Piling design
Pile Design and Construction Rules of Thumb
by Ruwan Rajapakse
Chapter 1 and 3
***pic in the slides are not my own creation but are credited, may be subjected to copyright.
2. Pile Design and Construction Rules of Thumb
by Ruwan Rajapakse
2
Myanmar National Building Code 2016-Part 4
3. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
Investigation of the site is a very important step in any
geotechnical engineering project.
1. Steps
1.1 Literature survey
1.2 Site visit
1.3 Subsurface investigation program and sampling
1.4 Laboratory test program
3
4. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
4
1.1 Literature Survey
• National Geological Surveys
(The Department of Geological Survey & Mineral Exploration)
• Adjacent Property Owners
• Published Literature
• Aerial Photographs
10. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
10
Information
• Surface soil characteristics
• Water level in nearby streams, lakes and other surface water bodies
• Closeness to adjacent buildings
1.2 Site Visit
10
11. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
11
Information
• Surface soil characteristics
• Water level in nearby streams, lakes and other surface water bodies
• Closeness to adjacent buildings
• Stability of the ground surface
1.2 Site Visit
11
12. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
12
Information
• Surface soil characteristics
• Water level in nearby streams, lakes and other surface water bodies
• Closeness to adjacent buildings
• Stability of the ground surface
• Overhead obstructions
1.2 Site Visit
12
13. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
13
The borehole spacing suggested by C.Q.H.P (minimum number of borings =
2 boreholes) is as follows:
1. One boring for every 2500 sq-ft (or) 250 sq-m of built-over area < 10,000 sq-ft
(or) 1,000 sq-m.
2. One boring for every extra 5,000 sq-ft (or) 500 sq-m for large area projects
>10,000 sqft (or) 1,000 sq-m.
3. Additional borings for irregular soil conditions.
1.3 Subsurface Investigation
13
16. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
16
1.3 Subsurface Investigation
16
Soil Exploration Methods
Exploration Methods
Direct Methods Semi Direct Methods Indirect Methods
Test pits,
Trial pits,
Trenches
Borings
• Auger
• Auger and shell
• Wash boring
• Percussion
drilling
• Rotary Drilling
Sounding or
penetration tests
and geophysical
methods
17. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
17
1.3 Subsurface Investigation
17
Test pits or trenches
• Down to 15ft below the surface
• Uneconomical at greater depths
• Open type exploration
• Soils are investigated in natural condition
Fig. Excavated test pit
19. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
19
1.3 Subsurface Investigation
19
Soil sampling
• Undisturbed Samples
• Thin-wall sampler (Shelby Tube)-sample taken by pushing the tube into soil
and sealed to prevent moisture loss
Unconfined compressive testsConsolidation test
20. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
1.3 Subsurface Investigation
20
Required Soil sampling
21. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
1.3 Subsurface Investigation
21
Complete detailed descriptions must be included on each
sample bag as follows:
1. Location (GPS), Project name
2. Sample No.
3. Depth from where to where
4. Collector’s name
5. Date of sampling
6. Investigation and Sampling Method
Boring Log
22. 1.3 Subsurface Investigation
Depth of Boring
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
22
CQHP suggested the following depth specifications.
1. Shallow foundations: depth =1.5 x min: (B or L) (Limit to 30ft or 10 m minimum)
2. Deep foundations: min depth = 15 𝑆0.7
(ft) or 5 𝑆0.7
(m) (Limit to 3 consecutive
SPT values ≥ 50)
22
23. Site investigation and Soil Conditions
23
• Grain Size analysis
(i) Dry – sieve analysis to 75 microns (No. 200 Sieve)
(ii) Wet – sieve analysis for soil less than 75 microns (No. 200 Sieve)
– Pipette method
– Hydrometer analysis
• Test for determination of water content and dry unit weight of soil
• Test for determination of specific gravity
• Test for determination of consistency of soil
• Shear strength tests
23
1.4 Laboratory test program
Laboratory Test
24. 1.4 Laboratory test program
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
24
• Compaction test
• California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test
• Permeability tests
• Consolidation tests
• Dispersibility tests
• Vane shear test
• Swelling pressure test
• Free swell test
• Linear shrinkage test
Laboratory Test
25. 1.5 Soil Types
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
2525
Soil Classification for Geotechnical Engineering
26. 1.5 Soil Types
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
2626
Strength of soils
For sand, by friction angle ( Ø )
27. 1.5 Soil Types
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
2727
For sand, by friction angle ( Ø )
Strength of soils
For clay, by cohesion ( c )
28. 1.5 Soil Types
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
2828
Strength of soils
For clay, by cohesion ( c )
For silt, frictional material behave as sands
clayey silt and silty clays behave as clays
For sand, by friction angle ( Ø )
29. Young’s elastic modulus
1.6 Design Parameters
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
2929
Sandy Soils Friction angle ( Ø )
Triaxial test
Most engineers use standard penetration
test (SPT) on site and use correlations back
to obtain the friction angle of a soil.
Poisson’s ration
Foundation Selection
The strength of sandy soils comes mainly from friction between Particles.
30. 1.6 Design Parameters
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
3030
Sandy Soils
SPT — N (Standard Penetration Test Value) and Friction Angle
31. 1.6 Design Parameters
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
3131
Sandy Soils
SPT — N (Standard Penetration Test Value) and Friction Angle
32. 1.6 Design Parameters
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
3232
Clay Soils
The strength of clayey soils is developed through cohesion between clay particles.
Friction is a mechanical process, whereas cohesion is an electrochemical process.
Undisturbed samples – Shelby tube sampler
Unconfined compressive testsConsolidation test
33. 1.6 Selection of Foundation Type
Shallow Foundation
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
33
• Soil below the footing is strong
• Cheapest
33
Mat/raft Foundation
• Building load is distributed in a large
area
Pile Foundation
• When bearing soil is at a greater depth
• Building loads are transferred to the
bearing soil stratum
Caissons
• Simply larger piles, instead of a pile
group, one large caisson can be utilized.
34. 1.6 Selection of Foundation Type
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
3434
Foundation Selection Criteria
35. 1.6 Selection of Foundation Type
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
3535
Foundation Selection Criteria
36. 1.6 Selection of Foundation Type
Site investigation and Soil Conditions
3636
Foundation Selection Criteria
37. 2.0 Scenarios
Selection of Pile Type
3737
2.1 Case 1
Granular soil with boulders underlain by medium -stiff clay.
Pile type If rock layer is shallow If rock layer is deep
Timber piles
Pipe piles
H piles
Caissons
38. 2.0 Scenarios
Selection of Pile Type
3838
2.2 Case 2
Pile ends in medium stiff clay
soil
rock
Floating or friction pile
39. 2.0 Scenarios
Selection of Pile Type
3939
2.3 Case 3
Pile ends in medium stiff clay with groundwater present
Pile type If rock layer is shallow
Timber piles
Pipe piles
H piles
Published Literature: general information such as soil types, depth to bedrock, and
depth to groundwater by conducting a literature survey on published
scientific articles.
Aerial Photographs: Google earth
Hand digging the first 6 ft prior to drilling boreholes is an effective way to avoid utilities.
Hand digging the first 6 ft prior to drilling boreholes is an effective way to avoid utilities.
Contaminant soil
Contaminant soil
Contaminant soil
Contaminant soil
Contaminant soil
Contaminant soil
Contaminant soil
Committee for Quality control of High-rise building construction Projects
Contaminant soil
Committee for Quality control of High-rise building construction Projects
Contaminant soil
Committee for Quality control of High-rise building construction Projects
Contaminant soil
Committee for Quality control of High-rise building construction Projects
Contaminant soil
Committee for Quality control of High-rise building construction Projects
Atterberg limit tests – liquid limit test and plastic limit test
Split spoon samples are obtained during boring construction. They are adequate for sieve analysis, soil identification, and 6 Pile Design and Construction Rules of Thumb
Atterberg limit tests.
Split spoon samples are not enough to conduct unconfined compressive tests, consolidation tests, and triaxial tests.
Shelby tube samples are obtained when clay soils are encountered. Shelby tubes have a larger diameter, and Shelby tube samples can be used to conduct consolidation tests and unconfined compressive strength tests.
Contaminant soil
Committee for Quality control of High-rise building construction Projects
Contaminant soil
Committee for Quality control of High-rise building construction Projects
Sowers (1979) suggested specified depth criteria as follows:
Minimum depth of borings = 10 S0.7 (ft) or 3 S0.7 ( m) (for narrow and light buildings)
Minimum depth of borings = 20 S0.7 (ft) or 6 S0.7 ( m) (for wide and heavy buildings)
Where, S = the number of stories in the building
The Committee for Quality control of High-rise building construction Project (CQHP) suggested the following depth specifications.
1. Shallow foundations specified depth as 1.5 times lesser dimension (B < L) (Limit to
30ft (or) 10 m minimum)
2. Deep foundations: Minimum depth of boring = 15 S0.7 (ft) or 5 S0.7 (m) (Limit to 3
consecutive SPT values ≥ 50)
Standard Penetration Test
CBR - for determining the Relative Bearing Ratio & expansion characteristics under known surcharge weight of base, sub-base and sub grade soils for the design of roads, payments & runways. The CBR test is used extensively in selection of materials & control of sub-grades.
Permeability tests-To determine the permeability of a given soil sample using a falling or constant head permeameter.
Dispersibility test-soils that are dislodged easily and rapidly in flowing water are called dispersive soils
Vane shear test-shear strength and sensitivity of clay
Swelling pressure test-The objective of a swelling pressure test on soil is to determine the swelling pressure of expansive soil when it is not allowed to undergo any volume change. The volume change is arrested or the soil is not allowed to swell in order to test this.
Linear shrinkage test- This test covers the determination of the linear shrinkage of a disturbed soil sample. It is a tedious and expensive test that is done only on soils (other than sands) when the dispersion percentage is >50 or volume expansion tests fail to saturate or shrink. This test is performed on dispersive soils only. (sand, silt and clay)
For geotechnical engineering purposes, soils can be classified as sands,
clays, and silts.
Standard Penetration Test
Standard Penetration Test
Standard Penetration Test
The most important design parameter for sandy soils is the friction angle. The bearing capacity of shallow foundations, pile capacity, and skin friction of piles depend largely on the friction angle ().
The strength of sandy soils comes mainly from friction between particles.
The friction angle of a sandy soil can be obtained by conducting a triaxial test. There are correlations between friction angle and standard penetration test (SPT) values. Many engineers use SPT and friction angle correlations to obtain the friction angle of a soil. To predict the settlement of a pile or a shallow foundation, one needs to use Young’s elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio.
Standard Penetration Test
Dry bulk density = mass of soil/ volume as a whole
Cohesion of a soil is obtained by using an unconfined compressive strength test. To conduct an unconfined compressive strength test, one needs to obtain a Shelby tube sample.
Settlement of clay soils depends on consolidation parameters. These parameters are obtained by conducting consolidation tests.
Standard Penetration Test
a shallow foundation, mat foundation, pile group, and a caisson. The geotechnical engineer needs to investigate the feasibility of designing a shallow foundation owing to its cheapness and ease of construction. In the above situation, it is clear that a weak soil layer just below the new fill may not be enough to support the shallow foundation. Settlement in weak soil due to loading of the footing also needs to be computed.
In this situation, one needs to be careful of the second weak
layer of soil below the bearing stratum. Piles could fail due to punching
into a weak stratum below.
The engineer needs to consider negative skin friction due to new fill layer. Negative skin friction would reduce the capacity of piles.
Due to the new load of the added fill material, weak soil layer 1 will consolidate and settle, and the settling soil will drag down piles with it. This is known as negative skin friction or down drag.
End bearing piles
Timber piles are not suitable for the situation given above owing to the existence of boulders in upper layers. The obvious choice is to drive piles all the way to the rock. The piles can be designed as end bearing piles. If the decision is taken to drive piles to the rock for the above configuration, H-piles are ideal. Unlike timber piles or pipe piles,
H-piles can go through boulders.
On the other hand, the rock may be too far for the piles to be driven. If the rock is too deep for piles, a number of alternatives can be envisioned.
1. Drive large-diameter pipe piles and place them in medium-stiff clay.
2. Construct a caisson and place it in the medium-stiff clay.
In the first case, driving large-diameter pipe piles through boulders could be problematic. It is possible to excavate and remove boulders if the boulders are mostly at shallower depths.
In the case of H-piles, one has to be extra careful not to damage the piles.
Caissons placed in the medium-stiff clay is a good alternative. Settlement of caissons needs to be computed.
Friction piles
Piles cannot be placed in soft clay, but they can be placed in medium-stiff clay. In this situation, piles need to be designed as friction piles. Pile capacity comes mainly from end bearing and skin friction. End bearing piles, as the name indicates, obtain their capacity mainly from the end bearing, while friction piles obtain their capacity from skin friction.
If the piles were placed in the medium-stiff clay, stresses would reach the soft clay layer below. The engineer needs to make sure that settlement due to compression of soft clay is within acceptable limits.
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. To visualize how this works, imagine you are pushing a solid metal rod of say 4mm diameter into a tub of frozen ice cream. Once you have pushed it in, it is strong enough to support some load. The greater the embedment depth in the ice cream, the more load it can support. This is very similar to how a friction pile works.
In a friction pile, the amount of load a pile can support is directly proportionate to its length.
Timber Piles: Timber piles can be placed in the medium-stiff clay. In this situation, soft clay in upper layers may not pose a problem for
driving. Timber piles above groundwater should be protected. Microbes need two ingredients to thrive: oxygen and moisture.
Pipe Piles: Pipe piles can also be used in this situation. Pipe piles cost more than timber piles. One of the main advantages of pipe piles over timber piles is that they can be driven hard. At the same time, large-diameter pipe piles may be readily available, and higher loads can be accommodated by few piles.
H-Piles: H-piles are ideal candidates for end bearing piles. The above situation calls for friction piles. Hence, H-piles may not be suitable for the above situation.