertical
ramming energy results in friction angles of 50 degrees. This provides
significantly improved design bearing pressures of 5 to 10 ksf or more
depending on soil conditions. The improved bearing pressure reduces
footing sizes, saving time and money on your project.

Settlement Control
RAP solutions demonstrate superior strength and stiffness to provide
settlement control of light to heavily loaded shallow foundations. The Port Arthur Medical Facility, Port Arthur, TX
system is engineered for the specific soil and loading conditions to provide
a cost-effective approach that meets your specific project requirements.
Our engineering support and site specific modulus testing combined with
the experience of providing settlement control for thousands of projects
provide an unmatched level of support and reliability.

Uplift Resistance
Incorporation of steel uplift anchors into the Rammed Aggregate Pier
construction process provides resistance of tensile loads of up to 75
kips. RAP uplift anchors are used in combination with RAP elements for
compression to provide improved bearing pressures, superior settlement
control and cost-effective resistance to uplift loads generated by wind or
Tennessee Air National Guard C-5 Hanger, Memphis, TN
seismic forces.

Rammed Aggregate Pier®

Foundation System Advantages
INCREASES
bearing support and uplift resistance
IMPROVES
settlement performance
ACCELERATES
construction schedule
OFTEN RESULTS Regent Sheraton Hotel, Stockton, CA
in 20% to 50% savings

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150 Fairview Road, Suite 335 • Mooresville, NC 28117 • P: 704.799.3185 • 800.371.7470

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Intermediate Foundation , Rammed Aggregate Pier and Geopier are registered trademarks of Geopier Foundation Company, Inc.
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