CONTROLLED CAISSON DRIVING

The characteristics of the soil found in the Bogotá plateau as well as in other regions of the country led Colombian engineering to develop the Controlled Caisson methodology in order to avoid the problems implicit in traditional methods of excavation in this type of soil. SALAZAR FERRO INGENIEROS S.A. has contributed to the development and implementation of this methodology by improving the system for caisson control during the driving process. The system is based on very basic principles with a capacity for immediate response, and with much lower costs than those of equivalent systems developed in other countries.

The use of this system has been successful in a good number of the projects the firm has participated in, especially because of the quality and the speed with which information is obtained. This allows for immediate decision-making regarding excavation zones, injection zones, and anchor tensioning.

In many of the projects in which this system has been used, it has been left installed during the operation itself. This has made it possible to obtain information regarding deformations in the foundations of buildings in Bogotá. In some cases, the instrumentation has been left to function permanently during the construction of projects in neighboring areas, thus allowing an adequate follow-up of the structure during construction, as well as an agile decision-making process.