GUIDELINES FOR REPLACEMENT OF BAKAU PILES FOR COMMON DID STRUCTURES

Introduction Bakau piles have been extensively used in DID works especially in the soft marine clay areas. However, indiscriminate felling of the bakau has threatened the mangrove environment to an extent that a review on the use of bakau is necessary. DID, in response to the call to preserve the mangrove environment considered the possibility of using other alternatives in areas where traditionally bakau piles are used. Current findings however, showed that the replacement of bakau bakau piles with timber or concrete piles would generally result in higher cost of a structure. his is due to the relatively high price of the latter in spite of the smaller numbers re!uired. he law of supply and demand will also affect the price of timber and concrete piles. " complete ban of bakau piles may cause a sudden surge in demand on the timber and concrete piles and therefore a drastic increase in the prices. his may even cause the problem of supply to meet the demand. herefore, a complete ban is not advisable. he use of bakau piles would still be allowed in certain types of works such as river training and bank protection works for rivers, drains, canals and coastal bunds. Due to budgetary or technical constraints, the use of bakau piles for other structures can still be allowed sub#ect to the approval of the Head of the relevant functional division. $imilarly, the replacement of bakau piles may have to be in stages depending on the depending on the budget allowed. he following provides guidelines on the replacement of bakau piles with other commercially available piles, for common DID structures. Replacement of Bakau Piles by Timber or Concrete Piles %ew DID structures are designed either from first principles or using adapted standard&available plans. 'or both cases, the bearing capacity of the foundation need to be checked against the expected loading from the structures. (enerally, if the bearing capacity is smaller than twice the expected loading for granular soils and about three times for cohesive soils, any of the following decisions, among others, may be considered) 1. Remove the weak soil and replace with better soil

2. 3. 4.

Carry out soil stabilisation works Relocate the structure Use piled foundation

Settlement of the structure is also an important consideration. Sometimes piles are used to reduce the uneven settlement to an acceptable value. 'or piled foundation, considerations for replacement of bakau piles are divided into two categories) 1. 2. ew desi!ns "daptation of standard#available plans

New Designs 'or new designs where piles need to be used for the foundation, engineers are to use other alternatives to bakau piles, such as timber and concrete piles except where it is #ustifiable to use bakau. he piles can be frictional piles, end bearing piles or a combination of both, depending on the soil types, tolerable settlement etc. he number of piles to be use can be determined using the normal method of pile foundation design with an appropriate factor of safety. Adaptation of Standard A!ailable Plans $ome $tandard *lans include the bakau pile foundation. hese bakau piles are to be replaced with other alternatives such as timber or concrete piles unless it is #ustifiable to retain the bakau pile foundation. In adapting these plans for the foundation, one basic condition that has to be satisfied is that the soil conditions are approximately similar. " description of the soil types or soil parameters used for design is necessary. If it is available, then the engineer has to check against the soil type on which the structure will sit on. If the soils are approximately similar, a simple method +though not an economical one, for replacement of bakau piles can be used. his is based on the assumption that the adhesion factor is constant for all piles materials for cohesive soils. he e!uivalent number of alternative piles is then simply e!ual to the number of bakau piles multiplied by the surface area of the bakau pile divided by the surface area of the alternative pile in contact with the soil. he above method using timber and concrete piles as friction piles are not using the inherent capacities of the piles to the fullest, therefore resulting in uneconomical pile foundation. If time permits, the piled foundation should be redesigned. he e!uivalent number of timber or concrete piles of some dimensions can be easily obtained by using the reduction factor +-, prepared as shown in table .. he reduction factor is actually the ratio of the surface area of a bakau pile

+"s bakau, to the surface area of the alternative pile +"s,. he table serves as a comparison for the number of alternative piles to the number of .// mm average diameter by 0m length bakau piles. Both the loads and soil conditions are identical. hus, if .// mm by .// mm by 0m length piles are to replace .// numbers of bakau piles with the above dimension and /.0m spacing, needs a minimum of 12 numbers. hese 12 numbers will need to be rearranged to suit the particular structural geometry and loading and a new spacing is obtained. he arrangement of the piles should follow as close as possible the original layout. "dditional piles may be used to suit the geometry of the foundation. "n example is given in appendix ". It is important to note here that the reduction factors given in able . are based on the capacity of replacement piles of certain dimensions against bakau piles of average diameter .// mm by 0m long. he bakau piles and the alternative piles are both friction piles. 'or piles of different dimensions, the reduction factors have to be recalculated. It is also important to highlight that the calculations are only preliminary and for single piles, the group effect should be checked whenever necessary. If the soil types are not similar, the foundation should be redesigned where the design process is similar to that of a new design. his is also applies to plans that do not have information on the foundation soils and those that do not have foundation details.

Replacement pile dimension $m% '.1'' ( '.1'' '.1'' ( '.1'' '.12) ( '.12) '.12) ( '.12) '.1)' ( '.1)'

len!th $ m% ) , ) , )

Reduction &actor in the number of piles needed '.*+ '.,) '.,3 '.)2 '.)2

'.1)' ( '.1)' , '.44 -able 1 . Reduction &actors for 1'' mm avera!e diameter by )m lon! bakau piles ote . -o reduction factor R/ is derived usin!/ the formula. 3 4
0here 1

4 "dhesion factor cu 4 Cohesion "s 4 $urface area in contact with soil 5ith the following assumptions)

2 Ultimate skin friction of the pile

$a% -he adhesion factor between the different pile material does not vary si!nificantly for cohesive soils. $b% Cohesion is constant for a particular soil/ " As $ince "s for the replacement piles are usually greater than that of the bakau piles normally used, the capacity of each replacement pile is greater. 'or the same loads to be supported, it follows therefore, that the number of piles to be used can be decreased and the spacing can be increased accordingly. he reduction factor is given by) R 2 1 bakau 333333 1 or R 2 "sbakau 3333333 "s "ppendi( " 4(ample of calculation for replacement piles $uppose .60 mm by 0m length timber piles .01 mm numbers of bakau piles of an outlet structure. -he avera!e diameter of the bakau piles are +) mm and the avera!e len!th is )m. -he !eneral spacin! of the bakau piles is '.)m c#c. 1 2 cu "s "s for bakau piles/ . ( '.'+) ( ) 2 1.33) s5.m "s for timber piles . 4 ( '.12) ( ) 2 2.) s5.m -hus/ 1bakau 2 1.33) cu k 1timber 2 2.) cu k Reduction &actor . 1bakau # 1timber 2 1.33) cu # 2.) cu 2 '.)3 -otal number of bakau piles . 1)* -herefore/ the number of timber piles needed . '.)3 ( 1)* 2 +4 6 -his is the minimum number needed to be able to satisfactorily replace the bakau piles. -his can then be rearran!ed to suit the same !eometry as before to find the re5uired spacin! $-efer to 'ig.., "s shown in the fi!ure/ +, numbers with an avera!e spacin! of '.*m c#c satisfactorily replace the bakau piles to achieve the same factor of safety as the ori!inal desi!n. &i!ure 1

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