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(Pile Foundation)
Pile
Foundation
PILE FOUNDATION
Piles are structural members made of steel, concrete, and/or timber used to
transfer the structural loads to competent strata and/or resist loads by skin
friction.
Pile foundations are foundations which are deep and more costly than shallow
foundations.
Despite the cost, the use of piles is often necessary to ensure structural safety.
Drilled shafts are cast-in-place piles that generally have a diameter greater than
750 mm with or without steel reinforcement and with or without an enlarged
bottom.
The resistance to the applied structural load is derived mainly from the frictional
resistance developed at the soil–pile interface (Figure b).
These soils may extend to a great depth below the ground surface.
Expansive soils swell and shrink as the moisture content increases and
decreases, and the swelling pressure of such soils can be considerable.
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If shallow foundations are used, the structure may suffer
considerable damage.
5. Bridge abutments and piers are usually constructed over pile foundations to
avoid the possible loss of bearing capacity that a shallow foundation might
suffer because of soil erosion at the ground surface (Figure f).(Fly overs piers
are also supported by pile foundation due to dynamic loading).
One the basis of materials, piles can be divided into the following categories.
1. Steel piles
2. Concrete Piles
3. Wooden (timber) piles
4. Composite Piles
Steel piles generally are either pipe piles or rolled steel H-section piles.
Pipe piles can be driven into ground with their ends open or closed.
H-piles:
These pile are usually
of wide flange section.
Easy to handle with respect to cutoff (1) and extension to the desired length
Can stand high driving stresses
Can penetrate hard layers such as dense gravel and soft rock
High load-carrying capacity
Disadvantages
Relatively costly
Subject to corrosion
H-piles may be damaged or deflected from the vertical during driving through
Advantages
Can be subjected to hard driving
Corrosion resistant
Can be easily combined with a concrete superstructure
Disadvantages
Difficult to achieve proper cutoff
Difficult to transport
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During casting of piles, the cables are pre-tensioned to about 900-1300 MN/m2
(130-190 ksi), and concrete is poured around them.
Strand: Line
consisting of a
complex of fibers
or filaments that
are twisted
together to form a
thread or a rope
or a cable
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Concrete piles – Cased cast-in-situ
Cast-in-situ piles are built by driving a steel casing into the ground with the
help of a mandrel inside the casing. When the pile reaches the proper depth,
the mandrel is withdrawn and casing is filled with concrete.
Advantages
Relatively cheap
Allow for inspection before pouring concrete
Easy to extend
Disadvantages
Difficult to splice after concreting
Thin casing may be damaged during driving
Cased driven cast in-situ concrete pile
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Friction Pile
Heavy loads
Marine structure
Monotube pile
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Monotube pile
Franki
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Concrete piles – Uncased cast-in-situ
Cast-in-situ piles are built by making a hole in the ground and then filling it with
concrete. These piles are divided into two broad categories: (a) cased, and (b)
uncased.
Advantages
Initially economical
Can be finished at any elevation
Timber piles are tree trunk that have had their branches and bark carefully
trimmed off. This is the basis of a simple classification
The maximum length of most of the timber piles is 10 to 20 meter.
To qualify for use as a pile, the timber should be straight, sound, and without
any defects. In any case, a pile tip should not have a diameter less than 6
inches.
Composite piles
The upper and lower portions of composite piles are made of different
materials. For example the composite piles may be made of steel and concrete
or timber and concrete.
End bearing pile rests on a relative firm soil . The load of the structure is
transmitted through the pile into this firm soil or rock because the base of the
pile bears the load of the structure, this type of pile is called end bearing pile
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ROCK
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Friction Piles
If the firm soil is at a considerable depth,
it may be very expensive to use end
bearing piles. In such situations, the piles When loose soil extended
are driven through the penetrable soil for to a great depth, pile are
some distance. The piles transmit the load driven up to such a depth
of structure to the penetrable soil by that frictional resistance
means of skin friction between the soil. developed at the sides of
the piles equals the load
coming on the piles.
Compaction Piles
Under certain circumstances, piles are driven in granular soils to achieve
proper compaction of soil close to the ground surface. These piles are called
compaction piles
The lengths of compaction piles depend on factors such as the relative density
of soil before compaction, the desire relative density of soil after compaction
and the required depth of compaction.
The double acting hammer is the same except compressed air is also used on
the down stroke of the hammer.
The double acting hammer is a type of hammer which is not always suitable for
driving concrete piles however.
Although the concrete can take the compressive stresses exerted by the
hammer the shock wave set up by each blow of the hammer can set up high
tensile stresses in the concrete when returning. This can cause the concrete to
fail.
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Diesel Pile Hammers
The ram is mechanically raised to the top of the cylinder and released.
A fuel mixture is injected into the cylinder and compressed by the falling ram.
The fuel is detonated and the resulting explosion imparts an additional impact
to the pile which is already moving downwards under the effect of hammer
blow. The explosion also raises the ram, keeping it ready for next down stroke.
Vibratory methods of driving sheet piles or bearing piles are best suited to
sandy or gravel soils.
Vibratory hammers are electrically or hydraulically powered and consists of
contra-rotating eccentric masses within a housing attached to the pile head.
The eccentric weight during each revolution provide two vertical impulses, one
up and one down.
Vibrators are rarely used in the stiff clay.
• Absence of statistical data regarding the nature of soil strata through which
the piles are to be driven.
• Actual load coming on the pile being more than the design load.
• Bad workman ship in case of the cast-in-situ cement concrete piles.
• Breakage due to over driving especially in case of the timber piles.
• Buckling of piles due to removal of side support, inadequate lateral support,
etc.
• Lateral forces (wind, waves, currents etc.) not being taken into the design of
the pile.
• Improper choice of the type of pile.
• Improper choice of the method of driving the pile.
• Improper classification of pile.
• Insufficient reinforcement or misplacement of reinforcement in case of the
R.C.C. piles.
• Wrongful use of pile formula for determining its load bearing capacity.
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The bearing capacity of a single pile depends on the structural strength
of pile and the supporting strength of the soil.
Soil resistance does not remain constant during and after the pile-driving
operation. In addition, pile-driving formulas give varying results.
However, piles driven in soft silt or clay should all be driven to the same depth
rather than driven a certain number of blows (Terzaghi and Peck, 1967).
One simple and widely used pile-driving formula is known as the Engineering-
News formula. It is given as follows (Karol, 1960):
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where
WR = weight of the ram
h = height of fall of the ram
S = penetration of the pile per hammer blow
C = a constant
The pile penetration, S, is usually based on the average value obtained from the
last few driving blows. In the equation’s original form, the following values of C
were recommended:
For drop hammers: C = 2.54 cm (if the units of S and h are in centimeters)
For steam hammers: C = 0.254 cm (if the units of S and h are in centimeters)
Required
Average penetration of the pile from the last few driving blows.
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Another pile-driving formula is known as the Danish formula. It is given as
follows (McCarthy, 2002):
Required
1. What should be the average penetration of the pile from the last few driving
blows?
2. How many blows/ft for the last foot of penetration are required for the
design capacity, using the Danish formula?
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A precast concrete pile 305 mm x 305 mm in cross section is driven by a
hammer.
We have these values:
maximum rated hammer energy = 35 kN-m
weight of ram = 36 kN
total length of pile = 20 m
hammer efficiency = 0.8
weight of pile cap = 3.2 kN
number of blows for last 25.4 mm of penetration = 5
Estimate the allowable pile capacity
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1 M = 100 CM
543.33 KN
3
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Pile Capacity as Evaluated by the Supporting Strength of the Soil
In addition to the strength of the pile itself, pile capacity is limited by the soil’s
supporting strength. As mentioned previously, the load carried by a pile is
ultimately carry by either or both of two ways.
The load is transmitted to the soil surrounding the pile by friction or adhesion
between the soil and the sides of the pile, and/or the load is transmitted directly
to the soil just below the pile’s tip. This can be expressed in equation form as
follows:
Qtip = bearing capacity furnished by the soil just below the pile’s
tip.
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The term Qfriction can be evaluated by multiplying the unit skin friction or
adhesion between the soil and the sides of the pile (f) by the pile’s surface (skin)
area (Asurface).
The term Qtip can be evaluated by multiplying the ultimate bearing capacity of
the soil at the tip of the pile (q) by the area of the tip (Atip).hence, the above Eq.
can be expressed as follows:
These Equations are generalized and therefore applicable for all soils.
However some of the terms in the above Eqs are evaluated differently,
depending on whether the pile is driven in sand or clay. It is convenient,
therefore, to consider separately piles driven in sand and those driven in clay.
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Piles Driven in Sand.
In the case of piles driven in sand, skin friction between the soil and the
sides of the pile [fxAsurface] can be evaluated by multiplying the coefficient of
friction between sand and pile surface (tan δ) by the total horizontal soil
pressure acting on the pile.
The coefficient of friction between sand and pile surface can be obtained from
Table 3.
Table 3 The coefficient of friction between
sand and pile surface
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The total horizontal soil pressure acting on
the pile is a function of effective vertical
(overburden) pressure of soil adjacent to the
pile.
qtip = pvxNq*
Skin friction
In the case of stiff clays, pile driving disturbs surrounding soil and may
cause a small open space to develop between the clay and the pile. Thus,
adhesion is smaller than cohesion (meaning α < 1.0).
The bearing capacity [q in the above Eq] at the pile tip can be calculated by
using the following equation (McCarthy, 2002):
qtip = cNc
where qtip is bearing capacity at pile tip c = cohesion of the clay located in the
general vicinity of where the pile tip will ultimately rest
Nc = bearing capacity factor and has a value of about 9 (McCarthy, 2002)
The term qxAtip = cNc .Atip
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Pile driven in Clay - summary
Skin friction
f Asurface c Asurface
End/tip bearing
qtip cN c
Clay
35 ft = 104 lb/ft3
qu = 1400 lb/ft2
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Given
A 12 in. diameter concrete pile is
driven at a site as shown in Figure. Qdesign =?
Required
Design capacity of the pile, using a GSL
factor of safety of 2.
Clay
20 ft = 105 lb/ft3
qu = 1400 lb/ft2
Clay
15 ft
= 126 lb/ft3
qu = 4000 lb/ft2
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• The set-up consists of two anchor piles provided with an anchor girder or
reaction girder at their top.
• The test pile is installed between the anchor piles as like foundation pile is
installed. The test pile should be at lest 3B or 2.5m clear from the anchor pile.
• Application of Load
The load is applied through a hydraulic jack resting on the reaction girder or
Truss. The measurement of pile movement are taken with respect to a fixed
reference mark.
The load is applied in equal increment of about 20% of the allowable load (the
load at which the pile will be tested).
Test load = Twice the safe load or the load at which the total settlement reaches
the specified value
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By Reaction Girder or Anchor Girder method
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• How to record settlement
Settlement should be recorded with 3 dial gauges.
• Each stage of the loading is maintained till the rate of movement of the pile
top is not more than
0.1mm per hour in sandy soils and
0.02mm per hour in case of clayey soils
maximum of two hours.
• The loading should be continued up to twice the safe load or the load at
which the total settlement reaches a specified value.
There are many building codes and therefore many criteria for determining
allowable pile loads based on pile tests. It is, of course, the responsibility of
engineers to follow criteria specified by the applicable building code.
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Example
Because a test load of 150 tons produces a net settlement of 0.32 in.
and the maximum allowable settlement is 0.5 in.,
Allowable pile load = 150 tons/2 = 75 tons
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Some building codes use a “breaking in the curve” or the point defined by
tangents drawn on either side of a break of a load–settlement graph.
One building code states that the design load on piles may be determined by
the designer based on an analysis of the results of pile load tests performed
in accordance with ASTM D-1143.
Required
Assuming that the building
code given just prior to this
example is applicable, find
the allowable load on the
pile.
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To construct a pre-stressed bridge, a 30 cm diameter pile of length 12 m was
subjected to a pile load test and the following results were obtained.
Negative skin friction is downward drag acting on the piles due to the relative
movement between the piles and the surrounding soil.
Negative skin friction can develop under different field condition, such as the
following:
1. When a cohesive fill is placed over a non-cohesive soil layer and a pile is
driven into such a medium. The cohesive fill consolidates, and during the
process of consolidation the fill imparts a downward drag on the pile.
2. When a non-cohesive fill is placed over a soft cohesive layer and a pile
installed in such a medium. Due to the overburden pressure, the cohesive
fill consolidates and during the process imparts a downward drag on the
pile.
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3. In a saturated soil, lowering of the ground water table increases the vertical
effective stresses in the soil medium. This induces settlement, and a pile
driven in such a medium is subjected to a downward drag force.
So far we discussed the capacity of single piles. But in reality, piles are
almost always arranged in group of three or more.
The group of piles is commonly tied together by a pile cap, which is attached
to the head of individual piles and cause several piles to act together as a pile
foundation.
If two piles are driven close together, soil stresses caused by the piles tend to
overlap; and the bearing capacity of the pile group consisting of two piles is
less than the sum of individual capacities.
If the two piles are moved further apart, so that the individual stresses do not
overlap, bearing capacity of the pile group is not reduced significantly from
the sum of individual capacities.
Thus it would appear that the piles should be spaced relatively far apart. This
consideration is offset.
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When piles are placed in a group,
there is a possibility the pressure
isobars of adjacent piles will
overlap each other as shown
in Fig. (b).
For example, a building code may state that “the minimum center-to-center
spacing of pile
The capacity of a pile group may be less than the sum of the individual
capacities of the piles making up the group.
Efficiency of a pile group is the capacity of a pile group divided by the sum of
the individual capacities of the piles making up the group.
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In the case where a pile group is comprised of end-bearing piles resting
on bedrock (or on a layer of dense sand and gravel overlying bedrock), an
efficiency of 1.0 may be assumed (Jumikis, 1971).
(In other words, the group of n piles will carry n times the capacity of a single
pile.) An efficiency of 1.0 is also often assumed by designers for friction piles
driven in cohesionless soil.
Required
Design capacity of the pile group, using the Converse–Labarre equation.
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For friction piles driven in cohesive soil, Coyle and Sulaiman suggested
that pile-group efficiency may be assumed to vary linearly from a value of
0.7 at a pile spacing of three times the pile diameter to a value of
1.0 at a pile spacing of eight times the pile diameter (McClelland, 1972 and
Coyle and Sulaiman, 1970).
For pile spacings less than three times the pile diameter, group capacity may be
considered as block capacity, and total capacity can be estimated by treating
the group as a pier and applying the following equation (Terzaghi and Peck,
1967 and McClelland, 1972):
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Qg 2D W L f 1.3 c Nc W L
The pile group capacity may be considered as block capacity based on block failure
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Qg Eg n Qu
Eg = Efficiency of pile group, n = number of piles in group
Qu = ultimate individual pile capacity
Required
1. Block capacity of the pile group. Use a factor of safety of 3.
2. Allowable group capacity based on individual pile failure. Use a factor
of safety of 2, along with the Converse–Labarre equation for pile-group
efficiency.
3. Design capacity of the pile group.
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1. Block capacity: Because center-to-center spacing of the piles is 2.5 ft, which
is less than 3 ft (i.e., 3 diameters), according to the criteria suggested by
Coyle and Sulaiman (Coyle and Sulaiman, 1970), the block capacity of the
pile group can be estimated by Eq.
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