Zeil - Frankfurt am Main

The Zeil, Frankfurt am Main was the site of the first Osterberg Cell® (O-cell®) test in Germany. In 2004 the largest, static load pile test on German soil was performed using O-cells, in the heart of Frankfurt. The bi-directional load test was aimed at confirming the foundation design, before demolition of some of the surrounding older structures.

The 1.68m diameter test pile was installed by Bilfinger & Berger 12m into the Frankfurt limestone to a depth of 46m below ground level. Using to advantage a feature unique to bi-directional tests, only the section of pile in the rock socket was concreted and the remainder of the bore (35m) backfilled with granular material for stabilisation. Subsequently the pile was base grouted and shaft grouted (as is typical practice in the Frankfurt limestone).

This large site is uniquely located within the Frankfurt city centre, on the main shopping street, "Zeil". This street is one of those with the highest pedestrian traffic in Germany. The "FrankfurtHochVier" is a Class-A mixed-use project . The existing buildings, which are currently in use by Deutsche Telekom, will be demolished. Only a small part of the structure will remain, namely, the listed, historical building known as the porticos of the "Thurn und Taxis Palais". The development is one of the most significant in Europe today.

Six O-cells were installed on two separate levels to allow the behaviour of three elements of the pile in the rock socket to be evaluated independently. The loading test was carried out in stages as is necessary with a multilevel O-cell arrangement: The effective mobilised capacity was 78MN.

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Zeil - Frankfurt am Main