PILES

Pile Foundation

1. Pile foundation is the part of the structure which carry and transfer the load of the
structure to a deeper firmer strata. The main components of the foundation are the pile cap and
the piles. Piles are made of concrete, steel or wood, but in bridge construction we are mainly
concerned with concrete piles.

Function of Piles
2. The purpose of pile foundation is
a. Transmit foundation load to a hard strata
b. Resist vertical, lateral and uplift load

A structure can be founded on piles if the soil underneath does not have adequate bearing
capacity. Normally this is decided when the site investigation report indicates that the soil
underneath is weak and unstable or the magnitude of estimated settlement is beyond acceptable
limits. In bridge construction it is a normal practice to transmit heavy loads of super structure
through piles.

Classification
3. The pile can be classified according to load transmission and functional behaviour.
a. End Bearing Piles
b. Friction Piles
c. Combination of Friction and Cohesion piles

4. End Bearing Piles These piles transfer the load to a firm strata at a considerable depth
below the base of structures. They derive most of their carrying capacity from the penetration
resistance of the soil at the toe of the pile. The pile behaves as an ordinary column and is
designed as such.

5. Friction Piles Their load carrying capacity is derived mainly from the adhesion or
friction of the soil in contact with the shaft of the pile.
 Soft Compressible Soft Soil
Soil Becoming
Stiff with
depth

Firm/Hard Strata

End Bearing Pile Friction Pile

These piles transmit most of their loads to the soil through skin friction or adhesion. This tends to
occur when the pile do not reach impenetrable stratum, but are driven for some distance into
penetrable soil. Their load carrying capacity is derived from skin friction between the peripheral
area of the pile and the surrounding soil.

6. Combination of Friction and Cohesion Piles This is an extension of the end

bearing pile when the bearing stratum is not hard such as firm clay. The pile is driven far enough
into the lower material to develop adequate frictional resistance. Further variation of the end
bearing pile is with enlarge bearing areas. This is achieved by forcing a bulb of concrete into the
soft stratum immediately above the firm layer to give an enlarged base. This is done by special
reaming tools. Bored piles which are provided with a bell have a high tensile strength and can be
used as tension piles.

Group of Piles
7. Piles are generally arranged in groups to support heavy vertical loads. To minimize the
size and the cost of the pile cap the piles are arranged as close together as possible. To provide
undisturbed bearing capacity and suitable driving conditions the recommended minimum clear
distance between piles is twice the diameter of the pile. However in some books it is given that
pile in groups should not be installed at spacing less than three times the average pile diameter.
Piles in groups at spacing greater than 3xtimes the average pile diameter acts as individual piles.
The load carrying capacity of a group of piles is not always a multiple of the capacity of single
pile. Group of piles which mainly depend on frictional resistance in cohesive soil, an appreciable
reduction in the bearing capacity should be anticipated.

Min 2 D D
Pile

Pile Cap
8. The shape and plan dimensions of the pile cap are dictated by number of piles in the
group and the spacing between each pile. The most commonly used shapes are

≮ 150 mm

Triangle for 3xPiles

Hexagonal for 6 or 7
Piles Rectangular for all
other number of
Piles

These shapes minimize the plan area for a symmetrical arrangement of piles. The pile cap
should overhang the outer pile by at least 150 mm but should not be excessive, generally not
more than the diameter of the pile. The depth of pile cap is governed by the following criteria
where applicable

a. Shear capacity (Beam and punching)

b. Shrinkage and swelling of clay
c. Frost attacks
d. Pile anchorage
e. Water table and soluble sulphates.
Off all these shear is likely to be more critical.
 9. Generally pile cap is much deeper than a pad footing of similar dimension because it is
subjected to much higher concentrated reactions and consequently to much higher bending
moments and shear forces. However increased depth of pile cap gives greater rigidity which is
advantageous in spreading the load evenly to all piles. The federation of Piling Specialist
recommends the following most cost effective pile cap depth for a range of pile diameters.

Pile Diameters (MM) Depth of Pile Cap (MM)

a. 300 700
b. 350 800
c. 400 900
d. 450 1000
e. 500 1100
f. 550 1200
g. 600 1400
h. 750 1800

COLUMN

PILE AND PILE CAP

PILE CAP
NSL
Method of Excavation
10. Following methods are used for excavation:-

a. Excavation by Rotary Method This type of drilling method is mostly used

for clayey or silty soils. Drilling unit is mounted on truck, crane or crawler tractor.
The capacity of the drilling rig is expressed in term of two important parameters.
The first is the maximum torque that can be delivered to the drilling tool and the
second is the downward force that can be applied. Troque and downward force
are transmitted from the drilling rig to the drilling tool by mean of drive shaft of
steel known as Kelly bar or Kelly. The drilling is mounted on the bottom of the
Kelly. Many Kelly are square in cross section but other shapes are used as well.
The Kelly can be a single piece to drill 15 to 18 meter or it can be telescoped to
drill to greater depths. The Kelly passes through a rotary table that is turned by the
power unit to provide torque. In some rigs the weight of the Kelly and the tool
provides the downward force while in other hydraulic or mechanical devices are
positioned to add additional downward force during drilling.

b. Excavation by Percussion Method In percussion method drilling involves the

breaking up of rock or soil by impact and lifting the broken rock/soil with a bailer.
This method may appear cumbersome, but it has certain distinct advantages. It
can be used for all types of soils despite the facts that it takes longer time than
rotary drilling. The simplest procedure is to raise or lower the bailer with a cable
such as is provided by the crane. The jaws of the digging bucket or the bailer can
be opened and closed by a mechanical arrangement. A digging bucket or the
bailer can be used to excavate broken rock, cobbles and soils that are loose and
that can be readily picked by a bucket. If hard massive rock or boulders are
encountered a tool such as rock breaker may be used. The broken rock is than
lifted using the bailer.
Casing and Liners
11. Casing and Liners play important part in the construction of drilled shafts and special
attention should be given to their selection and use.

a. Temporary Casing The Casing that it used temporarily in the drilling operation
is termed as temporary casing. In some construction procedures it is necessary to
seat a temporary casing into an impervious formation/strata where temporary
casing is used to retain the sides of the bore-hole only long enough for the fluid
concrete to be placed. The temporary casing remain in place until the concrete has
been pored to level sufficient to withstand ground pressures. The casing is
removed after the concrete is placed. Additional concrete is placed as the casing is
being pulled to maintain the pressure balance. Thereafter the fluid pressure of the
concrete is assumed to provide bore-hole stability. Temporary casing must be
cleaned thoroughly after each use to have a very low shearing resistance to the
movement of the fluid concrete. It should be free of soil , lubricants and other
deleterious materials.

b. Permanent Casing (Liners) The use of permanent casing as implied by its name
is the casing which remains and becomes a permanent part of the foundation. An
example of the use of permanent casing is when a drilled shaft is to be installed
through water and the protuding portion of the casing is used as a form. A
possible technique that has been used successfully is to set a template for
positioning the drilled shaft to set a permanent casing through the template with
its top above the water and with its base set an appropriate distance below the
mud line to make the excavation with the use of drilling slurry, and place concrete
through a tremie to the top of casing. Permanent casing (Liner) are usually made
of steel despite the fact that other flexible materials can also be used. The
important factor to be considered while deciding the type of material will be the
lateral stresses to which the permanent casing will be subjected prior to the
placement of the concrete. One consideration for using permanent casing is the
time that will be required to place the concrete for a deep, large diameter high
capacity drilled shaft. Control of concrete supply may be such that several hours
could pass between placing the first concrete and extracting temporary casing. In
 that case concrete may already be taking its initial set when the seal is broken by
raising the casing, making it difficult to extract the temporary casing without
damaging the concrete in the shaft. On such occasions, permanent casing may be
specified. An other important consideration is when concrete flows into large
cavities and can flush loose geomaterial out of the cavities and into the body of
the drilled shaft thus producing a defect in some cases.

12. Influence of Casing on Load Transfer There are occasions when it is desirable to
use a permanent casing in the construction of a drilled shaft because very soft soil exist
on the ground surface. There are other occasions when the temporary casing cannot be
recovered and therefore becomes permanent. Care must be taken in the installation of
temporary casing to ensure that it can be recovered after the concrete is placed. Not only
the casing is expensive, but the skin friction along the sides for the drilled shaft could be
seriously reduced. The responsible engineer needs to apply judgment to the evaluation of
loss of axial capacity of a drilled shaft that results from unintentionally leaving temporary
casing in the borehole or intentionally using permanent casing.

Rebar Cages

13. A rebar cage for a drilled shaft is made up of longitudinal bars that are distributed with
equal spacing around the outside of a cylinder, transverse reinforcing is placed around and
attached to the longitudinal bars with the longitudinal and transverse steel being held together
with ties, spirals or clamps etc. Other component of a rebar cage that may be used are hoops for
sizing, guides for centering the cage in the borehole and tremie inside the cage and stiffeners and
pick up devices to aid in lifting the cage. For long cages with large diameters, temporary or
permanent strengthening element should be provided to prevent permanent distortion of the cage
as result of stresses due to lifting and placing. Buckling of a drilled shaft is not ordinarily a
problem, because the lateral support of the surrounding soil, even relatively weak soil, such that
the effective length of the shaft for computation of buckling is usually quite small. Rebar cage is
always placed in the excavation and the concrete is then placed during which it flows around the
cage.

14. Longitudinal Reinforcement The principal role of longitudinal reinforcement is

to resist stresses due to bending and tension. Construction tolerances normally allow
concentric axial loads to be applied with some amount of eccentricity and therefore it is a
 good practice to provide at least some amount of longitudinal steel reinforcing in all
drilled shaft for bridge foundations. In virtually all designs the steel requirements will be
maximum near the ground line and will diminish with depth. Therefore maximum
number of longitudinal bars will be required at the top of a drilled shaft. Some of the bars
can be eliminated or cut off as depth increases. Longitudinal bars are recommended to be
spaced equally around the cage except in cases where there are compelling reasons. The
minimum number of bars in the cage should be six so that bending resistance is virtually
equal in all direction. No 8 bar is usually the minimum size of longitudinal steel in a
drilled shaft. The minimum spacing between longitudinal bars must be sufficient to allow
free passage of the concrete through the cage and into the space between the cage and the
borehole without resorting to vibrating the concrete. A good rule of thumb is to use a
minimum spacing of 5xtimes the size of the largest coarse aggregate in the mix or 76 mm
(3 in) whichever is larger. The bar size that is selected for the longitudinal steel must be
such that the proper clear spacing between bars is maintained. If a very large amount of
reinforcing steel is required two rebar cages one inside the other may be required. In
some instances two or three bars can be clustered or bundled together in order to increase
the steel percentage while maintaining a cage with appropriate rebar spacing.

15. Transverse Reinforcing The transverse reinforcing steel has the function of resisting
the shearing forces that acts on a drilled shaft , holding the longitudinal steel in place
during construction. The loaded drilled shaft has reinforcing steel provided in the form of
ties, loops and spirals. The steel fixers who assemble the reinforcing steel should be
skilled in tying the rebar so that the bars maintain their relative positions as the concrete
is poured. The cage could be assembled to resist the forces caused by the concrete as it
flows from the inside of the cage. Frequent cause of deformation of cage occurs when the
transverse ties are too small. On some cages No 3 or No 4 bars may satisfy structural
requirements, whereas No 6 bars may be needed to prevent permanent distortion of the
cage during handling and placement of concrete.

16. Splices The depth of excavation is frequently more than the length of longitudinal steel
therefore there is a need for splicing of longitudinal bars. In Pakistan the length of steel
bars are normally 40 Ft in length and if the length of excavation is more than the
longitudinal steel , than the splicing becomes necessary. Splicing in the longitudinal steel
can be made by lapping the bars so that the bond in the rebar is sufficient to develop the
 full capacity of the bar in tension or compression in each bar at the point of the splice.
Splicing in the longitudinal steel if required should be staggered so that all splices do not
occurs in the same horizontal plane along the rebar cage. Not more than 50 percent of the
splices should be at any one level. Many structural designers prefer not to place any
splice in zones near the location of maximum flexural stresses in the drilled shaft column
system when large lateral loads are applied. There are cases where the cage is so long that
it cannot be lifted conveniently in one piece. In such a case the cage can be spliced in the
borehole. The lower portion of the cage is lifted placed in the excavation and held with its
top at convenient working level while the upper portion is lifted and positioned so that
the two portions of the cage can be spliced together. Binding wire ties or clamps are
usually employed to make the splice and the entire cage is then lowered to the correct
position .

17. Centering Devices The completed rebar cage must be sized to provide ample room for
the fresh concrete to flow up the annular space between the cage and the sides of the
excavation. A better solution to the problem of centering a rebar cage or centering the
tremie within cage is with the help of concrete rollers. Concrete rollers or wheels are
casted which are tied to the rebar cage with short pieces of steel rod. The concrete rollers
must have lateral dimension to fit between the longitudinal bars. The rollers can be casted
with different diameters for any particular job and these can provide an appropriate space
between the rebar and the sides of the borehole.
Basic Characteristic of Drilled Shaft Concrete
18. Concrete for drilled shaft must be designed and placed in a manner that is unique to
drilled shafts. Most drilled shafts have length to diameter ratio of 10 to 30 and have reinforcing
steel cages. Many are constructed using either temporary casing or permanent liners. Concrete
for drilled shafts must therefore be designed and placed in such a manner that it can be pumped,
flow through tremie to the bottom of excavation, flow easily through the rebar cage without
vibration and displace drilling slurry or water while rising in a narrow borehole and in the
annular space between the cage and the borehole wall and will not segregate or become leached
of cement paste in the process. Simultaneously it must have the appropriate strength, stiffness
and durability after it has cured.

19. Cement Ordinary Portland cement is normally used for the design of concrete for
drilled shafts. High early strength cement should usually be avoided, especially when
under reams (bells) are used in shafts with diameter greater than 1.53 M (5 ft). Sulphate
resisting cement should be considered in environments where sulfate content of the
geomaterial or ground water is extremely high.

20. Aggregate and Water crush, sand, water and chemical admixtures are used for
drilled shaft concrete. Natural aggregate (crush sand etc) that are used for drilled shaft
concrete are typically stronger and less permeable than the hydrated cement paste in the
hardened concrete. For this reason conventional wisdom states that the largest aggregate
must be as large as possible (upto 2 inch) and that the aggregate should be well graded in
order to minimize the amount of paste in the mix. However for economical construction
the concrete should be designed so that it can fall freely through some distance and
should be able to flow freely through the rebar in the cage. For these reasons relatively
smaller aggregate on the coarse end of the spectrum should be used. The maximum size
of aggregate recommended should normally range between 19 mm and 25 mm, despite
the fact NHA Specification indicate maximum size of aggregate as 38 mm. Good
gradation down to smaller sizes is an important characteristic.

21. Retarders Retarding mixtures may be needed in the concrete mix when the concrete
is to be placed during period of high temperatures (greater than 20 centigrade) in order to
reduce slump loss in the period during which the concrete is being placed in the drilled
shafts. This is primarily to provide adequate time to work out with temporary casing and
 tremie placed concrete. A general rule is that this period should be about four hours to
allow for unforeseen delays. While it is important to retard the set of concrete in many
field settings the use of excessive retarders can keep the concrete fluid for too long and
can effect its long term strength.

22. Water Reducers Water reducers reduce the friction between the hydrating cement
particles in the cement paste before the concrete begins to take its set, thereby increasing
the workability (slump) of the fluid concrete without the need for excessive water. In
order to achieve high values of slump that are desirable for drilled shaft construction
without water reducers, W/C ratio needs to be in the range of 0.5 to 0.6. With water
reducers W/C ratio can be reduced conveniently to 0.45 or lower which help produce a
denser and less permeable paste while at the same time providing excellent fluidity. Both
high range and low range water reducers have been used in drilled shafts concrete. With
high range water reducers also known as superplasticizers, W/C ratio can be reduced to
0.3 while maintaining high slump. Low range water reducers can be used to obtain W/C
ratio of 0.4 to 0.45.

23. Concrete Strength. The strength of drilled shaft concrete is normally specified by its
28 day compressive strength in 6”x12” deep cylinders. Most mixes for drilled shafts will
be adequate if they produce 28 days compressive cylinder strength in the range of 24.1 to
27.6 M Pa (3500 to 4000 PSI). NHA Specification specifies 28 days compressive
strength of 4000 PSI. High strength concrete can be useful under conditions in which the
designer wishes to make use of very strong bearing strata and reduce the cross sectional
area of drilled shaft, which will produce high compressive stresses in the concrete, or for
cases in which high combined bending and axial stresses will be applied to the drilled
shaft.

An important factor in making of concrete is the temperature of the component of the

mix. For example, hot aggregate and mixing temperature could produce flash set in the
concrete during placement. An inspector at the mix plant should check the temperature of
the components and of the completed mix for conformance with the specifications.
Pile Load Test
24. There are numerous methods available for determining the ultimate bearing capacity of
the pile, but their values differ from each other. Pile load test is the only method which is
authentic and most reliable. In bridge construction it has now become a standard practice to
carry out pile load test so that the designer can verify his design/calculation and if need arises,
the same can be modified as per the site requirements.

25. Object of Load Test The object of pile load test is therefore to verify the penetration
of pile into substratum, analyze the behavior of soil and to determine the ultimate bearing
capacity of the pile. The testing of pile is normally carried out twice the design load or upto the
failure of the pile so that valuable information can be provided to the designer for evaluating
comparative performances of different type of piles. Such testing assists in the selection of
optimum pile type and design load.

Brief Description of Test Method

26. Load test on most of the bridges is conducted with Kentledge System. Main girder of
sufficient size and strength to avoid excessive deflection is placed at the center of test pile.
Reaction girders are placed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pile and are rested on
foundation at both ends. Secondary girders are placed on the main girders at equal distance. On
the top, sand bags or concrete blocks are placed upto required height so as to provide dead load
on the kentledge. The load is applied to the test pile by mean of hydraulic jack of required
capacity which is connected to a hydraulic pump fitted with a pressure gauge.

27. Test Platform A platform having a base of 25’x25’ and an average height of 20’-25’
loaded with sand bags can meet the requirement of test load of 600 tonne. The sides of the
Kentledge should be braced with steel wire rope or with any other appropriate means in order
protect against excessive lateral pressure.

28. Hydraulic Jack Complete jacking system which includes hydraulic jack, hydraulic
pump, pressure gauge shall be calibrated before carrying the test. The diameter of the ram is
noted and placed on top of the test pile. The test load is transmitted to the pile by lifting the jack
ram by use of hydraulic pump. Load is controlled by mean of a pressure gauge attached to the
hydraulic pump.

Example
Hydraulic Jack Ram dia = 54 Cm
Capacity = 1000 Tonne
Ram Area = 2290.22 Cm2
Pressure required = 1000/2290.22 = 0.4366 Kg / Cm2
per tonne.

View of Hydraulic Jack and Gauges

 Hydraulic Pump

29. Dial Gauge For noting the settlement three dial gauge are clamped with the pile head
at 120 degree. Tips of the same are placed on glass sheets resting on the reference beam which is
independently supported with supports firmly embedded at a clear distance of not less than 8 ft
(2.5 M) from the test pile. Reference beam shall be sufficiently stiff to support the
instrumentation such that excessive variations in reading do not occur and should be cross
connected to provide additional rigidity. If steel reference beams are used, one end of each beam
shall be free to move horizontally as the beam length changes with temperature variations.
Gauge shall have precision of at least 0.01 in (0.25 mm). Scales used to measure pile movement
shall read to 1/64th of an inch or to 0.01 inch. Dial Gauges shall have at least 2 in (50 mm)
travel. Longer gauge stems or sufficient gauge blocks shall be provided to allow for greater
travel if anticipated.
 Pressure Gauge

Load Testing Procedures

30. Two types of loading procedures are commonly used for compressive loading on piles.

a. Standard Loading Procedure/Constant Rate of Penetration

(1) Unless failure occur the pile should be loaded to 200% of the design load
on individual pile and 150% of the group design load for test on pile
groups.

(2) Apply the load in increments of 25% of the individual pile or group design
load.

(3) Maintain each load increment until the rate of movement is not greater
than 0.01 in/h (0.25 mm / h) but not longer than 2xhr, provided the pile
has not failed.
 (4) Keep the test load for 12xhrs and then remove the load, if the butt
movement over 1xhr period is not greater than 0.01 in (0.25 mm),
otherwise allow the total load to remain on the pile for 24xhrs.

(5) After required hold time remove the test load in decrements of 25% of the
total test load, with 1xhr between decrements.

(6) If the pile failure occurs continue jacking the pile until movement equals
15% of the largest butt diameter or diagonal dimension of the pile tested.

b. Cyclic Loading
(1) Apply 50% of the design load in equal increments, maintaining the total
load in each increment for 1xhr.

(2) Remove the applied load in decrements equal to the loading increments
allowing 20 min between decrements.

(3) After removing each total applied load, reapply 50% of the design load.

(4) Apply additional load in equal increments till such time the total design
load has been applied.

(5) Remove the total test load any time after 12xhr. If the butt settlement over
one hour period is not greater than 0.01 in (0.25 mm) otherwise allow the
total load to remain on the pile for 24 hrs.

(6) After the required holding time remove the test load in decrements of 25%
of the total test load with 1xhr between decrements.

(7) If pile failure occurs continue jacking the pile until the settlement equals
15% of the pile diameter or diagonal dimension.
Bearing Capacity of Pile

31. The ultimate bearing capacity of pile used in design may be one of three values:
a. The maximum load at which further penetration occur without increase in load.
b. Calculated value of ultimate bearing capacity given by sum of end bearing and
shaft resistance.
c. Load at which a settlement of 0.1 diameter occurs when maximum load is not
clear

Drilled Shaft Size and Length

32. Drilled shafts may carry load due to end bearing or a combination of end bearing and skin
friction. The maximum allowable drilled shaft service loads table lists the maximum
recommended structural loads for drilled shafts. The loads may need to be increased or decreased
based on the performance of a detailed structural analysis. The ability of the foundation to
develop these capacities for the specific site soil conditions should be verified on ground.

Maximum Allowable Drilled Shaft Service

Size Load

30” (750 mm) 275 Tons (2445 KN)

36” (900 mm) 400 Tons (3560 KN)

42” (1050 mm) 525 Tons (4560 KN)
48” (1200 mm) 700 Tons (6230 KN)
54” (1350 mm) 900 Tons (8005 KN)
60” (1500 mm) 1100 Tons (9785 KN)

Conclusion

33. A Pile is an important part of the structure which is normally used when the soil
underneath the base is weak and does not have adequate bearing power to sustain the structure
load. Pile transmit the load to a firm strata thereby increasing the bearing capacity of the weak
soil. Now-a-days piles are invariably used in bridge construction, tall buildings and other
important and huge structures. Before boring the pile it is extremely important to explore the
foundation strata, analyze the type of soil its behaviour, and the ground water which may have
considerable influence in the load carrying capacity of the pile. The officer incharge should
therefore consider all the parameters before undertaking the pile work.

TECHNICAL INSTR
ON

PILING
EVALUATION OF EIGHT LONGITUDINAL
JOINT CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
FIELD FORMULAS
PILE DESCRIPTION