Pile Foundation

Pile Foundation
• Flow of presentation
1). Historical background of Pile Foundation
2). Why Pile Foundation?
3). Site selection
4). Classification of Pile Foundation
5). Pile Equipment and Pile Installation method
6). Pile Foundation Failure
 Pile Foundation
• Flow of presentation
7). Pile Load capacity for single pile
8). Pile Load capacity for Group of pile
9). Pile Load Test
10). Workout examples
Historical background of Pile
Foundation
 Historical Background
• In Britain, there are numerous examples of timber piling in bridge
works and riverside settlements constructed by the Romans. In
mediaeval times, piles of oak and alder were used in the
foundations of the great monasteries constructed in the fenlands of
East Anglia. In China, timber piling was used by the bridge builders
of the Han Dynasty (200 BC to AD 200).

• Timber, because of its strength combined with lightness, durability

and ease of cutting and handling, remained the only material used
for piling until comparatively recent times.

• Reinforced concrete, which was developed as a structural medium

in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s, largely
replaced timber for high-capacity piling for works on land.
 Historical Background

• The partial replacement of driven precast concrete piles by

numerous forms of cast in-situ piles has been due more to
the development of highly efficient machines for drilling
pile bore-holes of large diameter and great depth in a wide
range of soil and rock conditions, than to any deficiency in
the performance of the precast concrete element.

• Steel has been used to an increasing extent for piling due to

its ease of fabrication and handling and its ability to
withstand hard driving. Problems of corrosion in marine
struc­tures have been overcome by the introduction of
durable coatings and cathodic protection.
Why Pile Foundation?
 Why Pile Foundation
Upper soil strata are too compressible or
generally too weak to support heavy vertical
reaction transmitted by the super structure.
 Why Pile Foundation
Piles are also frequently required because of the
relative inability of shallow footings to transmit
inclined, horizontal, or uplift forces and
overturning moments.

Pile foundations are often required when scour

around footings could cause erosion in
spite of the presence of strong,
incompressible strata (such as sand
or gravel) at shallow depths
 Why Pile Foundation
In areas where expansive or collapsible soils
extend to considerable depth below the
soil surface, pile foundations may be
needed to assure safety against undesirable
seasonal movements of the foundations .
Site selection
 Site Investigation for Piling
Typical Soil Condition

 A foundation has to transfer the structural load to the

supporting soil in such a way that the soil neither fails in
shear nor settles excessively.

 Before selecting a proper type of foundation, it is essential

to know the subsoil condition and the soil properties at the
site.
 (1) (2)
 Case(1): Deep foundations such as piles may be required only
if uplift or any other unusual forces are present.

 Case(2): Piles are required only for unusual situations.

 (3) (4)
 Case(3): Deep foundation such as piles or piers are to be
provided upto a depth where sufficient load bearing capacity
is forthcoming.

 Case(4): This is a example of the subsoil condition where a

deep foundation such as piles can be provided, bearing
directly on or socketed inside the rock stratum.
 (5) (6)
 Case(5): Cast in situ piles such as bulb piles into the sand
stratum are most suitable.

 Case(6): In this type of soil, the driven piles are provided, as

they would help densify the sand soil.
 (7) (8)
 Case(7): In this type of soil, friction piles would be provided.
The length of the piles can be increased so as to bring the
settlement within limit.
 Case(8): The upper compact sand layer provide a good
bearing stratum, therefore Drilled piles with an enlarged base
formed in the hard clay layer or bored and cast in situ piles
with a bulb formed in the hard clay layer are suitable.
 (9)
 Case(9): The poor fill layer is too thick to consider replacing it
with a better material. Deep foundation like driven and cast
in situ piles or drilled piles extending into the medium dense
sand layer, or better still, going into the compact glacial fill
stratum would prove to be satisfactory.
 (10)
 Case(10): For loads which are not very large, piles or piers
bearing on the upper zone of the dense sand layer may be
considered, ensuring that the resulting settlement in the clay
layer will be limit.
• For heavy loads, driven steel piles or caissons bearing on rock
stratum will be suitable.
 (11) (12)
 Case(11): Pile foundation, bearing in the upper portion of
the dense sand layer, would be satisfactory. This would
prevent stresses reaching the clay layer and causing
significant settlement.
 Case(12): Since rock is available at only 4.5m depth, piles or
piers bearing on rock would be most satisfactory.
Classification of Pile foundation
 Classification of Pile foundation
Methods of classifications are grouped into one of the
following five categories:

• Pile material
• Method of pile fabrication
• Amount of ground disturbance during pile installation
• Method of pile installation into ground
• Method of load transfer
• Size of piles
• Inclination of piles
 Classification of Pile foundation
On the basis of Pile Material
• Timber
• Concrete
• Steel
• Composite Piles
 Classification of Pile foundation
• On the basis of Fabrication
• Precast
• Cast in situ
 Classification of Pile foundation
On the basis of Amount of ground disturbance
during pile installation
1). Displacement Piles
2). Non Displacement Piles
 Classification of Pile foundation
On the basis of Method of pile installation into
ground:
• Driven piles
• Bored piles
• Combined of driven and bored piles
 Classification of Pile foundation
On the basis of method of load transfer:
• End bearing piles
• Friction piles
• Combined end bearing and friction piles
• Laterally Loaded Pile
 Classification of Pile foundation
On the basis of size of piles
• Micro (Mini) Piles (<150 mm)
• Small diameter piles (>150 mm < 600mm)
• Large diameter pile (>600 mm)
 Classification of Pile foundation
On the basis of Inclination of piles:
• Vertical Piles
• Raker Piles (batter pile)
Pile Equipment and Pile Installation
method
 Piling Equipment and Method of
Installation
Pilling Equipment and Method:
This can be divided in two categories:
• Equipments for Installing precast driven piles
• Equipments for installing bored and cast in
situ piles
 Driven Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hammering rig

Thickness of Nominal
steel tube: Diameter:
20mm 300, 400, 450,
550 and
600mm
Standard Pile Driving Rig

This Equipment is also used for installation of

Stone Columns
Driven Cast-In-Situ Piles
Driven Cast-In-Situ Piles

Crane Mounted
Piling Leaders
Driven Pre-cast Concrete Piles
Driven Pre-cast Concrete Piles
Driven Pre-cast Concrete Piles

Pre-cast Pile Being Driven At

1:4 Rake
 Jointed Pre-cast Driven Piles

 Maximum length of a single segment pre-cast

pile 22m.
 To install piles upto greater depths joints have
been developed.
 Segments of 8 to 10m are pre-cast which are
then joined during driving.
Jointed Pre-cast Driven Piles
a) Single Acting b) Double Acting

Hammers

c) Diesel Hammer
Hydraulic Hammer
 Characteristics of Hammers

Type of Hammer Mass of Height of Rated Blow Suitability

Hammer Fall/Stroke Energy Rate/min
(T) (m) (T.m)
Drop Hammer Occasionally used for
a) Trigger Release 0.5-5.0 Variable Variable 10-25 small relatively
b) Rope and Friction Winch inaccessible jobs.
Single Acting Steam Hammer Suitable for driving all
a) BSP Make 2.5-20.0 1.37 3.4-27.4 50 types of pile in stiff to
b) Valcun Make 1.36-27.2 0.5-1.0 1.0-250.0 50-100 hard clays.
Double Acting Steam Hammer Most effective in
a) BSP Make 0.25-2.5 - 0.17-2.65 95-330 granular soil, but not so
b) Valcun Make 0.82-18.0 0.25-0.4 0.5-15.7 100-225 effective in clay soil.
Diesel Hammer Suitable for all types of
a) BSP Make 1.5-4.5 - 3.8-11.4 80-100 ground except soft
b) Valcun Make 1.35-2.4 2.5 3.4-6.0 50-60 clays.
c) Kobe Make 1.3-15.0 2.6-2.8 3.3-40.0 45-60
Hydraulic Hammer Suitable for all types of
a) BSP Make 8-14 0.2-1.2 9.6-16.8 35-40 ground.
 Piling Vibrator
 Pair of exciters rotating in opposite direction.

 Combined weight of vibrators and vibrating energy causes

the pile to sink.

 Frequency between 10 to 120 Hz.

 Very effective in loose to medium dense granular soils for

driving small displacement piles.
Piling Vibrator
Advantages:
• Field Engineer can easily assess the termination depth.
• Densification of granular soil.
• Fast Installation.

Limitations:
• Unacceptable level of noise and vibration.
• The piles can not penetrate the rock strata where required in
design.
• Limitation on diameter or size of these piles.
 Driven Cast-In-Situ Piles
Methods of Pile Installation
• Set the pile shoe at the pile location.

• Position the rig and lower the casing / pile tube over pile shoe. Wherever
ground water table is high and soil is pure sand bitumen impregnated rock
is used as seal between tube and shoe to ensure water tightness.
• Position drive cap and rest the hammer over pile tube.
• Check the verticality by adjusting forward and backward movement of the rig.

• Initially start with very short fall of hammer in order to maintain verticality of the tube as
the tube penetrates the ground.

• After the tube has gone a few meter inside the soil regular driving process starts with
hammer fall between 1 to 1.5 mtrs.
 Driven Cast-In-Situ Piles
Methods of Pile Installation
• The driving continues till desired set / rebound is obtained. The set can be
calculated by using suitable pile driving formulae such as Simplex, Jumbu
etc., for desired pile capacity.
• For use of formulae, basic parameter such as weight of hammer, fall, pile dia, length of pile are required.
During the driving process no. of blows for every meter, length of pile driven etc. are recorded.

• The set is defined as average penetration per blow for 10 consecutive set of blows.

• After desired set is obtain reinforcement cage lowered inside the tube with multi purpose
wires.
 Driven Cast-In-Situ Piles
Methods of Pile Installation

• The concrete of slump 100-120 mm is then poured inside the tube up to a suitable depth.

• The tube is then withdrawn engaging extraction gear keeping suitable overlap with the
concrete. The concrete is then further poured.

• The whole operation is generally completed in 2-3 stages. While withdrawing

the tubes hammering is done to impart vibration to ensure free flow of
concrete and to have proper surface contract with the surrounding soil.
Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Percussion Drilling

Techniques:
• Bailer & Chisel Technique
• Direct Mud Circulation Technique
• Reverse Mud Circulation Technique

Stability to the Drilled Shafts:

• Temporary Casing
• Permanent Liner
• Bentonite Suspension
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Concreting of Cast-In-Situ Piles by Tremie Method

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

(a) Boring the Pile Shaft
(b) Reinforcement and tremie tube inserted in pile shaft
(c) Concreting commenced with water and silty slurry being displaced
(d) Water discharging as concreting proceeds
(e) Withdrawing temporary casing
(f) Completed pile
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Rotary Drilling

Mechanical Hydraulic
Rotary Rig Rotary Rig

Are generally suitable for drilling through Can drill through even hard rock strata having
soil strata and upto soft rock only crushing strength upto 300 to 500 kg/cm2
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Mechanically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Suitability

 Boring through soil strata or very soft rock.

 Uses friction kelly which gives higher speed during

boring.

 Base equipment i.e. Crane can be indigenous, thus Kelly

import component is less with overall low capital
investment.

 The base equipment (Crane) can be used for other

works when there is no piling work.

 Less maintenance cost.

 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Mechanically Operated Rotary Piling Rig

Limitations

 Difficult to bore through hard clay or boulder and

not suitable for boring through rock.

 Do not have any attachments for installation of

temporary casing/permanent liner and therefore
needs an alternative equipment like vibro-sinker which
increases the operation cost.
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Salient Features

 Diameter upto 2 to 2.5 m can be

installed upto a depth of 40 to 60 m.
 The speed of installation is very fast.

In Mumbai 5 to 6 piles installed per day

of 1.2m diameter having depth 12 to 14m
with boring through basaltic rock.

In Delhi 8 to 10 piles installed per day

having depth of 16 to 20m.
B220
AF18S
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Salient Features

 Can bore through all types of soil and

bouldary strata and depending on
hydraulic power can easily bore through
hard rock having crushing strength of 300
to 500 kg/cm2.

 Adopting suitable tools and techniques

with high powered drilling rigs SIMPLEX
successfully carried out boring through
very hard rock i.e. crushing strength upto
900 to 1300 kg/cm2 in Mumbai.
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Salient Features

 The intricate mechanism of hydraulic

system enables to maintain constant
speed of rotation under high torque
which is not feasible in mechanical rotary
rigs where rotation reduces to almost
zero when hard strata is met.

 The rotary has special attachment to

install temporary casing/permanent liner
during boring operation.

Casing & Casing Joint

 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Salient Features

 The machine has an expandable crawler base

to give additional stability during operation
(d = 4.5 m).

The base can be retrenched during

transportation (d = 3.0 m).

 The mast can be inclined upto 15 degrees.

With such advantage raker piles upto a rake of
1:3.75 was easily installed for flyover project at
Jogeshwari, Mumbai (B = 15°).
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Salient Features

 Series of electronic sensors connected

to viewing panel in operators cabin helps
to maintain verticality, measurement of
depth and control on boring operation
easily.

 The entire system being controlled

from the operators cabin, the
requirement of manpower is very less. Inside view of Operators Cabin
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Salient Features

 The machine gets

easily folded to
transportation
mode and can be
quickly
commissioned at
other project site.
The boring
operation thus can
start within few
hours.
Hydraulic Rig in Folded Condition, Ready to Transport
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Salient Features

 Drilling operation
even in rock does
not produce
intolerable noise
and vibrations and
thus these rigs are
very useful in
installing the piles in
residential areas
without any
objection. Work in progress close to the building at Churchgate Site,
Mumbai
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Limitations

 The entire equuipment along with its components are imported and hence
the investment cost is almost 3 to 4 times that of mechanically operated rig.

 Most of the components are required to be imported and therefore the

maintenance cost becomes very high.

 Considering the investment, maintenance cost and high consumption of

fuel etc. the boring cost becomes much higher in present market situation in
comparison to conventional system.
 Bored Cast-In-Situ Piles
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig

B220 HR160 - 3 Nos. AF18S

Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Boring Tools

Soil Auger Soil Bucket

Boring through stiff and Boring through soft clays
dry soil sandy strata under water
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Boring Tools

Soil Bucket
 Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Boring Tools

Rock Auger Core Barrel

Boring through rock above water To cut the boulder
Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Boring Tools

Non return valve

Cleaning Bucket

Proper cleaning is achieved and

whatever fine particles are there
at the bottom come up with
concrete.
 Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Method of Installation of Bored Cast-In-Situ Pile Using Rotary Auger

1. The center point of pile is marked on the ground using steel pin.
2. Hydraulic rotary boring rig fitted with suitable tool is moved to
pile location and positioned with pile center point.
3. After necessary checks for verticality of mast with in-built facility
and establishing reference points, boring starts.
4. After initial boring of 1.5m to 2.0m depth, liner with internal
diameter of liner being 50mm greater than the pile diameter is
installed in position using special attachment to the rotary head.
5. While boring continues using auger/bucket, liner is rotated and
pushed down. Normally the single piece liner of 5 to 6 meters can
be installed. With hydraulic pull down cylinder casing even upto
15m can be installed in a single piece where additional third winch
is attached to the machine.
 Hydraulically Operated Rotary Piling Rig
Method of Installation of Bored Cast-In-Situ Pile Using Rotary Auger

6. On reaching the top of rock, the soil boring tools will be charged
over to rock boring tools and drilling operation will continue upto
termination depth.
7. On completion of boring to the required elevation, cleaning bucket
is used for cleaning the borehole.
8. The required reinforcement steel cage is lowered in position using
crane/rotary rig.
9. The concrete is then placed in the drilling shaft using tremie
method.
Continuous Flight Auger
 Bored Pre-cast Concrete Piles

Casting Yard
Lowering of Precast Pile
Advantages:
 Suitable for strata very soft in nature underlain by rock, piles are required
to be embedded in rock not only for load transmission but also for stability
of these piles.
 Piles can be installed without appreciable noise or vibration using rotary
boring rigs.
 Very large diameter (upto 3.0 m) piles can be installed upto 60 m lengths
at present.

Disadvantages:
 Generates lot of muck and construction operation becomes messy.
 Difficulty in assessing the founding strata, especially when the piles are
required to be installed in heterogeneous soil deposit.

 Low end-bearing resistance in cohesion-less soil due to loosening by

drilling operations.
 Piling for Marine Structures
Close up of the piling plant mounted on the temporary platform in the initial stage of
construction of the jetty
 Piling for Marine Structures
Close up of the piling plant mounted on the temporary platform in the initial stage of
construction of the jetty
 Piling
for
Marine
Structures
 Limitations on Various Types of Piling Equipment

Normal Maximum
Pile Type
Length (m)
Steel "H" 30 to 50
Steel Pipe 30 to 40
Precast Concrete 30m without joint
Precast Concrete - Joined Sections 30 to 40m & even more
Driven Cast-in-place 25 to 30m & more if followers are used
Bored - Tripod small-diameter 20 to 25m
Bored - Rotary small-diameter 25 to 30m
Bored - Rotary large-diameter 50 to 60m
Bored - Continious-flight auger 25 to 30m
 Approximate Maximum Sizes and Capacity for Different Pile Types

Typical Design
Pile Type Size (mm)
Load (kN)
Steel "H" Upto 350 X 400 600-4400
Steel Pipe Upto 900 400-7300
Precast Concrete 200-600 Sq. 600-2000
Precast Concrete - Joined Sections Upto 400 Sq. 550-1500
Upto 390 Hex. 700-2000
Driven Cast-in-place, Withdrawn tube 275-600 350-2000
Bored - Small-diameter (Tripod or Rotary) 150-600 100-1500
Bored - Large-diameter 750-3000 2000-30000
Bored - Continious-flight auger 300-750 400-2600
Choice of Particular Method of Piling for Particular Job
Site is governed by factors such as:

• Ground Conditions
• Construction Considerations
• Environmental Factors
• Cost Considerations
 Ground Conditions

Alluvial Deposits, Residual Soil, Coastal Deposits –

• Driven Pile

Soft Marine Clay followed by Rock as in Mumbai –

• Bored Piles
 Construction Considerations

Site Conditions
• Is there enough space for all the equipment needed?
• Is the headroom adequate to allow the intended
equipment to function?
• Are the clearances from existing structures sufficient
to allow pile construction?
• Is the site surface strong enough to bear the weight of
piling equipment?
 Environmental Factors
• Noise
• Vibration
• Safety and Hazards with respect to local
Conditions

Cost Considerations
• Contract Size
• Production Requirement
Pile Foundation Failures
 PILE FOUNDATION FAILURES

Causes for failure :-

• Inadequate sub-soil exploration

• Defective workmanship and materials
• Different type of foundations under the same building
• Faulty construction
• Structure with non-uniform weight
 INADEQUATE SUB-SOIL EXPLORATION
• Piles, classified as deep foundation transmit their load to a much
greater depth than normal spread footings.
• A proper sub-soil exploration to adequate depth below the tip of the
pile is there for necessary to ensure that there is no weak stratum
within the zone of influence which might cause excessive settlement.
• Case study-
• A six - storeyed warehouse was constructed in Calcutta with (166 m x
55m) area on each floor. It had flat slab construction and column
pacing of (5.5m x 6.1m) in the form of grid, each column being
supported on 110 ton, cast-in-place, Franki piles.
• Nine months after the superstructure work was started, settlements
were noticed. They increased with the addition of each floor, and after
about a year and half, when all six floors were ready, a differential
settlement at the of 15 cm was recorded at centre.
• During analysis of the data, it was found that the average length of
piles (12.7m) was small compared with the large width (55m) of the
building. The pressure bulbs resulting from the pile groups combine
in effects at a higher strata and produced a state in which the piles
could not play their important role of transferring the load deep
enough to the firm strata.
• Remedial measures :-
• The differential settlement between the center and corners was
counteracted by relieving the soil overburden in the central part of
the building, by providing a stepped basement after computing the
future settlements in each section of the building. The structure has
subsequently behaved satisfactorily.
 DEFECTIVE WORKMANHIP AND MATERIALS
• The strength of soil and of materials used in foundations, depends
greatly on the quality of workmanship. There is often a tendency for
the site foreman to attach little importance to some of the design
requirements specified by the engineer.
• Failures Of a Pile Supported Tank Foundations
• A circular steel tank for storing 10000 ton of liquid ammonia, 40 m
diameter and 17.4 m high, was supported on concentrically placed
cast-in-situ driven concrete piles capped by a flexible raft. The piles
penetrat1ed 26m into soft marine clay followed by 8m of stiff
lateritic clay. The design pile capacity was 81 ton.
• Since tank was to store ammonia which is refrigerant , its bottom was
kept 1m clear of the ground. To ensure this , all piles had their cut-off
level 1-2 below the ground level. RCC column of diameter equal to
that of the pile and rising to a height of 1m above the ground level
were erected on all piles.
• Necking of the pile shafts during construction.
• Driven- cast-in-situ piles in soft clays prone to necking when the
casing pipe is withdrawn.
• Necking could also be due to squeezing of unreinforced pile haft due
to ground movement induced by driving of adjacent piles if sufficient
time is not allowed for concrete in earlier driven piles to set.

• A number of alternative remedial measures were analyzed and finally

in-place underpinning was adopted. It is involved lifting of the tank
bottom slab back to its original configuration with the help of
hydraulic jacks and provision of a 5m deep basement tied to the
existing piles, to derive additional advantage of buoyancy.
 FAULTY CONSTRUCTION

• Changing the load on tapered piles

• Unsuitable spacing of piles
• Piles in wrong positions
• Piles spaced to closely
• Piles of unsuitable length
• Excessive heave