The pile foundation is now commonly employed in the construction of skyscrapers, bridges and high speed train viaducts. However, the pile foundation is liable to being loosened in case of the saturated soil, the earthquake waves and the traffic load. Shanghai region is symptomatic of the saturated soil conditions, so the moisture in the saturated soil is now posing a massive challenge to the municipal construction and planning.

Having been fully committed to the sedulous studies for 15 years, the research team led by Prof. Wang Jianhua eventually deciphered the propagation law of the vibration in the saturated soil and its effects on the solidarity of the pile foundation, on the basis of which a range of the calculation models were built.

The theory is of great significance to the design and construction of the pile foundation in the regions characterized by the saturated soil conditions. It has been practically proved that the pile foundation which is built with the guidance of the research results helps to enhance the solidarity of the high buildings. Likewise, a row of the pile foundations can be built along the underground and high-speed train rails to segregate the vibration effects generated by the fast running of the underground trains and high speed trains.

The theoretical achievement made by Prof. Wang Jianhua’s research team was awarded by China’s Ministry of Education as the First Prize of the Natural Science Award. It was also accepted as part of The Foundation Design Rules published by Shanghai Municipal Government.

In addition, another relevant research result attained by Prof. Wang Jianhua, entitled as “The Crucial Technology for the In-depth Subterranean Construction of the Bored Cast-in-place Pile and the Continuous Wall in the Complicated Conditions of the Soft Soil Layer”, was awarded by Shanghai Municipal Government as the First Prize of the Scientific and Technological Progress Award as well.