1/22/2021 Pile foundations - Design, Construction and Testing Guide - Structural Guide

Structural loads, structural analysis and structural design are simply

explained with the worked example for easiness of understanding.
Element designs with notes and discussions have added to get
comprehensive knowledge. Also, construction materials, shoring system
design, water retaining structures, crack width calculations, etc. have
discussed in addition to other aspects. 

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FOUNDATION DESIGN

Pile foundations –
Design,
Construction and
Testing Guide
BY PRASAD ·

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Pile foundations are constructed when it

is not possible to build the structure on
shallow foundations. Depending on the

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nature of the structure and due to the

more reasons, selection of pile
foundations is made as discussed in the
article.

We concentrate on following the main

topics in this article.

Pile Foundations – overview 

Pile Foundations Design

Construction of PIies

Pile Testing

Let’s start with understanding…

What is a Pile
Foundation?
It is a type of foundation that constructed
deep into the ground and mostly circular
sections are used in the construction.

The shallow foundations rest on the

ground and they transfer the vertical
loads directly to the soil. The capacity of
the soil is represented as allowable
bearing capacity and if the applied
pressure is less than the allowable
bearing pressure, the geotechnical
design is ok.

However, in the pile foundations,

di erent methods and di erent
parameters are used.

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Soil skin friction (positive and negative),

skin friction of the weathered rock, skin
friction in the rock, and end bearing of
the rock are considered in the design.

Why When Piles Need

to Support the
Structure
When the vertical loads applied on
the foundation can not be carried by
shallow foundations due to low
bearing capacity.
When there are week soil layers such
as peat presents in the soil
To carry the tensile forces applied to
the foundation. Piles can be
anchored into the rock to carry
tensile forces.
To carry lateral loads (compression)
applied to the foundation. An
inclined pile will be constructed to
carry both the compression and
tensile forces.
When vertical loads are very high,
especially in tall buildings, soil
bearing capacity is not adequate to
carry such loads. we need piles.
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Factors affecting
Design and
Construction of Pile
Foundations
Loads from the superstructure
Condition of the soil. Depending on
the nature of the soil, the skin friction
will be varying. When there are soil
layers like peat, negative skin friction
needs to be considered in the
geotechnical design of the pile.
Condition of the rock. RQD and CR
values determined from borehole
investigation are highly influential on
the pile capacities.
The cost of construction is also a
major factor considered when
selecting piles as a supporting
system.
Accessibility to the site shall be
checked.
Clearances from the boundaries shall
be checked
Limitation of the vibrations and
sound levels shall be checked.
Excessive vibration could cause
damages to adjoin properties.

Types of Pile
Foundations
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This categorization was made based on

the type of material used in the
construction of pile and based on the
nature of the construction.

1. Bored Piles / Cast in situ piles

2. Driven Piles/ precast piles
3. Micro piles
4. Sheet Piles
5. Timber Piles
6. Screw Piles

Bored Piles or Cast in

Situ Piles
The most commonly and widely used
type of pile. In majority of structures
constructed from pile foundations, board
pile can be observed.

Pile is socketed into the rock. Depending

on the nature of the load and amount of
the load, depth of embedment in the
rock will vary.

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Further, number of piles required to

support a column depends on the
capacity of the pile and the applied load.

Firstly, we find the geotechnical capacity

and the structural capacity of the pile.
Then the minimum of those values is
taken as the capacity of the pile.

Since the applied load is known, the

number of piles can be calculated.

Bored piles are constructed as single

piles or group piles based on the applied
loads. Generally, group piles are required
to support shear cores, shear walls, li
cores, etc.

Driven Piles / Precast

Piles
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These are pre-fabricated piles.

They are constructed when the applied

load is comparatively low when
compared with bored piles.

Further, precast piles are not driven up to

the rock but they terminated or inserted
into a hard soil layer.  There should be a
dense soil layer to rest the pile and to
provide the end bearing.

These piles are mainly friction dominant

piles though there is an end bearing.

Driven can be done manually by falling a

mass into the pile or by using a vibrating
piling machine.

Piles are available in di erent sizes

starting from 400mm. Further, depending
on the nature of construction, even
smaller sizes can be made.

Further, these types of pile foundations

are widely used in low rise buildings
when they can not be constructed with
shallow foundations.

Micropiles
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Micro piles are quite popular in low rise

building construction.

When the ground condition is weak and

there is no adequate bearing capacity to
carry the loads from the superstructure, a
deep foundation needs to be
constructed.

In this background, if look at the

available options; we have to select the
type of foundation from bored piles,
precast piles, and micro piles.

Out of those, bored piles are more costly

in general when compared with the other
two types.

Depending on the nature and the type of

loads from the superstructure, the
selection of the piling type is made.

Further, when these types of foundations

are constructed, it is advisable to get the
recommendation from a geotechnical
engineer.

The design shall be done based on those

parameters provided in the soil
investigation report and those shall be
verified a er the construction by doing
necessary tests.

A micropile is a steel casing filled with

concrete. When required and as the
diameter of the micropile is increasing,
the reinforcement cage also can be

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placed inside the pile to improve its

structural capacity.

Micro piles are used in the abutment

construction and bridge pier
constructions. Lateral loads applied on
the abutment can be transferred to the
ground by inclined micro piles.

In pier construction, three piles or six

piles cost in hexagonal shape used to
carry the vertical loads.

The main risk of this type of construction

is the corrosion of steel. If exposed or
allowed to meet with the requirements
for corrosion, the pile could fail.

However, on the other hand, there is less

risk as a pile is underground and there is
less chance of getting all ingredients for
corrosion.

If the structure is to be built in a coastal

area, much attention on the protection of
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the steel casing shall be made.

Micro piles are constructed from steel

casings 150, 200, 300mm, etc.

Sheet Piles
Sheet piles are also can be considered as
a type of pile foundations though they
mostly do not use to support the
structures directly like other types of
piles.

For example, sheet piles use to support

the soil around the structure and it acts
as a permanent structure too. Removal or
considering as permanent work depends
on the nature of the construction and
condition of the ground.

Further, sheet piles are widely used in

construction to retain the earth for
excavations. In deep basement
constructions, also as indicated above,
properly anchored sheet piles can be
used.

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In addition, it is useful in the construction

of co erdams also.

There are di erent types of sheet piles

based on the profile and connection
arrangement. Apart from that, we can
select the suitable sheet pile based on
the required section modulus as per the
design requirements.

The article, sheet pile retaining wall

discuss the stability design of sheet pile
retaining wall.

Timber Piles
Not only the present construction, but
ancient construction is also have used
better technology.

They knew that when there is a weak soil,

piling needs to be done. So they have
used sustainable material to do it.

Even now when construction or

expansion is done, timber piling can be
observed.

Especially the buildings and bridges have

been constructed on timber piles.

Timber piles are durable, economical,

and sustainable.

Special timber that has good durability

properties to be used.

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Please carry the load from the skin

friction and end bearing.

Constructions in very weak areas where

heavy machines cannot be approached,
timber piles are used.

Screw Piles
The pile is like a screw as indicated in the
following figure.

The nature of the screw depends on the

type of construction.

Further, there are di erent types of screw

piles.

In building connections or any other

constructions such as bridge
construction, screw piles can be used.

Pile Foundations
Design
Once the piles are selected as the
foundation type according to the
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recommendation of the geotechnical

investigation report, evaluation of the
number of piles is done.

Then, we need the pile capacity.

There are two-component in the pile

foundations to evaluate the plie capacity.

We take the lesser of below.

Geotechnical Design
Structural Design

Geotechnical Design of
Piles
Evaluation of the geotechnical capacity
of the pile is done based on the soil
condition and the rock condition of it is
anchored in the rock.

The geotechnical capacity of the pile can

be represented from the following
equation

Qu = Qp + Qs

Where

Qu – Ultimate geotechnical capacity of

the pile

Qp – Ultimate end bearing of the pile

Qs – Ultimate skin friction of pile

The allowable capacity (Qall) can be

calculated as
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Qall = Qu / FoS

FoS – Factor of Safety; varies 2.5 -4

Further, there are di erent methods to

calculate the allowable capacity of the
pile. The method of application of factor
of safety may di er from country to
country based on their local standards.

Some time a separate factor of safety is

applied for both the end bearing and skin
friction and the singe factor of safety is
also used.

It is observed that a low factor of safety

like 2.0 is also used for skin friction. When
design it is highly recommended to local
standards.

Mainly there are five components

connected with the geotechnical
capacity of a pile.

1. Skin friction of the soil (positive skin

friction and negative skin friction)
2. Skin friction of the weathered rock
3. Skin friction of the rock
4. End bearing of rock
5. End bearing of soil

If the pile is terminated at soil (hard layer)

in the case of precast piles, end bearing
in the soil is used. If the pile socketed in
the rock (cast in situ bored piles) end
bearing in the rock is used to calculate
the pile capacity.

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The above five parameters are provided

by the geotechnical recommendation
based on the borehole investigation
data.

If we know the soil parameters, we can

calculate the skin friction values as per
the equations.

The following methods are available to

calculate the skin friction of soil.

Skin Friction in Sand

Based on overburden and friction
angle between soil and pile
Correlation with standard
penetration test (SPT)
Correlation with cone penetration
test (CPT)

Skin Friction in Clay

λ method
α method
β method
Correlation with CPT

The end bearing of the soil also can be

calculated from di erent methods
proposed. The following methods are
widely used by designers.

Soil End Bearing

Meyerhof’s method (sand/clay)
Vasic’s method (sand/clay)
Coyle and Castello’s method (sand)
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Correlation with SPT and CPT

Skin Friction of Rock

The skin of the rock is determined based
on the condition and type of rock.

Generally, the ultimate skin friction of the

fresh rock and weather rock is provided
in the geotechnical investigation report.

We have to apply the factor of safety to

calculate the allowable capacity. If
allowable capacity is given we can use it
directly.

Point Bearing of Rock (End

bearing)
The evaluation is based on the test
results. Most of the time, the uniaxial
compressive strength (UCS) test is carried
out to find the strength of the rock.

The relationship between the UCS and

end bearing is used to determine the
final figure.

The RQD and CR values shall also be

checked when determining the pile
capacities and socketing lengths as they
represent the condition of rock.

In summary, we will receive the

necessary geotechnical parameters such
as skin friction and end bearing values
form the geotechnical investigation

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report. What we need to do is apply the

necessary factor of safety and calculate
the geotechnical capacity.

Structural Design of
Pile
The allowable concrete stress in the
bored cast in situ piles are considered as
0.25fcu in most of the standards. There
are only slight deviations.

ACI 318 : 0.25 fcu

EC2 : 0.26 fcu
CP4 : 0.25 fcu

However, pile needs to check for

buckling especially when it is
constructed on a weak groud. Thus,
buckling analysis for pile foundations is
carried out.

And considering the same, structural

design or the reinforcement design can
be done.

There are two methods/steps to design a

pile.

1. Calculate the Critical Buckling Load

and check whether it is greater than
the applied load.
2. Carryout more rigorous buckling
analyses and carrying out the design.

The summary of calculation steps is as

follows. Further reading shall be done
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before carrying out design.

Step 01
Calculate the critical buckling load (Pcr).

Step 02
Based on the Pcr, soil springs, rotation at
the top of the pile(may have some
rotational fixity), etc, find the e ective
length (Lcr).

Step 03
Since we know the applied loads,
e ective length, and pile diameter, we
can design the pile using a conventional
method or using a so ware.

Key factors to be considered in the pile

foundations design are summarised as
follows.

Evaluate the geotechnical capacity

and structural capacity of the pile
and take the less as pile capacity.
Divide pile capacity by the applied
load (column load or applied load;

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serviceability limit state) to find the

number of piles.
When there is a group of piles to
design, the individual load shall be
calculated based on the load center
and the geometric center of each
pile. Loads shall be distributed based
on the position of the pile.
If there is more than one pile,
minimum gap between the pile shall
be 2.5 x pile diameter.
The increase of the gap between the
pile will not allow you to use truss
analogy to pile cap design.
Therefore, gap between piles is
maintained 2.5 – 3 times pile
diameter.
Attention to the negative skin
frictions shall be made when organic
soils are present. Otherwise,
estimation of pile capacity will be
wrong.
Pile bucking shall be checked when
there are very weak soils such as
peat for a longer depth.
Attention on RQD and CR values shall
be made when decided the
socketing lengths.
Generally, as per most standards,
allowable tolerance for construction
deviations is 75mm. This shall be
considered in the pile cap design.
Special attention shall be made
when there is a single pile. The
moment due to the centricity shall
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be carryout by the ground beams.

Therefore, it shall be considered in
the ground beam design.

Construction of Pile
Foundations
Let’s discuss the basic steps to be
followed in the pile construction. The
following procedure is discussed in
relation to the cast in situ piles.

The following tolerances are allowed by

di erent standards as allowable
deviations during the construction.

Code Allowable Tolerance

4% of diameter or
ACI-336
75mm; whichever less

100mm; for pile

diameter(D) ≤ 1000mm

0.1D for 1000<D≤1500

150mm D>1500

BS EN 1536
Design for rake less than
1 in 15 limits to 20mm/m

Design with a rake of

between 1 in 4 and 1 in
15 limits to 40mm/m

CP4 75mm

BS 8004 Not more than 1 in 75

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from the vertical or

75mm

Deviation of up to 1 in 25
permitted for bored piles
drilled at rakes of up to 1
in 4

Pile Construction Steps

and Key Aspects to be
Attended
Carrying out the setting out
Start removing the topsoil up to the
rock level. It shall always try to
maintain the position of the pile as
specified in the drawings though
there is an acceptable tolerance of
75mm generally.
Start rock coring and monitor the
depth of stating the rock coring. In
this case, it shall make sure that the
coring is done in the fresh rock and
not in weathered rock.
It shall be measured with the
samples, rate of penetration,
borehole log data, site other pile
depths if any.
Due to the di iculties in locating the
fresh rock, the first plie will be cast
closer to a borehole. Then the other
parameters can be evaluated. Based
on that we can proceed with the
piling.
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Visual observation are made check

the quality of the rock.
In addition, testing methods such as
point load test could be used to
check the strength of the rock. Point
load test results can be correlated to
find the end bearing of the pile. If it is
not satisfying, rock coring shall be
done until the sound rock is found.
The article construction material
testing techniques could be referred
for more information on testing.
Once the coring in the rock is
completed as per the socketing
lengths, cleaning will be done.
The main purpose of cleaning is to
remove mud, sand, etc. in the
bentonite to remove. This is also
called flushing.
There are parameters to checked for
to make sure pile is clean
adequately. The following figure
indicates the limiting values. Those
values will be changing from
specification to specification.

Once the bentonite in the excavation

reaches the specified limits, flushing
is stoped.
Then the tremie pipe is placed in the
excavation.
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Then slowly concrete is poured into

the tremie. Once it is filled, the
tremie is li ed by a very little amount
allowing the concrete to flow out.
This concrete will gradually move up
with all the mud and impurities at
the bottom of the pile. Then again
tremie is filled with concrete and
allow concrete to flow out.
It shall make sure the end of the
tremie pipe is always within the fresh
concrete. It enables always fresh
concrete to mix with fresh concrete
and top concrete layer moving up
gradually.
Further, it is very important to control
the rate of pouring concrete to avoid
li ing the reinforcement cage. If the
rate is higher, cage will be li ed.
Repeat this until the concreting is
completed.

Testing of Pile
Foundations
Not like other foundations, we cannot
see what happens underground.

Nothing visible…

How to decide whether we have

constructed the pile correctly with..

Adequate cover to the reinforcement

Without necking

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Without bulging
Without concrete mixings with
bentonite
Without cavities(like honeycombs) in
concrete
Without mud at the bottom of the
pile
Etc…

Therefore, we need to do testing of the

pile to make sure it is constructed
properly.

It is the responsibility of the contractor to

carry out testing of piles in consultation
with project consultant and third-party
testing agency.

Pile Testing Methods

Mainly there are four types of pile testing
methods.

1. Pile Integrity Test (Low strain integrity

Test)
2. Dynamic Load Test ( High strain
dynamic test)
3. Static Load Test
4. Cross Hole Sonic Test

Pile Integrity Test

The easiest method to predict the
integrity of the piles.

Bulgings, neckings, socketing, etc can be

predicted with this test.

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This best method to identify the defective

file but can not assess the pile capacities.

It provides an initial warning of whether

the pile is defective.

The pile integrity test is used to identify

the piles to be testing by other methods
such as pile dynamic test and pile static
load test.

In addition, this testing method is not

costing much when compared with other
tests. Further, all the piles are tested with
this method.

Dynamic Load Test

The most widely used method to find the
pile load capacities in present
construction.

Not like a static load test, it provides

results instantly. Plie capacity can be
obtained at the site just a er the testing.
However, further analysis will be done to
provide accurate answers a er analysis
with So wares like CAPWAP.

We can obtain the pile skin friction and

end bearing developed to the test load.

Initially, the pile testing will be simulated

with so ware and the falling height of
the hammer is decided in such a manner
that it will not generate tensile stresses

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than that can be allowed or that can

carry by the pile reinforcements.

This is called wave equation analysis

(WEAP). With this method, it is not
required to apply the hammer load
several times until we find the testing
load.

WEAP provides the relationship between

test load, compressive stress, and tensile
stress development.

Therefore, testing can be done very

easily.

Static Load Test 

This more reliable and conventional
method used in pile testing. Since all the
measurements are taken manually, we
have an idea of what happens with the
increase of the load.

We increase the load on the pile up the

testing load specified in the pile design
and it reduces gradually.

Pile deformation is monitored and

checked whether it is within the limit.

Cross Hole Sonic Test

This test is to used to check the condition
of the pile. It can be used to check the
condition of the concerning work within
the holes placed in the pile.

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Conduits are placed in the pile. Then the

testing instrument is placed in the pile
and check. Transmitter and receiver is
used to check the condition of the pile.

Based on the wave speeds it predicts the

condition of the pile. Further reading on
the testing method could be referred
from Wikipedia article crosshole sonic
logging.

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