PLAN AHEAD SECTION 1

PILING & GROUNDWORKS

1.1 PILE TYPES

Piles can be classified according to the type of material forming the pile, the mode of
load transfer, the degree of ground displacement during installation or the installation
method. In this document, piles are generally classified according to the installation
method.

A sequence of operations for excavation and concreting generally applicable to each

pile type is given in Appendix A.

1.1.1 Large Diameter Bored Piles

Large diameter machine dug piles are formed by excavation or boring techniques.
Sizes range from 1.0m to 3.0m diameter and the length is dependant on the ground
conditions as generally these piles are founded on rock. Temporary casings or
drilling fluids such as bentonite slurry or polymer mud are used to support unstable
ground. Special mechanical tools are available for belling out the base.
Reinforcement is positioned then concrete is placed under water by tremmie
methods and the temporary casing extracted simultaneously.

(1) Hammer Grab & RCD Piles

These techniques have developed to overcome the difficulties encountered due to

complex local ground conditions, such as boulders, corestones, decomposed and
fractured rock, cavities and the presence of existing foundations.

The pile shaft is excavated by a crawler crane mounted grab and chisel, and/or
reverse circulation drilling (RCD) techniques. A temporary steel casing is normally
required to prevent collapse of the bore. The casing is driven into the ground to
refusal ahead of the excavation, either by a hydraulic casing oscillator, rotator or
vibrator. RCDs are used to drill the pile shaft through hard ground and bedrock, and
to bell out the pile base.

(2) Rotary Auger Piles

For some projects where ground conditions are less complex, such as regions of the
north west New Territories, rotary drilling auger techniques may be appropriate.

The pile shaft is excavated by a high torque rotary drilling rig using a combination of
kelly bar mounted augers, buckets and core barrels. A short temporary steel casing
is normally required and bentonite slurry or polymer mud is used to prevent collapse
of the bore during excavation.

1.1.2 Small Diameter Bored Piles

The pile sizes generally range from about 200mm to 800mm diameter. Rotary
percussive piling systems are used to bore small diameter bored piles, with the
exception of continuous flight auger piles.

Rotary percussive piling systems use down-the-hole (DTH) hammer equipment and
both conventional and closed loop systems are operated. The DTH hammer is driven
by compressed air and connected to a drilling rig by a string of drill rods. A temporary
or permanent steel casing is generally required to prevent collapse of the overburden
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PILING & GROUNDWORKS

soils above rockhead during boring and this is installed by an overburden drilling
system (ODS). The rock socket is drilled open hole using a button bit. Reinforcement
is positioned and grout or concrete is placed under water by tremmie methods and
the temporary casing extracted simultaneously.

(1) Minipiles

Minipiles are axial load bearing permanent work and generally have a diameter of
between 150mm and 300mm. The length is dependant on the ground conditions as
generally these piles are founded in rock. A permanent steel casing is used through
the overburden soils. Reinforcement is generally bundled high tensile bars.

(2) Bored Piles (<0.8m dia.)

Small diameter bored piles are axial load bearing permanent work and have a
diameter of between 300mm and 800mm. The length is dependant on the ground
conditions as generally these piles are founded in rock. A temporary steel casing is
used through the overburden soils. Reinforcement is either a structural steel section
or a cage prefabricated from high tensile bars.

(3) Soldier Piles & Kingpost Piles

Soldier piles and kingposts are respectively lateral and axial load bearing temporary
work and have a diameter of between 500mm and 800mm. A temporary steel casing
is used through the overburden soils. Reinforcement is generally a structural steel
section.

(4) Pipe Piles

Pipe piles are lateral load bearing temporary work and have a diameter of between
200mm and 800mm. A permanent steel casing is used. The piles are generally
backfilled with soil and unreinforced.

(5) Continuous Flight Auger Piles

Continuous flight auger piles are axial load bearing permanent work and have
diameters up to 650mm. A hollow stem continuous flight auger, connected to a piling
leader rig, is used to drill the borehole. No steel casing is required. After drilling the
auger to the required depth, a sand/cement grout or fine concrete is pumped down
the hollow stem at pressures above hydrostatic whilst the auger is withdrawn. A
prefabricated reinforcement cage is lowered into the upper section of the pile. The
main disadvantage of the system is the inability to penetrate boulders and weak
rocks.

1.1.3 Driven Piles

Driven piles are installed by hydraulic hammers and drop hammers mounted on
piling leader rigs and by hydraulic vibrators working from crawler cranes. Rotary
percussive piling preboring techniques are used to overcome the difficulties
encountered due to complex local ground conditions, such as boulders and
corestones. In general, three main types of piles are used for axial load bearing
permanent work: H-section and tubular steel piles and pre-cast pre-stressed concrete
piles. Sheetpiles are used for lateral load bearing temporary work.
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PILING & GROUNDWORKS

(1) H-section Piles

H-section piles are generally in the form of wide flanged sections, ranging in size
from 203x203 to 356x406 with various steel grades available. Treatment of the upper
sections is often applied to reduce the effects of negative skin friction.

(2) Tubular Steel Piles

Steel tube piles are manufactures in spirally welded or lap-welded forms with various
steel grades available. They are widely used for marine structures where wave action
and high lateral forces must be resisted.

(3) Pre-cast pre-stressed concrete piles

Pre-stressed concrete piles are usually manufactured by a spun concrete pre-

tensioning process, ranging in size from 250mm to 1,200mm diameter. Steel end
plates are welded together to facilitate joint connection. A pile driving helmet, resilient
dolly and packing are generally used to prevent damage during driving.

(4) Sheetpiles

Sheetpiles are usually installed using hydraulic vibrators working from crawler
cranes. Either trestles or guide wailings are used to ensure verticality. The piles are
generally pitched in panels of 6-12 piles, interlocking with partly driven piles of
adjacent panels.

1.1.4 Diaphragm Walling

Diaphragm walls, slurry walls and barrettes are formed by trench excavation
techniques. Trench widths range from 0.6m to 1.5m and the length is dependant on
the ground conditions and excavation method. Temporary guide walls are
constructed to support the surface soils and during excavation drilling fluids such as
bentonite slurry or polymer mud are used to support the trench. Reinforcement is
positioned then concrete is placed under fluid by tremmie methods.

(1) Diaphragm Walls

Diaphragm walls provide greater rigidity than equivalent bored pile or sheet pile
walls. They are used mostly for top down construction projects and act as the
permanent retaining structure.

The trench is excavated by a crawler crane mounted grab and chisel, and/or reverse
circulation hydromill techniques. Stop ends, usually incorporating a waterstop, are
installed between panels before reinforcement is positioned and removed later after
excavation of the adjacent panels.

(2) Slurry Walls

Slurry walls are generally constructed as a ground water cut-off or to enable the
installation of temporary retaining walls through difficult ground. Construction
methods are similar to diaphragm walls except stop ends are not used and a non-
structural ‘plastic’ concrete is placed.
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PILING & GROUNDWORKS

(3) Barrettes

Barrettes are deep pier foundations constructed using diaphragm wall techniques,
which are basically short lengths of wall. They are an alternative to large diameter
bored piles and are useful where the foundations carry high lateral loads or resist
bending moments.

1.1.5 Pile Testing

Load tests can be undertaken on preliminary piles to confirm design assumptions or

on working piles as proof load tests. Generally, the timing of a load test is dictated by
the strength of the concrete or grout in the pile, or dissipation of the excess pore
pressure generated during driving.

(1) Static Load Tests

Static load tests can be undertaken to predict the pile capacity for vertical, lateral and
tension loading. The reaction arrangement will depend on the loading configuration
and generally 4 types are used; kentledge (vertical), tension piles (vertical, raking),
reaction piles (lateral & tension) and ground anchors (vertical, raking).

Either maintained load and/or constant rate of penetration tests are undertaken. Load
measurement is by hydraulic jacks, load cell and platens and displacement
measurement by dial gauges, LVDT and optical leveling systems

Instrumentation, such as strain gauges and rod extensometers are often required at
specific positions within the pile for local measurements.

Osterberg Cell load testing is a technique where independent specialist advice

should be sought.

(2) Dynamic Load Tests

Dynamic load tests can be used to predict the pile capacity and detect defects in
driven piles. They are carried out by placing strain gauges and accelerometers on the
pile to monitor wave reflections on impact of the piling hammer with the pile.
Compared with static load tests, these tests are relatively quick to carry out but are
generally used as supplementary tests.

(3) Integrity Tests

Integrity tests assess structural integrity of a concrete pile. Provided their limitations
are understood, the tests are a useful engineering tool for quality control as large
numbers of piles can be screened.

Proof and interface coring of cast-in-place piles by drilling techniques provides

samples for examination and testing. This can only provide a partial check as a small
portion of cross section area is examined.

Non-destructive integrity tests include sonic logging, impedance (vibration) tests and
sonic (echo) tests.

Sonic logging is carried out from water filled metal tubes in cast-in-place piles and
barrettes. The objective is to check the homogeneity of the concrete by measuring
PLAN AHEAD SECTION 1
PILING & GROUNDWORKS

the propagation time of sonic transmissions between emitter and receiver probes
raised simultaneously from the pile/barrette base. Transmissions are recorded every
20mm and an increase in the propagation time or loss of signal indicates poor
concrete or defects.

Impedance tests use an instrumented hammer or electro-dynamic vibrator to impose

a force at the pile head and a vibration transducer to measure the dynamic response.
The tests are suitable for identifying anomalies in the pile shaft but subjective
analysis is required and a number of limitations exist.

Sonic tests are similar in nature to impedance tests; a hammer imposes a velocity
signal at the pile head and an accelerometer measures the acoustic response.
PLAN AHEAD SECTION 1
PILING

APPENDIX A
Abbrerviations: RCD Reverse Circulation Drill
1.0 PILE TYPES DTH Down The Hole Hammer
ODS Overburden Drilling System

SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS - EXCAVATION

Casing Excavation Method Support Fluid

Item Pile Type Trial Pits Pre-Drilling
Temporary Permanent Soil Rock / Obstruction Water Bentonite

1.1 Large Diameter Bored Piles

1.1.1 Hammer Grab & RCD √ #1 √ √ x grab chisel/RCD √ x
1.1.2 Rotary Auger √ #1 √ √ x auger/bucket chisel/core bucket x √

1.2 Small Diameter Bored Piles

1.2.1 Minipiles √ #1 √ x √ DTH ODS DTH button bit x x
1.2.2 Bored Piles <0.8m √ #1 √ √ x DTH ODS DTH button bit x x
1.2.3 Soldier Piles/Kingposts √ #1 √ #2 √ x DTH ODS DTH button bit x x
1.2.4 Pipe Piles √ #1 √ #2 x √ DTH ODS DTH button bit x x
1.2.5 CFA Piles √ #1 √ #2 x x continuous auger x x x

1.3 Driven Piles

1.3.1 H-piles √ #1 √ #2 x x hyd./drop hammer x x x
1.3.2 Tubular Steel Piles √ #1 √ #2 x x hyd./drop hammer x x x
1.3.3 PPC Piles √ #1 √ #2 x x hyd./drop hammer x x x
1.3.4 Sheetpiles √ #1 √ #2 x x hyd./drop hammer x x x

1.4 Diaphragm Wall

1.4.1 Grab √ #1 √ √ #3 x grab/hydromill grab/chisel x √
1.4.2 Slurry Walls √ #1 √ #2 √ #3 x grab/hydromill grab/chisel x √
1.4.4 Barrettes √ #1 √ √ #3 x grab/hydromill grab/chisel x √

SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS - CONCRETING

Permanent Reinforcement Testing

Item Pile Type Desanding Concrete Backfill
Liner Cage Section Static Dynamic Integrity

1.1 Large Diameter Bored Piles

1.1.1 Hammer Grab & RCD √ √ #4 √ √ #4 √ √ #4 √ #6 x √
1.1.2 Rotary Auger √ √ #4 √ √ #4 √ √ #4 √ #6 x √

1.2 Small Diameter Bored Piles

1.2.1 Minipiles x x √ x √ #5 x √ x x
1.2.2 Bored Piles <0.8m √ √ #4 √ #4 √ #4 √ #5 √ #4 √ x x
1.2.3 Soldier Piles/Kingposts √ x √ #4 √ #4 √ #5 √ #4 x x x
1.2.4 Pipe Piles x x x √ #4 √ #4 √ #4 x x x #7
1.2.5 CFA Piles x x √ √ #4 √ #5 x √ x √

1.3 Driven Piles

1.3.1 H-piles x x x √ x x √ √ √ #7
1.3.2 Tubular Steel Piles x x √ #4 √ #4 √ #4 √ #4 √ √ √ #7
1.3.3 PPC Piles x x x x x x √ √ √ #7
1.3.4 Sheetpiles x x x x x x x x √ #7

1.4 Diaphragm Wall

1.4.1 Grab √ x √ x √ √ #4 x x √
1.4.2 Slurry Walls √ x x x √ #5 √ #4 x x x
1.4.4 Barrettes √ x √ √ #4 √ √ #4 √ x √

Legend: √ required Notes: #1 as required, to identify underground utilitiles, obstructions

x not required #2 as required, to confirm ground conditions, founding levels
#3 reinforced concrete guide walls
#4 as required, for design
#5 cement or sand/cement grout
#6 applicable to pile diameters<1.2m
#7 include welding tests