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Caisson

Caissons are prefabricated hollow boxes or cylinders that are sunk into the ground to form foundations, especially for bridges over bodies of water. There are different types of caissons including box, excavated, floating, open, and pneumatic caissons. Caissons provide economic foundations that minimize pile caps and cause less noise and vibration compared to other foundation types, though they are sensitive to construction procedures and unsuitable for contaminated sites.

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9 views

Caisson

Caissons are prefabricated hollow boxes or cylinders that are sunk into the ground to form foundations, especially for bridges over bodies of water. There are different types of caissons including box, excavated, floating, open, and pneumatic caissons. Caissons provide economic foundations that minimize pile caps and cause less noise and vibration compared to other foundation types, though they are sensitive to construction procedures and unsuitable for contaminated sites.

Uploaded by

Deep Debnath
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Caisson Foundation

WHAT IS CAISSONS?
It s a prefabricated hollow box or cylinder
It is sunk into the ground to some desired depth and then filled with concrete t
hus forming a foundation.
Most often used in the construction of bridge piers & other structures that requ
ire foundation beneath rivers & other bodies of water
This is because caissons can be floated to the job site and sunk into place
Basically it is similar in form to pile foundation but installed using different
way
used when soil of adequate bearing strength is found below surface layers of wea
k materials such as fill or peat
It s a form of deep foundation which are
constructed above ground level, then sunk to the required level by excavating or
dredging material from within the caisson
TYPES OF CAISSONS
Box Caissons
Excavated Caissons
Floating Caissons
Open Caissons
Pneumatic Caissons
ADVANTAGES
Economics
Minimizes pile cap needs
Slightly less noise and reduced vibrations
Easily adaptable to varying site conditions
DISADVANTAGES
Extremely sensitive to construction procedures
Not good for contaminated sites
THE PROCESS: BUILDING A CAISSON
After some initial form work and concrete pours, the cutting edge is floated to
the breakwater by towboat and fastened to the caisson guide. Concrete is placed
(poured) into steel forms built up along the perimeter of the box. With every co
ncrete placement, the box becomes heavier and sinks into the water along the cai
sson guide.
Forms are also built inside the box around the air domes and concrete is placed
in between. The resulting open tubes above the air domes are called dredge wells
When the caisson finally touches the river bottom, the air domes are removed and
earth is excavated through the long dredge well tubes, as shown in the animatio
n below. The caisson sinks into the river bottom. Excavation continues until the
caisson sinks to its predetermined depth
As a final step, concrete is placed (poured) into the bottom 30 feet of the holl
ow dredge wells and the tops are sealed.

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