• DFI Europe
  • DFI India
  • DFI Trust

DFI Committee Project Fund

The DFI Board of Trustees established the DFI Committee Project Fund in 2011 to fund DFI Committee projects that advance the state of practice and understanding of deep foundations and produce a usable deliverable. The fund has generated great interest, discussion and activity in the committees. Funding has supported projects proposed by 19 committees, and deliverables include laboratory/field testing, installation/demonstration programs, analytical tools, design guides, journal articles, project reports, databases and surveys. All projects involved significant in-kind contributions or joint funding with allied associations, furthering DFI’s industry-wide collaborative efforts.

Proposals are selected based on the following criteria:

  • Benefits to deep foundations industry (broad impact)
  • Innovation
  • Timeliness/relevance/immediacy of impact from results
  • Quality of proposal (clarity, focus)
  • Value of deliverable
  • Probability of achieving goal
  • Cost/benefit and cost sharing (matching funding, in-kind contributions)

Request for Proposals for the 2024 DFI Committee Project Fund are open. The deadline for submission is December 1, 2023. Note that most committees are requesting draft proposals by September 1, 2023.

Completed Projects

DFI of India

Implementation of CFA/ACIP Pile technology in India including demonstration program.
$30,000

Anchored Earth Retention

Website to provide guidance for developing standards and specifications for tiebacks and soil nailing in Peru.
$500

Currently under construction


With Landslides and Slope Stabilization:

Developing Guidelines for Factoring Structural Resistance for Landslide Stabilization and Excavation Support.
$29,650


Analysis of anchor load test data to determine potential limitations of 80% anchor unbonded length criterion.
$26,400

Driven Pile

Update to the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) Design Guide for Pile Caps.
$15,000


Study of factors that influence vibrodriveability, pile behavior and axial and lateral capacities of vibratory and impact driven piles.

$28,000

Ground Improvement

Survey and synthesis of liquefaction mitigation practices including selection and implementation of ground improvement techniques.
$15,000


Conducting 3D finite element analyses to evaluate lateral loading of unreinforced rigid elements and basal stability of column-supported systems, calibrated to a real life MSE project.
$33,380

International Grouting

Diggs Scheme for Rock Grouting Data Transfer
$27,500

Landslides/ Slope Stabilization

Report on update to strain wedge model technique used for analyzing slopes stabilized with one row of piles.
$15,000


Develop a simplified approach to the analysis of lateral loads on A-Walls.
$29,910


Guidance for factoring structural resistance for landslide stabilization and excavation support.
$29,650


With Anchored Earth Retention Committee:

Developing Guidelines for Factoring Structural Resistance for Landslide Stabilization and Excavation Support.
$29,650

Micropile

Literature review and practitioner survey on state of practice for design and construction and research needs for reticulated micropile network info.
$15,300

Seismic and Lateral Loads

Develop revised procedures for design of inelastic behavior of bridge pile foundations under combined liquefaction-induced lateral spreading and superstructure inertia.
$27,000

Also available at PDXScholar


Minimum required length for lateral stability of rock socketed pile shafts to develop a simple approach to address brittle response of rock mass subjected to lateral loads.
$19,577


Literature review and development of online database of previous large scale pile experiments.
$60,000

Slurry Wall

Consensus guidelines for design and detailing of reinforced concrete diaphragm walls used as permanent basement walls in regions of high seismicity.
$20,000

Soil Mixing

Proposed Research on the Effect of Curing Stresses on soil cement strength.
$28,500


Laboratory study of strength and deformation properties of soil-cement mixtures and appropriate laboratory procedures.
$25,540

Sustainability

EFFC/DFI Carbon Calculator

The EFFC and DFI have created a tool that will calculate the CO2 emissions of foundation and geotechnical works. It is designed to allow contractors and commissioning organisations alike to assess the carbon footprint of their projects.
$45,000


Projects in Progress

CommitteeProjectDFI Funding
Anchored Earth RetentionSynthesis of Practice for Deformation Criteria for SOE Systems$25,000
Anchored Earth RetentionCreep Testing of High Strength Steel Threaded Rebar$19,525
Augered Cast-in-Place and Drilled Displacement PilesConcrete Stressmeter Gages as an Alternative to Strain Gages in ACIP Piles$6,000
Augered Cast-in-Place and Drilled Displacement PilesEvaluation of In-Situ ACIP Pile Volume through Thermal Integrity Profiling.$10,000
Augered Cast-in-Place and Drilled Displacement PilesExperimental Evaluation of Confinement Effects on Rigid Inclusions for Improved Seismic Design$28,424
BIM and DigitalisationPractical Guide to BIM and Digital Geotechnics$10,500
Codes and StandardsResearch into Test and Reaction Pile Spacing For Axial Load Test with Reference to ASTM D1143$30,000
Drilled ShaftShear Magnification in Rock-Socketed Piles – Part 2: Numerical and Parametric$30,000
Drilled ShaftOld and new – reliability is key: A close-up look into the accuracy of p-y formulations in predicting lateral foundation$29,900
Ground ImprovementDevelopment of a Simplified Methodology to Evaluate the Factor of Safety for Basal Stability and the Magnitude of Lateral Spreading for CSEs Supported on Rigid Inclusions$17,100
Ground ImprovementReinforcing Mechanisms of Soil-Cement Columns in Liquefiable Sand Underneath an Embankment During Strong Earthquake Loading$29, 889
Ground ImprovementSeismic Performance of Rigid Inclusions$30,000
Ground ImprovementSeismic Performance of Rigid Inclusions – Phase II$30,000
Ground ImprovementPolymer grouting: an alternative to cementitious materials$29,934
Helical Piles and TiebacksA Pilot Experimental Study on Helical Piles for Underpinning of Shallow Foundations on Soils Susceptible to Liquefaction$20,000
Landslides/ Slope StabilizationResearchers will compare limit equilibrium and advanced numerical methods for slopes reinforced with stabilizing piles.$13,500
Landslides/ Slope StabilizationAnalyzing the Difference Between a Single Row of Piles vs. Staggered Rows for Slope Stabilization$9,500
MicropilesProposed method for design of bonded connections of micropiles to existing footings.$29,500
Seismic and Lateral LoadsDesign Guidelines for Characterizing the Residual Strength of p-y Curves for Rock$29,990
Seismic and Lateral LoadsDeveloping Design Guidelines for Estimating Liquefaction-Induced Soil Displacement Demands on Pile-Supported Wharves$29,979
Seismic and Lateral LoadsDynamic retaining Wall-Soil Interaction: new developments and web-platform$30,000
Seismic and Lateral LoadsDFI Course Development on Recently Completed Seismic and Lateral Load Design and Testing Guidelines$23,000
Soil MixingContinued Research on the Effect of Curing Stress$29,700
Subsurface Characterization for Deep FoundationsCollaborative Contribution of Geotechnical Characterization to the GeoTechTools Website$15,303
Subsurface Characterization for Deep FoundationsTowards Improved Service Life Predictions of Previously Installed Steel Piles$30,000
Testing and EvaluationEvaluating Thermal Integrity Profiling for Drilled Shafts$30,000