PILES IN SOFT CLAY – FIELD

EXPERIENCES

Presented by
Dr. K. Muthukkumaran
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
National Institute of Technology,
Tiruchirappalli
&
Chairman, IGS Trichy Chapter
 CASE STUDY

INSTRUMENTATION IN
PILE FOUNDATION PERFORMANCE
MONITORING UNDER SEVERE LOAD

TAMILNADU CIVIL SUPPLIES CORPORATION

KOVILPATHU
NAGAPPATINAM DISTRICT, TN, INDIA
 PROJECT SITE DESCRIPTION
• Construction of large size grain storage godown for
Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC)

• Located in the Kovilpathu village of Nagapattinam

district, Tamil Nadu

• Situated in the cyclone prone zone and about 2.5

km from the coastal line of Bay of Bengal

• Ground surface is plain and water logged during

the rainy seasons.

• Water table available at a shallow depths of 1m to

2m.
 PROJECT SITE DESCRIPTION
Construction in phase-I with 26 Hectares (100,000 MT
capacity) and phase-II with 43.07 Hectares
Details of phase-I construction
Project Finance: NABARD
Project Cost: 151.94 Crores
Name of the Plan size (m) Capacity Number Total
Structure (MT) Capacity
(MT)

Hi-Tech Godown 340 x 50 25000 1 25000

Godown 117 x 30 5000 15 75000

100000
SITE LOCATION
 PROJECT SITE DESCRIPTION (Contd.)
• Construction in phase-I with 26 hectares (100,000 MT
capacity) and phase-II with 43.07 hectares.

• Details of phase-I construction

Name of the Plan size Capacity Numbe Total
Structure (m) (MT) r Capacity
(MT)
Hi-Tech
340 x 50 25000 1 25000
Godown
Godown 117 x 30 5000 15 75000
100000
SITE PLAN
GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION
1. Field investigations
 Standard Penetration Test (SPT) - IS 2131 : 1981

 Static Cone Penetration Test (SCPT) - IS 4968 (Part 3):1976

 Field Vane Shear Test (VST) - IS 4434 : 1978

2. Laboratory investigation on representative soil samples

 Specific gravity test - IS : 2720 (Part 3/Set I)-1980

 Gradation analysis - IS : 2720 (Part 4)-1985

 Atterberg’s Limits test - IS : 2720 (Part 5)-l985

 Consolidation test - IS : 2720 (Part 15)-1986

 GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)
Summary of field investigation program
Field Investigation Pile load test
Stage of Vertical
Zone
construction SPT SCPT VST compression pile Lateral pile load test
load test
450mm & 600mm
I (HTG) 09 Boreholes 1 Point 1 Point -
dia test piles
Before earth
450mm & 600mm
filling (Initial) II (G1 to G7) 07 Boreholes 1 Point 1 Point -
dia test piles
II (G8 to G15) 07 Boreholes 1 Point 1 Point - -

1 Year after I 1 Borehole 1 Point 1 Point 600mm dia pile -

earth filling II 1 Borehole 1 Point 1 Point - 600mm dia pile

1.5 Years after I 1 Borehole 1 Point 1 Point 600mm dia pile -

earth filling II 1 Borehole 1 Point 1 Point - 600mm dia pile

600mm dia test

2 Years after I 1 Borehole 1 Point 1 Point -
pile
earth filling
II 1 Borehole 1 Point 1 Point - 600mm dia test pile
 GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)
Standard Penetration Test
SPT as per IS 2131 : 1981
Split spoon sampler as per IS 9640 : 1980
 GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)
Static Cone Penetration Test
The static cone penetration test was performed as per
IS 4968 (Part 3) : 1976
GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)
Static Cone Penetration Test (Contd..)
GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)
Field vane shear test


GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)

Field vane shear test (Contd..)

 GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)
Summary of Lab test results
Coefficient
Percentage of passing Atterberg limits I.S. Soil
Depth Water Voids ratio Compressio of
classificatio
(m) content (%) eo n index Cc consolidatio
4.75 (mm) 425 (µ) 75 (µ) LL (%) PI (%) n
n Cv
Zone - 1
1-3 34 0.91 100 100 97 40 20 CI 0.29 5.04 x 10 -4
3-6 31 0.83 100 95 89 36 16 CI 0.23 5.17 x 10 -4
6-9 37 0.98 100 100 96 51 18 MH 0.38 6.21 x 10 -4
9 - 12 26 0.69 88 77 52 34 12 CL
12 - 15 17 0.45 98 92 46 22 7 SC
15 - 18 99 79 41 SC
18 - 21 98 86 39 SC
Zone - 2
1-3 47 1.22 88 80 66 56 28 CH 0.41 4.63 x 10 -4
3-8 41 1.08 95 87 71 53 26 CH 0.37 4.34 x 10 -4
8- 13 29 0.76 93 72 63 50 23 CH
13 - 16 14 90 65 37 24 4 SC
16 - 20 94 69 41 SC
Zone - 3
1-7 32 0.85 97 94 73 39 20 CI 0.28 4.72 x 10 -4
7 - 11 30 0.79 97 88 68 48 15 MI 0.33 5.36 x 10 -4
11 - 16 93 81 53 33 13 CI
16 - 18 14 78 64 45 35 12 SC
18 - 20 84 69 33 SC
GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)

Idealized Soil Stratigraphy Diagram for Zone-I

GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION (Contd..)

Idealized Soil Stratigraphy Diagram for Zone-II

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF PILE
 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF PILE
LOAD CAPACITY OF PILE UNDER VERTICAL AXIAL LOAD
Pile was designed as per IS: 2911 (Part 1/Sec 2) – 2010
Load capacity of pile under vertical axial load (Contd..)
 LOAD CAPACITY OF PILE UNDER LATERAL LOAD
Pile was designed as per IS: 2911 (Part 1/Sec 2) – 2010

1. Stiffness factor for normally consolidated clays (T)

 Load capacity of pile under lateral load (Contd..)
2. Prediction of pile behaviour

3. Depth of fixity Zf (free head file)

 Load capacity of pile under lateral load (Contd..)
4. Lateral load (H) for fixed deflection (or)
Pile head deflection (y) for a fixed lateral load (H)
 Generalized soil design parameters
(Fine-grained Soils)
Granular Soils (SC)
(ML/ML/MH/CL/CI/CH)

Soil Parameters
Very Medium Stiff to very Very stiff to
Medium Dense
Dense stiff to Stiff stiff Hard
Dense
Cohesion (kN/m2) -- -- -- 40-80 80-150 150-200
Angle of Internal Friction (Deg) 33 35 38 - - --
Bulk Unit Weight (kN/m3) 18 19 21 14 16 18
Submerged Unit Weight (kN/m3) 9 10 11 6 8 9
Earth ressure Coefficient
- Active 0.29 0.27 0.24 - - --
- Passive 3.39 3.69 4.20 - - --
- At Rest 0.45 0.43 0.38 - - --
Coefficient of Permeability
10-2 to 10-4 10-5 to 10-8
(cm/sec)
Coefficient of Friction
0.30 0.35 0.40 - 0.2 0.40
between soil and concrete
Static Modulus of Elasticity
- 30,000
(kN/m2) 18,000 30,000 60,000 35,000
Poisson’s Ratio 0.27 0.30 0.33 - 0.3 0.4

(Peck et al. 1974)

 CONSTRUCTION OF PILES

Type of pile : Bored cast in-situ

Length of pile : 16m depth from NGL

Concrete : M30 grade

Steel : Fe415 grade

 CONSTRUCTION OF PILES (Contd..)

Drilling of Bore hole

Bentonite mixing pit

CONSTRUCTION OF PILES (Contd..)

Installation of pile reinforcement

CONSTRUCTION OF PILES (Contd..)
Installation of pile reinforcement (contd..)
CONSTRUCTION OF PILES (Contd..)

Welding the lapping distance & inspection

CONSTRUCTION OF PILES (Contd..)

Concreting – Tremie pipe

 PILE INSTRUMENTATION
STRAIN GAUGE
(for Vertical pile load test)
Vibrating Wire Strain Gauges are designed to be welded to or embedded
in various structures for monitoring strain

The advantages of vibrating wire strain gauges are that

The frequency output is immune to electrical noise,

able to tolerate wet wiring common to geotechnical applications

capable of signal transmission of several kilometers without loss of

signal.

A Readout unit can be used to read the vibrating wire strain gauges
 PILE INSTRUMENTATION (Contd..)
Strain gauge fixing
PILE INSTRUMENTATION (Contd..)

Strain Gauge at
(Left & Right)
-3m
-6m
-9m
-12m
-15m depths
 PILE INSTRUMENTATION (Contd..)
INCLINOMETER
(for Lateral pile load test)
 Digital inclinometer system is used to measure lateral movement and
deformation of earth works or a structure.
 It provides magnitude of inclination or tilt and its variation with time in
structures like retaining/diaphragm walls, piles etc.
 The digital inclinometer system consists of a traversing type digital tilt
sensing probe that is connected to a reel unit kept at borehole top.
 The reel unit consists of a winding reel that holds the cable and a
wireless Bluetooth relay unit that sends the digital probe data to the
mobile phone.
 Inclinometer system, provides significant quantitative data on
magnitude of settlement/heave of foundations and its variation with
time.
 It also provides the pattern of deformation, zones of potential danger and
the effectiveness of construction control measures undertaken.
PILE INSTRUMENTATION (Contd..)
Inclinometer casing pipe installation
PILE INSTRUMENTATION (Contd..)
Inclinometer initial reading
Effect of drilling and concreting adjacent to
existing pile
 Instrumented Test pile (TP1)

Group pile - 4 No’s

Instrumented Test pile (TP1)

Godown -G7

1 3
 Instrumented Test pile (TP2)

Group pile - 4 No’s

2 1

Godown –G11

Instrumented Test pile (TP2)

 New borehole drilling
adjacent to freshly concreted
pile
 Erection of reinforcement casing

• Moving of crane & heavy

machines near to borehole
• Drilling of new hole
adjacent to freshly
concreted pile
 Deflection of pile before concreting
Deflection (m) Deflection (m)
-0.004 -0.002 0 0.002 -0.002 0 0.002 0.004 0.006
0 0

-2 -2

-4 -4

-6 -6
Depth (m)

Depth (m)
-8 -8

-10 -10

-12 -12

-14 -14

-16
-16

-18 TP 1 TP 2
-18
 Deflection of pile after concreting
Deflection (m) Deflection (m)
-0.001 0 0.001 0.002 0.003 -0.01 -0.005 0
0 0

-2 -2

-4 -4

-6 -6

Depth (m)
Depth (m)

-8 -8

-10 -10

-12 -12

-14 -14

-16 -16

TP 1 TP 2
-18
-18
 Deflection of pile after 1 week (TP1)
-0.004 -0.002 0 0.002 0.004 Deflection (m)
0

-2

-4

-6

Before Concrete
Depth (m)

-8
After Concrete
-10 13.08.2015

-12

-14

-16

-18
 Deflection of pile after 1 week (TP2)
Deflection (m)
-0.01 -0.005 0 0.005 0.01
0

-2

-4

-6
Before Concrete
After Concrete
Depth (m)

-8
13.08.2015
-10

-12

-14

-16

-18
 PILE LOAD TEST STUDY

VERTICAL PILE LOAD TEST

Load tests conducted as per the guidelines of
IS: 2911 (Part 4) – 2013

Initial vertical load test

 Maintained load method using kentledge and hydraulic jack arrangements
 A series of vertical compressional load with each increment of nearly 20% of
expected safe load on pile
 Settlement measured using 4 dial gauges fixed at pile top
 The safe load on single pile from the initial load test was obtained as the
least of the following conditions
(i) two-thirds of the final load at corresponding to the total settlement of
12mm and
(ii) one-half of the final load at which the total settlement reaches 10% of
diameter of pile.
 LATERAL PILE LOAD TEST

Load tests conducted as per the guidelines of

IS: 2911 (Part 4) – 1985 (reaffirmed 2010)

Initial lateral load test

 staged application of lateral loads using hydraulic jack arrangement fixed
against the reaction (four) pile group.

 The lateral deflection of the pile at the cut off level was observed using a
dial gauge fixed diametrically opposite to the loading point

 From the load-deflection curve, the safe lateral load was taken as least of
the following
(i) one-half of the final load at which total deflection approaches to 12mm
(ii) final load at which total deflection reaches 5mm.
 INITIAL LOAD TEST PROGRAM

PILE DESCRIPTION

 Pile design as per IS: 2911 (Part 1/Sec 2) – 2010

 Type of pile : Bored cast in-situ
 Length of pile : 16m
 Pile diameter : 450mm
 Design capacity of piles :
Vertical load: 620kN and Lateral load: 65kN
 Concrete : M30 grade
 Steel : Fe415 grade
 INITIAL LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
Initial vertical load test Initial lateral load test
 INITIAL LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
Vertical load test result

Lateral load test result

 INITIAL LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
OBSERVATION
 vertical and lateral safe load capacity of single pile was 612kN
and 51kN respectively. (Designed capacity 620kN & 65kN)

 The safe vertical load on pile was found to be marginally lesser

than that of designed.

 But the excessive deflection of pile under the applied lateral loads
caused a considerable reduction in the safe lateral load capacity.

 Later it was found that the failure of pile load tests were caused
by the inadequate pile capacity and the poor reaction offered by
the very soft clayey deposit at the top few meter length of the pile.
 DETAILED LOAD TEST PROGRAM

REVISED PILE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

 Pile design as per IS: 2911 (Part 1/Sec 2) – 2010

 Type of pile : Bored cast in-situ
 Length of pile : 16m
 Pile diameter : 600mm
 Design capacity of piles :
Vertical load: 1270kN and Lateral load: 115kN
 Concrete : M30 grade
 Steel : Fe415 grade
 DETAILED LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
SITE DEVELOPMENT

 The borrowed soil materials were filled up from the natural

ground/ pile cut off level to the formation/ basement level at
the site (2.5m to 3.0m fill)

 The improvements in the subsoil condition were assessed by

a series of field investigations at fixed interval of time after soil
filling
DETAILED LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
INITIAL SITE CONDITION
DETAILED LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
DURING SITE DEVELOPMENT
DETAILED LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
AFTER SITE DEVELOPMENT
 DETAILED LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)

PILE LOAD TEST

 Based on the results of geotechnical investigation at different locations
 zone-I for vertical compression load test on pile
 zone-II for lateral load test on pile

 The improvement in pile load capacities were assessed by a series of pile

load test performed at fixed time periods such as before soil filling (initial),
12 months and every six months subsequently.

 Two test piles at zone-I – vibrating wire strain gauges – vertical load test

 Two test piles along with reaction pile group at zone-II - inclinometer
casing pipe – lateral load test
 DETAILED LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
INSTRUMENTED VERTICAL PILE LOAD TEST
Vertical Pile load test were conducted as per IS 2911 Part-4 :
1985 (reaffirmed 2010)
 DETAILED LOAD TEST PROGRAM (Contd.)
LATERAL PILE LOAD TEST
Lateral Pile load test were conducted as per IS 2911 Part-4
: 1985(reaffirmed 2010)
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Effect of consolidation induced by site development process on

 In-situ soil properties
 Vertical load capacity of piles
 Lateral load capacity of piles

Assessed from
 Geotechnical investigation results
 Vertical pile load test results
 Lateral pile load test results
 Observations form Instrumentation data
 EFFECTS ON SOIL PROPERTIES

Reassessment of soil profile

Standard Penetration test
 EFFECTS ON SOIL PROPERTIES (Contd.)

Reassessment of soil profile

Static Cone Penetration Test
 EFFECTS ON SOIL PROPERTIES (Contd.)

Reassessment of soil profile - Vane shear test

zone-I zone-II
 EFFECTS ON SOIL PROPERTIES (Contd.)
Reassessment of soil profile
 The undrained shear strength of clay after 1 year of soil filling was found to
be 1.62 times higher than that of initial at 1m depth.

 The percentage of undrained shear strength improvement was observed

to be reduced with respect to depth and time after 1 year.

 Also the improvement in strength was significant only upto a period of 18

months and to a depth of 4m to 5m.

 The observed improvement in the undrained shear strength from 18

months to 24 months was found to be insignificant or negligible

 Hence it is concluded that the applied overburden pressure has no impact

on the further consolidation and strength improvement of clay after 2
years.
 EFFECTS ON VERTICAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY

VERTICAL PILE LOAD TEST RESULTS (zone-I)

 EFFECTS ON VERTICAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY (Contd.)

VERTICAL PILE LOAD TEST RESULTS (zone-I)

 EFFECTS ON VERTICAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY (Contd.)

VERTICAL PILE LOAD TEST RESULTS (zone-I)

 The consistency and shear strength improvement of clayey soil has

certainly increased the vertical load capacity to some extent.

 The site development by means of earth filling has influenced the

consolidation significantly upto 1m or 2m depth and then a certain
level upto 4m or 5m.

 The actual load capacity of pile in compression is slightly higher than

that of the predicted due to mere values of idealized soil and pile
design parameters.

 The vertical load capacity of pile after 2 years of earth filling was
found to be 20% higher than that of the initial predicted value.
 EFFECTS ON VERTICAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY (Contd.)
Instrumented vertical pile load test results (zone-I)
0.0 m Ground level

Very soft Low compressible Clay (CL)

5.0 m

Very soft High compressible Clay (CH)

8.0 m
Pile

Stiff to Hard Low compressible Clay (CL)

15.0 m

Very dense Clayey Sand (SC)

16.0 m

21.0 m Typical strain distribution diagram for

each load increment
 EFFECTS ON VERTICAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY (Contd.)

Instrumented vertical pile load test results (zone-I)

0.0 m Ground level

Very soft Low compressible Clay (CL)

5.0 m

Very soft High compressible Clay (CH)

8.0 m
Pile

Stiff to Hard Low compressible Clay (CL)

15.0 m

Very dense Clayey Sand (SC)

16.0 m

21.0 m
Typical axial load distribution curve for each layer
EFFECTS ON VERTICAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY (Contd.)

Normalized load vs depth from axial load test on pile

after 1 year of filling at zone-I
EFFECTS ON VERTICAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY (Contd.)

Normalized load vs depth from axial load test on pile

after 2 year of filling at zone-I
 EFFECTS ON LATERAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY
LATERAL PILE LOAD TEST RESULTS (zone-II)
 EFFECTS ON LATERAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY (Contd.)

LATERAL PILE LOAD TEST RESULTS (zone-II)

Design capacity
 EFFECTS ON LATERAL PILE LOAD CAPACITY (Contd.)

LATERAL PILE LOAD TEST RESULTS (zone-II)

 lateral load capacity of pile has significantly increased

with respect to time until 2 years

 The improvement in the shear strength and the SPT N

value of soil within the depth of fixity of the pile enhanced
the lateral load capacity of pile.

 From the figure it is observed that the safe lateral load on

pile from load test was initially 6% lesser than that of
predicted but the same was 62% higher than the initial
predicted value after 2 years of earth filling.
SITE AFTER CONSTRUCTION
 SITE AFFECTED BY GAJA CYCLONE
GAJA Cyclone was entering
at Vellapallam (1/2 Km from
Kovilpathu i.e. Godown area
on 15.11.2018)
At the time of landfall of the
cyclone, heavy winds of about
175–180 km/h speed were
experienced.

Assessed damage value : 70 Crores

(5000 MT godown 15Nos. x 43.0Cr)
(25000 MT godown 1 No. x 27.0Cr)
SITE AFTER GAJA CYCLONE
Damages to Godowns
Damages to Boundary walls and roofing sheets
Lateral Deflection Profile of Pile before after GAJA Cyclone
Lateral Deflection (mm)
-5 0 5 10 15
0

-2

-4

-6
Initial
-8
190kN Load applied
Depth (m)

-10 After unloading

-12 After cyclone

-14

-16

-18
 SUMMARY OF FINDINDS
 The design of vertical and lateral pile capacities were significantly
influenced by the adoption of precise values of soil properties assessed
from various field geotechnical investigations.

 For the larger construction projects, the variation of soil strata within the
site boundary, duration of construction and site development process
shall be taken into account during the design of foundation system

 The problem associated with the existence of very soft clayey soil layer
shall be eliminated by incorporating effective and compatible design of
suitable ground improvement along with the design of foundation system

 It is necessary to conduct an adequate number of load tests on piles as

per IS codal provisions depending upon the size and type of
superstructure, the importance of project and variation of subsoil profile
at the site. So that the results of field tests may be used to verify the
accuracy of design and to initiate the redesign process if necessary.
 SUMMARY OF FINDINDS (Contd..)
 In the present study, the formation of 2.5m to 3m high earth fill as a site
development process induced the consolidation process of clayey soil
for a maximum depth of 5m for a period of 2 years. This increased the
undrained shear strength and relative consistency of clayey soil and the
same was witnessed from the results of SPT, SCPT and Vane shear test
conducted at a fixed interval of time.

 The load capacity of the pile was found to be increasing with respect to
time after the earth filling up to a maximum period of 2 years where the
top 2m to 3m clayey soil reaches the maximum degree of consolidation.

 The vertical safe load capacity of 600mm diameter pile after 2 years of
consolidation due to 2.5m to 3m earth filling was found to be 15% higher
than that of the initial measured value.

 Also, the lateral load capacity of the single pile was 70% higher than that
of the initial measured value.
 SUMMARY OF FINDINDS (Contd..)
 The ratio between the measured capacity and the predicted capacity
based on actual soil properties was found to vary from 1.05 to 1.2 for
vertical loaded pile.
 For laterally loaded pile, the ratio was found to vary between 0.86 and
0.94. In both the cases, the pile capacity was adequate when compared
to the initial required design capacity.
 Thus at the end of the construction period of 2.0 years, the load capacity
of a single pile was increased when compared to design capacity based
on initial geotechnical investigations. The chances of negative skin
friction were highly reduced as the soil reached maximum degree of
consolidation and subsequently the consistency of the clay was
increased.
 It is clear from the normalized load distribution curve that the down-drag
exist on the consolidating soil layer approaches to zero and offers the
positive shaft resistance once the degree of consolidation reaches
maximum. For the present case study, down-drag becomes null after two
years of filling,
 Acknowledgement
Dr. K. Baskar, Profrssor, Department of Civil Engineering, NIT
Trichy
Er. Kannan, CE, TNCSC, Chennai
Er. Gunaseelan, EE, TNCSC, Chennai

My research team:
Dr. Prakash
Mr. Sivaraman
Mr. Keethi Raj
Mr. Vinoth
88 Mr. Karthi
 Soft clay is like a BABY –You need to
spend more time to understand the
language of the baby

A good geotechnical engineer should

have the ability to TALK TO THE SOIL
before working with them
By
KMK
89
90