DRIVEABILITY ANALYSIS (Page 1 of 10)

1.0 STEPS INVOLVED

1.1 Before starting the pile driveability, preliminary pile drawings (either
inplace analysis or from bid drawings) must be available.

1.2 Driveability study should be carried out for the following cases as
minimum

 for target penetration

 at discrete penetration (at depth of specific interest / potential hard
layers / different add-on sections)

1.3 Steps involved

 Pile design from inplace analysis

 Evaluation of soil resistance to driving (SRD) with pile depth (from
soil report)
 Self weight penetration
 Pile make-up and addon sequence
 Preparation of input file for GRLWEAP
 Execution of GRLWEAP and analysis

1.3.1 Pile design inplace analysis

Pile target penetration and the pile wall thickness from jacket top to pile
tip shall be based on the inplace analysis results (see Fig.1 for typical
pile drawing).

1.3.2 Minimum wall thickness

For piles that are to be installed by driving where sustained hard

driving(250 blows per foot with the largest hammer to be used) is
anticipated, the minimum piling wall thickness used should not be less
than
T = 6.35 + D / 100
where t = wall thickness in mm
D = Diameter in mm

1.3.3 Soil resistance to driving (SRD)

- Soil resistance to driving shall be evaluated on similar lines

with axial pile capacity except for the unit soil parameters.
- Unit soil parameters are to be based on soil report /
consultants recommendation and design criteria. Should
there be any ambiguity between the two, rational approach
shall be used.
- The expected SRD at a given depth is least of plugged and
unplugged resistance. A plot of expected SRD v/s depth
 shall be prepared (Refer Fig. 2 for typical plot)

DRIVEABILITY ANALYSIS (Page 2 of 10)

1.3.4 Self weight penetration

- Water depth, installation contractors lifting capacity, pile

handling stresses and soil conditions will decide the pile P1
and P2 lengths.

- Generally the bid specifies the hammer energy, output

efficiency, cushion properties. Installation contractor has to
mobilise the hammer equivalent to the bid specified as
minimum.

- Choose among the hammer's mobilised the initial driving

hammer. Hammer with the lowest weight is generally the
initial driving hammer.

- Find the weight of :

(a) P1 + P2
(b) P1 + P2 + hammer

- Find the depth D1 and D2 where,

i. SRD = P1 + P2 for D1
ii. SRD = P1 + P2 + Hammer for D2

D1 and D2 give lower bound estimate of the

expected self weight penetration with and without
hammer.

- Find the depth D1A and D2A where,

i. S SRD x Z = S (P1+P2) x Z for D1A

Where, Z is soil layer depth

ii. S SRD x Z = S (P1+P2+Hammer) x Z for D2A

D1A and D2A give upper bound estimate of the

expected self weight penetration with and without
hammer.
 DRIVEABILITY ANALYSIS (Page 3 of 10)

1.3.5 Pile makeup and add on sequence guidelines

i. Pile driving should not be stopped in sand for pile addons

ii. Pile lengths shall be based on stickup lengths with hammer
[ The sum of the stresses due to impact of the hammer (the
dynamic stresses) and the stresses due to axial load and
bending (static stresses due to placing of hammer+accessories)
should not exceed the minimum yield stress of the steel ]
Also to note that dynamic stresses should not exceed 80 to 90%
of yield stress. One-third increase in stress should not be
allowed.
iii. Pile makeup should be such that same thickness material shall
be available at the welding of addon. Also minimum 3m length of
same thickness of add-on shall be available in the driven pile.

1.3.6 Underdrive, Overdrive and cutoff allowance

Underdrive : With piles having thickened sections at the mudline,

consideration should be given to providing an extra length of heavy
wall material in the vicinity of the mudline so the pile will not be
overstressed at this point if the design penetration is not reached. The
amount of underdrive allowance to be provided in the design shall
depend upon the degree of uncertainty regarding the penetration that
can be obtained.

Overdrive : In some instances an overdrive allowance should be

provided in a similar manner in the event an expected bearing stratum
is not encountered at the anticipated depth.

Cutoff : Each pile section on which driving is required should contain a

cutoff allowance to permit the removal of material damaged by the
impact of the pile driving hammer. The normal allowance is 0.5 to 1.5
metres per section.

1.3.7 Driving shoe

The purpose of driving shoes is to assist piles to penetrate through

hard layers or to reduce driving resistances allowing greater
penetrations to be achieved than would otherwise be the case.
 DRIVEABILITY ANALYSIS (Page 4 of 10)

1.3.8 Preparation of input file for GRLWEAP

Following data is required for preparing input

i. Pile properties - length, diameter, thickness (refer Fig. 1 & Table

2.0)
ii. Hammer details **
iii. Cushion properties (refer Table 1.0)
iv. SRD (refer Fig. 2.0)

** Database about various hammers and cushion details are available

in the GRLWEAP program

1.3.9 Execution of GRLWEAP and analysis

(i) Based on the expected SRD, run the GRLWEAP program.

GRLWEAP can run with 10 SRD values.

(ii) The program prints out the 10 SRD values v/s blows per meter
needed to overcome the SRD and the maximum stresses along
the pile.

(iii) Check the dynamic pile stresses to be within allowable

stresses(0.90 Fy).

(iii) Prepare graph of blowcount v/s SRD overcome.

(iv) Compare the SRD overcome at 300 * blows/ft with SRD at the
design penetration.
( * The pile driving refusal with a properly operating hammer is
defined as the point where pile driving resistance exceeds either
300 blows/ft)

(v) If the blowcount is excessive ( more than 300 blows/ft for SRD
to overcome ), reanalyse with a more powerful hammer.

(vi) If the blowcount is acceptable but compressive stresses are

unacceptably high, reanalyse with a smaller hammer.

(vii) If both blowcount and compressive stresses are excessive,

increase cross-sectional area if applicable, and reanalyse.