Workshop on Geotechnical Engineering for Practicing Civil Engineers

February 10-11, 2020, Department of Civil Engineering, KUET

Construction Issues of cast in-situ bored pile

Dr AHM Kamruzzaman (Zaman)

PhD (NUS), MEng (AIT), BScEng (Civil)
Fellow and Chartered Professional Geotechnical Engineer, Australia (FIEAust CPEng, 2941381)
National Engineers Register, Australia (NER, 2941381)
Honorary Principal Fellow, University of Wollongong, Australia
Adjunct faculty, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Email: ahmkzaman@yahoo.com

 Introduction
 Types of Bored Cast-in-Place Piles
 Geotechnical and Construction Problems
 Geotechnical Solution and Notes on Drawings
 Specifications and Construction Process
 Pile Testing
 Contract Roles
 Conclusions

1
 LOADS AND GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY

Loa ds
La tera l res is ta nce

Overburden
ma teria l (S oil)
S kin F riction
F ounding
ma teria l

Geotechnical Capacity
E nd B ea ring

Common Types of Cast-in-situ Bored Piles

 Bored piles (grouped by excavation support)

 Unsupported (for stable ground only)

 Steel casing supported

 Temporary
 Permanent steel casing

 Bentonite

2
 Common Geotechnical Problems in Cast-in-
situ Bored Piles
 Bored Pile Foundations on clayey/silty SAND
environment
 Selection of Appropriate Geotechnical Parameters
 High Ground Water Table and Weak Materials
 Unstable Pile Hole in Weak Materials
 Soft Toe/Unclean base (Very Important !)
 Difficult Penetration in Boulder Material

CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS
– REINFORCEMENT INSTALLATION

1. Reinforcement cage not centred

- not enough cover

2. Cage too deep

3. Cage too shallow

4. For CFA, can be impossible to

insert cage

Good practice: dip the hole after

drilling and before inserting
cage

3
CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS
– CONCRETE PLACEMENT
 Freefalling Concrete
Concrete falling too far, not
homogenous, segregation
 Vibration Control
In wide, deep piles, vibration
difficult to keep consistent
 Necking
Unstable walls collapse in
concrete

FREE FALLING CONCRETE

4
CONCRETE PLACEMENT IN-
LINE PUMP

Crane
Flexible
tube

Rigid
tube
Pump

CONCRETE PLACEMENT
WITH TREMIE

Working
Hopper
platform

Tremie tube

Top of shaft

5
CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS
– CONCRETE COMPACTION

Mini piles concrete can be

properly compacted by
vibration

GEOTECHNICAL SOLUTION DURING

DESIGN STAGE

 Calculation of end bearing (qb) and skin friction

(fs) ------ Use static method
 Carefully consider limiting end bearing and skin
friction values
 Use of appropriate factor of safety (in particular
end bearing capacity)

 Use of Bentonite ----- Need reduction of fs for soil

by 30-40% (NSW projects used 30%, US Army
Corp 30-50%)

6
 GEOTECHNICAL SOLUTION DURING
CONSTRUCTION STAGE

 Must have water head balancing during piling

works
 Use of Bentonite to stabilize the hole or other
provisions (i.e. temporary casing)
 Proper base cleaning with the presence of
Qualified Geotechnical Engineer

 Provision of load test (e.g. PDA) to verify the

design assumption

IMPORTANT NOTES ON DRAWING

 During boring, use bentonite or temporary casing to avoid
collapsing of the hole as assessed by the contractor.
 During boring, if there is a risk of unstable of the socket below the
temporary casing due to differential water pressure or water
ingress, the water level inside the temporary casing shall be
maintained at or above the external ground water table to avoid
adverse impact to the socket.
 Proper base cleaning with the presence of Qualified Geotechnical
Engineer
 PDA test as per AS2159-2009 (or other standard) to verify the
design assumption
 PDA and PIT on same pile (i.e. PIT first and then PDA) to calibrate
PIT test results for the integrity of the pile.

7
TYPICAL BORED PILE CONSTRUCTION
PROCESS – WITH CASING

TYPICAL BORED PILE CONSTRUCTION

PROCESS – CFA PILE

8
 PILE TESTING: AS2159/ASTM ???

 Geotechnical Strength Testing

 Static Load Test (Dead Load, Reaction Pile)
 Dynamic Load Test (PDA)-also provide pile
integrity

 Integrity Testing- Check defects and pile continuity

 Pulse Echo method
 Sonic Logging method

GEOTECHNICAL STRENGTH
TESTING

• PDA load test will provide both

geotechnical strength and pile
integrity
• Static load test still the best,
but very time consuming and
OHS issue involved.

9
 R=
215
G=
GEOTECHNICAL STRENGTH
Primary

21
B=
R= 0
58
TESTING-PDA LOAD TEST
G=
38
B=
100
R=
10
G=
124
B=
R=
185
Secondary

132
G=
189
B=
R= 0
220
G=
171
B=
230
R=
79
G=
79
B=
R=
79
117
G=
47
Complementary

B=
R=
138
120
G=
177
B=
R=
67
255
G=
127
 PDA Load Test Set up- Australia
B=
R=
47
249
G=
190
B= 0

R=
215
G=
PDA LOAD TEST (Contd.)
Primary

21
B=
R=
58 0
G=
38
B=
100
R=
10
G=
124
B=
R=
185
Secondary

132
G=
189
B=
R= 0
220
G=
171
B=
230
R=
79
G=
79
B=
R=
79
117
G=
47
Force and velocity trace CAPWAP Analysis
Complementary

B=
R=
138
120
G= raw data results
177
B=
R=
67
255
G=
PDA Load Results- AUSTRALIA
127
B=
R=
47
249
G=
190
B= 0

10
 R=
215
G= STATIC VS. PDA PILE
Primary

21
B=
R= 0
58
G=
LOAD TESTING
38
B=
100
R=
- CASE STUDY
10
G=
124
B=
R=
185
Secondary

132
G=
189
B=
R= 0
220
G=
171
B=
230
R=  Very good
79
G=
79
agreement
B=
R=
79
117
between static and
G=
47 PDA load testing
Complementary

B=
R=
138
120
G=
177 Source: Pile foundation
B=
R=
67
255
seminar, 2007 University of
G=
127
Sydney
B=
R=
47
249
G=
190
B= 0

Pile Integrity Testing – Pulse Echo

R=
215
G=
Primary

21
B=
R=
58 0
G=
38
B=
100
R=
10
G=
124
B=
R=
185
Secondary

132
G=
189
B=
R= 0
220
G=
171
B=
DAMAGED PILE
230
R=
79 Toe Reflection Reduced cross section
G=
79
B=
R=
79
117
Velocity
G=
47
Complementary

B=
R=
138
120
G=
177 SOUND PILE
B=
R=
67
255
G=
127
B=
R=
Time
47
249
G=
190
B= 0

11
 Pile Integrity Testing – Limitations
R=
215
G=
Primary

21
B=
R= 0
58
G=
38
B=
100
R=
10
PHENOMENA NOT DETECTABLE
G=
124
B=
R=
185

Secondary

132 Piles with highly variable cross-sections or multiple discontinuities

G=
189
B=
R= 0
220
 Pile sections below the first cracks
G=
171
B=  Very long piles when toe reflections are not evident (L/D is a function of soil stiffness, refer
230 guide to BTD 2011/08)
R=
79
G=  Cracks parallel to the pile axis
79
B=
R=
79
117  Curved forms in the pile
G=
47
 Debris at the toe of the pile
Complementary

B=
R=
138
120
G=
177
B=
R=
67
255
G=
127
B=
R=
47
249
G=
190
B= 0

CONTRACT ROLES-DEPENDS
ON PROJECT TYPE

Contractor/Consultant CLIENT
 Design & Drawings  Resolve design issues
 QA System  Surveillance
 Project Quality Plans  Release of Hold
 Implementation Points (HP) in association
 Obtain Release of HP
with project verifier

12
 CONCLUSIONS

 Bored pile design and construction in silty/clayey SAND is

challenging

 Proper understanding on the properties of soil/rock materials,

design parameters and construction methodology is very
important.

 Extra care must be taken in order to avoid pile hole collapse-use

of bentonite is strongly suggested.

 Design parameters (skin friction, fs) in soft materials shall be

reduced by 30-40%, when bentonite is used. PDA/other load test
is recommended.

CONCLUSIONS (Contd.)

 Extra care must be taken in order to avoid SOFT TOE problem –

Proper base cleaning with mechanical bucket is recommended

 A qualified geotechnical engineer must present at site for bored

pilling works, in particular during base cleaning and other
challenging situations

 A peer reviewer must aware about the site geology, properties

of soil/rock materials, and design and construction
methodology

13
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