TGV TRAIN: WAREMME VIADUCT FOUNDATION PROBLEMS

The Waremme viaduct is part of the Brussels-Cologne TGV link. Due to the presence of a top layer of compressible soil overlying chalk, with flint and calcareous boulders and highly weathered in many places, the viaduct had to be founded on 2442 closed end tubular driven piles. The pile tests carried out on these piles indicated bearing capacities much lower than the required values and the foundation design had to be reconsidered accordingly. It was also decided to carry out an additional soil investigation based on pressuremeter tests and more adequate for complex soils that CPT tests. A new piling technique, much more efficient in weathered chalk, was also proposed and tested. The main results obtained on instrumented tested piles are presented.