DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF

PILE FOUNDATIONS

by

Dr. L. I. N. de Silva
Module Outline

1. Introduction to pile foundations

2. Axial carrying capacity of a single vertical pile
3. Carrying capacity of a pile using pile driving formulae
4. Pile settlement
5. Pile groups
6. Negative skin friction
7. Design of piles using Euro Code guidelines
8. Ultimate lateral carrying capacity of piles
9. Testing of piles and interpretation of test results
Definition of foundation
Foundation is the part of the structure that transmit loads from the structure
to underlying soil or rock (Terzaghi and Peck)

Structure = Foundation + Super Structure

Provision of sufficient Settlement in the subsoil

FoS against shear should be kept within
failure of founding soil tolerable limits

3
 Types of foundations

Shallow foundation Deep foundation

Loads are transmitted to

a harder/stiffer layer at a
depth

Df

B Soft soil

Df < B
(Terzaghi)
Hard soil
4
Pile foundations
Piles are used when the soils close to the surface are too weak or too
compressible to allow for shallow foundation
Piles are used to carry either,
High vertical downward loads High uplifting loads High lateral loads

P P
P
Skin Friction, Qs

Skin Friction, Qs

resistance
The movement required

Passive
to mobilize the ultimate
shaft friction is in the
order of 0.3% to 1% of
the pile diameter.

End Bearing, Qb
Relative magnitudes of Qs and Qb depend on the
The movement required to mobilize soil condition and depth
the ultimate base resistance of the If Qb is dominant, the pile is known as end bearing
pile is in the range of 10% to 20% of pile and if Qs is dominant it is known as friction pile
the base diameter 6
Types of deep foundations
There are number of classifications available for different types of pile
foundations

1. Based on method of construction

Precast piles Cast in place piles

(bored piles)

q Steel q A hole is bored and

q Timber cast with reinforced
concrete
q Reinforced concrete
q Prestressed concrete
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Types of deep foundations
2. Based on the effect it has on ground

Displacement piles Non displacement piles

Structural members introduced in Soil is removed from the ground
to the ground by jacking, screwing and a hole is made. The hole should
or vibrating so that the soil is be supported by drilling mud. Then
displaced laterally or upwards the r/c cage is inserted in to the
(heaving) hole and concrete is cast in place to
form the pile

8
Types of deep foundations
2. Based on the effect it has on ground

Displacement piles Non displacement piles

• No soil is removed • Less vibration and noise

•C o m p a c t s a n d s t r e n g t h e n t h e • May loosen the surrounding soil
surrounding soil
• Hole need to be supported
•Significant vibration and noise
•Can cause serious damage to adjacent
9
building
Types of deep foundations
Factors affecting the choice of piles
Ø Depth to be reached.
Ø Loading requirements.
Ø Soil conditions regarding strength, corrosion and ground movement, etc.
Ø Environmental restrictions e.g. noise and air pollution control.
Ø Access of site – may limit the use of long precast pile.
Ø Congested or open site – may limit the use of piling rigs.
Ø Headroom restriction e.g. under a bridge flyover.
Ø Effect on adjoining buildings, if adjoining buildings are unstable, excessive
vibrations is to be avoided.
Ø Piling plant and equipment available.
Ø Reliability of types of piles and the expertise and familiarity of the specialist
sub-contractor.
Ø Time available for completion of the piling contract.
Ø Cost per unit length of pile.
Displacement piles
Preformed piles

q They are preformed at the surface and driven into the ground. These
piles are made of timber, concrete or steel.

q Preformed piles can be inspected for defects at the surface prior to

installation

q However, these piles are susceptible to damage during driving. In

addition, they are subjected to greater stresses during installation and
transportation.

q Length of the pile need to be determined before installation. If there are

any variations, lengthening or cutting is required.
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
1. Timber piles
q Timber piles have been used for many centuries. Roman used timber piles
in 1620 B.C. However, the main problem is its durability as they are
severely affected by rot, fungi and borers

q Fluctuating water table may cause problems

q Timber piles can have lengths up to 12 – 15 m and diameter > 150 mm

q Timber piles can be extended by splicing (joining). However, these joints

are weak

q Pile toe and head should be protected during driving by appropriate shoe
and helmet, respectively.

q In Sri Lanka, Hora, Rubber and Coconut tree trunks are widely used as
timber piles
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
1.1 Timber piles and accessories
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
1.1 Timber piles and accessories
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
1.1 Timber piles and
accessories
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
2. Concrete piles
q There are two types of concrete piles namely, reinforced concrete piles and
prestressed concrete piles. They are usually of square, triangular, circular
or octagonal section

q These piles are manufactured in horizontal position under controlled

conditions.

q Stresses imposed during driving, transporting and lifting are often

significantly greater than the stresses during operation as a foundation
member

q Prestressed concrete piles are ideal for corrosive and marine environments

q Steel shoe is used at the toe of reinforced concrete piles

Displacement piles
Preformed piles
2.1 Concrete piles and accessories

The Hercules type of pile joint

Displacement piles
Preformed piles
3. Steel piles

q Steel piles are available in various cross sections such as, box piles, tube
piles, H piles and screw piles

q Steel has the advantage of being robust, easy to handle, and strong in
bending, tension and compression. Therefore, it is capable of withstanding
hard driving conditions.

q Steel piles can be easily shortened by cutting and lengthened by welding

q Corrosion is the biggest problem in steel piling. Therefore, the pile should
be protected against corrosion or a large section should be selected to
allow for corrosion during the service life.
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
3.1 Steel H piles and accessories

q Since the section is small, H piles are small displacement

piles.
q Ground heaving and damage to adjacent structures can
be minimized
Pile shoe
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
3.1 Steel H piles and accessories
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
3.2 Steel tube piles installation

Driving the
tube open Clean Fill with
ended inside by Finish
concrete
augur
Displacement piles
Preformed piles
3.3 Screw piles

q Screw piles have large diameter helical screws at the lower end. Piles are
screwed in to the ground using a capstan. Then soil inside is removed and
filled with concrete.

q Since the pile is installed

by means of a capstan, no
noise or vibration is
created.
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Wide range of pile driving hammers are available for different sizes and shapes of
piles and varying ground conditions

The four basic types of hammers are,

Ø Drop hammers
Ø Single acting hammers
Ø Double acting hammers
Ø Diesel hammers

In addition to the above hammers there are,

Ø Vibratory drivers
Ø Hydraulic jacks
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Drop hammers Pile helmet and cusion
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Single acting air or
steam hammers

Ø Upward stroke is powered

by compressed air or
steam
Ø Downward stroke is under
gravity
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Double acting differential
air or steam hammers

ØBoth upward and

d o w nwa rd st ro ke s a re
powered by compressed
air or steam
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Differential acting air or
steam hammers
Ø Both upward and downward
strokes are powered by
compressed air or steam
Ø Downward stroke is powered by
compressed steam or air at
different levels
 Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Diesel Hammers

Hammer Parts:
1 - crab
2 - piston
3 - fuel pump
4 - inlet
5 - cylinder
6 - anvil

Stages in Cycle:
I - ram up (start), scavenging
II - termination of scavenging, fuel feed
III - termination of compression stroke,
blow delivered on anvil block, fuel
combustion
IV - termination of fuel combustion,
exhaust, beginning of scavenging
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Vibratory hammers

Ø Piles are driven by the

vibration caused by
eccentric masses.
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Vibratory hammers
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment Hydraulic
hammers

Hydraulic Jacks
Displacement piles
Pile driving equipment
Types of deep foundations
Displacement piles
Partially preformed piles

q A preformed shell made of steel or concrete is driven to the required depth.

q Then the shell is cleaned and filled with concrete.

q Sometimes the shell is provided with a permanent shoe or plug at the

bottom to keep it clean of soil. Therefore, they are large displacement piles.

q If no shoe is used, it is required to clean inside the shell prior to concreting.

Therefore, they are small displacement piles.

q Tube piles and screw piles which were discussed before are also partially
preformed piles.
 Hammer blows
Displacement piles
Driving head
Partially preformed piles connected to
mandrel
Example -1
q Number of precast concrete shells are joined
with the help of an internal mandrel and a Precast
concrete shoe is attached at the bottom concrete
shells
q The above system is driven in to ground by Internal steel
giving hammer blows to the driving head mandrel
attached to the internal mandrel
Steel bands
q Once the required depth is reached the with bitumen
seals
mandrel is removed and the reinforcement
cage is inserted

q Finally the internal space will be filled with

concrete
Driving shoe
Displacement piles
Partially preformed piles, Some examples (eg:2a) – Steel shell and cast
Insitu Concrete Piles when the casings are made of steel plates
Displacement piles
Partially preformed piles, Some examples (eg:2a) – Steel shell and cast
Insitu Concrete Piles when the casings are made of steel plates

A. A plug of sand / stone is placed in the piling tube and compacted with a
hammer
B. The tube is driven by applying blows of the internal drop hammer to the plug
which arches in the tube and draws the tube into the ground. Internal drop
hammer gives less vibration
C. On reaching the founding level the tube is held by the extracting gear while
the plug is expelled using blows of the hammer.
D. Measured quantities of relatively dry concrete are expelled from the toe of
the tube thus forming an enlarged base.
E. The reinforcing cage is placed in the tube which is then filled with high slump
concrete.
F. The tube is extracted by means of the extraction gear. On deeper piles the
concrete level may have to be topped up during extraction.
Displacement piles
Partially preformed piles
Animation of the
construction of steel
s h e l l a n d c a st i n s i t u
concrete piles
Displacement piles
Partially preformed piles, Some examples
( e g : 2 b ) – S te e l s h e l l a n d ca st I n s i t u
Concrete Piles when the casings are made
of corrugated steel plates
Steel
expandable
A steel expanding mandrel should be mandrel
used to su p p o r t t h e t h i n wa l l e d
corrugated casing.
Steel
corrugated
Then the mandrel and casing is driven
pile
together to the required depth

Once the required depth is

reached, the mandrel is
removed and the casing is filled
with concrete
Types of deep foundations
Displacement piles
Driven Cast Insitu Piles

q Temporary steel casing

sealed at the base by a
detachable plug or shoe is
driven

q Once the required depth

is reached, the
reinforcement cage is
inserted.
q Then the bottom shoe or
plug is filled with
concrete and casing is
gradually withdrawn with
the progress of concreting Detachable shoe
Displacement piles
Driven Cast Insitu Piles
Advantages
q Length of pile can be easily varied

q Storage and handling problems does not exist

q Quick construction process

Disadvantages

q Cannot directly inspect the completed pile. Dynamic testing can be used for
this purpose

q Sometimes it is very difficult to withdraw casings

Types of deep foundations
Non displacement piles
Rotary Bored Piles

q First a hole is created in the ground either by using a continuous flight augur
or a bucket augur/short flight augur connected to a kelly bar

q In most of the cases where bucket or short flight augur is used, a side
support system is required to prevent collapsing of soil in to the hole

q Once the hole is drilled up to the required depth, the base is cleaned

q Then the reinforcement cage is inserted and high slump concrete is placed in
the hole.

q Casings and /or drilling mud is used to support the sides

q Due to the difficulty in withdrawing casings, sometimes casings are only used
in the upper levels
 Non displacement piles
Rotary Bored Piles - equipment

Continuous
flight augur

Kelly bar

Bucket
augur

Short flight
augur
Non displacement piles
Rotary Bored Piles

Small diameter Bored Piles Large diameter Bored Piles

q Pile diameter varies between 300 q Pile diameter varies between

mm – 750 mm 750 mm – 3000 mm or more

q Loads up to 1500 kN q Loads up to 20000 kN for

straight piles and 30000 kN
q Can construct piles of lengths up for undereamed piles
to 25 m. Usual length is about 12
m q Can construct piles of lengths
70 m or more
 Non displacement piles
Small diameter Bored Piles

The percussion tool, consisting of the tripod or shear leg, a winch and the cutter,
are set up. A starter hole is then made by dropping the cutter from the raised
position.
Non displacement piles
Large diameter Bored Piles
Non displacement piles
Rotary Bored Plies- Construction sequence
1. Centering
2. Starting drilling
3. Inserting casing
4. Continue drilling and feeding bentonite
5. Drilling till the specified depth
6. Insert the undereaming tool
7. Undereamin bore hole bottom
8. Measuring depth
9. Setting up iron-reinforcement cage
10. Inserting tremie tube
11. Cleaning the pile bottom by an air-lift
12. Concreting
13. Removal of temporary casing
14.Completing cast-in-place concrete underremed pile
Underreaming Tools

Underreaming cannot be done in sandy soils

Specifications for bentonite slurry

Concreting shall not proceed if the bentonite density at the bottom of the borehole
exceeds 1250 kg/m3.
Specifications for bentonite slurry
Concreting cast in situ bored piles
The time interval between the final cleaning-up and placing concrete should not exceed 6
hours. If there is any delay the depth of the pile bottom should be checked against the
measured drilled depth before placing the concrete to ensure that no soil has fallen into the
hole.

The internal diameter of tremie must be 6 times the maximum size of the aggregate or 150
mm whichever is the greater. The maximum outside diameter of the pipe including joints
should be less than 0.35 times the pile diameter or inner diameter of the casing.

The tremie pipe must be clean an d Types of pile Slump

lowered to the bottom of the pile and
1 Driven cast-in-situ piles 140  40
lifted slightly (by 75 mm – 100 mm) to
start concrete flow. A flap valve should be 2 Cast-in-situ bored piles
used on the end of the tremie pipe rather
a) Water free unlined bore with
than a plug or polyethylene. wide space reinforcement
140  40

Self compacting concrete with high slump b) Tremie concreting 165  15

is used for concreting piles. Concrete 3 Under reamed piles
g ra d e 3 0 o r a b o ve i s u s u a l l y u s e d .
Minimum cement content shall be 400 a) Water free unlined holes 125  25
kg/m3. b) Tremie concreting 175  25
Concreting cast in situ bored piles (contd..)
Initial charge of concrete should be given in the funnel using a flap valve or plug. Total
concrete quantity in the funnel should be more than the volume of the entire pipe plus free
space below the tremie. This will ensure a water tight concrete pouring through tremie.

During concreting, the tremie tip must always be immersed 1.50 m below concrete surface
for piles less than 1200 mm diameter and 2.50 m for piles greater than 1200 mm.

The concreting of pile is to be done up to minimum of 300 mm above the cut off level
(overcast) to get good and sound concrete at cut off level.
Concrete casting tolerances above cut-off levels for specified conditions

Allowable tolerances for installed piles

Tolerances
Description
Land Piles Marine Piles
Deviation from specified position in plan, 75mm (15mm for mini- 150mm
measured at cut-off level piles)
Deviation from vertical 1 in 75
1 in 100 for mini-piles
Deviation of raking piles from specified batter 1 in 25 1 in 25

Deviation from specified cut-off level 25mm

The diameter of cast-in-situ piles shall be at least 97% of the specified diameter.
Advantages of Wood piles

q The piles are easy to handle

q Relatively inexpensive where timber is plentiful.
q Sections can be joined together and excess length easily removed.

Disadvantages of Wood piles

q The piles will rot above the ground water level.

q Have a limited bearing capacity.
q Can easily be damaged during driving by stones and boulders.
q The piles are difficult to splice and are attacked by marine borers in salt
water.
Advantages of Pre- cast concrete Piles
q Are easy to splice.
q Relatively inexpensive.
q Stable in squeezing ground, for example, soft clays, silts and peats pile
material can be inspected before piling.
q Can be driven in long lengths.
q Can increase the relative density of a granular founding stratum.

disadvantages of Pre- cast concrete Piles

q Displacement, heave, and disturbance of the soil during driving.
q Can be damaged during driving. Replacement piles may be required.
q Cannot be driven with very large diameters or in condition of limited
headroom.