Bond, A. J. & Jardine, R. J. (1991). GCotechnique 41, No.

3, 341-363

Effects of installing displacement piles

in a high OCR clay

A. J. BOND* and R. J. JARDINEt

The Paper describes a series of field experiments
using extensively instrumented closed-ended steel
piles installed in heavily overconsolidated London
clay. Each pile was equipped to measure the effec-
tive stresses acting at the pile/soil interface during
the three main stages of the pile’s lifetime: install-
ation, the subsequent period of earth and pore
water pressure equalization, and pile loading. The
Paper presents the results obtained during install-
ation and equalization. The results differ in several
important respects from the response predicted by
current theories of pile behaviour. The rate of pen-
etration of the piles during installation had a
marked influence on the skin friction that could be
mohilized during installation and in subsequent
load tests. Residual shear surfaces were created
near the pile wall and these controlled the piles’
overall shaft capacity. The measured interface
stresses were much larger than expected; they
depended to a marked extent on position relative to
the pile tip. The load capacity of the piles showed
no increase with time and appeared to fall slightly.
KEYWORDS: clays; earth pressure; field tests; piles;
pore pressures; research.
L’article di?crit une sCrie d’essais en place employ-
ant des pieux en acier $ bouts ferm6.s et P instru-
mentation pous& install& dans l’argile de
Londres fortement surconsolidCe. Chaque pieu ttait
instrument6 pour mesurer les contraintes effectives
agissant I l’interface pieu/sol pendant les trois
btapes principales de la dur&e de vie utile du pieu,
c’est-i-dire l’installation, la p&iode suivante com-
prenant I’bgalisation de la pression des terres et de
la pression de I’eau interstitielle et finalement le
chargement du pieu. L’article prCsente les ri.sultats
ohtenus au tours de I’installation et de
I’igalisation. Sous certains aspects ces rQultats dif-
fkrent de la ritponse prbdite par les thCories cou-
rantes du comportement des pieux. On a trouve
que la vitesse de p&&ration des pieux pendant
I’installation exercait une influence marquite sur le
frottement superficiel qui pouvait s’utiliser au
tours de I’installation aussi hien que pendant des
essais ultCrieurs de chargement. Des surfaces de
cisaillement residuelles c&es au voisinage du mur
du pieu contrblaient la capacitb totale du felt du
pieu. Les contraintes d’interface mesurCes Ctaient
tr6s sup&ieures a celles qu’on avait attendues et
dkpendaient fortement de la position par rapport i
la pointe du pieu. La capacitb de chargement des
pieux ne montra aucune augmentation au tours du
temps mais semhlait subir un lkger dicroissement.

INTRODUCTION 1989). All these methods, however, have been

The most widely used design rules for estimating developed from rather weak empirical corre-
the shaft resistance of driven piles in clays are lations, and their reliability in practice is gener-
based on the assumption that the average shear ally regarded as poor (Focht & O’Neill, 1985;
stress mobilized at the pile wall at failure t,, is Briaud, Anderson & Perdomo, 1987; Hamilton &
some proportion x of the average undrained Murff, 1988).
shear strength of the soil cU,. Alternative design Improvements in the design of piles have been
procedures seek to relate FrZ to some in situ test sought through a variety of means, including
parameter, such as SPT blow-count or the end-
(a) the development of simplified effective stress
bearing from cone penetration tests (e.g. Poulos,
theories (e.g. Chandler, 1966; Burland, 1973;
Parry & Swain, 1977; Flaate & Selnes, 1977;
Kraft, 1982)
Discussion on this Paper closes 2 January 1992; for fur- (b) the introduction of pile/soil stiffness and
ther details see p. ii.
length correction factors (Murff, 1980; Ran-
* Geotechnical Consulting Group, London (formerly
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine,
dolph, 1983; Dennis & Olson, 1983; Semple
London). & Rigden, 1984)
t Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medi- (c) correlations between z and the undrained
cine, London. strength ratio (&/a_,‘) of the soil (Randolph

341
342 BOND AND JARDINE

& Murphy, 1985; American Petroleum Insti- geotechnical units indicated. The London clay
tute, 1989) extends from about 2.5 m to approximately 25 m
(d) the development of ‘complete’ theories of pile below ground level, and forms three distinct units,
behaviour based on the cavity expansion as described below.
method (e.g. Randolph, Carter & Wroth, Disturbed London clay (I, z 0; C,, z 75 kPa)
1979) or strain path method (Baligh, 1984). is a firm to stiff, brown, silty fissured clay of inter-
mediate to high plasticity. This weathered clay
Despite these advances, the development of a
shows signs of mechanical disturbance, possibly
truly rational approach to pile design has been
due to periglacial processes or mass movement.
hampered by a lack of reliable data regarding the
Intact brown London clay (I, x 0; C,, x 120
physical processes that govern displacement-pile
kPa) is a stiff, light brown, silty fissured clay of
behaviour. Attempts have been made over the
intermediate plasticity, which is mechanically
past decade to remedy this situation, with field
undisturbed.
experiments being conducted by a number of
Blue London clay (below 7 m) is a stiff grey-
research groups, Among these, the Norwegian
brown, silty fissured clay of intermediate plasti-
Geotechnical Institute (e.g. Karlsrud & Haugen,
city, which is mechanically undisturbed.
1985) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
As Fig. 1 shows, the division between the dis-
(e.g. Azzouz & Morrison, 1988) have tested dis-
turbed and undisturbed London clays is marked
placement piles in contractive clays, whereas
by a drop in the soil’s liquid limit wr and a sharp
Oxford University (Coop & Wroth, 1989) has
increase in its undrained shear strength C,,. The
investigated a variety of soil types.
discontinuity in the strength profile is revealed by
The contribution to this work by Imperial
the results of undrained triaxial compression tests
College has involved field experiments in a
(Jardine, 1985) and in profiles of end-bearing q,
number of soils, including heavily over-
from piezocone tests (Powell, 1988). Pore pres-
consolidated London clay, medium dense sand,
sures are close to hydrostatic in the top 6 m, with
stiff glacial till, and sensitive soft clay. Since there
the water table situated about 1 m below ground
was a dearth of information about the behaviour
level.
of piles in high OCR clays, the first pile tests were
performed in the heavily overconsolidated
London clay, at Canons Park, north London. Overconsolidation ratio
The experiments at Canons Park were designed It is difficult to define exact values for the over-
to investigate the effective stress processes consolidation ratio (OCR) of the London clay,
involved in the three main stages of a pile’s life- especially within the zone affected by weathering.
time The clay was deposited in a marine environment
some 50 million years ago (Eocene times), since
(a) installation
when it has undergone several cycles of unloading
(b) earth and pore water pressure equalization
and reloading. Periglacial processes, chemical
(c) pile loading.
bonding, and ageing have all served to change the
The tests were also intended to investigate dif- soil’s ‘apparent’ OCR from its ‘mechanical’ OCR.
ferences between compression and tension Geological evidence suggests that the soil’s
loading, the effects of variable equalization yield pressure oVy’ should be at least 1200 kPa
periods, and the significance of jacking rather above the current vertical effective stress in the
than driving the piles. ground gVO’. However, results of high-pressure
The aim of this Paper is to present the results oedometer tests (Som, 1968) imply that crVY’ - gVO’
obtained at Canons Park during pile installation is probably in the range 150&1900 kPa. The cor-
and the subsequent period of earth and pore pres- responding range of values for the apparent OCR
sure equalization. The results of the pile loading of the soil (which, including the effects of ageing
tests are mentioned briefly; they are discussed etc., is equal to cr”,,‘/(~,,‘)is shown by the vertically
more fully by Bond & Jardine (1990). shaded band in Fig. 2.

K, profile
PROPERTIES OF THE LONDON CLAY The K, profile for the site has been estimated
AT CANONS PARK from the soil’s stress history, using the approach
Soil projile suggested by Burland, Simpson & St John (1979).
The ground conditions at Canons Park com- Upper-bound and lower-bound estimates of K,
prise superficial deposits of topsoil, gravel, and are shown in Fig. 2 and suggest that K, lies in the
silty clay head, overlying heavily over- range 1.8-2.5 in the intact London clay, reducing
consolidated London clay. Fig. 1 shows a simpli- sharply in the disturbed layers owing to reloading
fied soil profile for the site, with the main by the superficial deposits.
 EFFECTS OF INSTALLING DISPLACEMENT PILES IN HIGH OCR CLAY 343

watercontent:
% Undrained shear strength kPa
30 60 90 0

l lb_ _z,-

.., Profile based on

unconsolidated
undramed triaxial
compression tests

-From cone tests

Fig. 1. Index properties (left) and undrained strength profile (right) for the
Canons Park site

Stress- kPa

OCR KO

Fig. 2. Profiles of in situ stresses (left) and K, and OCR (right) for the Canons
Park site
344 BOND AND JARDINE

The horizontal total stresses u,,,, that corre- more significantly before rupture surfaces
spond to these values of K, are also shown in develop.
Fig. 2, where they are compared with measure- The results of triaxial tests on reconstituted
ments of oh0 obtained with a Cambridge self- material are presented in Appendix 1. They show
boring pressuremeter. The pressuremeter results that, if high OCR London clay is able to shear to
scatter about the upper estimate of oho. Higher a critical state condition as a continuum, then its
values of horizontal total stress have been record- mean effective stress p’ will rise to approximately
ed at Canons Park using pushed-in spade cells 0.4 times its K,-yield pressure cry,.‘. At Canons
(Tedd & Charles, 1981) but these are thought to Park this amounts to 60(1-700 kPa, which greatly
be overestimates of crho . exceeds the original mean effective stress in the
ground p,‘.

Behaviour of London clay in undrained shear

The strength profile for the site (see Fig. 1) has Residual strength
been established from unconsolidated undrained Experiments in the ring-shear apparatus have
triaxial compression tests on thin-walled jacked demonstrated that a clay’s residual strength
samples (Jardine, 1985). Examples of the stress depends on (among other things) the rate of
paths followed in these tests are reproduced in shearing, imposed stress levels, and-when soil is
Fig. 3. failed against an interface-interface type and
The triaxial tests indicate that the London clay surface roughness (Lupini, Skinner & Vaughan,
is initially very stiff in undrained compression. 1981; Lemos, 1986; Tika, 1989). The results of
The stress paths are almost vertical until axial ring-shear tests designed to simulate pile install-
strains exceed l%, whereupon the clay begins to ation and loading in London clay are sum-
dilate and the stress paths veer sharply to the marized in Fig. 4.
right. The paths are truncated long before reach- Figure 4(a) presents maximum and minimum
ing a critical state owing to the formation of values of the clay’s nominal residual angle of fric-
rupture planes at 48% axial strain. The samples tion during fast shearing (6,, = tan-’ Z/G,); and
rapidly strain-soften once the clay has passed its Fig. 4(b) shows maximum and minimum angles of
peak strength, owing to residual fabric being friction during subsequent slow shearing asR’.
formed on these planes. (Since excess pore pressures acting on the failure
Although shear planes are free to form in tri- plane cannot be measured, 6, is based on total
axial tests on individual soil elements, in other stresses. During slow shearing (at x0.005
situations their formation may be delayed or pre- mm/min) the clay is fully drained, and 6,,’ is
vented by kinematic constraints. The presence of based on effective stresses.) All the data are
fissures, bedding planes, and laminations serves to plotted against the rate of displacement during the
initiate shear plane formation, but, when these fast shearing stage.
features are absent (e.g. in reconstituted material) As Fig. 4(a) shows, the maximum and
overconsolidated samples are able to dilate far minimum values of a,, increase strongly with

150
r

"0 ‘00 tt t mJ t 300 400

4.lm 2.7m &7m 9-lm (o”’ + a~‘)iZ, kPa

vv
Weathered Unweathered
ZO”i? ZO”e

Fig. 3. Stress paths followed in unconsolidated undrained triaxial compression tests on samples
of London clay from Canons Park (after Jardine, 1985)
 EFFECTS OF INSTALLING DISPLACEMENT PILES IN HIGH OCR CLAY 345

o-5
-25
q . Against roughened steel interiace
0.4 - 0 l SolI-on-soil
1 l Mawmum values
q 0 Mnmum values

0.3 -
$
c
0.2 -

0.1 -

I I I”0
o+
(4
0.3r
/ . -15
Max. -
.
0.2 & ---E- --Min. -,. o
L 4
_~__. A-_-------Min. $
> 0
c _ ‘0:
O-l 5 z
1

ooi A I ,/I, I I,,, I I/II I SNfO

0.003 I 1 10 100 1000 10000
Rate of displacement dunng fast shear. mmimln

(b)

Fig. 4. Results of interface ring-shear tests on blue London clay (based on work by Lemos (1986) and
Tika (1989)): (a) fast shear; (b) slow shearing following fast

increasing rates of displacement. This rate- Further details about the ground conditions at
dependency involves both transient phenomena Canons Park and the properties of the London
(such as dilation and viscosity) and a variation in clay are given by Bond (1989) and Jardine (1985).
the degree of particle reorientation in the clay.
The influence of particle reorientation can be
gauged by the variation in &I, as described
INSTRUMENTATION
below.
Four of the six instrumented pile tests at
At displacement rates less than 100 mm/min,
Canons Park were performed using one of two
the maximum value of asR’ (as shown by the full
Imperial College instrumented piles. (As the
line in Fig. 4(b)) is independent of the displace-
design of the pile was not finalized until after test
ment rate during the previous phase of fast shear-
CPl, the first two tests at Canons Park were per-
ing, and equals approximately 11”. A smooth
formed using prototypes of the instrumented
shear surface forms in the clay and remains a per-
piles.) The general arrangement of a pile is shown
manent feature of the soil. At displacement rates
in Fig. 5. These tubular steel piles are 7 m long by
faster than 500 mm/min, the texture of the
102 mm dia., and have solid 60” cones fitted at
residual surface is rougher and the initial
their tips. Each pile carries three instrumented
maximum value of 6,,’ increases to 13-15”. As
sections, spaced at 1 m intervals, with each
will be shown later, the rate-dependency of &’
section containing
has an important influence on the load capacity
of piles installed in London clay. a high-capacity axial load cell
Figure 4(b) also shows that, although the a surface stress transducer (SST), which mea-
minimum (i.e. large-displacement) value of A,,’ is sures the radial total stress and shear stress
practically independent of the rate of displace- acting on the pile (in test CP2f there were two
ment during the previous fast-shearing phase, it surface stress transducers in each instrument
does depend on whether or not the clay is being cluster)
sheared against an interface. In soil-on-soil tests, a pore pressure unit, containing two fast-
(SsR’)minis about lo+“, whereas in interface tests it responding pore pressure probes
is slightly less than 9”. a temperature sensor inside each SST.
 BOND AND JARDINE

Redundancy of measurement is provided by

incorporating duplicate sensors at each instru-
ment position: there are two radial-stress circuits
in every surface stress transducer; two piezom-
eters in each of the pore pressure units; and the
shear stresses recorded by the surface stress trans-
ducers can be verified by the variation in axial
load along the pile.
The instrumented piles gave highly consistent
and repeatable data in the experiments at Canons
Park, and have since been employed successfully
in medium dense sand, stiff glacial till, and sensi-
n Axial load cell
q Surface stress transducer tive soft clay. Further details about their design
and temperature sensor are given by Bond & Jardine (1989).
lX Pore pressure probes (two)
IJ Displacement ttanducers
(three)
PILE TEST PROGRAMME
The experimental programme at Canons Park
was devised to cover a wide range of test condi-
tions, as summarized in Table 1. Six tests (CPO to
CP5) were conducted using heavily instrumented,
closed-ended, steel piles, which were installed by
jacking to minimize the chances of damaging the
instruments. In addition, two uninstrumented
piles (CP6 and CP7) were installed by driving to
see if the method of installation had any effect on
the piles’ load-displacement characteristics. To
avoid contact with the superficial gravel layer (see
Fig. 1), all the piles were installed through cased
boreholes 2 m deep.
Fig. 5. Imperial College instrumented pile

Test procedures
The instrumented piles were jacked into the
Figure 6 shows one of the instrument clusters ground at a steady rate of penetration in a series
partially disassembled. of pushes, each approximately 225 mm long.
The position of the instruments has been char- There were short pauses between pushes, typi-
acterized by their height (h) above the pile tip. cally of l-2 minutes’ duration, during which time
Leading instruments are located at about eight the jack was reset. The rate of penetration was
times the pile’s radius (R) above the tip (i.e. at varied from test to test (see Table l), and in one
h/R z 8);following instruments at h/R z 25; and experiment (CP3fs) it was switched from fast to
trailing instruments at h/R x 50. slow midway through installation.

Fig. 6. Typical instrument cluster on the instrumented pile

 EFFECTS OF INSTALLING DISPLACEMENT PILES IN HIGH OCR CLAY 341
Table 1. Programme of pile tests at Canons Park

Test Installation Rate of Fast/ Penetration L/D Equalization

method jacking: slow* below ground period :
mm/min level: m days
CPOf Jacking sOO* 100 Fast 5.20 30.6 109
CPls Jacking 95 * 22 Slow 5.275 31.4 19
CP2f Jacking 426 + 34 Fast 5.945 38.0 63
CP3fs Jacking 403 * 94 Fast/ 4.08 19.6
81 * 15 Slow 5.87 37.2 2
CP4f Jacking 488 * 45 Fast 6.155 40.0 20
CPSf Jacking 445 + 55 Fast 5.92 37.7 2
CP6d Driving 5.80 36.5 2
CP7do Driving 5.70 35.4 2
* Fast, 4W600 mm/min; slow, 5@100 mm/min

Transducer readings were taken at 3 s intervals Fig. 7. A notable feature of this diagram is that
throughout pile installation. the leading and following instruments registered
Following installation, each pile was left for a an almost constant shear stress with depth,
period of between 2 and 109 days (see Table 1) whereas the undrained strength profile for the site
before being load-tested. The earth and pore (see Fig. 1) shows a marked jump at 4.1 m. This
water pressures took less than 3 days to come implies that shaft capacity is not directly related
into equilibrium, and during this period the soil to the original undrained shear strength of the
surrounding the piles underwent both swelling clay. The general trend of the experiments was for
and consolidation. the shear stresses recorded by the following trans-
The piles were load-tested using a modified ducer to come midway between those recorded by
version of the Laboratoires des Ponts et Chaus- the leading and trailing instruments.
s&es procedure described by Bustumante (1982). The instrumented piles were jacked into the
Further details are given by Bond & Jardine ground at velocities in the range S&500 mm/min.
(1990). Other research on jacked piles at Canons Park
has been reported by Price & Wardle (1982), Kit-
thing (1983) and Coop (1987); and tests have
Inspection trench been performed at the nearby site at Stanmore by
Shortly after completion of the driven-pile tests,
an inspection trench was dug around two of the
piles, one of which had been installed by driving
0 40 80 120
(CP6d) and the other by jacking (Kitching, 1983). I
I I I
F
The trench was excavated to a depth of 4.5 m
below ground level, tests were performed in situ,
and over 150 samples were taken for subsequent
testing in the laboratory.

MEASUREMENTS DURING PILE Trailing lnstrumenl

INSTALLATION h/R = 50.2
E _
The best way to present the data recorded s
during pile installation is to follow the progress of 2
hlR =
a single test, and to mention any variations from O4-

the trends of that test wherever it is necessary.

CPSf has been chosen as the model experiment,
since this gave results which are typical of the
behaviour of both driven and fast-jacked piles. 5-

Shear stresses
The shear stresses that were recorded by the
leading, following and trailing surface stress Fig. 7. Shear stress measurements during pile installa-
transducers during pile installation are shown in tion (experiment CP5f)
348 BOND AND JARDINE

Table 2. Key features of jacked pile tests in London clay

Site Reference Pile Penetration Pile type and Instrumentation*

diameter: below ground surface finish
mm level: m

Stanmore? Tomlinson ( 1970) 168 2.4-5.5 Flat-ended rolled SG

steel pile

Canons Parkf Price & Wardle (1982) 168 4.5 Cone-ended rolled AL
steel pile
Kitching (1983) 178 4.7 Cone-ended rolled AL
steel pile
Coop (1987) 80 50 Flat-ended smooth AL+EP+PP
brass pile
This Paper 102 52-6.2 Cone-ended grit-blasted AL+EP+SS+PP
steel pile

* SG, strain gauges; AL, axial load cell; EP, earth pressure cell; SS, shear stress transducer; PP, pore pressure
transducer.
t OLrecalculated from C, profile based on unconsolidated undrained tests on 100 mm dia. samples.
1 a calculated from C, profile given in Fig. 1 of this Paper.

Tomlinson (1970). The key features of these positive pore pressures and the trailing probes the
experiments are summarized in Table 2. smallest.
Combining the results from these tests with the Readings in the London clay. Between 2.4 m
Imperial College data (see Fig. 8) reveals a dra- and about 5.5 m, the pore pressures that were
matic jump in shearing resistance over a relatively measured along the pile shaft were generally
small range of velocities (loCr500 mm/min). The negative at all levels (the leading probes in test
similarity of this rate effect to that observed in the CP5f were a slight exception). The spikes in the
ring-shear tests (see Fig. 4(b)) can be recognized piezometer traces that occur at about 225 mm
immediately, and suggests that the same pheno- intervals correspond to changes in pore pressure
mena are controlling pile behaviour. Evidence to during the pauses in jacking. When penetration
support this statement was provided by the trial recommenced, the soil dilated strongly and the
pit investigations, which are discussed later. pore pressures recovered their steady-penetration
values. Although it is not evident from test CP5f,
the general trend in the experiments at Canons
Park was for the leading probes to register the
Pore pressures largest suction and the trailing probes the small-
The pore pressure readings obtained during est.
installation of CP5f are shown in Fig. 9. Since the EfSects of caoitation. A practical limitation of
pile carries two fast-responding probes at each all piezometer systems is the inability of all but
instrument position, there are six traces in total. the purest of liquids to exist inside a piezometer
Readings in the silty clay head. Between 2.0 m cavity at pressures below absolute zero. The
and 2.4 m below ground level, positive pore pres- slightest impurity in the liquid prevents it from
sures were measured at all three instrument posi- sustaining sufficient surface tension to register
tions. The leading probes registered the largest negative absolute pressures (i.e. gauge pressures

1.2
x CPOf q CP3fS
A CPlS v CP4f
0 CP5f
0.8
i
Kitching (1983)
c .I:..>
.,.,. ...
_________ “;I;’ wTom,,“so” (,g70)
0.4 -

Price 8 Wardle (1982)

0.0 ’ / ! I ! I I I
2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000
Rate of uwallation: mmimln

Fig. 8. Variation of 01 during pile installation with rate of installation (data from
experiments CPO to CP5 (Tomlinson, 1970; Price & Wardle, 1982; Kitching, 1983;
COOP, 1987))
 EFFECTS OF INSTALLING DISPLACEMENT PILES IN HIGH OCR CLAY 349

Pore pressure: kPa Pore pressure: kPa Pore pressure: kPa

0 g l?O 2?0 3?0 4?0 5vo

(a) (b) (cl

Fig. 9. Pore pressure readings during pile installation (experiment CPSf): (a) leading instruments, h/R = 52; (b) follow-
ing instruments, h/R = 296; (c) trailing instruments, h/R = 533

below - 100 kPa). In practice, the piezometer (respectively) 400 kPa, 275 kPa and 125 kPa,
fluid used in the fast-acting probes (silicone oil) representing a drop in stress of almost 70% from
vaporizes at gauge pressures between -50 kPa the leading to trailing positions.
and - 80 kPa. The pause periods between pushes were gener-
A notable feature of Fig. 9 is that, despite cavi- ally too short for significant changes to occur in
tation, the pore pressure traces remain alive the radial total stresses acting on the pile.
throughout pile installation. The probes recov- The observation that the radial total stress at
ered quickly enough during the pause periods to any given soil horizon falls with continued pen-
register significant changes in pressure (as indi- etration of the pile is of crucial importance in
cated by the spikes). Earlier versions of these explaining displacement-pile behaviour. Fig. 11
instruments, which were saturated with water, quantifies this effect in terms of the variation in
took far longer to respond. Similar, but far more radial total stress with height h above the tip. The
severe, problems were encountered by O’Neill, values of err that were recorded by the surface
Hawkins & Audibert (1982) in their pile tests in stress transducers in the soil horizon at 3 m are
the heavily overconsolidated Beaumont clay; shown for tests CP2 to CP5. As can be seen, the
Coop & Wrath’s (1989) tests in Gault clay also 6&70% reduction in radial total stress from
suffered the effects of cavitation. h/R z 8 to hJR z 50 was the same in all four
tests. Indeed, the rate at which (T,, reduced with
Radial total stresses increasing h/R was similar at other soil horizons,
Figure 10 shows the radial total stresses suggesting that the degree of stress relaxation is
recorded by the leading, following and trailing primarily related to the pattern of ground distor-
instruments during installation of pile CP5f. The tion imposed by the pile, and is not unduly sensi-
radial total stress grr that was measured at any tive to changes in the soil’s properties or initial
one instrument position increased steadily with stresses.
increasing pile penetration. However, the radial The radial total stresses err that were recorded
total stress that was recorded at any particular at the end of pile installation at Canons Park are
soil horizon fell steadily as the pile tip advanced summarized in Fig. 12. The net effect of the radial
to greater depths. For example, the values of crrr stresses increasing with depth, but decreasing
that were recorded by the leading, following, and with distance above the pile tip, is for grr to vary
trailing instruments at the 3 m horizon were steeply along the length of the pile. At 3 m below
350 BOND AND JARDINE

Radial total stress CJ,,: kPa

200 400 600 600 1000
I I I I I
Borehole -

Pile (final posltton)~

Followng instrument

Leading instrument

Fig. 10. Radial total stress measurements during pile installation (experiment CPSf)

ground level, (T,, is 2-3 times the estimated orig- Radial efective stresses
inal in situ horizontal total stress in the ground The radial effective stresses acting at the pile
ohor whereas at 5.5 m it is 5-6 times the value of wall have been calculated from the measured
Oho
radial total stresses and pore pressures, assuming
Despite its strong influence on shaft resistance, that the suction developed in the soil did not
the rate at which the piles were jacked into the exceed that inside the pore pressure probes. A
ground had no discernible effect on the radial suction greater than - 50 to -80 kPa would
total stresses measured on the pile. result in the radial effective stress being tempo-
rarily underestimated.
Figure 13 shows the variation in radial effective
stress err’ with depth, as recorded at the leading
instrument position in four experiments. The pro-
files obtained during jacking are clearly highly
. CP2f repeatable, even though there were wide differ-
. CP3fs ences in the rates of penetration of the pile and in
. CP4f
the shear stresses developed along the shaft. The
data recorded by the following and trailing
instruments show a similar degree of consistency.
It should be noted that, although the pore pres-
sures changed rapidly during pauses in jacking,
there were compensating changes in the radial
total stresses such that the radial effective stresses
varied only slightly (in percentage terms) each
time the jack was reset.

1’

MEASUREMENTS DURING EQUALIZATION

Pore pressure changes
Ook-&7Yk- Radial total stress crrr. kPa
i 0
Figure 14 shows the pore pressures that were
recorded adjacent to pile CP5f during equal-
Fig. 11. Variation of radial total stress with height above ization. The values measured at the end of pile
the pile tip (experiments CP2 to CPS) installation were negative at all three instrument
 EFFECTS OF INSTALLING DISPLACEMENT PILES IN HIGH OCR CLAY 351

Radial total stress urr: kPa

400 600 800 1000 1200

x CPOf
b CPls
0 CPZf
. CP3fs
t CP5f
+ coop (1967)

Fig. 12. Profile of radial total stress measurements at the end of pile installation (data
from experiments CPO to CP5, and Coop (1987)

levels, and the subsequent variations in pore pres- from the pile wall. The pore pressures returned to
sure depended on the probe’s position relative to just above hydrostatic values within 48 h of pile
the pile tip, as described below. installation.
The leading probes recorded large and rapid The response of the following and trailing
rises in pore pressure, which reached temporary probes was unlike that of the leading instruments.
maxima as high as 850 kPa in one experiment, In general, the pore pressures remained negative
but thereafter followed the classic decay curve for up to 24 h after pile installation. They then
associated with the radial flow of water away rose slowly to just above hydrostatic values,

Ffadlal effective stress during pile mstallatlon u,,‘: kPa

200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Fig. 13. Repeatability of radial effective stress measurements during pile installation;
leading instruments (experiments CP2 to CPS)
352 BOND AND JARDINE

400 before falling towards equilibrium conditions. In

one experiment (CP2f) the behaviour of the fol-
lowing probes was closer to that of the leading
pair, but in all the other experiments it was
similar to that of the trailing probes.

Changes in radial total stress

The changes in radial total stress during equal-
ization are shown in Fig. 15. At the leading and
following positions, the radial total stress
LeadIng instruments
dropped by about 25% during the first 48 h after
pile installation, whereas at the trailing instru-
ment position it rose by about 15%.
In one of the long-term experiments (CP2f), the
radial total stresses showed a further 3%
reduction (through drained creep) between 3 and
63 days after pile installation. In practical terms,
however, the radial total stresses were fully equal-
ized after only 36 h.

Changes in radial effective stress

Fig. 14. Dissipation of excess pore pressures during Figure 16 shows the changes in radial effective
equalization (experiment CP5f)
stress during equalization in test CP5f. This
diagram combines the changes in pore pressure
shown in Fig. 14 with the changes in radial total
stress shown in Fig. 15.

t
1000
R

)\__ Leading instrument ’

I
I -I_
Tralllng instrument , I
/ I
iv Trailing instruments
I 200 - I
I
-_) At end of installation
I,
- At end of installation I
I t I
I
n I &

OO 12 24 “40 44 OO 12 24 ‘40 44
Time: h Time: h

Fig. 15. Changes in radial total stress during equal- Fig. 16. Changes in radial effective stress during equal-
ization (experiment CP5f) ization period (experiment CP5f)
 EFFECTS OF INSTALLING DISPLACEMENT PILES IN HIGH OCR CLAY 353

At the leading instrument position (h/R z 8),
the radial effective stress u,,’ fell temporarily to a
short-term minimum equal to about 55% of its
end-of-installation value [o,,‘]~, before recovering
over the next 16 h to about 65% of [a,,‘li. The
short-term minimum in urr’ occurred about 40
minutes into the equalization period.
At the following instrument position (h/R x
30), the radial effective stress fell monotonically
over the first 36 h, when it equalled approx-
imately 65% of its end-of-installation value.
Values of pc’ vary greatly with distance from the
pile wall, reducing semi-logarithmically with
increasing values of rfR up to r/R z 4.
Close to the pile wall, the mean effective stress
was 3-5 times its original (i.e. far-field) value (pO’).
According to the formula given in Appendix 1,
the mean effective stress in high OCR London
clay would have to exceed 6W700 kPa (i.e. z
Radtal effective stress u’rr. kPa

At the trailing instrument position (h/R x 50),

the radial effective stress rose slightly during the
first 8 h, and then fell gradually to about 75% of
its end-of-installation value.

Stress state at the end ofequalization

The radial effective stresses acting on the pile
shaft at the end of equalization [urr’lc are sum-
marized in Fig. 17. The readings show a steep
increase with depth that has no direct relation-
ship with the soil’s original undrained shear
strength C,, or horizontal effective stress ghO’.The
long term effect of pile installation is to increase
the radial effective stress at the leading instrument
position (h/R FZ 8) to approximately six times the
value of cho’. Elsewhere along the pile, the ratio
C~rr’lc/%o’reduces significantly with increasing
distance from the pile tip, tending towards unity
as h/R approaches 50.

Physical condition of the soil at the end of

equalization
An inspection trench was dug around two piles
at the end of the test programme (i.e. after Fig. 17. Radial effective stresses at the end of equal-
equalization) and measurements were made at ization (experiments CPZ, CP3 and CP5)
four different levels of the soil’s undrained shear
strength, pore water suction, and water content.
In addition, the fabric of the soil next to the pile
walls was studied by visual inspection, through l Next to driven pile
X-ray photography, and by viewing thin sections 0 Next to jacked p~!e
of soil under cross-polarized light.
There was no discernible radial variation in the
in situ strength (measured with a small penetrom-
eter and hand vane) or water content of the soil
at any of the four levels investigated. This finding
differs from results obtained in a similar series of
experiments in contractive Haga clay (Karlsrud &
Haugen, 1985).
Although the soil’s water content and
undrained shear strength did not vary with radial
position, its mean effective stress p,’ did. Values of
p,’ were estimated by measuring the pore water
suction pk in samples of soil recovered from I I I IIIII,

3.10 m and 3.86 m below ground level, using the O1 2 3 4 6 8 10

Normallzed radius r/R
filter-paper technique described by Chandler &
Gutierrez (1986). The variation in p,’ (= pk. with Fig, 18. Variation in mean effective stress with radius at
normalized radius (r/R) is illustrated in Fig. 18. the end of equalization
354 BOND AND JARDINE

0.4~~~‘) if the soil were sheared to a critical state texture of samples taken from next to the driven
condition. Although the measured values of p,’ pile was rough in appearance, with several small,
close to the pile wall are only 3@40% of those but discontinuous, residual shear surfaces existing
expected at the critical state, the mean effective just beneath a surface skin of clay (see Fig. 20).
stress may have been reduced by load-cycling These small differences in the soil’s macro-fabric
during pile installation and (like the radial effec- had a dominant effect on the piles’ subsequent
tive stress, a,,‘) may have fallen a further 25535% load capacity, as discussed in the next section.
during the equalization period. Hence, although it Further details about the inspection trench
is possible that the soil reached a critical state work are given by Bond & Jardine (1990).
condition during installation, it is certain that the
London clay was overconsolidated at the end of
equalization. PILE LOADING
Microscopic examination of samples of soil The results from the programme of load tests
from next to the pile wall revealed a systematic at Canons Park are reported in detail by Bond &
distortion of the soil’s fabric, rather than the Jardine (1990) and form the subject of another
random disturbance implied by the term paper on the Canons Park experiments (Bond &
‘remoulding’. An assessment was made of the Jardine, in preparation). The findings from the
shear strains in the clay y,, by measuring the load tests that are relevant to the present dis-
slopes of bedding planes whose orientation was cussion are as follows.
originally horizontal. The data are shown in Fig. Fast-jacked and driven piles behave almost
19 and reveal almost identical patterns of shear identically and have much larger capacities than
distortion around the driven and jacked piles. slow-jacked piles (see Fig. 21).
Furthermore, the variation of shear strain with In all of the Canons Park tests, failure of the
normalized radius r/R around the Canons Park soil along the pile shaft obeyed an effective stress
piles was similar to that observed by Karlsrud & failure criterion, [tr,]r = Co,,‘& tan 6 (where [zrZ]t
Haugen (1985) in the contractive Haga clay. is the shear stress at failure and 6 is the angle of
Although, in the Canons Park tests, the overall friction at the pile wall) (see Fig. 22).
patterns of shear distortion next to the driven and There were significant changes in both the pore
jacked piles were very similar, there was one water pressures and radial total stresses during
important difference between the soil fabric in the pile loading. However, close to the pile shaft there
two cases. A single, highly polished and striated, appeared to be little pore pressure dissipation (i.e.
residual shear surface was formed 0.5-l mm from the soil was undrained).
the wall of the slow-jacked pile, and was contin- Only small changes in radial effective stress cr,,’
uous along its length. In contrast, the surface occurred as the piles were brought to failure: this

‘4
Inner zone I Middle zone ,j 1 outerzO”e

Data from Canons Park

Stratn path predictions cc( Drwen pile
(simple pile) h/R = 35 h/R = 50-66
~0+ Jacked pile
h/R = 16-23

Pile tests rn Haga clay

/ / I , , , I n I
0
1-O 1.2 1.4 l-6 1 .I3 2.0 2.2 y 4.0
Normallzed radius r/R

Fig. 19. Shear strains developed around piles installed in clay soils
356 BOND AND JARDINE

Unload/reload loop

Following instrument

Radial effective stress CJ’~,:kPa

Fig. 22. Effective stress paths followed by elements of soil next to a fast-jacked pile during load-
testing in tension (experiibent CPSf)

in first-time loading tests spread over a period of excess pore pressures generated at the pile wall
33 months (109 days). This result is confirmed by during pile installation in clay soils (At+) are
the data obtained by Tomlinson (1970) at Stan- related to the clay’s original undrained shear
more (also shown in Fig. 21). strength C,, by the equation

AuiK,, = log,(GIC,,) + (PO’ - P,‘YC,, (1)

INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION where G/C,, is the soil’s rigidity index, p,’ is the
The experiments in London clay produced a original mean effective stress in the ground, and
number of surprising results, some of which have pi is the mean effective stress at failure. Para-
been confirmed in the independent test pro- metric studies indicated that the value of Aui/C,,
gramme by Coop & Wroth (1989). The findings should be largely unaffected by the stress history
help to resolve important questions regarding pile (i.e. OCR) of the soil, and, for heavily over-
behaviour in high OCR clays, and provide a consolidated London clay, Wroth, Carter & Ran-
better understanding of the physical processes dolph (1979) have suggested the following values
involved. Before an attempt is made to explain apply
the results, a review is given of the pattern of
3.1 < Aui/C,, d 3.6 (for 32 > OCR > 1) (2)
behaviour that could reasonably have been
expected from existing theories of pile behaviour The evidence from instrumented pile tests,
in high-OCR clays. however, tends to contradict these cavity expan-
The leading theories for predicting the behav- sion predictions. At Canons Park, negative pore
iour of displacement piles in clay soils are based pressures were recorded during pile installation in
either on cylindrical cavity expansion theory (e.g. heavily overconsolidated London clay, and
Butterfield & Bannerjee, 1970; Vesic, 1972; Ran- similar but less well defined results have been
dolph et al., 1979) or on Baligh’s (1985) strain obtained in other high OCR clays by O’Neill et
path method. To date, strain path predictions al. (1982) and Coop & Wroth (1989). Further-
have only been published for clays with more, tests in low OCR clays indicate that
OCR < 4, and few of these predictions can be AuJC,, falls in the range 2-12 (Jardine, 1985),
compared directly with the Canons Park results. which is a much wider range of values than can
This review, therefore, concentrates on the cavity reasonably be obtained from equation (1).
expansion predictions of pile behaviour. The validity of the cavity expansion hypothesis
can be tested more directly by comparing the
radial total stresses err recorded at the end of
Cavity expansion predictions installation with limit pressures plim extrapolated
The central assumption of the cavity expansion from self-boring pressure-meter tests (see Fig. 12).
methods is that pile installation has the same If the central assumption of the cavity expansion
overall effect on the ground as the monotonic methods were correct, then ~~~ would equal plim
expansion of a long cylindrical cavity under over most of the pile length. However, as Fig. 12
undrained plane strain conditions. From this shows, the stresses that were recorded at Canons
simple hypothesis, detailed predictions can be Park fall well below the limit pressure of the soil
made (using a variety of elasto-plastic soil over most of the pile shaft. Indeed, in the upper-
models) of the earth and pore water pressures in most soil horizons the radial total stresses were
the soil at the end of pile installation and closer to the original horizontal total stress in the
throughout equalization. ground oh,, than to the limit pressure. Coop 8c
Randolph et al. (1979) have argued that the Wroth (1989) have reported results similar to
Table 3. Cavity exapansion predictions during and after ground equalization

Parameter
I
Installation Excess pore pressure

Radial total stress o,, = pli, except o,, z pli, at hJR = 0, London This Paper
near pile tip and elsewhere err < p,,,;
ground surface as h/R + 50, so err + oh0
or, = tr4im Gault Coop & Wroth (1989)

Equalization Excess pore pressure Monotonic fall? Short term rise, then fall London This Paper
Short term rise, then fall Gault Coop & Wroth (1989)

Radial effective stress Monotonic riset Short term fall, then London This Paper
slight rise
Short term fall, then Coop & Wroth (1989)
slight rise

Large increase7 Slight fall with time London This Paper

Slight fall with time London Tomlinson (1970)

End of equalization 1 Radius of yielded zone ) r,/R = (G/C,,)“* 2 11 1 t-JR = 4 London This Paper

Strength of clay CJC,, L 1.45t CJC,. = 1 London Bond & Jardine (1990)

Mean effective stress p,‘Jp,’= 4.2-7.2 PC'IP,'

= 4 London This Paper
(OCR = 8-32)

Radial effective stress o,,‘/C,, z 5.8 b,,)lC,, = 6 at the pile tip, London This Paper
(for all h/R) elsewhere o,,‘/C,, < 6;
as h/R -+ 70, so o,,’ + uho’ I I
* Predictions for London clay from Wroth et al. (1979), assuming K, = 2.15 and G/C,, = 120 at OCR = 32.
t Insensitive to OCR.
358 BOND AND JARDINE

these for heavily overconsolidated Gault clay.

Predictions for the changes in earth and pore
water pressures during equalization have been
obtained using one-dimensional coupled-
consolidation analyses (Wroth et nl., 1979; Kav-
vadas, 1982). Table 3 compares predictions based
on starting conditions taken from cavity expan-
sion theory with results obtained in three high
OCR clays. The field data suggest that the theory
has gone awry: the radial effective stress is greatly
overestimated; the soil is wrongly considered to
be normally consolidated; and significant gains in
undrained shear strength next to the pile wall are
predicted, which in fact do not occur.
It would appear from this evidence that the
cavity expansion method is unsuited to predicting
the behaviour of displacement piles in high OCR
clays.

Strain path method

It is clear from the previous section that a two-
dimensional theory is needed to account for the
steep gradients in stress that occur along the pile
shaft. Simplified two-dimensional analyses of pile
installation may be performed using the strain
path method described by Baligh (1985). Fig. 23. Strain path predictions of the flow around a
The central assumption of the strain path simple pile (after Baligh, 19&1)
method is that, owing to the severe kinematic
constraints that exist in deep penetration prob-
lems, soil deformations and strains are practically
independent of the properties of the soil. By that stresses in the soil vary with position along
decoupling stresses and strains, the soil deforma- the pile shaft. Levadoux & Baligh (1980) for
tions can be estimated from, for example, hydro- example, predict a 60% reduction in radial total
dynamic solutions for the steady flow of an stress in moving from a point close to the pile tip
incompressible, inviscid fluid past an axisym- to 15 radii above it (h/R = 15). The Canons Park
metric solid body. Fig. 23 illustrates the stream results confirm this tendency (see Fig. ll), but
flow that occurs around a closed-ended simple suggest that the radial total stress continues to
pile, as calculated by Baligh (1984). The action of fall with increasing penetration for h/R up to at
the pile tip in defining the soil deformations and least 50.
strains is immediately evident from this diagram.
The pattern of flow around Baligh’s simple pile
EXPLANATION OF PILE BEHAVIOUR
can be used to predict the variation in shear
IN HIGH OCR CLAYS
strain y,, with normalized radius r/R. Fig. 19
The field research has revealed considerable
compares the predicted shear strain distribution
weaknesses in the present understanding of
around the simple pile with the results of field
displacement-pile behaviour in heavily over-
tests in the London clay at Canons Park and in
consolidated clays. The remainder of this Paper
the soft, sensitive clay at Haga (Karlsrud &
attempts to summarize the processes that control
Haugen, 1985). Although the shape of the shear
pile behaviour in such soils and to identify the
strain distribution is similar to that observed in
features that are missing from existing methods of
the field experiments, the strain path method
pile design. This interpretation draws on ideas
underpredicts the measured strains. A possible
embodied in the strain path method, critical state
reason for the discrepancy is that the simple-pile
soil mechanics and simple consolidation theory to
analyse assume a perfectly smooth boundary
help explain the observed field behaviour.
between the pile and the soil, whereas in the tield
experiments the pile wall acted as a rough bound-
ary (large shear stresses were measured at the pile The process of pile installation
wall during installation). The ground’s response to the installation of a
The strain path method recognizes implicitly displacement pile is dominated by the way the
 EFFECTS OF INSTALLING DISPLACEMENT PILES IN HIGH OCR CLAY 359

soil flows past the pile tip, as shown by Fig. 23.
On penetrating virgin ground, the pile tip
punches a hole in the soil by forcing it to flow
both downwards and radially outwards. The
bearing pressures required to do this produce
large increases in the total stress, both beneath
and alongside the tip.
The pattern of distortion so created is governed
by the geometry of the pile. The clay accommo-
dates the pile’s volume by shearing as a contin-
uum to very large strains (see Fig. 19).
As the pile tip advances to greater depths and
the focus of the hole-punching process becomes
more remote, the mean total stress reduces. The
soil also unloads in shear (Baligh, 1985). The
mean effective stress developed close to the pile
shaft may decrease from critical state values (p,,‘)
as the tip advances, due to the effects of driving
or jacking load cycles.
At some distance above the tip, a network of
vertical shear surfaces may form close to the pile
shaft, which allow the pile to advance into the
ground without causing further gross distortion
to the soil above this level.
If shear surfaces form, they become a per-
manent feature of the soil and can only be
altered by further large displacement of the pile
(at a different rate of displacement). The charac-
teristics of these shear surfaces are likely to vary
greatly from one soil type to another, and depend
on the rate of installation and surface roughness
of the pile.
Individual surfaces have low angles of friction
in soils such as London clay. Next to fast-jacked
and driven piles, the soil shears in a transitional
mode, part sliding, part turbulent (Lupini et al.,
1981). However, if the rate of installation of the
pile is slow enough (as in the case of the slow-
jacked piles), a single, highly polished, ‘principal
displacement shear’ may be formed along the
entire length of the pile.
The pattern of gross distortion around the pile
is not sensitive to the properties of the clay. In the
inner zone around the pile (from r/R = 1 to
r/R z la), shear strains are greater than 50% (see
Fig. 19) and the soil may have been sheared to its
critical state condition; in the middle zone (r/R c
if-l), shear strains are large enough to cause the
soil to dilate, but not large enough for it to reach
a critical state; and in the outer zone (r/R > 4),
the soil behaves quasi-elastically.
Pore pressure response during pile installation
The excess pore pressures that are generated
during undrained shear Aui may be resolved into
a total-stress component Au,,, which is equal to
the increase in mean total stress in the soil Ap; a
shear-induced component Au.,, resulting from
gross shear distortion during pile installation;
and cyclic component AucYc associated with
driving or jacking load cycles, i.e. Auj = Au,, +
Aus,, + Au,yc
The total-stress component AutS reduces with
distance from the pile tip as the increase in mean
total stress Ap gets smaller.
For points above the pile tip, the shear-induced
pore pressure in the inner zone is both large and
negative in high OCR clays, owing to strong dila-
tion of the clay (Au,, z p,’ - p,,‘). In the middle
zone, the magnitude of AuS,, falls with increasing
radius as the shear strain reduces (see Fig. 19). In
the outer, ‘quasi-elastic’ region, AuS,, is negligible.
Conditions at the pile tip approximate to those
of triaxial compression and, in high OCR clays,
AulS + AuS,, + 0 and AucYcz 0.
Unless the pile is pushed into the ground in
one continuous motion, the soil is subjected to
repeated unloading/reloading cycles during pile
installation which generate (positive) cyclic pore
pressures within it. In any one soil layer, the
accumulated pore pressure component Au,,.~
grows in magnitude with increasing h/R.
The combination of the various pore pressure
components is such that negative pore pressures
are developed close to the pile shaft in high OCR
clays, while positive pressures occur away from
the shaft. The cyclic component AuGYcprogres-
sively moderates the hydraulic gradients between
the inner and outer zones as h/R increases.
Radial stresses during pile installation
The radial total stress at any particular soil
horizon reduces systematically with continued
penetration of the pile (see Fig. 1 l), in sympathy
with the mean total stress. For points far above
the tip, where the ground surface plays a more
important role, the radial stresses acting on the
pile may tend towards a limiting value which is
just sufficient to maintain an active stress state in
the surrounding soil. In simple terms, the stresses
required to keep the cylindrical cavity open are
much smaller than those needed to expand it in
the first place.
Equalization
At the end of pile installation, steep gradients
of pore pressure exist in the inner and middle
zones surrounding the piles. The decay of the
excess pore pressures during the subsequent
equalization period depends principally on
(a) the relative sizes of the inner and middle
zones
(b) the magnitude of the excess pore pressures in
each one
360
(c) the permeability and compressibility
soil.
The field measurements at Canons Park
revealed no overall radial variation in water
content around a driven and jacked pile at the
end of equalization. This implies that, despite
changes in pore pressure of up to 850 kPa, the
volumetric strains in the soil were no larger than
f 1%. It follows that the clay’s compressibility
was low (~2 x 10m5 m’/kN) and that its per-
meability would have remained approximately
constant during equalization.
Simple linear consolidation theory can be used
to estimate the magnitude of the pore pressures in
the soil and their decay with time. Fig. 24 shows a
sequence of isochrones computed by the finite dif-
ference method that give a plausible explanation
for the pore pressure response observed at the
impervious pile wall at the leading instrument
positions (as shown on the right hand side of Fig.
24). The pore pressure gradients at the start of
equalization (isochrone 0) are very steep near the
pile wall, with 11rising from - 100 kPa at r/R = 1
to about +800 kPa at r/R z 1.25. There are neg-
ligible excess pore pressures (initially) beyond
rjR z 3. The subsequent decay of the excess pres-
sures is achieved by water flowing both into the
inner zone and out to the outer zone (as indicated
by isochrones 1 + 2 + 3). It is only after the pore
pressure at r/R = 1 has passed its peak value that
the classical pattern of radial flow away from the
pile wall becomes established (as indicated by iso-
thrones 3 + 4 + 5).
Radial effective stresses
During the initial stages of equalization, pore
pressures u next to the pile shaft rise up rapidly
*@Jr .
Fig. 24. Suggested form of pore pressure isochrones during equalization near the pile tip
BOND AND JARDINE
of the while the radial total stresses err fall. Hence the
radial effective stresses (or*’ = grr - u) also fall,
implying that the soil swells rather than consoli-
dates. Later on the reverse is true: the rate of
excess pore pressure decay exceeds the rate of
change in IJ~~ and the radial effective stresses
increase. As the field measurements show, the net
effect of equalization is for both the radial effec-
tive stress and the mean effective stress to reduce
in magnitude close to the pile shaft. This is
opposite to the behaviour expected of low OCR
clays.
As shown in Fig. 16, the combination of swell-
ing and consolidation can lead to a short term
minimum in the average radial effective stress
acting on the pile (IJ~~‘)~“.This phenomenon could
have significant practical importance, since it
implies that there could be a short term minimum
in the pile’s shaft capacity.
CONCLUSIONS
The Canons Park experiments have shown that
piles installed in high-OCR (plastic) clays do not
behave as predicted by current theories. The main
results of the experiments are as follows.
The rate of penetration has a marked influence
on the mobilized skin friction.
Shear surfaces are created near to the pile wall
with very low angles of friction, and these control
the pile’s behaviour in subsequent load tests. The
shear surfaces are discontinuous when the pile is
fast-jacked or driven; but continuous when slow-
jacked.
Negative pore pressures are generated at the
pile wall during installation.
The measured earth pressures depend not only
on the soil’s properties and in situ stresses, but
 EFFECTS OF INSTALLING DISPLACEMENT PILES IN HIGH OCR CLAY 361

alseand to a marked extent-n position rela- the soil’s mechanical behaviour is not over-
tive to the pile tip. simplified.
The zone of soil that is affected by pile install-
ation is narrower than expected.
Equalization of earth and pore water pressures APPENDIX 1. VARIATIONS IN p_‘/u,; with OCR
is rapid, but the pile’s load capacity shows no Consider an element of soil whose in situ void ratio
increase with time after installation, and appears and mean effective stress are e, and p,,’respectively (see
to fall slightly. Fig. 25). At the same void ratio on the critical state line
the mean effective stress is p,,‘; and on the &/virgin
The equalization process involves both swelling
consolidation line it is p,’ (i.e. Hvorslev’s ‘equivalent
and consolidation, and leaves the soil close to the pressure’). The largest mean effective stress that the soil
pile shaft in an overconsolidated condition prior has ever experienced is p,’ (its yield pressure on the
to pile loading. K,/virgin consolidation line).
The equilibrium radial effective stresses [orr’lc The relative magnitudes of p,,’ and uVY’(the soil’s ver-
are not related in any simple way to the original tical yield stress) can be determined from Fig. 25 by
undrained shear strength of the clay nor the orig- noting
inal horizontal stresses in the ground.
(P,‘/P,‘)-” = (P,‘/P,‘)-” = evW (3)
Finally, near the pile tip, [crr’lc approaches the
value predicted by cylindrical cavity expansion p,’ = (1 + 2K,)u,,‘/3 (4)
theory, but reduces systematically with increasing
pyr= (1 + 2K,“c)a,,‘/3 (5)
distance above the tip and approaches the orig-
inal horizontal effective stress in the ground oho’ aV,‘/a,,’ = OCR (6)
at about h/R = IO.
Although at first sight the experimental results K 0 = K 0“‘OCR” (7)
do not appear to fit into any coherent theory of (after Schmidt, 1966) and
pile behaviour, the observed physical processes
may be explained provided the two-dimensional p,,‘Jp,’= constant = C (8)
nature of pile installation is acknowledged and
where i, K, m, and 4 are material constants. Combining
these equations leads to

PCS’hY = C(OCR/3)(1 + 2K0”c)1+K’A/

(1 + 2K,“‘OCR”)“‘” (9)

For the London clay at Canons Park, values of

I = 0.921, K = 0.0894, K “’ = 1 - sin 4 = 0.617,
C = 0.671 and M = O-47 we,,” established from the
oedometer tests performed by Som (1968) and the suite
of K,-consolidated triaxial compression tests reported
by Jardine (1985). With these values, the relationship
between pcn’/ovr’ and OCR, based on equation (9), is as
I I 1 I I shown in Fig. 25.
P’o P’c. P. P’V
meP’
NOTATJON
O-6 undrained shear strength of clay
1 Range of OCRs in undrained strength ratio
diameter of pile
shear modulus
height above the pile tip
liquidity index [ = (w - +)/I,,]
coefficient of earth pressure at rest (= (T,,~‘/u,.‘)
K, for normally consolidated soil
length of nile
0 Data from tnaxial tests on
conU facior relating 4, to C,, (4, - uVO=
reconstituted London Clay
*, C,,)
OCR overconsolidation ratio
PT P’ mean total and mean effective stress, respec-
tively
PI, soil suction ( = - u)
Ph limit pressure from self-boring pressuremeter
Fig. 25. Relationship between pcs’/~ry‘ and OCR for test
London clay R pile radius
 BOND AND JARDINE

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