Modélisation 3D d’un groupe de pieux pour le pont-canal de Houdeng

A satisfactory prediction of the settlements of hyperstatic structures is becoming more and more important in their design and construction. In this paper, the problems related to the behaviour of a group of piles and to the quality of the drilled piles of the canal-bridge of Houdeng (Belgium) are analysed in a non conventional fashion, based on a finite element analysis, thanks to sufficient experimental data. The influence of an imperfectly cleaned excavation bottom and of the destructuration of the bottom rocks caused by the drilling of the piles is investigated. A particular attention is also given to the behaviour of a group of piles.