3.10.1.

19 Group piles and group capacity of driven precast piles

All piles shall be braced to provide lateral stability in all directions. Three or more
piles connected by a rigid cap shall be considered as being braced (stable), provided
that the piles are located in a radial direction from the centroid of the group, not less
than 60o apart circumferentially. A two pile group in a rigid cap shall be considered
to be braced along the axis connecting the two piles. Piles supporting walls shall be
driven alternately in lines at least 300 mm apart and located symmetrically under the
centre of gravity of the wall load, unless effective measures are taken to cater for
eccentricity and lateral forces, or the wall piles are adequately braced to provide
lateral stability. Individual piles are considered stable if the pile tops are laterally
braced in two directions by construction, such as a structural floor slab, grade beams,
struts, or walls.
Group pile capacity of driven piles should be determined as the product of the group
efficiency, number of piles in the group and the capacity of a single pile. In general, a
group efficiency value of 1.0 should be used except for friction piles driven in
cohesive soils. The minimum center-to-center pile spacing of 2.5B is recommended.
The nominal dimensions and length of all the piles in a group should be similar.
3.10.1.20 Pile caps
Pile caps shall be of reinforced concrete. The soil immediately below the pile cap
shall not be considered as carrying any vertical load. The tops of all piles shall be
embedded not less than 75 mm into pile caps and the cap shall extend at least 100
mm beyond the edge of all piles. The tops of all piles shall be cut back to sound
material before capping. The pile cap shall be rigid enough, so that the imposed load
can be distributed on the piles in a group equitably. The cap shall generally be cast
over a 75 mm thick levelling course of concrete. The clear cover for the main
reinforcement in the cap slab under such condition shall not be less than 50 mm.
BNBC 2020 Part VI Chapter 3
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3.10.1.21 Lateral load capacity on driven precast piles
Lateral capacity of vertical single piles shall be the least of the values calculated on
the basis of soil failure, structural capacity of the pile and deflection of the pile head.
In the analysis, pile head conditions (fixed-head or free-head) should be considered.
For estimating the depth of fixity, established method of analysis shall be used. The
main reinforcement of pile foundation is usually governed by the lateral load
capacity and vice versa. Deflection calculations require horizontal subgrade modulus
of the surrounding soil. When considering lateral load on piles, the effect of other
coexistent loads, including axial load on the pile, shall be taken into consideration for
checking structural capacity of the rerereterwtwrtfwershaft.