Omega Pile Foundation System for Sludge Dewatering Project
Malcolm Drilling was awarded a design-build contract for the foundation system of the Sludge Dewatering and Odor Control Project at Plant 1 for the Orange County Sanitation District in Fountain Valley, California. The site conditions included various layers of clay, silty sand, and sand with shallow groundwater. The contract included the design and testing of 24 and 18-inch diameter Omega piles with a maximum design load of 272 kips and 228 kips in compression, and 30 kips and 20 kips in shear, respectively. Malcolm’s design was a value engineering proposal to replace the original 30-inch diameter drilled piles, significantly reducing the overall length and diameter of the piles and saving the client several million dollars.
In total, Malcolm installed 437, 24-inch Omega piles with lengths between 45 and 65 feet and 112, 18-inch Omega piles with an average length of 63 feet. All piles received a full-length reinforcement cage. We utilized one Bauer BG-40 drill rig equipped with the onboard automated monitoring system (G&H), providing all the necessary installation parameters and quality control data for each pile.
