Helical (Screw) Piles Foundation System Design Workshop (1.2 CEUs)

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This course is divided into four sessions. Each session will be 3 hours in durationThe sessions will be held on November 27-28 & 04 -05 December 2026.

This course will be offered in 2027 on the following dates:

April 23–24 & April 30 – May 1, 2027

If you are unable to attend any of the sessions a recording will be made available.
 
Description
Helical foundation systems offer a versatile replacement of conventional deep foundations solutions. The most important differences between the helical foundations and the conventional foundation types are mainly in method of construction. Helical piles need much less construction time and could be used or loaded immediately. Helical piles could be used where conventional deep foundation cannot. Underpinning is the best example of these unique differences. This course will focus on the design, construction and field acceptance criteria’s for the helical (screw piles). The course notes, lectures and hands on design examples will compose a comprehensive reference for the state of knowledge and guidance for future use.
 
The fundamental mechanisms by which helical piles develop resistance to load are described in a manner consistent with basic principles of soil mechanics. Along with the thorough description of installation methods and equipment that is provided, the concepts used for design and quality control/quality assurance follow logically. The section on corrosion and life expectancy is particularly important now as applications of helical piles expand into greater use with permanent structures with longer intended service periods. Applications for helical piles are described which may prove novel to many engineers and open opportunities for innovation and development of more cost-effective solutions.
 
Objectives
 
The main objective of this workshop is to enable participants to select the best helical foundation solution for different types of civil engineering problems. After completing the course participants should be able to design helical foundations and supervise their construction. Understand the acceptance criteria, and related equivalent torque design. The course philosophy is to provide the participants with the information they need to design foundations at the state of the art. The information is supplied in a simple and systematic way, discussing topics where current knowledge is lacking and more understanding is needed.
 
Target Audience
This workshop will be suitable for Structural engineers, geotechnical engineers, technicians, and technologists. Civil engineers, public works and construction department employees of federal, provincial and municipal governments and engineers responsible for large industrial, commercial or institutional facilities who must deal with different types of foundations. The course will be of interest to a wide range of practicing civil engineers at different stages in their careers. Some familiarization with soil mechanics is desirable but the knowledge is not required at a specialist level.
  
 
 After attending this course you will be able to:
 
  • Determine screw pile carrying capacity
  • Select best screw pile type for your projects
  • Evaluate the helical pile acceptance criteria
  • Design helical foundation system with more confidence 
Special Features 
The two-day course will consist of a series of lectures and workshops. Worked examples with numerical reference will reinforce the lectures. Case studies which illustrate the full range of problems are a feature of the course. There will be workshops on helical pile design under different types of loads; a display of DYNA 6 modelling of pump station on screw piles will be displayed.
 
The following will be covered:
  • An assortment of projects Oil & Gas related, hilite the Grizzly Oilsands Algar Lake project
  • An assortment of projects PT&D related, hilite the DCAT project
  • An assortment of projects Commercial Construction related, hilite the Seymour Pacific Apartment project
  • An assortment of projects where there is a Unique Applications 
 

 

Dr. Gamal Abdelaziz, Ph.D., P.Eng

Dr. Gamal Abdelaziz, Ph.D., P.Eng

Dr. Gamal Abdelaziz, P.Eng, MSc. has a Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Dr. Abdelaziz has served as a senior geotechnical engineer at DST Consulting engineers, Sarafinchin Consulting engineers, Trow Consulting and EBA engineering. Currently he is a Principal geotechnical engineer and managing director with SAGA Engineering, Edmonton, Alberta. His duties include revision of geotechnical design, including slope stability, foundation and machine foundation design, soil investigation, design of cuts and earth fills, evaluation of stability of existing slopes, slope reinforcement using geotextiles, geogrids, soil nails, base reinforcement to support earth fills on soft subgrade soils, erosion protection using geocells matting, rip rap, stabilization of unstable slopes, evaluation of soil bearing capacity to support footing foundations, settlement studies, deep foundations including driven piles, auger injected (CFA) piles, additional support to existing foundations by underpinning utilizing concrete panels, grouting, micro piles, evaluation of earth pressures on retaining walls, security of excavation base, tieback support, etc.

Dr. Abdelaziz has over 35 years of experience in geotechnical and structural engineering and water resources management, foundation design, teaching, research and consulting in Canada and overseas.

Dr. Gamal has designed and delivered over one hundred geotechnical/water resources engineering workshops which are well received by practitioners' engineers in Canada and globally.

Highly energetic proactive accomplished Civil Engineer with 35+ years of Canadian/International experience in Civil Engineering design and construction management. Work includes linear infrastructures, aviation-related projects, military, industrial, institutional, commercial buildings, tunnels design and construction, foundation and geotechnical engineering, slope stability, tailing and dams design and analyses, environmental site assessment and bridges design. Strong expertise in geotechnical engineering techniques and project/construction management methods. Exceptional leadership/team builder and management skills, experienced working with multi-national teams, managed up to 200 technical team members. Thorough knowledge of building codes and standards. Mega projects management experiences. The projects sizes ranged up to 150 B USD.

Dr. Abdelaziz has served in top leadership positions as Program Director, Technical Director, Design Director and Program Director in several of the largest engineering firms in the world – WSP and SYSTRA Corporations.

While his achievements are numerous, some highlights include supervising the design of a capital budget of up to USD $150B under the NEOM Corporation, Saudi Arabia. He developed new clients and provided technical leadership and project management according to the company's global business strategy. Established a full engineering operating firm and developed the business for a new engineering firm including developing the operating model and services. He also holds three degrees to further specialize his knowledge: Ph.D. in Civil and Geotechnical Eng. from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, M.S. in Geotechnical/Structural Eng. & B.S. in Civil Eng.

Dr. Abdelaziz is a former adjunct professor at University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, visiting professor at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada and part time professor at Seneca College, Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Abdelaziz is specialized in numerical modeling for solving sophisticated geotechnical engineering problems with respect to pile foundation and the linear and nonlinear analysis of soil-structure interaction. He designed charts to predict pressures acting on tunnels and developed an analytical model for pile bearing capacity prediction.

Dr. Abdelaziz authored a number of technical papers and delivered numerous internal and external workshops on various geotechnical and Municipal engineering topics. Dr. Abdelaziz has been involved in a number of projects in Canada and overseas, such as tunneling, silos, buildings, retaining structures, siphons, irrigation networks and many other civil engineering projects in terms of design and construction.

Introduction
  • Helical Screw Foundation Definition
  • Development history
  • Essential Elements
  • Bearing plate
  • A central shaft
  • A termination
  • Round Rod Anchors
  • Square Shaft Anchors
  • High-Strength Anchors
  • Power Installed Foundation Anchors
  • Pad-Pod Foundation Anchors
  • Street Light Foundation Anchors
  • Tension/Compression Foundation Anchors
  • HELICAL PIER Foundation Systems
  • HELICAL PULLDOWN™ Micropiles
  • Applied Research and Development
  • Soil Classification Chart by Chance
  • Soil Classification Data
  • Torque-to-Capacity Relationships
  • Soil mechanics principles
  • Available design software
  • Inter-helix spacing
  • Industry Standard: Helical screw foundation form fits function 
Applications
  • Deep foundation replacement
  • Helical screw foundations for residential and light commercial construction, Machinery/equipment foundations,
  • Telecommunication and transmission towers,
  • Tiedowns for wind and/or seismic forces,
  • Expansive soil areas,
  • Machinery/equipment foundations
  • Wind and seismic loading
  • Limited access sites
  • Replacement for drilled/driven piles
  • Foundation underpinning 
Advantages of Helical Screw Foundations
  • Projects requiring deep foundations due to weak surface soil
  • Flooded and/or poor surface conditions
  • Limited access
  • Expansive soils
  • Bad weather installation
  • Contaminated soils
  • Temporary structures
  • Remedial applications 
Related Soil Mechanics
  • Site Suitability
  • Soil Volume & Density Relationships
  • Basic Soil Types
  • Soil Limit States & Index Properties
  • Empirical torque multiplier for helical screw foundations
  • Sensitivity of Clays
  • Engineering Soil Classification
  • Soil Characteristics
  • ASTM (Unified) Soil Classification System
  • Effective Stress and Pore Water Pressure
  • Soil Strength
  • Angle of Internal Friction
  • Cohesion
  • Coulomb Equation for Shear Strength
  • Determination of Soil Parameters
  • Drilling and sampling
  • Insitu soil strength measurement
  • Consistency of Saturated Cohesive Soils
  • Geotechnical report interpretation 
Loads
  • Types of loads
  • Design or Working Load
  • Ultimate load
  • Factor of Safety
  • Reversing Loads
  • Dynamic loads and dynamic analysis
  • Codes and standards
  • LRFD for helical pile design
  • DYNA 6 modelling of pump station on screw piles demo 
Bearing Capacity
  • Calculating Helical Screw Foundation Capacity
  • Non-Cohesive Soil
  • Cohesive Soil
  • Mixed cohesive- non cohesive Soil
 Lateral Capacity
  • Lateral Resistance – Methods Used
  • Shaft resistance
  • Battered Piles
  • Passive Earth Pressure Resistance
  • Lateral Analysis by Finite Differences
  • p-y concept
  • Group Effects
  • Computer programs,
  • Lateral Analysis by Brom’s Method
  • Lateral Capacity by Battered Helical Screw Foundations and Anchors
  • Lateral Capacity by Passive Earth Pressure
  • Design Example 
Design of helical pier foundations in frozen ground
 
Buckling/Slenderness Considerations
  • Buckling Analysis by Davisson Method
  • Design Example
  • Determining Critical Buckling Load, Pcr, by Davisson Method
  • Buckling Analysis by Finite Differences
  • Design Example: Determining Critical Buckling Load by Finite Difference
  • Buckling Analysis by Finite Elements
  • Design Example: Determining Critical Buckling Load by Finite Elements
Helical Piles Corrosion
  • Corrosion Theory
  • Corrosion Types
  • Electrical Factors
  • Metallic Path
  • Aeration
  • Soil Environments
  • Soil Type
  • Ground Water
  • Soil pH
  • Soil Resistivity
  • Soil Resistivity/Corrosion Rate Potential
  • Prediction of Corrosion Loss Rates
  • Electromechanical Properties of Mildly Corrosive Soils
  • Corrosion of Zinc in Various Waters
  • Corrosion in Undisturbed Soil
  • Corrosion in disturbed Soil
  • Corrosion of Helical Screw Foundation at the Waterline
  • Corrosion of Helical Screw Foundation with a Concrete Cap
  • Corrosion Control
  • Passive Protection
  • Allowable metal loss rate
  • Galvanization
  • Bituminous and Other Coatings
  • Design Examples
  • Active Protection 
Helical Piles selection:
  • Available market brand names 
Field Production Control
  • Helical Screw Foundations - How They Work
  • Installation Torque/Load Capacity Relationship
  • Torque Factors
  • Energy Relationships
  • Reliability of Torque/Capacity Model
  • Measuring Installation Torque
  • Shaft Twist
  • Shear Pin Torque Limiter
  • Mechanical Dial Torque Indicator
  • Differential Pressure Torque Indicator
  • In-Line Hydraulic Pressure Gauge
  • Installation Termination Criteria
  • Tolerances
  • Torque Strength Rating 
Static Load Testing
  • Load Testing during Design
  • Slow-Testing Methods ASTM D1143 Standard
  • Quick Load Test Method for Individual Piles ASTM D1143 – 81
  • Loading Apparatus for Applying Compressive Load
  • Reaction anchors
  • Measuring Deflection
  • Acceptance Criteria 
Helical piles in Building Codes
  • IBC 2006
  • IBC 2009
  • Product Evaluation Reports
  • AC358 Acceptance Criteria Development
  • Evaluation Criteria

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