Foundation Analysis

PILE FOUNDATIONS
Part 2
Frictional Capacity of Pile
 LOAD TRANSFER MECHANISM
OF PILES

With the increasing load on a pile initially the resistance is

offered by the side friction and when the side resistance is
fully mobilized to the shear strength of soil, the rest of the
load is supported by pile end. At certain load the soil at
the pile end fails usually in punching shear, which is
defined as the ultimate load capacity of pile.
 LOAD TRANSFER MECHANISM
 The frictional resistance
per unit area at any
depth

 Ultimate skin friction

resistance of pile

 Ultimate point load

 Ultimate load capacity

in compression

 Ultimate load capacity

in tension
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils

𝑸𝒔𝒖 = (𝒑. ∆𝑳. 𝒇)

where,
𝑝 is the perimeter of the pile section
∆𝐿 is the incremental pile length over which p and f are
taken to be constant
𝑓 is the unit friction resistance at any depth z
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils
In making an estimation of f, several important
factors must be kept in mind:
1. The nature of the pile installation. For driven piles in
sand, the vibration caused during the 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.
2. It has been observed that the nature of variation of f in
the field is approximately as shown in Figure 11.16. 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 times the pile diameter. A conservative
estimate would be L’ = 15D.
FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils

In making an estimation of f, several important

factors must be kept in mind:
3. At similar depths, the unit skin friction in loose sand is
higher for a high-displacement pile, compared with a
low-displacement pile.
4. At similar depths, bored, or jetted, piles will have a
lower unit skin friction compared with driven piles.
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils
𝑓 = 𝐾𝜎𝑜′ 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝛿′ (for z = 0 to L’)
𝑓 = 𝑓𝑧=𝐿′ (for z = L’ to L)
𝑄𝑠𝑢 = 𝑝 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔 𝐾𝑡𝑎𝑛𝛿′
where,
𝐾 is the effective earth pressure coefficient
𝜎𝑜′ is the effective vertical stress at the depth under
consideration
𝛿 ′ is the soil-pile friction angle (0.5∅′ 𝑡𝑜 0.8∅′)
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils
Based on load test results in the field, Mansur and
Hunter (1970) reported the following average values of K.
H-piles : K = 1.65
Steel pipe piles : K = 1.26
Precast concrete piles : K = 1.5

Bhushan (1982) suggested that the value of K and

Ktanδ for large displacement piles can be computes as,

𝐾 = 0.50 + 0.008𝐷𝑟
𝐾𝑡𝑎𝑛𝛿 = 0.18 + 0.0065𝐷𝑟
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
 Granular Soils
Coyle and Castello
(1981) proposed that,

𝑄𝑠𝑢 = 𝑓𝑎𝑣 𝑝𝐿 = 𝐾𝜎𝑜′ 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝛿 ′ 𝑝𝐿

where,
𝜎𝑜′ is the average effective
overburden pressure
𝛿 ′ is the soil-pile friction
angle (0.8∅′)
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils
Correlation with Standard Penetration Test Results
Meyerhof (1976)
High-displacement piles : 𝑓𝑎𝑣 = 0.02𝑝𝑎 (𝑁60 )
Low-displacement piles : 𝑓𝑎𝑣 = 0.01𝑝𝑎 (𝑁60 )

Briaud et al. (1985) : 𝑓𝑎𝑣 ≈ 0.224𝑝𝑎 (𝑁60 )0.29

where,
𝑁60 is the average SPT-N value
𝑝𝑎 is the atmospheric pressure (100 𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 )
Thus,
𝑄𝑠𝑢 = 𝑝𝐿𝑓𝑎𝑣
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils

Correlation with Cone Penetration Test Results

Nottingham and Schmertmann (1975) and Schmertmann
(1978)
𝑓 = 𝛼′𝑓𝑐
Thus,
𝑄𝑠𝑢 = 𝑝(∆𝐿)𝛼′𝑓𝑐
FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils
FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Granular Soils
 Problem Set 7
1. 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. Estimate 𝑄𝑠𝑢 by using:
1.1 Meyerhof’s correlation equation (556.2 kN)
1.2 Briaud et al. correlation equation (911.1 kN)
1.3 Considering the results in Example 3 (Problem Set 6), determine
the allowable load-carrying capacity of the pile based on Meyerhof’s
method and Briaud’s method. Use a factor of safety equal to 3.
 Problem Set 7
Depth below ground surface, m 𝑁60
1.5 8
3.0 10
4.5 9
6.0 12
7.5 14
9.0 18
10.5 11
12.0 17
13.5 20
15.0 28
16.5 29
18.0 32
19.5 30
21.0 27
 Problem Set 7
2. Consider a 15 m long concrete pile with a cross section
of 0.45 m x 0.45 m fully embedded in sand. For the sand,
unit weight, γ = 17 kN/m3 and soil friction angle, ϕ’ = 35o.
Estimate the 𝑄𝑠𝑢 . Using the result of Part 1.4 of Example 1
(Problem Set 6), estimate the allowable load capacity of the
pile with a factor of safety of 3. Assume K = 1.3 and δ’ =
0.8ϕ’.
 Problem Set 7
3. Consider an 18-m long concrete pile with cross-section
of 0.305 m x 0.305 m fully embedded in a sand layer. For
the sand layer, the following is 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
𝑞𝑐 , 𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 𝑓𝑐 , 𝑘𝑁/𝑚2
ground surface, m
0–5 3040 73
5 – 15 4560 102
15 – 25 9500 226
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay
Several methods for obtaining the unit frictional
resistance of piles in clay are described in the literature.
We examine some of them next.

Methods in estimating 𝑄𝑠𝑢 for clays

 𝜆 method
 𝛼 method
 𝛽 method
 Using correlation with CPT
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay
 𝜆 Method
Proposed by Vijayvergiya and Focht (1972):
𝑓𝑎𝑣 = λ(𝜎𝑜′ + 2𝑐𝑢 )
where,
𝜎𝑜′ is the mean effective vertical stress for the entire
embedment length
𝑐𝑢 is the mean undrained shear strength (∅ = 0)
Thus,
𝑄𝑠𝑢 = 𝑓𝑎𝑣 𝑝𝐿
The value of 𝜆 changes with the depth of penetration
of the pile.
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay
 𝜆 Method
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay
 𝜆 Method
The value of 𝜎𝑜′ and 𝑐𝑢 are computed as weighted
average over the embedded depth of pile.

(𝑐𝑢(1) 𝐿1 + 𝑐𝑢(2) 𝐿2 + ⋯ ) 𝐴1 + 𝐴2 + 𝐴3 + ⋯
𝑐𝑢 = 𝜎𝑜′ =
𝐿 𝐿
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay
 𝛼 Method
Proposed by Tomlinson (1971):
𝑓 = 𝛼𝑐𝑢
where,
𝛼 is the adhesion factor
0.45
𝜎𝑜′
𝛼=𝐶 , 𝑆𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑛 (1992)
𝑐𝑢
where,
𝜎𝑜′ is the average vertical effective stress
𝐶 ≈0.4 to 0.5 for bored piles and ≥ 0.5 for driven piles
𝑄𝑠𝑢 = 𝑓𝑝∆𝐿 = 𝛼𝑐𝑢 𝑝∆𝐿
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay
 𝛼 Method
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay
 𝛽 Method
𝑓 = 𝛽𝜎𝑜′ = 𝐾𝑡𝑎𝑛∅′𝑅 . 𝜎𝑜′
where,
𝐾 is the earth pressure coefficient
𝐾 = 1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅′𝑅 (for normally consolidated clays)
𝐾 = (1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅′𝑅 ) 𝑂𝐶𝑅 (for overconsolidated clays)
𝜎𝑜′ is the average vertical effective stress
∅′𝑅 is the drained friction angle of remolded clay
𝑄𝑠𝑢 = 𝑓𝑝∆𝐿
 FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay

 Correlation with Cone Penetration Test Results

Nottingham and Schmertmann (1975) and
Schmertmann (1978) found the correlation for the unit skin
friction in clay (∅ = 0) to be,
𝑓 = 𝛼′𝑓𝑐
Thus,
𝑄𝑠𝑢 = 𝑓𝑝∆𝐿 = 𝛼′𝑓𝑐 𝑝∆𝐿
FRICTIONAL CAPACITY OF PILE
Clay
 Problem Set 8
1. Consider a pipe pile with 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 Saturated unit weight
𝑐𝑢 , 𝑘𝑁/𝑚2
ground surface, m 𝛾, 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.
 Problem Set 8
1. (Continued)
Calculate the skin resistance 𝑄𝑠𝑢 by the:
1.1 α method (1538 kN)
1.2 λ method (1727 kN)
1.3 β method. For the β method, use ∅′𝑅 = 300 for all clay layers. The
top 10 m clay is normally consolidated. The bottom clay layer has an
OCR of 2. (2670 kN)
1.4 Using the results, estimate the allowable pile capacity using a
factor of safety of 4.
 Problem Set 8
2. A concrete pile 305 mm x 305 mm in cross section is
driven to a depth of 20 m below the ground surface in a
saturated clay soil. A summary of the variation of frictional
resistance 𝑓𝑐 obtained from a cone penetration test is as
follows:
Depth, m 𝑓𝑐 , 𝑘𝑁/𝑚2
0–6 34.34
6 – 12 54.94
12 – 20 70.63

Estimate the frictional resistance 𝑄𝑠𝑢 for the pile. (931 kN)
 Problem Set 8
3. A 0.36 m square prestressed concrete pile is to be driven
in a clayey soil. The clayey soil has an undrained cohesion
𝑐𝑢 = 55 𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 , unit weight 𝛾 = 18 𝑘𝑁/𝑚3 , and 𝑂𝐶𝑅 = 3. The
design capacity of the pile is 360 kN with a factor of safety
of 2.
3.1 Compute the end bearing capacity of the pile using Meyerhof’s
method.
3.2 Compute the frictional capacity expected to develop along the
shaft of the pile.
3.3 Compute the length of the pile by the 𝛼 method. Assume 𝛼 = 0.76.
3.4 Compute the length of the pile by the 𝜆 method. Assume 𝜆 = 0.14.
3.5 Compute the length of the pile by the 𝛽 method if ∅′𝑅 = 300 .