CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Introduction
All engineered structures resting on the earth, including fills, dams (both earth
and concrete), building, consist of two parts, the upper or superstructure, and the lower
or foundation. The foundation is the interfacing element between the superstructure
and the underlying soil or rock. In the case of earth fills or earth dams there is no clear
line of demarcation between the “superstructure” and the foundation.
There are two types of foundation:
(a) Shallow foundations and
(b) Deep foundations
Deep foundations are used when the required bearing capacity of shallow
foundations cannot be obtained. The most common types of deep foundations are
piles, piper and caissons. A deep foundation is generally much more expensive than a
shallow foundation. It should be adapted only when a shallow foundation is not
feasible. In some cause the soil is improved by various methods to make it suitable for
a shallow foundation.
Piles are structural members of timber, concrete, and steel, used to transmit
surface loads to lower levels in the soil mass. This load transfer may be by friction,
end bearing, or a combination, depending on whether the load is resisted by skin
resistance generated along the surface of the pile in the case of friction piles, or
whether the point rests on a stratum which is firm enough to carry the load in the case
of end-bearing piles. The pile system may also utilize both end-bearing and skin-
resistance components to carry the imposed load. In loose cohesion-less soil deposits
compaction piles may be driven to increase the density (unit weight) of the deposit.
Piles are commonly used for the following purposes;
(a)To carry the superstructure loads into or through a soil stratum. Both
vertical and lateral loads may be involved.
 4

(b)To resist uplift, or overturning, forces, such as for basement mats below the
water table or to support tower legs subjected to overturning from lateral loads
such wind. To compact loose, cohesion-less deposits through a combination of
pile volume displacement and driving vibrations. These piles may be later
pulled.
(c)To control settlements when spread footings or a mat is on a marginal soil
or is underlain by a highly compressible stratum.
(d)To stiffen the soil beneath machine foundations to control both amplitudes
of vibration and the natural frequency of the system.
(e)As an additional safety factor beneath bridge abutments and piers,
particularly if scour is a potential problem.
(f)In offshore construction to transmit loads above the water and into the
underlying soil. This case is one in which partially embedded pilling is
subjected to vertical (and bucking) as well as lateral loads.

Two types of pile are bearing piles and friction piles. When piles are
installed in a deep stratum of limited supporting ability and these piles develop
their carrying capacity by friction on the side of the pile, they are called friction
plies. When a pile pass through the poor material and its tip penetrates a small
distance into a stratum of good bearing capacity, it is called bearing pile. These
are no piles that transmit the load to surrounding soil by friction or by end
bearing. The distinction only serves to indicate either friction pile or bearing
pile. Many times, the load carrying capacity of piles results from a combination
of point resistance and skin friction. For example, a pile embedded in
homogeneous clay will mostly transfer the load by end bearing and can be
considered as end bearing pile.

2.2. Classification of Piles

Piles are classified according to their composition and method of installation.
There are Timber piles, Concrete piles and Steel piles (by composition) and Driven
piles, Driven cast –in-situ piles and Bored piles (method of installation)
 5

2.2.1. Timber Piles

Timber piles are made of tree trunks with the branches trimmed off and driven
with the small end down. Generally these may be suitable for good bearing stratum
is available at a relatively shallow depth. Transmission of load takes place by the
frictional resistance of ground and the pile surface. Economical for light structure.
Pile head is prevented by providing an iron ring of less than 25mm diameter than the
pile top. Generally there are limitations on the size of the tip and butt end as well as
on the misalignment that can be tolerated. The Chicago Building Code (1976,chap-
70) requires that the tip have a minimum diameter of 6 in and the butt 10 in if the pile
is under 25ft and have a 1ft butt if the pile is more than 25ft long. The alignment
requirement is that a straight line from the center of the butt to the center of the tip lie
within the pile shaft.
ASCE Manual 17 [reprinted ASCE (1959) but now out of print]
categorizes timber piles as follows:
Class A: To be used for heavy loads and large unsupported lengths. The
minimum butt diameter is 14 in.
Class B: For medium loads. Minimum butt diameter is 12 in to 13in.
Class C: Use below the permanent water table or for temporary
works. Minimum butt diameter is 12in.

2.2.2. Concrete Piles

Concrete piles are either precast or cast-in-place. Piles in this category are
formed in a central casting yard to the specified length, cured, and then shipped to the
construction site. If space is available and a sufficient quantity of piles needed, a
casting yard may be provided at the site to reduce transportation costs.

2.2.2.1. Precast piles

Precast piles may be made using ordinary reinforcement as in or they
may be prestressed as in. Precast piles using ordinary reinforcement are
designed to resist bending stresses during pickup and transport to the site and
bending moments from lateral loads and to provide sufficient resistance to
vertical loads and any tension forces developed during driving. The design
procedures can be found in any text on reinforced-concrete design. However
temporary stresses from handling and driving (tensile) may be used that are on
 6

the order of 50 percent larger than the allowable concrete design stresses. The
minimum pile reinforcement should be 1 percent.
Prestressed piles are formed by tensioning high-strength steel, f (ult) of 250
to270 ksi, prestressing cables to some value on the order of 0.5 to 0.7 fu, and casting
the concrete pile about the cables. When the concrete hardens, the prestress cables are
cut with the tension force in the cable now becoming a compressive stress in the
concrete pile as the steel attempts to return to its unstrectched length. Some creep and
other losses including loss due to axial shorting of the pile under compressive load
from the prestress force in the cables. These losses in the absence of refined
calculations may be taken as35000psi not including axial-shortening loss due to the
applied design loads. Final compressive concrete stresses due to prestressing are
usually on the order of 600 to 800 psi. The allowable design load Pa for prestresed
piles including effect of axial-prestress loss due to load can be computed as
Pa=Ag(0.33fc’-0.27fpe)
Where,
Ag=gross concrete area
f pe= effective prestress stress(take700psi usually)
Prestressed pile concrete is on the order of fc’=5000psi to 8000psi.Pickup
points should be placed so that the computed bending stress f b=Mc/I</fpe. Prestressing
the pile tends to reduce the pile weight, owing to the use of higher-strength concrete,
counteracts the tension pickup stresses, and reduces the effect of tension stresses
during driving.

2.2.2.2. Cast-in-place piles

A cast-in-place pile is formed by drilling a hole in the ground and filling it
with concrete. The hole may be drilled (as in caissons), or formed by driving a shell or
casing into the ground. The casing may be driven using a mandrel, after which
withdrawal of the mandrel empties the casing. The casing may also be driven with a
driving tip on the point, providing a shell that is ready for filling with concrete
immediately, or the casing may be driven open-end, the soil entrapped in the casing
being jetted1 out after the driving is completed. Various methods with slightly
different end results are available and patented.
Note that they are basically of three types: (1) shell or cased, (2) shell-less (uncased),
or (3) pedestal types.
 7

The allowable design load for all concrete piles (not prestressed) is
Pa = Ac fc + Asfs
Where,
Ac, As = area of concrete and steel shell, respectively
fc, fs = allowable material stresses

2.2.3. Steel Piles

These members are usually rolled HP shapes or pipe piles. Wide-
flange beams or I beams may also be used; however, the H shape is especially
proportioned to withstand the hard driving stress to which the pile may be subjected.
In the HP pile the flanges and web are of equal thickness; the standard W and I shapes
usually have a thinner web than flange. Pipe piles are either welded or seamless steel
pipes, which may be driven either open-end or closed-end. Closed-end pipe piles are
usually filled with concrete after driving. Open-end piles may be filled, but this is
often not necessary, because there will be a dense soil plug at some depth below the
top (and visible). Here it may only be necessary to jet out some of the upper soil plug
to the necessary depth for any reinforcing bars required for bending (and to pump out
the water used for jetting), before filling the remainder of the pile cavity with
concrete. Concrete in only this shaft depth may be necessary for dowel bars.

2.2.4. Driven Piles

Driven piles are deep foundation elements driven to a design depth or
resistance. If penetration of dense soil is required, predrilling may be required for the
pile penetrate to the design depth. Types include timber, precast, concrete, steel H-
pile, and pipe piles.

2.2.5. Driven Cast-in-situ Piles

Cast- in-situ piles are those piles which are cast in position inside the ground.
Since the cast-in-situ piles are not subjected to handling or driving stresses, it is not
necessary to reinforce the pile in ordinary cases or in places where the piles is
completely submerged in the soil.
 8

2.2.6. Bored Piles

Bored pile is another type of reinforced concrete pile, which is used to support
high building producing heavy vertical loads. Bored pile is a cast-in-place concrete
pile where the bored piles have to be cast on the construction site, while other
concrete piles like Spun pile and reinforced concrete square pile are precast concrete
piles. Drilled shift are cast by using bored piling machine which has specially
designed drilling tools, bucket and grads, used to remove the soil and rock.

2.3 Soil Properties for Pile Foundations

Soil properties required for pile foundation analysis consist in values
for the angle of internal friction and cohesion. A value of quake, or elastic
recovery from deformation, and damping constants are needed if the wave-
equation analysis is used. A value of lateral modulus of subgrade reaction is
needed for the laterally loaded pile analysis.
A pile surrounded by soil represents more of a triaxial than plane-strain
condition; therefore the best soil parameters would be obtained from triaxial
tests. Normally pile driving will develop excess pore pressures in the vicinity
of the pile, and to considerable distances away depending on the soil and the
degree of saturation,
owing to the rapidity of the driving and the resulting undrained stress condition. Piles
are not normally used to support loads immediately after driving; rather the building
loads are applied over a considerable period of time ranging from several months to
years. The soil around the pile which has been highly remolded during driving will
have regained considerable, all of, or more than the original undrained strength
depending on the relative effects of displacement, closing offissures in stiff clays,
consolidation, and densification due to volume changes. Under this condition drained
tests on remolded samples might be more appropriate.
All types of piles placed in predrilled holes may be subject to drained
conditions if one discounts any effects due to soil expansion into the hole and any
hole expansion caused by the pile material being placed under pressure. Some
question often exists of the effect of wetting the soil at the interface of the soil and
pile due to water in the concrete on the soil cohesion. The cement is likely to adhere
to many of the soil grains as in pouring a pavement thus any shear zone will be
 9

several millimeters away from the nominal pile dimension and in a zone which will
undergo fluctuating water contents normally.
Because of the complexity of predicting the changed soil conditions after
driving, to prepare laboratory test samples properly, most testing is done on
“undisturbed” initial-condition samples. Talking all these factors into consideration as
well as costs of laboratory testing, a common practice is to use unconfined-
compression (undrained, ∅=0) tests on all cohesive-type soils and penetration tests
(SPT) for cohesionless deposits. In some areas the Dutch-cone type of penetrometer
may be used instead of the standard penetration test.
The in situ pressure meter test may be used to advantages for estimating the
lateral stress-strain modulus for computing a lateral modulus of subgrade reaction. In
general the in situ soil-parameter tests will not be of particular benefit because the soil
properties will change after the pile is driven. These tests may be of considerable
value, however, for piles which are not driven.

2.4. Soil Capacity in Cohesive Soils

Static pile capacity computations are necessary to estimate the number of piles
for a job and the required pile lengths both for design of the sub-structure elements
and for ordering piles of the correct length from the supplier. For vibrator-driven
piles, the dynamic equations do not apply and the static equations must be used to
estimate pile load capacity.
Pu =Ppu +Pfu (2.1)
Where,
Pu = ultimate static pile capacity
Ppu = portion of ultimate pile capacity carried by the pile point in end bearing
Pfu=portion of ultimate pile capacity carried in skin resistance (or friction)
Differences in values obtained by the several authorities in the area of pile
foundation lie in the methods used to compute the point and skin resistances.
The allowable pile capacity is obtained as
Pa =P/F (2.2)
Where,
Pa = compatible with the pile material capacity and total loads and the safety
factor FS is generally taken from 2.5 to 4.0 because of the larger uncertainties in pile
design as compared with spread-footing or retaining-wall design.
 10

In general, ultimate point capacity is not developed until after the ultimate skin
resistance, and the ultimate skin resistance is not simultaneously developed along the
full pile shaft. It is academic to consider the timing of the ultimate –resistance
development, as the pile is going to behave as a unit to carry some load and question
of interest is the value of the load.

2.5. Soil Capacity on Cohesiveless Soil

Piles are frequently driven in cohesionless deposits, through loose,
cohesionless deposits to rock, or through a cohesive layer into a cohesionless layer for
the purpose of controlling settlements when the deposit is loose or may consolidate.
Generally cohesionless soils in the vicinity of the pile (three to five diameters) will
densify owing to driving vibrations or volume displacement.
The ultimate pile capacity in a cohesionless deposit can be computed the same
as for a cohesive deposit (Pu =Pp+ Ps) .The point bearing capacity can be computed
using Terzaghi bearing-capacity equations for round or square piles and using the
reduced bearing capacity factors for Nq to account for the fact that soil in the zone
near the pile tip will fail locally.

2.6. Point Bearing Piles

When the material surrounding a pile is soft or has very low friction or
adhesion resistance and the point is founded on firm material such as rock or dense
sand or gravel, the pile is often assumed to derive its total load resistance in end
bearing. This is based on the premise that the point would have to displace before skin
resistance could develop. Actually the point cannot displace until sufficient load
reaches it as the excess over skin resistance.
The bearing pressure of rock can be determined by unconfined or triaxial
testing of recovered rock cores. The bearing resistance is often based on coring rock
for determining rock quality (cracks, etc) and for other dense materials the SPT is
used and an estimate of bearing capacity is made based on experience.
From instrumented piles tests such as those of D’Appolonia and
Hribar(1963)and others which display the loss of pile load with depth due to skin
resistance, it can be safely assumed that no pile, in any except the poorest of soils, is
in reality a point-bearing pile. In one of the D’Appolonias tests using a step-taper pile
to bedrock in point bearing, the actual point load at two times the design load was
 11

only about 20 percent of the applied load. It follows from this that some skin in
resistance in nearly all pile foundation situations where “point bearing” piles are
contemplated. This may be by used of smaller pile cross section at lower depths or by
used of smaller cross sections throughout the pile length. Alternatively, more
extensive pile instrumentation should be used on the test piles, which are always used
to verify pile design on any but the smallest projects, to obtain the skin resistance
contribution and make design revisions based on the actual skin resistance developed.

2.7 Group Piles

Piles are commonly used in groups with a foundation slab or pile cap
cast over the pile heads to distributed the loads to the piles. Piles are driven
generally in groups in regular pattern to support the structural loads. The
structural load is applied to the pile cap that distributes the load to individual
piles. If piles are spaced sufficient distance apart, then the capacity of pile
group is the sum of the individual capacities of piles. However, if the spacing
between piles is too close, the zones of stress around the pile will overlap and
the ultimate load of the group is less than the sum of the individual pile
capacities specially in the case of friction piles, where the efficiency of pile
group is much less.
Group action of piles is evaluated by considering the piles to fail as a unit
around the perimeter of the group. Both end bearing and friction piles are considered
in evaluating the group capacity. End bearing pile is evaluated by considering the area
enclosed by the perimeter of piles as the area of footing located at a depth
corresponding to the elevation of pile tips. The friction component of pile support is
evaluated by considering the friction that can be mobilized around the perimeter of
the pile group over the length of piles.

2.7.1. Efficiency of Pile Group

(a) Spacing of piles
(b) Total number of piles in a row and number of rows in a group, and
(c) Characteristics of pile (material, diameter and length)
The reduction in total bearing value of group of piles is more in case of
friction piles, particularly in clayey soils. No reduction in grouping occurs in end
bearing piles. The pile groups which are resisting the load by combined action of
 12

friction and end bearing, only the load carrying capacity of friction is reduced. The
efficiency η g of the pile group can be calculated by using the following formula;
Qg( u)
η g= ×100 (2.3)
NQu
Thus, the pile group efficiency is equal to the ratio of the average load
per pile in the group at which the failure occurs to the ultimate load of a
comparable single pile.
Efficiency of a pile group can also be obtained by using Converse-Lebarre
formula;

θ
η g=1- ¿) (2.4)
90
Where,
m= number of rows
n= number of piles in arrow
d
θ=tan −1 ∈degrees
s
d=diameter of pile end
s=spacing of piles
Generally center to center spacing between piles in a group is kept between
piles in a group is kept between 2.5 d and 3.5d where d is the diameter of the pile.

2.7.2. Vertically Loaded Pile Group

When several piles are clustered, it is reasonable to expect that the soil
pressures produced from either side friction or point bearing in Fig-1. The
superimposed pressure intensity will depend on both the pile load and spacing,
and if sufficiently large the soil will fail in shear or the settlement will be
excessive. The stress intensity from overlapping stressed zones will obviously
decrease with increased pile spacing s; however, large spacing are often
impractical since a pile cap is cast over the pile group for the column base
and/or to spread the load to the several piles in the group.

.
 13

(b)
Figure-2.1.Typical pile group patterns (a) for isolated pile cap and
(b)for foundation walls

2.8. Piles Foundation for Vertical Static Loads

A pile under vertical load is shown in Figure (2.2). This load is shared
between the bearing at its tip and in shaft friction around its perimeter. If (Q u)ult is the
axial compressive ultimate load applied on the top of a pile, it is shared by the pile tip
(Qp) and by the frictional resistance (Q f) around the pile shaft. This can be represented
by the following relationship.
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(Qu)ult = Qf + Qp (2.5)
Where,
(Qu)ult = ultimate bearing capacity of pile
Qp = end- bearing capacity,
Qf = the frictional capacity along the pile perimeter.
The tip bearing capacity can be expressed as follows;
Qp = Ap [cNc + 1/2 γBNr+ γDfNq] (2.6)
Where,
Ap = pile end area,
c = cohesion of the underlying soil,
γ = unit weight of soil,
Nc, Nrand Nq = non dimensional bearing capacity parameters and are dependent on
the angle of internal friction of the soil,
B = the pile width or diameter and
Df = depth of pile tip below ground
The frictional capacity can be expressed as follows;
L= L
∑ f s ΔL
Qf = p L=O (2.7)
Where,
p = pile perimeter
fs = the unit shaft friction over a length Δ L
L = the pile length
Δ L= a small pile element
 15

Figure2.2. Basic Concept of Load Support by Pile Foundations

2.8.1. Bearing Capacity of a Single Pile

The ultimate axial compression load capacity is the sum of end - bearing
capacity and friction capacity.
Qu = Qp + Qf

2.8.1.1. End - bearing capacity (Qp)

For cohesive soils, the bearing capacity of piles is critical on a short - term
basis because clay strength will increase due to consolidation or strength regain of

disturbed soils in the long term. Therefore for piles in clay φ = 0 concept applies

for bearing capacity evaluation. Thus, undrained strength c = c u and φ = 0 and

bearing capacity factors Nr = 0 and Nq = 1 Equation 2.6 becomes;
Qp = Ap [ Cu Nc + ½ γBNrDf Nq] (2.8)
 16

When adjustment for pile weight is made the Equation (2.8) can be
approximated to the following.
Qp = Ap [ Cu Nc + γDf Nq] - γDfAp (2.9)
Since Nq = 1 for ф=0, then Equation (2.9) becomes:
Qp = Ap Cu Nc (3.6)
Where,
Qp = end bearing capacity of a pile
Ap = area of pile base
Cu = untrained shear strength of clay
Nc = bearing capacity factor
As shown in Table (2.1), Nc values increase as the depth to pile diameter ratio
increases until it reaches a value of 9 for Df/ B ¿ 4. For most pile foundations, the
depth to diameter ratio (Df/ B) is greater than 4; Nc = 9 may therefore be used for such
cases. Table (2.2) provides recommendations for Nc values for various drilled pile
base diameters. Nc value provided in Table (2.1) and (2.2) can therefore be used for
design purposes as applicable.

Table2.1. Values of Nc for Various Depth to Pile Diameter (Df/ B) Ratios.

Df/ B Nc
0 6.2
1 7.8
2 8.5
¿4 9

Source: Shamsher Prakash, (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)

Table2.2. Value of Nc for Various Pile Diameters

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Drilled Pile Base Diameter Nc

Less than 0.5m ( ¿ 1.5 ft ) 9

Between 0.5 to 1m( ¿ 1.5 to 3 ft ) 7
6
Greater than 1m ( ¿ 3 ft )
Source: Shamsher Prakash, (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)

2.8.1.2. Friction Capacity (Qf)

For cohesive soil, most of the resistance is derived from the skin friction. The
length of pile depends on the shear strength of the soil. For cohesive soils ( ф = 0) ,
unit friction fs can be written as follows.
fs = c +σ’h tan δ (2.10)
Where,
c = ca = adhesion between soil and pile
δ = 2/3ф = 0
fs = ca
Then Equation (3. 3) becomes
L = Le
∑
Qf = p L=o ca ΔL (2.11)
Ultimate bearing capacity ( Qu )ultfor a pile in cohesive soil can then be expressed
in the following form:
L = Le
∑
( Qu )ult = Ap cu Nc + p L=o ca ΔL (2.12)
Where,
Ap = pile point area
ca = the minimum untrained shear strength of clay at pile point level (i.e.
cohesion of the bearing stratum (c = cu = su = qu/2))
Nc = the bearing capacity factor
p = pile parameter
Le = effective pile length
ca = soil - pile adhesion (obtained from Table 2.3)
 18

Effective pile length is the length that is assumed to contribute to frictional

capacity of the pile. This may be different from actual pile embedment length (L)
because, for most piles, the upper part of the pile may not be in the close contact with
soil due to such factors, as disturbances caused by humans and machines and
softening and cracking caused by seasonal variations. For most situations, this may
vary from about 3ft to 5ft.
For drilled piles, in addition to the above seasonal depths, soil around the
shaft-bell neck gets disturbed due to a tendency for the soil to move down in that area.
This disturbed length is about two times the shaft diameter. Therefore, soil-pile
adhesion along this length should be neglected and effective pile length (Le) should be
calculated. Table (2.4) can be used to estimate effective pile length (L e) when L is the
total pile length.

Table2.3. Design Parameters for Side Friction for Drilled Piers in Cohesive Soils
Limit on
Side Resistance Design
ca/cu side Remarks
Category
shear - tsf
A Straight- sided shafts in
either
homogeneous or layered soil
with no soil of exceptional
stiffness below the base 0.6 2.0 (a) ca/cu may be
1. Shafts installed dry or by increased
the slurry displacement 0.3(a) 0.5(a) to 0.6 and shear
2. Shafts installed with increased to
drilling mud along some 2.0 tons per sq. ft. for
portion of the hole with segments drilled dry
B possible mud entrapment
Belled shafts in either homo-
generous or layered clays
with
no soil of exceptional 0.3 0.5
stiffness
below the base
 19

1. Shafts installed dry or by 0.15(b 0.3(b)

the slurry displacement )
methods (b) ca/cu may be
2. Shafts installed with increased to 0.3 and
C drilling mud along some 0 side shear increased to
portion of the hole with 0 0.5 tons per sq. ft. for
possible mud entrapment segments drilled dry
D Straight-sided shafts with 0
base 0
resting on soil significantly
stiffer than soil around stem
Belled shafts with base
resting
on soil significantly stiffer
than
soil around stem
Source: Shamsher Prakash, (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)

Table2.4. Effective Pile Length of Driven and Drilled Piles

Types of Piles Le
Driven and Straight shaft drilled L - (depth of seasonal variation)
Drilled and belled L- (depth of seasonal variation + 2 ¿
pile shaft diameter )

Source: Shamsher Prakash, (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)

2.8.2. Bearing Capacity of Pile Group

In general, the ultimate capacity of pile group in cohesive soil (QuG)ult is not
equal to the sum of the ultimate of single pile (Qu)ult.
For most practical purposes, the ultimate load of pile group (Q uG)ult, can be
estimated from the smaller of the values obtained by (a) group action and (b)
individual action.

2.8.2.1. Group action

 20

Block failure of pile group by breaking into the ground along an imaginary
perimeter and bearing at the base as shown in Figure (3.2). The ultimate capacity for
the group failure can be estimated from the following relationship.

(QuG)ult= cuNc( b̄ 2
) + 4 cu( b̄ ) Le (2.13)
Where,
b̄ = width of pile group

2.8.2.2. Individual Action

If there is no group action, the total load of pile group can take is (n)times the
load of the single pile.
(QuG)ult = n ¿ (Qu)ult (2.14)
If the piles are spaced closely enough, the load in group action is smaller than
that in individual action. The ratio of ultimate load capacity of the group to the total
individual capacity is defined as the pile group efficiency Ge.

Ge = (QuG)ult / [ n ¿ (Qu)ult] (2.15 a)

(QuG)ult= Ge ¿ n ¿ (Qu)ult (2.15 b)
The group efficiency (Ge) as given in Table (2.5) can be used. For practical design
estimates of pile group capacities in cohesive soils. (QuG)ult will be the lower of the
values estimated from (Equation 2.13 and 2.15 b).

Table2.5. Group Efficiency Values for Various Pile Spacing

Pile spacing 3B 4B 5B 6B 8B
Group Efficiency (Ge) 0.7 0.75 0.85 0.9 1.0
Source: Shamsher Prakash, (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)
 21

Figure2.3. Bearing Capacity of Pile Group in Cohesive Soil (a) plan (b) Section

2.8.3. Settlement of a Single Pile

The settlement of piles in cohesive soil primarily consists of the sum of the
following two components are short term settlement occurring as the load is applied
and long term consolidation settlement occurring gradually as the excess pore
pressures generated by loads are dissipated.
The following methods are recommended for estimating short term pile
settlement.
(1)Semiempirical method and
(2)Empirical method.
 22

2.8.3.1. Semiempirical Method

For design purposes, the settlement of a pile can be broken down into the
following three components (Vesic, 1997).
St = Ss + Sp + Sps (2.16)
Where,
St = total pile top settlement for a single pile
Ss = settlement due to axial deformation of a pile shaft
Sp = settlement of pile base caused by load transmitted at the base
Sps = settlement of pile caused by transmitted along the pile shaft.

The three components are determined separately and then are added together.
Ss = (Qpa + αsQfa) L / (Ap Ep) (2.17)
Where,
Qpa = actual base or point load transmitted to the pile base in working stress
range (force units)
Qfa = actual shaft friction load transmitted by the pile in the working stress
range (force units)
L = pile length
Ap = pile cross- sectional area
Ep = modulus of elasticity of the pile
αs = factor that depends on distribution of skin friction along the pile
shaft
Vesic (1997) recommended that αs = 0.5 for the uniform skin friction
distribution along the pile shaft.
Sp = CpQpa / (B qp) (2.18)
Sps = CsQfa / (Dfqp) (2.19)
Where,
Cp = empirical coefficient (typical values provided in Table 2.6)

Cs = [0.93 + 0.16 √ Df / B ] Cp
(2.20)
Qpa = net point load under working conditions or allowable
Qfa = pile shaft load under working conditions or allowable
qp = ultimate end- bearing capacity (force per area)
 23

B = pile diameter
Df = L = embedded pile length.

Table2.6. Typical Values of Coefficient Cp (Vesic, 1997)

Soil Type Driven Piles Bored Piles
Sand (dense to loose) 0.02-0.04 0.09-0.18
Clay (stiff to soft) 0.02-0.03 0.03-0.06
Silt (dense to loose) 0.03-0.03 0.09-0.12
Source: Shamsher Prakash, (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)

2.8.3.2. Empirical Method

The settlement of a displacement pile for working loads may be estimated by the
following relationship (vesic, 1970).
St = B/100 + (Qua L) / (Ap Ep) (2.21)
Where,
St = settlement of pile head, in
B = pile diameter, in
Qua = applied pile load, lb
Ap = area of cross- section of pile, in2
Ep = modulus of elasticity of pile material, lb/ in2

2.8.4. Settlement of Pile Group

The settlement of pile group (SG) is normally greater than the settlement of a
single pile (St) at equal load per pile because of the larger depth influence (De) of a
group as compared to that of a single pile (D'e) Shown in Figure (2.4).
 24

Figure2.4 Zone of Influences for a Pile Group and Single Pile.

Source: Shamsher Prakash, (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)

For design purposes, the simplest of these methods is recommended as follows.

SG = St √( b̄/ B ) (2.22)

Where,

SG = group settlement at load per pile equal to that of the single pile

St = settlement of a single pile estimated or determined from pile load test

b̄ = width of pile group (smaller dimension)

B = individual pile diameter.

 25

The estimation of long-term consolidation settlement of a pile groups in

cohesive soil is complex. Figure (2.4) shows a simple method that can be used for

settlement estimation of pile groups in cohesive soils.

Figure 2.5 Stress Distribution for Settlement Estimation for Friction Piles in Clay
Source: Shamsher Prakash, (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)

The approximate method is based on the following assumptions:

(a) The allowable soil pressure = qall = (QuG)all / ( b̄× l̄ ) , where b̄ and l̄ are
the
base dimensions of pile group at the tip.
(b) The pressure qall is transferred to (2/3) ¿ L depth below ground surface. These
 26

settlement of the soil above this depth is assumed to be small and therefore is
neglected.

(c) Then estimate the settlement as if a footing of dimensions b̄ ¿ l̄ with

pressure qallis placed at 2/3L depth below ground surface. The presence of pile
below this depth is disregarded.
(d) Once the pressure qall is applied on top of a clay layer of thickness (H - 2/3 L ),

then consolidation settlement, Δ H, can be calculated form the following

relationship :
'
Δ H = [ Cc / (1 + eo) ] [ H - 2/3L] ¿ log10 [ σ v + Δ σ 'v ) / σ 'v ] (2.23)
Where,
Δ H = consolidation settlement
'
σv =present effective (vertical) overburden
pressure at the middle of the layer (H - 2/3L), determined as shown in
Figure (3.4)

Δ σ 'v =increased pressure from pile load at the middle of the layer (H -
2/3L)
Cc = coefficient of consolidation
eo = initial void ratio of the soil.
Figure (2.4) explain these terms and the method of calculating consolidation
settlements. Figure (2.4) shows a pile group having b ¿ l size pile cap. There are 9

piles having b̄ x l̄ rectangular dimension at the base of the pile group. The piles
are of length L. The soil conditions assumed are clay to a depth H below ground
underline by rock.
If it is assumed that the load (QuG) all is transferred to 2/3L depth below
ground. The increased stress at this depth is then:

( Δ σ 'v ) z= 2/3L = (QuG)all / ( b̄ ¿ l̄ ) (2.24)

For stress distribution below level (xx), it is assumed that the pressure (or
stress) is distributed at 2v: 1H slope as shown in Figure (2.5). Based on this
assumption, the increased stress on plane yy at depth z = H can be obtained from the
following:
 27

( Δ σ 'v ) z = (QuG)all / ( b̄ = + H - 2/3L ) ( l̄ + H - 2/3L) (2.25)

The increased stress at any intermediate level between xx and yy can then be
obtained by interpolation.
The consolidation settlement ( Δ H)of this pile group due to an applied load
of (QuG )a = (QuG )all can then be estimated by using Equation (2.23). In this Equation σv'

is the present effective vertical pressure, Δ σv' is obtained by using equations (2.24)
and (2.25), Cc and eo are laboratory - determined soil parameters and H is the thickness
of the clay stratum.
Equation (2.23) is used when the clays are normally consolidated. For over
consolidated clays, the settlement calculation requires that the settlement be divided
into two components as follows:

H = Δ H1 + Δ H2 (2.26)
Where,
Δ H1 = settlement due to applied load in the
recompression zone
Δ H2 = settlement due to applied load in the
virgin curve zone

Thus, Δ H1 and Δ H2 can be estimated from the following :

Δ H1 = [ Cr / (1+eo) ] [ H - (2/3)L ] log10 [ Pc / σv' ] (2.27)
σ v '+ Δσ v '
Δ H2 = [ Cc / 1+eo) ] [ H - (2/3)L ] log10 ( Pc ' ) (2.28)
Where,
Cr = the recompression index
Cs = the compression index
Pc = preconsolidation pressure
Pc' = effective pre-consolidations pressure
For highly over-consolidated clays, long terms consolidation settlement does
not occur. Therefore, only short term settlement is calculated. This is because their P c

is very high and additional pressure due to Δ σv' will not result in consolidation.
 28

When the soils are under consolidated, they settle due to their own weight and result
in imposing downward loads along the pile shaft.

The preconsolidation pressure

P̄c is the maximum effective stress to which
the material in situ has been consolidated by a previous loading. If the existing
'
effective overburden pressure, σ vo , is larger than
P̄c then the soil is called under

'
consolidated, if σ vo =
P̄c then the soil is called normally consolidated, and if

'
σ vo is less than
P̄c then the soil is called overconsolidated. The ration ( P̄c /

'
σ vo ) is called the over consolidation ration (OCR). If OCR is between1 to 4, then

the soils are called lightly overconsolidated while if the ration is greater than, 4, they
are called heavily overconsolidated. The preconsolidation pressure can be obtained
from consolidation test or can be approximated from Figure (2.6).

Figure2.6 Preconsolidation Pressure Versus Liquidity Index

Source: Shamsher Prakash (Pile Foundation in Engineering Practice)