Foundations 2

An elevation of an apartment block in China?

This is the building’s roof…
An apartment block in China
was constructed on piles
1. The building owner wanted to
create a parking basement in
front of the building.
Excavations took place and all
the excavated material was
dumped behind the building
2. Excavated material
was dumped next to the
building exerting
additional pressure onto
the soil and the
foundation system

Planned parking
basement
 1. Heavy rainfall filled the
excavation, eroding the soil
of the embankment and
exposing the piles acting as
foundation system

2. The wet material added

even more pressure onto the
in situ soil and foundation
system
 The pressure kept on building
and forces acting onto the piles
added up to where it broke,
shifting the building of the piles
As the building was “pushed”
over from its supporting
structure, it collapsed
End result
End result
3. PILES
A “column” driven into the soil
• to support a structure
• by transferring building loads
• to a deeper and stronger layer of soil or
rock
• Classified as either end-bearing or
friction piles according to which the pile
loads are resisted
 all piles basically supported by skin
friction and end-bearing
 Think of a pile as a nail being hammered into timber. What is
keeping the nail in place?
The friction created between the nail and the timber. The deeper
the nail is hammered down, the greater the friction created due to
the surface area of the pile and the surrounding soil
The pile is drilled down into a stronger layer, transmitting the building’s
loads to this stronger layer below. Definition of a foundation?
The friction created between the pile and the surrounding soil or rock?

Building to be supported by underlying piles

Clay layer Pile

Rock layer
A “column” driven into the soil
to support a structure
by transferring building loads
to a deeper and stronger layer of
soil or rock

Piles

Clay layer

Rock layer
 Note that

Depth to be specified by the engineer

the piles are
always
drilled down
into
stronger
supporting
soil or rock Clay layer

Rock layer
 As per the
previous
sketch, piles
cannot stop
short of the Clay layer
rock layer as
the soil
movement
within the clay
layer, will have
an effect on Rock layer
the building
“moving” –
Result?
A “column” driven into the soil
to support a structure
by transferring building loads
to a deeper and stronger layer of
soil or rock

Pile caps

Piles
Pile cap on top of pile head
 Piles connected with beams

“Starter bars” from pile below to be connected to pile cap’s

reinforcing and again to another element on top of that
Pile cap on top of pile head
 4 x piles with reinforcing starter bars

Pile cap on top of 4 pile heads – notice the square base created on top
of the 4 piles as well as the starter bars from the piles below creating the
connection points
A “column” driven into the
soil to support a structure
by transferring building
loads to a deeper and
stronger layer of soil or rock
Principal pile types:
• Timber:
1.) inexpensive, easy to cut and splice, requires no
special handling
2.) maximum pile depth 33m, limited load carrying
ability, pile ends may splinter under driving loads,
subject to insect attack and decay
Where used in SA?
• Pre-cast concrete: manufactured in any desired
shape and size: round, square and octagonal; heaviest
type
1.) high strength and resistance to decay
2.) brittleness of concrete and lack of tensile strength,
require care in handling and driving to prevent pile
damage also during lifting because of the poor bending
strength; cutting is an extensive exercise involving
pneumatic hammers, cutting torches & special saws
Timber piles
Pre-cast concrete piles
• Cast-in-place/cast-in-situ concrete piles:
constructed by driving a steel shell into the ground
and then filling it up with concrete; shells sometimes
pulled out, but normally left in place as additional
reinforcement to the concrete
1.) shells are light weight, easy to handle, cut and
splice; all shells to be inspected before concrete filling;
where piled into expansive soils, shells are to be filled
as soon as possible after piling to prevent damage due
to lateral soil pressure
• Steel piles: H-type and pipe-type piles
1.) capable of supporting heavy loads and can be
driven to great depths without damage, easily
cut/spliced; filled with concrete for additional strength
2.) high cost
Cast-in-situ piles: auger drilling holes

Cast-in-situ piles (auger drilled)

 Uncased piles using slurry

No steel shell forced into the soil. The hole is augured/drilled out, reinforcing
placed and then filled with concrete
 High tensile for both the
spiral
as well as the
straight rods

Reinforcing for piles

 High tensile for the
straight rods and mild
steel for the
spiral

Reinforcing for piles

Reinforcing placed within
the pile holes drilled out
awaiting concrete fill
 1

The pile drill or pile “rig” is positioned in the correct location/position

The drill head attachment 2
 3

Drilling commences
 4

Drilling continues with the

reinforcing already “fixed”
for prior to placement
 5

Once the required depth

has been reached, the drill
bit is removed and the
reinforcing placed
 6

Once the reinforcing has been placed, the concrete truck positions itself for the
pour
 Because of the free fall height of concrete being restricted to 1,8m, a 7
chute is attached to a funnel that is dropped down to the bottom of the
hole to allow the concrete to fill up from the bottom without it exceeding
the 1,8m fall. As the concrete fills up the pile, the chute is extracted
 8

Before concrete pouring

can start, the funnel with
the chute attachment is
placed over the hole
opening to ensure that the
concrete fills up the hole
and waste is minimized
 9

Now concrete pouring can

start
 10

The concrete fills up the pile to the required depth. Notice the reinforcing
awaiting another “connection” to be made for example a pile “cap”
 10

The reinforcing protruding (sticking out) is called the “starter bars”

On top of the pile, a pile “cap” creating a block or beam can be connected
Pile cap on top of pile head
 4 x piles with reinforcing

Pile cap on top of pile head creating a bigger base to receive another element
for example structural columns
 Slab

Column

Slab or beam

Pile cap

Reinforcing

Pile

Pile cap or beam on top of pile head creating a bigger base or surface to
receive other elements for example structural columns
 Slab

Column

Slab or beam

Reinforcing

Pile
Completed piles with reinforcing awaiting further “connection”
Steel driven pipe/shell piles – Remember that the shell acts as permanent
formwork as well Steel
as addingdriven pipe-piles
additional strength to the pile. What is going to
happen to the steel shell’s outer skin, especially in sea water?
• Composite piles: made up of two or more different
materials example timber and shell where the timber is
at such a level that it is not subject to decay and the
shell would be exposed to decay

• Bulb piles: also known as compacted concrete piles,

Franki-piles or pressure injected footings. A special
type of cast-in-place concrete pile in which an enlarged
base or bulb is formed during driving, the enlarged
base increases the effectiveness of the pile as an end
bearing pile – See figure 4 page 164

Process: 1.) first a drive tube is driven to the desired

depth of the base by a powered hammer operating on
the top or by placing a plug of zero-slump concrete into
the drive tube and driving both the concrete plug and
the drive tube simultaneously using a drop hammer
operating inside the drive tube 2.) the drive tube is
then held in place and more zero-slump concrete is
added and hammered out of the end of the drive tube
to form the base
The body or shaft of the pile is constructed by
either of 2 methods:

* A compacted concrete shaft is formed by

hammering zero-slump concrete (?) into the
ground as the drive tube is raised

* A cased shaft is constructed by placing a steel

shell inside the drive tube and then hammering a
plug of zero-slump concrete into place to form a
bond between the base and the shell. The shell
is then filled in the same manner as a
conventional cast-in-place concrete pile
Bulb piles
Bulb piles
 Bulb piles

What is the purpose of enlarging the base at the bottom in the shape of a “bulb” or ball?
The larger the base, the better loads from above can be distributed down
What is the purpose of enlarging the base at the bottom in the shape of a
“bulb” or ball? The larger the base, the better loads from above can be
distributed down
Completed piles – starter bars protruding from below
Pressure-injected piles
Steel sheet piling placed to create “shoring”. Note the shape of the sheets fitting
into each other when placed
Steel sheet piling placed to create “shoring”. Steel sheets welded together.
• Mini-piles or micro-piles: smaller in diameter
50-200mm, employed in areas with restricted
access/limited headroom to underpin (provide
temporary/additional support)

Other applications include strengthening bridge

piers and abutments, anchoring/supporting
retaining walls, stabilizing slopes
Micro piles: same principle as others but smaller in diameter
PILE DRIVING - See figure 5 page 165

The drop-hammer: raising and dropping a weight

from a mobile crane which provides the support
and the power to the pile driver.
The leads acts as guides for the drop weight and
the pile.
Operations consist of lifting the pile, placing it into
the leads, lowering the pile until it no longer
penetrates the soil under it’s own weight and
then operating the drop hammer until the pile is
driven to the required resistance.
Read “Pile driving procedures” pages 167-168
 Piling gone wrong…?

The apartment block in China?

Notice the piling…
What’s missing? Perhaps a little bit of reinforcing?
Piles 1,5m in diameter extending 50m into the earth
Foundation 3,7m thick – Building weight 500,000 tons
4. PIERS & CAISSONS – study this to
understand the principle behind it. Very similar to
piling?
A pier is simply a column, usually of reinforced concrete,
constructed below ground surface to transfer the load
of a structure down to a stronger rock or soil layer
May be constructed in:
* an open excavation
* lined excavation (Caisson)
* drilled excavation
A caisson is a structure used to provide all-around
lateral support to an excavation: Manhattan bridge,
NY
May be either open or pneumatic where pneumatic
caissons are air-and watertight structures open on the
bottom end to permit excavation of soil beneath the
caisson
Caisson Caisson