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Building Research Establishment Digest ‘DIGEST
(7) 315
[|
Choosing piles for new construction
This digest discusses different types of piles — their materials and methods of installa-
tion — and the ground conditions for which each type is suitable. It explains the influence
that the site, the ground conditions and the structure have on foundation design.
This digest helps the engineer, architect and developer to decide whether or not piles are
suitable and to choose the most appropriate pile for any particular situation. it replaces
Digest 95 which is now withdrawn.
Piles transfer loads from buildings and civil engineering
structures to the supporting soil; they can be more ef-
fective than foundations formed nearer the ground sur
face in a wide range of situations. They are particularly
appropriate where soft or loose soils overlay strong soils
oF rock at depths that can be reached conveniently by
driving or boring. They are often the most economic
foundation when very heavy loads are to be supported
or uplift forces resisted and they provide a way of
resisting lateral forces. Piles are extremely useful for
limiting the settlements of large structures on deep stiff
clays; small piles can be useful foundations for houses
and light industrial buildings on stiff clays liable to
shrinkage and swelling,
Because of the wide range of uses for piles and the
variety of soils encountered, piles of many different
‘types and methods of installation have been developed
However, they are not @ universal solution to every
foundation difficulty and the designer should be con-
vinced that no alternative, less expensive form of foun:
dation would meat the enginesring requirements of the
project. In making this decision for major structures or
Particularly adverse soil conditions, specialist advice will
normally be necessary. For smaller structures and more
common soils the designer should have sufficient
understanding of the principles of foundation behaviour
‘to know when piles are likely to provide an effective and
economical solution.
Fig on site for raked continuous-fight augered piles
Prepared at Bulding Research Station, Garston, Watford, WO2 7JR.
Technical enaukies arising from this Digest should be directed to Gulding Re
rch Advisory Service at the above addres. 315
How do piles work?
A pile may be a slender element of timber, steel or rein:
forced concrete driven into the ground, of a column of
‘concrete or cement grout cast in ahole formed from the
ground surface. it can have a flat, pointed or bulbous
Contact area with the soil at its base and a vertical (or
rear vertical) interface around the shaft.
Irrespective of the actual form of the base, vertical bear:
ing forces are mobilised by it when the pile settles under
load — see Fig 1. Itis possible for the base to be embed
ded in soll capable of sustaining much higher loads then
could be carried by a similar contact area near the
ground surface. Loose, granular soils are compacted by
pile driving and their bearing capacity Is increased. On
the other hand, driving piles into dense sand or gravel
beds may cause disturbance and a consequential reduc:
ton in bearing capacity as well as damage to the piles.
Except when piles bear on rock, significant movements
‘are necessary for the bearing capacity at the base to be
developed {ie up to 10% of the base breadth or
diameter) and under working conditions only @ small
proportion of the bearing capacity may be mobilised.
When a pile moves under compressive or tensile loading,
vertical frictional or shear forces are developed between
the shaft surface end the surrounding soll — soe Fig 1
‘Quite small shatt movements cause these forces to in-
crease rapidly and in many soils they may be substan-
tially larger than the bearing forces at the base. Fric-
tional forces frequently reach maximum values at
settlements (or uplift movements if the pile is loaded in
tension) of less than 2-3 per cent of the shaft diameter.
In stiff clays further movement can cause a reduction in
the frictional resistance,
Relative
Frictional | ps8?
Torces, a
aoplacoments
Fricton ple
Fig 1. The development of bearing and frictional forces,
2
| must be emphasised that relative movement between
a pile and the surrounding soll must occur for frictional
and bearing forces to be developed — see Fig 1. Its not
possible, therefore, to form a piled foundation, or any
other foundation, that will completely eliminate settie-
iment. There is always @ small component of settlement
due to the elastic compression of the pile shaft. The
settlement of piles in granular soils occur as the load is
applied; further settlements of @ structure after it is
completed are likely to be extremely smail. Clay soils
consolidate under load for long periods as water is slow-
ly forced from between the soll particles. Structures on
piles in clay can, therefore, continue to settle for some
years after completion. To minimise consolidation set-
tlement, piles in clay should be as long as possible in
relation to the overall breadth of the foundation.
Piles are frequently used to transfer loads through soft
silts and clays to firm ground beneath them. If the soft
strata are disturbed during installation of the piles or are
later subjected to loading from, say, the floor of a
bullding, they may settle more than the piles. The
relative movements between the shafts and the soil
then become nogative and the piles are subjected to ad-
ditional loading which must be carried by the bases —
00 Fig 2.
Types of pile
Plies which derive the greater part of their support from
bearing forces at the base are known as ‘end-bearing
piles’. They act largely as columns transferring loads
through soft deposits, usually to dense granular soils or
rocks. In contrast, ‘friction piles’ develop most of their
‘support from friction or adhesion between the shaft and
the soll, usually firm clay.
Both end-bearing and friction piles can be formed in a
number of ways but a clear distinction can be drawn
between those installed by forcing the soil out of the
way ("displacement piles’) and those formed by casting
concrete or cement grout in a bored or excavated hole
(‘non-displacement’ or ‘replacement’ piles). H-section
steel piles are frequently referred to as ‘small
displacement’ piles.
The following are displacement piles: all preformed piles
of timber and reinforced concrete, continous or jointed;
‘tubes and shells of steel or concrete, closed at the lower
fend, which are left in the ground after driving and then
filed with concrete; piles formed by driving steel tubes
fitted with detachable shoes or temporarily closed at the
bottom with plugs of concrete or gravel — the shoe is
left behind or the plug hammered out as the tube is ex-
tracted while concrete poured through the tube runs out
at the bottom to fill the void. Displacement piles can,
therefore, be either preformed or cast-in-place,
Non-displacement or replacement piles can be formed
by driving an open tube, in sections if necessary, and ex-
tracting the soil core as the tube is sunk. When the bear
Ing stratum is reached the tube is cleaned out. It is withdrawn as the conerete is poured or left as a perma
‘nent lining. More commonly, non-displacement piles are
formed by augering a hole and filing it with concrete. A
range of techniques is available for preventing collapse
of the borehole and for placing the conerete at the bot-
tom of the hole beneath a stabilising liquid
isa
Entaurg
'e._ Bearing layers
Fig 2 Negative friction
Displacement piles
Preformed and partially preformed piles
Timber piles and steel piles of H, box and heavy tube
sections are available in a range of sizes and can be
lengthened or shortened if required during driving.
‘Timber piles are, however, seldom used except for tem
porary works and for marine applications where
resilience to impact loading is important,
‘One form of pile uses light corrugated steel shells to pro:
vide @ permanent casing for concrete. Depending on the
length required, a number of shells are assembled on a
mandrel for driving. After driving, the mandrel
withdrawn and the shells are filled with concrete.
Another permanently cased pile is constructed of stee!
sttip edge-welded to form a continuous helix with a flat
shoe welded to the bottom. The casings can be shorten-
‘ed during driving by flame cutting or lengthened by butt
‘welding. These piles are normally bottom driven on a
plug of dry concrete (Fig 3) and concreted with only
short bonding bars connecting the shaft to the pile cap.
Lengthening traditional reinforced concrete piles formed
in open casting yards involves expensive delays:
shortening piles is wasteful. Therefore, reinforced con
crete piles are usually made of segments of various
lengths joined by special couplings and fitted with
detachable points to suit different driving conditions.
‘The segments are cast in the factory from high-quality
‘concrete capable of withstanding hard driving.
Other forms of reinforced concrete driven pile use
precast hollow shells or cylinders threaded on to a man-
drel and installed by a combination of top and bottom
318
driving through the mandrel, Pile lengths can be altered