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LECTURE #06
PILE FOUNDATIONS

DR. MD. JAHIDUL ISLAM

e-mail: [email protected]

 Piles are structural members that a reasonable depth below the

are made of steel, concrete, or ground surface, piles are used to
timber. transmit the structural load to
 Pile foundations are deep and the soil gradually through the
cost more than shallow soil-pile interface.
foundations. However, the use of
piles often is necessary to ensure
structural safety.
 When one or more upper soil
layers are highly compressible
and too weak to support the
load, piles are used to transmit
the load from the superstructure
to underlying bedrock or a
stronger soil layer.
 If bedrock is not encountered at
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 When subjected to horizontal resist the uplifting forces for

forces, pile foundations resist some structures, such as
both bending and vertical load. transmission towers, offshore
Most common in earth-retaining platforms and basement mats
structures and tall structure below the water table.
foundations subjected to high
wind or earthquake forces.
 In cases where expansive and
collapsible soils extend to a great
depth below the ground surface,
shallow foundations may cause
structural damage. In those
cases, pile foundations may be
used in which the piles are
extended into stable soil layers
beyond the zone.
 Piles are sometimes also used to
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 Types of piles can change depending on the load type, the subsoil
conditions, and the location of the water table.
 Piles can classified as: (i) steel piles, (ii) concrete piles, (iii) wooden
piles, and (iv) composite piles.

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 Steel piles generally are either pipe piles or rolled steel H-section
piles.
 Pipe piles can be driven into the ground with their ends open or closed.
Wide-flange and I-section steel beams can also be used as piles.
 In many cases, the pipe piles are filled with concrete after they have
been driven.
 The allowable structural capacity for steel piles is, Qall  As f s
 Where, As = cross-sectional area of the steel
 fs = allowable stress of steel
 Advantages: (i) easy to handle with
respect to cutoff and extension to the
desired length, (ii) can stand high
driving stresses, (iii) can penetrate hard
layers, (iv) high load carrying capacity.
 Disadvantages: (i) relatively costly, (ii)
subject to corrosion, (iii) high level of
noise during pile driving.
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 Concrete piles may be divided into two basic categories: (a) precast
piles and (b) cast-in-situ piles.
 Precast piles can be prepared by using ordinary reinforcement, and
they can be square or octagonal in cross section.
 Reinforcement is provided to enable the pile to resist the bending
moment developed during pickup and transportation, the vertical load,
and the bending moment caused by a lateral load.
 Precast piles can also be prestressed by the use of high-strength steel
pre-stressing cables.

 Advantages: (i) Can be subjected to

hard driving, (ii) Corrosion resistant,
(iii) Can be easily combined with a
concrete superstructure.
 Disadvantages: (i) Difficult to achieve
proper cutoff, (ii) Difficult to transport.

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 Cast-in-situ, or cast-in-place, piles are built by making a hole in the

ground and then filling it with concrete.
 These piles may be divided into two broad categories: (a) cased and (b)
uncased.
 Both types may have a pedestal at the bottom. The pedestal is an
expanded concrete bulb that is formed by dropping a hammer on fresh
concrete.
 Cased piles are made by driving a steel casing into the ground with the
help of a mandrel placed inside the casing. When the pile reaches the
proper depth the mandrel is withdrawn and the casing is filled with
concrete.
 Advantages: (i) Relatively cheap, (ii)
Allow for inspection before pouring
concrete, (iii) Easy to extend.
 Disadvantages: (i) Difficult to splice
after concreting, (ii) Thin casings may
be damaged during driving.
 Allowable load: Qall  As f s  Ac f c
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 The uncased piles are made by first driving the casing to the desired
depth and then filling it with fresh concrete.
 The casing is then gradually withdrawn.
 Allowable load: Qall  Ac fc
 Advantages: (i) Initially economical, (ii) Can be finished at any
elevation.
 Disadvantages: (i) Voids may be created if concrete is placed rapidly,
(ii) Difficult to splice after concreting (iii) In soft soils, the sides of
the hole may cave in, squeezing the concrete

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 Timber piles are tree trunks that have had their branches and bark
carefully trimmed off.
 To qualify for use as a pile, the timber should be straight, sound, and
without any defects.
 Timber piles cannot withstand hard driving stress; therefore, the pile
capacity is generally limited.
 Steel shoes may be used to avoid damage at the pile tip (bottom). To
avoid damage to the top of the pile, a metal band or a cap may be
used.
 Timber piles can stay undamaged indefinitely if they are surrounded by
saturated soil. However, in a marine environment, timber piles are
subject to attack by various organisms and can be damaged extensively
in a few months. When located above the water table, the piles are
subject to attack by insects.

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 The upper and lower portions of composite piles are made of different
materials.
 For example, composite piles may be made of steel and concrete or
timber and concrete.
 Steel-and-concrete piles consist of a lower portion of steel and an
upper portion of cast in-place concrete. This type of pile is used when
the length of the pile required for adequate bearing exceeds the
capacity of simple cast-in-place concrete piles.
 Timber-and concrete piles usually consist of a lower portion of timber
pile below the permanent water table and an upper portion of
concrete.
 In any case, forming proper joints between two dissimilar materials is
difficult, and for that reason, composite piles are not widely used.

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 The ultimate capacity of a pile can be determined by adding the total

skin friction to the ultimate load-bearing capacity of the underlying
material at the base of the pile.
 Hence, the ultimate load-carrying capacity, Qu of a pile is given by,
Qu  Qp  Qs
 Where, Qp = load carried at the pile point
 Qs = load carried by skin friction developed at the side of the pile
 If, instead of a bedrock, a fairly compact and hard stratum of soil is
encountered at a reasonable depth, piles can be extended a few
meters into the hard stratum.
 When no layer of hard stratum is present at a reasonable depth at a
site, point bearing piles become very long and uneconomical. In this
case, load is carried mostly through skin friction.
 The lengths of friction piles depend on the shear strength of the soil,
the applied load, and the pile size.
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 The general bearing capacity equation for a shallow foundation (with

vertical loading) is given by,
qu  cNc Fcs Fcd  qNq Fqs Fqd  0.5 BN F s F d
 Hence, in general, the ultimate load-carrying capacity may be
expressed as,
qu  cNc  qNq   BN
  

 Where, N*c, N*q, and N* are the bearing capacity factors that include
the necessary shape and depth factors.
 Using the same concept, the ultimate resistance per unit area
developed at the pile tip, qp, can be expressed as,
qu  q p  cNc  qNq   DN
 Here, D is the width of the pile.
 Since, the width D of a pile is relatively small, the last term can be
ignored without introducing a serious error, and thus,
q p  cNc  qN q
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 Therefore, the point bearing capacity of piles is,

Where,

Qp  Ap q p  Ap cNc  qN q 
 Ap = area of the pile tip,
 c = cohesion of the soil supporting the pile tip,
 qp = unit pressure resistance,
 q = effective vertical stress at the level of the pile tip, and
 N*c and N*q = are the bearing capacity factors.

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 The frictional, or skin, resistance of a pile

can be expressed as,
Qs   pLf
Where,
 p = perimeter of the pile section
 L = incremental pile length over which p
and f are taken to be constant,
 f = unit friction resistance at any depth z.

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 The total allowable load for each pile,

Qu
Qall
FS
 Where,
 Qall = allowable load-carrying capacity for each pile,
 FS = factor of safety.
 The factor of safety generally used ranges from 2.5 to 4, depending
on the uncertainties surrounding the calculation of ultimate load.

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 The point bearing capacity, qp, of a pile in sand

generally increases with the depth of
embedment in the bearing stratum and
reaches a maximum value at an embedment
ratio of Lb/D = (Lb/D)cr. Beyond the critical
embedment ratio, (Lb/D)cr, the value of qp
remains constant (qp = ql).
 For piles in sand, c = 0, and

Qp  Ap q p  Ap qNq  Ap ql
 The limiting point resistance,

ql  0.5 pa Nq tan  

 pa = atmospheric pressure
(=100 kN/m2)
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 For piles in saturated clays under undrained conditions,  = 0, the net

ultimate load can be given as,
Qp  Nccu Ap  9cu Ap

 Where,
 cu = undrained cohesion of the soil below the tip of the pile.

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 Vesic (1977) proposed a method for estimating the point bearing

capacity based on the theory of expansion of cavities. According to this
theory,
Qp  Ap q p  Ap o N
 Where,
  o = mean effective normal ground stress at the level of the pile point
 1  2Ko 
  q
 3 
 Ko = earth pressure coefficient at rest = 1 – sin , and
 N = bearing capacity factor, = f(Irr)
Ir
 Irr = reduced rigidity index for the soil 
1  Ir 
Es Gs
Ir = rigidity index  
2 1  s  q tan   q tan  


  = average volumetric strain in the plastic zone below the pile point
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 The general ranges of Ir for various soils are,

 Sand (relative density = 50% to 80%): 75 to 150
 Silt: 50 to 70
 Other approximation (Chen and Kulhawy, 1994)
Es  pa m
 pa = atmospheric pressure (=100 kN/m2)
100 to 200 (loose soil)


m  200 to 500 (medium dense soil)
500 to 1000 (dense soil)

    25 
s  0.1  0.3 
 20 

 for 25     45 
    25  q
  0.005 1  
 20  pa

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 For saturated clay ( = 0), the net ultimate point bearing capacity of a
pile can be approximated as,
Qp  Ap q p  Ap cu Nc
 Where,
 cu = mean effective normal ground stress at the level of the pile point
 According to the expansion of cavity theory of Vesic (1977),
4 
Nc   ln I rr  1   1
3 2
 The variation of N*c with Irr for  = 0 can found in table.
 For saturated clay with no volume change,  = 0, I rr  I r
 For  = 0, Es
Ir 
3cu
 O’Neil and Reese (1999) suggested the following expression,
c 
I r  347  u   33  300
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 Coyle and Castello (1981) suggested the following expression based on

test results,
Qp  qN q Ap
 Where,
 q = effective vertical stress at the pile tip
 Nq* = bearing capacity factor

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 Consider a 15 m long concrete pile with a cross section of 0.45m x

0.45m fully embedded in sand. For the sand, given: unit weight,  =
17 kN/m3; and soil friction angle,  = 35. Estimate the ultimate
point Qp with each of the following:
a. Meyerhof’s method
b. Vesic’s method
c. Method of Coyle and Castello
d. Based on the results of parts a , b & c, adopt a value for Qp.

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 Consider a pipe pile(flat driving point) having an outside diameter of

406 mm. The embedded length of the pile in layered saturated clay is
30 m. The following are the details of the subsoil:
Depth from ground surface Saturated unit weight Cu (kN/m2)
(m)  (kN/m3)
0-5 18 30
5-10 18 30
10-30 19.6 100

 The groundwater table is located at a depth of 5 m from the ground

surface. Estimate Qp by using:
a. Meyerhof’s method
b. Vesic’s method

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 On the basis of field observations, Meyerhof (1976) suggested that the

ultimate point resistance qp in a homogeneous granular soil (L = Lb)
may be obtained from standard penetration number,
q p  0.4 pa N60  L D   4 pa N60
 Where,
 N60 = the average value of the standard penetration number near the
pile point (about 10D above and 4D below the pile point)
 pa = atmospheric pressure ( 100 kN/m2 or 2000 lb/ft2)
 Briaud et al. (1985) suggested the following correlation,

q p  19.7 pa  N60 
0.36

 Meyerhof (1956) also proposed that, q p  qc  in granular soil 

 Where, qc = cone penetration resistance

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 Consider a concrete pile that is 0.305 m x 0.305 m in cross section in

sand. The pile is 15.2 m long. The following are the variations of N60
with depth.
Depth from 1. 3. 4. 6. 7. 9 10 12 13 15 16 18 19 21
ground surface 5 0 5 0 5 .5 .0 .5 .5 .5
(m)
N60 8 10 9 12 14 18 11 17 20 28 29 32 30 27

a. Estimate Qp Meyerhof’s equation.

b. Estimate Qp Briaud et al. (1985) equation.

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 The frictional, or skin, resistance of a pile can be expressed as,

Qs   pLf

 Several factors must be kept in mind in order to calculate friction

resistance, f,
 The nature of the pile installation. For driven piles in sand, the
vibration caused during pile driving helps densify the soil around the
pile. The zone of sand densification may be as much as 2.5 times the
pile diameter, in the sand surrounding the pile.
 It has been observed that the nature of variation of f in the field is
approximately as shown in the figure. The unit skin friction increases
with depth more or less linearly to a depth of L and remains constant
thereafter. The magnitude of the critical depth L may be 15 to 20
pile diameters. A conservative estimate would be
L  15D
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 At similar depths, the unit skin friction in loose sand is higher for a
high displacement pile, compared with a low-displacement pile.
 At similar depths, bored or jetted, piles will have a lower unit skin
friction compared with driven piles.
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 Taking into account the preceding factors, the following approximate

relationship for f can be presented:
 For z = 0 to L : f  K 0 tan  
 And for z = L to L: f  f z  L
 Where,
 K = effective earth pressure coefficient
 o = effective vertical stress at the depth under consideration
  = soil-pile friction angle
 Based on the available results, the following average values of K are:
Pile type K
Bored or jetted  Ko = 1 – sin 
Low-displacement driven  Ko = 1 – sin  to 1.4Ko = 1.4 (1 – sin )
High-displacement driven  Ko = 1 – sin  to 1.8Ko = 1.8 (1 – sin )
 The values of  from various investigations appear to be in the range
from 0.5 to 0.8.
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 Coyle and Castello (1981) proposed the following expression for the
frictional, or skin, resistance of a pile,
Qs  f av pL   K o tan   pL

 Where,
  o = average effective overburden pressure
  = soil-pile friction angle = 0.8.

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 Meyerhof (1976) proposed that the average unit frictional resistance,

fav, for high displacement driven piles may be obtained from,
f av  0.02 pa  N60 
 Where,
  N  = the average value of the standard penetration resistance
60

 pa = atmospheric pressure ( 100 kN/m2 or 2000 lb/ft2)

 For low-displacement driven piles,
f av  0.01 pa  N60 

 Briaud et al. (1985) also proposed that,

f av  0.224 pa  N60 
0.29

Thus,

Qs  pLf av
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 Meyerhof (1976) proposed that the average unit frictional resistance,

fav, for high displacement driven piles may be obtained from,
f av  0.02 pa  N60 
 Where,
  N  = the average value of the standard penetration resistance
60

 pa = atmospheric pressure ( 100 kN/m2 or 2000 lb/ft2)

 For low-displacement driven piles,
f av  0.01 pa  N60 

 Briaud et al. (1985) also proposed that,

f av  0.224 pa  N60 
0.29

Thus,

Qs  pLf av
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 Consider a concrete pile that is 0.305 m x 0.305 m in cross section in

sand. The pile is 15.2 m long. The following are the variations of N60
with depth.
Depth from 1. 3. 4. 6. 7. 9 10 12 13 15 16 18 19 21
ground surface 5 0 5 0 5 .5 .0 .5 .5 .5
(m)
N60 8 10 9 12 14 18 11 17 20 28 29 32 30 27

a. Estimate Qs Meyerhof’s equation.

b. Estimate Qs Briaud et al. (1985) equation.

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 Consider a 15 m long concrete pile with a cross section of 0.45m x

0.45m fully embedded in sand. For the sand, given: unit weight,  =
17 kN/m3; and soil friction angle,  = 35. Estimate the frictional
resistance Qs for the pile.
a. Based on Eqn. Use K = 1.3 and  = 0.8.
b. Based on Coyle and Castello (1981) method.

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 Consider a 18 m long concrete pile with a cross section of 0.305m x

0.305m fully embedded in sand layer. For the sand layer, the
following in an approximation of the cone penetration resistance qc
(mechanical cone) and the frictional resistance fc with depth.
Estimate the allowable load that the pile can carry. Use FS = 3.

Depth from ground surface (m) Qc (kN/m2) fc (kN/m2)

0-5 3040 73

5 – 15 4560 102

15 - 25 9500 226

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 Estimating the frictional resistance of piles in clay is a very difficult

task due to the presence of several variables that can not easily be
quantified.
 There are several methods for calculating the unit frictional
resistance of piles.

  Method
  Method
  Method
 Correlation with Cone Penetration Test Results

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 Vijayvergiya and Focht (1972) assumed that the displacement of soil

caused by pile driving results in a passive lateral pressure at any
depth and that the average unit skin resistance is,

f av    0  2cu 
 Where,
  0 = mean effective vertical stress for the entire embedment length
 cu = mean undrained shear strength ( = 0).
 The value of  changes with the depth of penetration of the pile.

Embedm 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 50 60 70 80
ent
length, L
(m)
 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
36 45 00 73 50 36 32 27 18 13 10 10
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 Calculation of  0 and cu require special care and calculated in layers

soil.
 Figure (b): 
cu  cu1 L1  cu 2 L2   L

 Figure (c):  0   A1  A2  A3  / L

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 According to the  method, the unit skin

resistance in clayey soils can be expressed as,
f   cu
 Where,
  = empirical adhesion factor. The
approximate value of  is given in table.
 Sladen (1992) has shown that,
0.45
 
 C 0 
 cu 
 Where, C  0.4 to 0.5 for bored piles and  0.5
for driven piles.
 Hence, the skin friction is,
Qs   f pL   cu pL
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 The unit frictional for the pile can be determined on the basis of the
effective stress parameters of the clay in a remolded state (c = 0).
 Thus at any depth,

f   o
 Where,
  K tan R
  0 = effective vertical stress
  R = drained friction angle of remolded clay
 K = earth pressure coefficient.
 Conservatively, the magnitude of K is the earth pressure coefficient
at rest or,
 For normally consolidated clays: K  1  sin R
 For overconsolidated clays: K  1  sin    OCR
R
 Where, OCR = overconsolidation ratio.
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 Consider a pile in a saturated clay as shown in the figure below. For

the pile, calculate the skin resistance (Qs) by (1) the  method, (2)
the  method, and (3) the  method. For the  method, use R = 30
for all clay layers. The top 10 m of clay is normally consoildated. The
bottom clay layer has an OCR = 2. (note diameter of pile = 406 mm)

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 If a pile cluster is surrounded by a

fresh fill after the piles are
driven, it is likely that the
compressible soil will settle Clay 20’
progressively for a considerable c = 900 psf
α2 = 0.85
time because of the weight of the
fill.
 Hence, the piles may be subjected Clay
to additional force due to skin c = 120 psf 20’
friction of the subsiding material, α2 = 0.75
known as the negative skin
friction.
 In some cases, negative skin Clay
friction can be excessive and c = 2000 psf 10’
cause foundation failure. α2 = 0.50

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 If a fill of clay soil is placed over Hence, the total downward drag
a granular soil layer into which a force on pile is,
pile is driven, the fill will Hf
gradually consolidate and cause
downward force on the pile.
Qn 
0

pK  f tan   zdz 
For such cases, the negative skin

stress on the pile is,
pK  f H 2f tan  

f n  K  o tan   2
 Where,
 K = earth pressure coefficient =
Ko.
 o = vertical effective stress at
any depth z = f z
 f z = effective unit weight of fill
  = soil-pile friction angle  0.5-
0.7.
Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 45

 If a fill of granular soil is placed of the fill and the underlying clay
over a layer of soft clay, it will layer respectively.
induce the process of For end-bearing piles, the neutral
consolidation in the clay layer depth may be assumed to be
and thus exert a downward force. located at the pile tip (i.e., L1 =
 In this case, the evidence L – Hf).
indicates that the negative skin
stress on the pile may exist from
z = 0 to z = L1, which is referred
to as the neutral depth.
 The neutral depth may be given
by Bowles (1982):
L  H f  L  H f  f H f  2 f H f
L1    
L1  2   
 Where,
 f and  = effective unit weights
Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 46

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 The unit negative skin friction at Qn 

any depth from z = 0 to z = L1 is,
f n  K  o tan   L12 pK   tan  
pK  f H f tan   
 Where, 2
 K = earth pressure coefficient = If the soil and the fill are above
Ko = 1 - sin . the water table, the effective
 o = vertical effective stress at unit weights should be replaced
any depth z = f Hf +z by moist unit weights.
  = soil-pile friction angle  0.5-
0.7.
 Hence, the total downward drag
force on pile is,
L1
Qn   pf n dz
0

  pK    f H f   z  tan  dz
L1

0
Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 47

 In the figure, let Hf = 2 m. The pile is circular in cross section with a

diameter of 0.305 m. For the fill that is above the water table, f = 16
kN/m3 and  = 32. Determine the total drag force. Use  = 0.6.

pK  f H 2f tan  
Qn 
2

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 48

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 In the figure, let Hf = 2 m. The pile is circular in cross section with a

diameter of 0.305 m, f = 16 kN/m3 and clay = 34, sat(clay) = 17.2
kN/m3 and L = 20 m. The water table coincides with the top of the
clay layer. Determine the total drag force. Use  = 0.6clay.

L  H f  L  H f  f H f  2 f H f
L1    
L1  2   

L12 pK   tan  
Qn  pK  f H f tan   
2

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 49

 The total settlement of a pile under a vertical working load Qw is

given by,
se  se1  se 2  se3
 Where,
 se(1) = elastic settlement of pile.
 se(2) = settlement of pile caused by the load at the pile tip.
 se(3) = settlement of pile caused by the load transmitted along the pile
shaft.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 50

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 If the pile material is assumed to be elastic, the deformation of the

pile shaft can be evaluated, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of mechanics of materials, as

se1 
Q wp   Qws  L
Ap E p
 Where,
 Qwp = load carried at the pile point under working load condition
 Qws = load carried by frictional (skin) resistance under working load
condition
 Ap = area of cross section of pile
 L = length of pile
 Ep = modulus of elasticity of the pile material.
 The magnitude of  varies between 0.5 and 0.67 and will depend on
the nature of the distribution of the unit friction (skin) resistance f
along the pile shaft.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 51

 The settlement of a pile caused by the load carried at the pile point
may be expressed in the form:

1    I
qwp D
se 2  2
s wp
Es
 Where,
 D = width or diameter of pile
 qwp = point load per unit area at the pile point = Qwp/Ap.
 Es = modulus of elasticity of soil at or below the pile point
 s = Poisson’s ratio of soil
 Iwp = influence factor  0.85

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 52

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 Vesic (1977) also proposed a semi-empirical method for obtaining the

magnitude of the settlement caused by the load carried at the pile
point,
Qwp C p
se 2 
Dq p
 Where,
 qp = ultimate point resistance of the pile
 Cp = an empirical coefficient
 Representative values of Cp for various soils are given in Table below.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 53

 The settlement of a pile caused by the load carried by the pile shaft
is given by,
Q  D
se3   ws  1  s2 I ws  
 Where,
 pL  Es
 p = perimeter of the pile
 L = embedded length of the pile
 Iws = influence factor. It can be expressed as (Vesic, 1977),
I ws  2  0.35  L D
 Vesic (1977) also proposed a simple empirical equation to calculate
the settlement, Q C
se 3  ws s
Lq p

Cs  0.93  0.16 L D C p 
Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 54

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 The allowable working load on a prestressed concrete pile 21-m long

that has been driven into sand is 502 kN. The pile is octagonal in
shape with D = 356 mm. Skin resistance carries 350 kN of the
allowable load, and point bearing carries the rest. Use Ep = 21 x 106
kN/m2 , Es = 25 x 103 kN/m2 and s = 0.35 and  = 0.62. Determine
the settlement of the pile.

se1 
Qwp   Qws  L
se  se1  se 2  se3
Ap E p

1    I
qwp D
se 2  2
s wp
Es

Q  D
se3   ws  
1  s2 I ws 
 pL  Es

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 55

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 56

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 In most cases, piles are used in groups to transmit the structural load
to the soil.
 A pile cap is constructed over group piles.
 The cap can be in contact with the ground, as in most cases, or well
above the ground, as in the case of offshore platforms.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 57

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 58

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 Determining the load-bearing capacity of

group piles is extremely complicated and has
not yet been fully resolved.
 When the piles are placed close to each
other, a reasonable assumption is that the
stresses transmitted by the piles to the soil
will overlap, reducing the load-bearing
capacity of the piles.
 Ideally, the piles in a group should be spaced
so that the load-bearing capacity of the group
is not less than the sum of the beaming
capacity of the individual piles.
 In practice, the minimum center-to-center
pile spacing, d is 2.5D.
 In ordinary situation, the minimum center-to-
center pile spacing is about 3 to 3.5D.
Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 59

 The efficiency of the load- (ii) as individual piles.

bearing capacity of a group pile
may be defined as,
Qg  u 

 Where,
Q u

  = group efficiency
 Qg(u) = ultimate load-bearing
capacity of the group pile.
 Qu = ultimate load-bearing
capacity of each pile without the
group effect.
 Depending of their spacing within
the group, the piles may act in
one of two ways: (i) as a block,
with dimensions Lg x Bg x L, or
Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 60

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 If the piles act as a block, the

frictional capacity is,

f av pg L  Qg u 
 Where, pg = perimeter of the
cross section of block =. 2(n1 + n2
– 2)d + 4D, and fav = average unit
frictional resistance.
 Again, for each pile acting
individually, Qu = pL fav.
 Hence,
Qg  u  f av  2  n1  n2  2  d  4 D  L
 
Q u n1n2 pLf av
2  n1  n2  2  d  4 D  2  n1  n2  2  d  4 D 
 Qg  u      Qu
n1n2 p
Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam
 n1n2 p
61


 If the center to center spacing d There are several other equations

is large enough,  > 1. In such for group efficiency,
case, the piles will behave as
individual piles. Thus, for   1,   1   n1  1 n2  n2  1 n1      
then  
Qg u    Qu
90n n  1 2 
D
 If  < 1,   tan 1  
Qg u     Qu d
 Los Angeles Group Action
equation,
D
  1 [n  n  1 
 dn1n2 1 2
n2  n1  1  2  n1  1 n2  1]

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 62

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 Step I: Determine the ultimate

load-bearing capacity of group
piles by considering individual
piles,

Q u  n1n2  Qp  Qs 

Q u  n1n2 9 Ap cu p    pcu L 

 
Where, cu(p) = undrained cohesion of
the clay at the pile tip.
 Step II: Determine the ultimate
capacity by assuming that the
piles in the group act as a block
with dimensions Lg x Bg x L.
 Q  A q   p c L
u p p g u

Q   L B  c   N   2 L
u g g u p
*
c g  Bg  cu L
Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 63

 The bearing capacity factor Nc* can obtain from the figure.
 Step III: The lower of the two values is Qg(u).

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 64

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 The section of a 3 x 4 group pile in a layered saturated clay is shown

in the figure. The piles are square in cross section (356 mm x 356
mm). The center-to-center spacing, d, of the piles is 889 mm.
Determine the allowable load-bearing capacity of the pile group. Use
FS = 4. Note that the ground water table coincides with the ground
surface.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 65

 In general, the settlement of a group of pile under a similar working

load per pile increases with the width of the group (Bg) and center-
to-center spacing of the piles (d).
 The simplest relation for the settlement of group of piles was given
by Vesic (1969)
Bg
sg  e   Se
D
 Where,
 Sg(e) = elastic settlement of group piles
 Bg = width of group pile section
 D = width or diameter of each pile in the group
 se = elastic settlement of each pile at comparable working load.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 66

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 For group piles in sand and gravel, for elastic settlement, Meyerhof
(1976) suggested the following empirical relation,
0.96q Bg I
sg  e   mm  
N 60
 Where,
 q  Qg  L B   kN/m 
g g
2

 Lg & Bg = length and width of the group pile section, respectively (m)
 N60 = average standard penetration number within seat of settlement
( Bg deep below the tip of the piles)
 I = influence factor = 1 – L/8Bg  0.5
 L = length of embedment of piles (m)

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 67

 The group pile settlement can be also related to the cone

penetration resistance,
qBg I
sg  e  
2qc
 Where,
 qc = average cone penetration resistance within the seat of
settlement.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 68

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 Consider a 3 x 4 group of prestressed concrete piles, each 21 m long,

in a sand layer. The pile is octagonal in shape with D = 356 mm. Skin
resistance carries 350 kN of the allowable load, and point bearing
carries the rest. Use Ep = 21 x 106 kN/m2 , Es = 25 x 103 kN/m2 and s
= 0.35 and  = 0.62. The working load for the pile group is 6024 kN (3
x 4 x Qall, where Qall = 502 kN), and d/D = 3. Estimate the elastic
settlement of the pile group.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 69

 The consolidation settlement of a group of pile in clay can be

estimated by using the 2:1 stress distribution method.
 Consider the following steps:
 Step I: Let the depth of embedment of the piles be L. The group is
subjected to a total load of Qg. If the pile cap is below the original
ground surface, Qg equals the total load of the superstructure on the
piles, minus the surcharge load.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 70

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 Step II: Assume that the load Qg is transmitted to the soil beginning
at a depth of 2L/3 from the top of the pile, as shown in the figure.
The load Qg spreads out along two vertical to one horizontal line
from this depth. Lines aa’ and bb’ are the two 2:1 lines.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 71

 Step III: Calculate the increase in

effective stress caused at the
middle of each soil layer by the
load Qg.
Qg
 i 
B g  zi  Lg  zi 
 Where,
 i = elastic settlement of group
piles
 Bg & Lg = width and length,
respectively of the group pile
section
 zi = distance from z = 0 to the
middle of the clay layer i.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 72

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 Step IV: Calculate the Step V: The total consolidation

consolidation settlement of each settlement of the group piles is
layer caused by the increases then,
stress, 
sc ( g )  sc (i ) 
 e i  
sc (i )   Hi
1  eo i  
 Where,
 sc(i) = consolidation settlement
of layer i.
 e(i) = change in void ratio cuased
by the increase in stress in layer
i.
 eo(i) = initial void ratio of layer I
(before construction)
 Hi = thickness of layer i.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 73

 A group of pile in clay is shown in the figure below. Determine the

consolidation settlement of the piles. All clays are normally
consolidated.

Foundation Engineering: Dr M. Jahidul Islam 74

37