PILE FOUNDATION

A pile is basically a long cylinder of a strong material such as concrete that is pushed into the
ground to act as a steady support for structures built on top of it.
Pile foundations are used in the following situations:
1. When there is a layer of weak soil at the surface. This layer cannot support the weight of
the building, so the loads of the building have to bypass this layer and be transferred to
the layer of stronger soil or rock that is below the weak layer.
2. When a building has very heavy, concentrated loads, such as in a high rise structure,
bridge, or water tank.

Pile foundations are capable of taking higher loads than spread footings.

There are two fundamental types of pile foundations (based on structural behaviour), each of
which works in its own way.

End Bearing Piles

In end bearing piles, the bottom end of the pile rests on a layer of especially strong soil or
rock. The load of the building is transferred through the pile onto the strong layer. In a sense,
this pile acts like a column. The key principle is that the bottom end rests on the surface which
is the intersection of a weak and strong layer. The load therefore bypasses the weak layer and
is safely transferred to the strong layer.

Friction Piles
Friction piles work on a different principle. The pile transfers the load of the building to the soil
across the full height of the pile, by friction. In other words, the entire surface of the pile,
which is cylindrical in shape, works to transfer the forces to the soil.
STATIC PILE ANALYSIS

ULTIMATE BEARING LOAD OF PILE

QULT = Qeb + Qsf
Where:
Qeb – Ultimate end bearing resistance of pile
Qsf – ultimate skin resistance of pile

Factor of Safety; FS = Qult / Qallow

I. SINGLE PILE CAPACITY

A. PILES ON SAND
i. End bearing Resistance
Qeb = Pv Ap Nq
Where:
Pv – effective vertical stress at critical depth
Ap – Area of pile tip
Nq – Bearing capacity factor
ii. Skin resistance
Qsf = p Ap-diagram k µ
Where:
p – perimeter of the pile section
Ap-diagram – Area of pressure diagram
k – coefficient of lateral pressure between pile and sand (ks = ka)
µ - coefficient of friction between pile and sand

NOTE: The pressure diagram is dependent on the critical depth, Dc

Dc = 20Øpile – DENSE SAND
Dc = 10Øpile – LOOSE SAND

B. PILES ON CLAY
i. End bearing Resistance
Qeb = c Ap Nc
Where:
c – cohesion
Ap – Area of pile tip
Nc – Bearing Capacity Factor (if not given use 9)
ii. Skin Resistance (α method)
Qsf = c L α p
iii. Skin Resistance (β method)
Qsf = β L σ’m p
iv. Skin Resistance (λ method)
Qsf = p L λ (2c + σ’m)
Where:
c – cohesion
L – Length of pile
p – perimeter of the pile section
σ’m – average vertical effective pressure at mid height of pile in a layer
α – adhesion factor or frictional constant
β – skin factor
β = (1-sinØr) tanØr ; for normally consolidated clay
β = (1-sinØr) tanØr √ ; for over consolidated clay
λ – effective frictional factor

II. GROUP PILE CAPACITY (GROUP ACTION)

A. END BEARING CAPACITY
Qeb = c Ap Nc
B. SKIN RESISTANCE
Qsf = c L α p
C. EFFICIENCY ( Eg = Qallow / Qult )
i. Converse-Labarre Equation
( ) ( )
Eg = 1 -

ii. Bowles Equation

( )
Eg =

Where:
Eg – Efficiency
m – no. of rows
n – no. of columns
D – Diameter of pile
S – spacing of piles; center to center
tan θ = D/S; θ is in degrees

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
SITUATION 1: A circular pile 0.30m in diameter and 12m long is embedded in a layer of dense
sand. The soil has the following properties: Dry unit weight is 16KN/m3 and saturated unit
weight is 19.5KN/m3 (4m depth from the ground surface), Nq = 80, k = 1.30, µ = 0.4 and FS =
3.0.
a. Compute the point bearing capacity of pile
b. Compute the frictional capacity of pile
c. Compute the allowable capacity of the pile

SITUATION 2: A 0.4m square prestressed concrete pile is to be driven in a clayey soil as shown.
The design capacity of the pile is 400KN with a FS = 2.5, the soil has a unit weight of 18.5KN/m3
and unconfined compressive stress is 120KPa.
a. Compute the point bearing capacity of pile
b. Compute the frictional capacity of pile
c. Compute the length of pile if α = 0.78

SITUATION 3: A 0.50m diameter precast concrete pile is to be driven in a clayey soil profile as
shown.
a. Compute the point bearing capacity of pile
b. Compute the frictional capacity of pile using α, β, and λ method
c. Compute the design capacity of the pile (FS = 2)
 SOIL PROPERTIES:

LAYER A
ɣCLAY = 15.3KN/m3
10m LAYER A qu = 85KPa
λ = 0.10
Water table Ør = 230
α= 0.66
25m
LAYER B
LAYER B ɣSAT = 19.7KN/m3
qu = 160KPa
λ = 0.14
Ør = 250
α = 0.74

SITUATION 4: A drilled pipe shown in the figure has a bell diameter Db = 1.5m and carries a
working load of 800KN. The diameter of shaft is 0.80m. The bored pile is drilled in a clay layer
having a cohesion as shown. Adhesion factor is 0.8. Use factor of safety of 3. The base of the
bell is 1.5m below the bottom shaft. Use Adhesion factor of 0 for the soil 1.5m from the top
and one diameter above the bottom of the drilled shaft. Refer to the figure.
a. Compute the point bearing capacity of pile
b. Compute the frictional capacity of pile
c. Compute the length of pile

LAYER A
qu = 60KPa

LAYER B
3m qu = 100KPa

LAYER C
1.5m qu = 150KPa

SITUATION 5: A pile group consists of 12 piles with a diameter of 0.35m and a pile length of
10m. The piles are spaced in a 3 x 4 pile rectangular matrix configuration in a 0.9m on center
spacing. The piles are driven into a clay that has the following characteristics according to a
borehole data.
a. Determine the allowable load on the pile group considering that the piles act
individually. Use factor of safety of 2.5
 b. Determine the allowable load on the pile group considering group action using Bowles
proposed equation.
c. Compute the ultimate capacity of the piles in the group act as a block.
d. What would be the minimum pile spacing to achieve 100% efficiency?

BOREHOLE DATA
Elevation Clay Soil Properties
3
+0.00m to -3.00m ɣ = 19KN/m Cu = 50KPa
3
-3.00m to -7.00m ɣ = 19KN/m Cu = 70KPa
3
-7.00m to -10.00m ɣ = 19KN/m Cu = 90KPa

PREPARED BY: EDLL