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The Influence of Electro-Osmosis on Metallic Piles in Clay

Article  in  Géotechnique · January 1980

DOI: 10.1680/geot.1980.30.1.17

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BUTTERFIELD, R. & JOHNSTON, I. W. (1980). Gkootechnique 30, No. 1, 17-38

The influence of electro-osmosis on metallic piles in clay

R. BUTTERFIELD* and I. W. JOHNSTONt

The stress field around a metallic friction pile in clay
can be modified quite drastically byapplyinga modest,
direct current electrical potential across the system
with the pile as one electrode. The resistance to
penetration of a cathodic pile shaft can be reduced by
a factor of at least three and, conversely, that of an
anodic pile doubled. Once the pile has been installed,
continued application of electro-osmosis appears to
increase permanently its load capacity. There is also
some evidence, from small scale tests, that, even if the
dc potential is disconnected after installing the pile,
its load capacity is eventually greater than that of the
untreated pile, irrespective of the initial polarity.
Although some of these phenomena have been
demonstrated previously, at both small and large
scale, they have received very little systematic study.
In order to obtain reliable experimental data, a series
of small field-scale pile tests has been performed in
which an elaborately instrumented steel pile was jacked
into a clay soil under a variety of applied dc potentials.
Load cells measured the stresses acting on the pile
while it penetrated the clay both with and without
electro-osmosis. The results are presented along with
an interpretation of them based on recently published
research into the basic mechanism of electro-osmotic
(eo) soil consolidation. In addition to investigating
the effect of eo during pile driving, further tests were
performed to examine its effect some time after in-
stallation. These results are also discussed.
11est possible de modifier considerablement le champ
de contraintes entourant un pieu flottant mdtallique
dans de l’argile par l’application d’un courant
continu de faible potentiel aux bornes du systeme, le
pieu constituant l’une des electrodes. La resistance a
la penetration du fut d’un pieu cathodique peut etre
reduite de 300’~ et, inversement, celle dun pieu
anodique peut &tre doublte. Une fois le pieu installe,
il semble que l’application continue d’une Clectro-
osmose entraine l’accroissement permanent de sa
capacite de charge. Des essais a petite Cchelle tendraient
Cgalement a prouver que meme en cas de suppression
du potentiel aprts la mise en place du pieu, la
capacite de charge de celui-ci est Cventuellement
superieure a celle d’un pieu non trait&, quelle que
soit la polarite initiale. Bien que certains de ces
phenomtnes aient deja et6 demontres anterieurement,
tant a petite qu’a grande Bchelle, aucune etude
systtmatique de ceux-ci n’a et& entreprise. Pour
acquerir des don&es experimentales fiables, une
serie d’essais in situ, a petite Cchelle, de pieux a BtC
rtaliste. Ces essais consistaient a enfoncer dans un
sol d’argile un pieu en acier equip6 de toute une
variete d’instruments de mesure et a lui appliquer des
tensions diverses. Des cellules de mesure pour charges
enregistraient les contraintes s’exercant sur le pieu au
tours de sa penetration dans I’argile, tant avec que
sans Blectro-osmose. L’article presente les resultats
ainsi que leur interpretation fondte sur des recherches
recemrnent publiees portant sur le mecanisme de base
de la consolidation du sol par Clectro-osmose. Outre
les recherches sur l’effet de l’tlectro-osmose au tours
du battage du pieu, d’autres essais ont et& realises en
vue d’etudier l’effet de l’electro-osmose quelques
temps apres la mise en place du pieu. Les r&hats de
ces essais sont tgalement comment&.

INTRODUCTION
Spangler and King (1949) demonstrated that the load capacity of a metallic friction pile could be
influenced significantly by electro-osmosis. They applied an eo potential to previously driven,
aluminium friction piles embedded in clay and reported that, by making the piles anodic or
cathodic for a length of time, their load capacity could be increased quite markedly. The effect
was attributed to electro-chemical ‘hardening’ of the clay surrounding the pile.
A few years later Soderman and Milligan (1961) applied eo to steel friction piles in a bridge pier

Discussion on this Paper closes 1 June, 1980. For further details see inside back cover.
* Professor of Soil Mechanics, Southampton University, England.
t Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
18 R. BUTTERFIELD AND I. W. JOHNSTON

0 SOREHOLE 1

l BOREHOLE 2
DENSE FLlNT
A BOREHOLE 5
GRAVEL
UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH -kN/mz MOISTURE CONTENT --x
0 25 50 75 loo 125 25 30 i
3!

FIRM BROWN
SLlGHTLV
FISSURED
SILTY CLAY

FIRM TO STIFF
GREY SLIGHTLY
FISSURED

I-*.
SILTY CLAY

(b) (cl

Fig. 1. Soil profile, undrained shear strength and moisture content results

5 metres
I

Bti3
Eli1 BH4
0 0 Eli2
3 0
Btl5
+ + + +Ot+ ++++ + ++ Trench

TEST No. C D E A FB H G I J K LM

Fig. 2. Plan of test site

in order to increase the bearing capacity to an acceptable level. The piles were made anodic for
some time after drivingwith the result that their individual load capacity increased by a factor
of at least 2.5. Stermac (1970) reported that two piles on the same contract, tested some 8 years
later, still recorded virtually the same enhanced load capacity. It appears therefore that eo may
permanently increase the ultimate loads which can be carried by metallic piles.
An extensive series of small-scale model tests using eo and metal piles has been carried out at
Southampton University since 1967 and summarized by Butterfield and Johnston (1979). It
was found that the shaft resistance of a cathodic pile, driven into a bed of remoulded London
clay, was greatly reduced, with Skempton% adhesion factor (tl) dropping from typically 0.50 to
around 0.15. Conversely the shaft load capacity of anodic piles increased almost instantaneously
to values corresponding to a = 1 and even greater than unity if no treatment was continued. The
model steel piles used were mostly 20 mm dia. with length to dia. ratios up to 30; electrode
spacing typically 100 mm and applied voltages in the range 2 to 9 V, usually 5 V. In some cases
the pile polarity was either reversed or removed whilst driving continued, and in these cases the
shaft resistance changed almost immediately to a value typical of the new conditions (Thompson,
1971). In the initial tests, the time taken to drive each model pile was of the order of one hour.
In a later series the eo potential was continued for several days after pile installation. These piles
were found to support loads which were several times greater than those of untreated piles,
irrespective of the polarity used. Most unexpectedly, an enhanced load capacity was also
obtained for piles which had had no to treatment beyond that used for their installation. In
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 19

AXIAL CELL 5

il

AXIAL CELL 4
LOCAL CELLS 7 & 8

AXIAL CELL 3 RADIAL

LOCAL CELLS 5 6 8 STR&S
ELEMENT

AXIAL CELL 2
LOCAL CELLS 3 6 4 SHEAR
STRESS
ELEMENT

LOCAL CELLS 1 & 2

AXIAL CELL 1
/

Fig. 3. Location of load cells in pile Fig. 4. Load cell details

one particular case a pile, which had been initially very easily driven as a cathode, supported the
maximum final load! These results were in general agreement with Spangler and King (1949)
and Soderman and Milligan (1961), but with the implication that the behaviour of ‘cathodically ’
treated piles might be of most practical interest.
There appear therefore to be two distinct phenomena associated with electro-osmosis and
metallic piles. The first is reversible, short term and almost immediately effective with the pore
water pressures generated by eo playing a dominant role (Johnston and Butterfield, 1977). The
second, an apparently irreversible long term effect which becomes evident after either long-term
or short-term electro-osmotic treatment, is probably related to electro-chemical changes in the
soil properties immediately adjacent to the pile which overwhelm even the very considerable
changes in effective stresses which are induced by the electro-osmotic consolidation of the soil.
However, further tests are obviously required before the model-scale, electro-chemical measure-
ments can be extrapolated confidently to full-scale pile systems.
The foregoing results suggest that both the short-term and long-term consequences of electro-
osmosis on pile shaft load capacity may be of practical value. The short-term, pore pressure
dominated, effects are of immediate interest, for example for both installation and extraction of
cast in situ pile casings (Butterfield and Johnston, 1980).
This Paper presents an interpretation of the short-term behaviour of a series of in situ, eo
modified, 100 mm dia. pile tests. A supporting theoretical and experimental study of soil con-
solidation by eo has been published (Johnston and Butterfield, 1977) and the results of the
corresponding in situ behaviour of untreated piles in Butterfield and Johnston (1973). A very
detailed description of all the various load cells, instrumentation, pile construction, test
procedures etc. will be found in Johnston (1972).
20 R. BUTTERFIELDAND I. W. JOHNSTON

TOTAL PILE RESISTANCE - kN

10 20 30 40 50 60 70
I I
Ao
0 BAA x x TESTS A.B and C
000 ox 0 TESTS D and E
x cil
0 0 0 TESTS FandG
x Xcl
x D TESTS H and I
0.5 0 om x X AA
x
0 0 00
x x x AA
0 0 m x X X AA

0 Iso x x x A A
xx x AA
CbJO
x x AA
IX00
x
0 0m x x A A

x x x AA
CD00
x x x AA
COO
an 0 x x x an
x x AA
000 0 x
x x x
0 000 A
20 x x
A
q,”00 x
x x x
x x
an x
0 x x x
x x
[DO
”
n
x x
“T x
x x x
0 ml

0 0 x x
x
0 xx
0 q CD x
x xx
0 0 m x
xx
x
00 00 x x
0 co

Total pile resistance for tests A to I

THE TEST SITE

The site chosen for the tests was investigated by five, shallow shell and auger boreholes, each
of which indicated a similar profile (Fig. 1). The results of some 60 undrained triaxial tests and
moisture content measurements made on the Hampshire Basin, London Clay samples recovered
are also shown. The variation of undrained shear strength within the 4 m depth of interest was
disappointingly high, but it is believed from the large number of very careful measurements
made that the mean curve shown in Fig. l(b) is a reasonable representation of the undrained
strength profile.
In order that the piles might be driven solely into the clay a trench was excavated some
2 x 2 x 50 m long and all the piles driven from its bottom. The upper surface of the clay was
prevented from drying out by a small inflow of water from the overlying gravel. Figure 2 shows a
plan of the test site and relative locations of the boreholes and the pile tests.
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 21

TOTAL SHAFT RESISTANCE - kN

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

x
6Bcmx X TESTS A.B and C
0 TESTS DandE
0 TESTS FandG
.’ . D TESTS H and I

3.0

3.5

Fig. 6. Total shaft resistance for tests A to I

THE PILE AND THE LOAD CELLS

The pile used in the tests was 4 m long x 100 mm dia., made up from a number of sections
of steel tube, with several load cells within its length so that detailed measurements could be
made of the stresses acting on the pile while it was being both installed and withdrawn. Figure 3
shows the load cell layout.

Axial load cells (Fig. 4)

Five such cells were incorporated, in order to measure the force transmission along the pile
and, thereby, its load transfer characteristics. Each cell contained eight foil-resistance strain
gauges which were calibrated not only for axial load but also for cross-sensitivity to radial
stresses on their surface. Axial load changes of about + 200 N could be detected.

Local cells (Fig. 4)

Eight cells, based on the Cambridge boundary pressure cell (Arthur and Roscoe, 1965), were
built into the pile arranged in diametrically opposed pairs. Each of them could measure inde-
pendently both the local total radial stress and the local shear stress, to within + 15 kN/m* and
22 R. BUTTERFIELD AND I. W. JOHNSTON

Table 1. Summary of test conditions

I I

A o-35 NO VOLTAGE 0 - - -

- - -
- - I -
1 I
DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED
2 36
1 5 m FROM PILE

E o-35 CATHODE 60 2 36 AS TEST D

F o-35 CATHODE 90 2 36 AS TEST D

G o-35 CATHODE 90 21 36 1 AS TEST D

H o-35 ANODE 60 2 36 AS TEST D

I o-35 ANODE 60 2 36 AS TEST D

O-295 CATHODE 30 AS TEST D

J
295 -32 ANODE 30 AS TEST D

O-24 CATHODE 60 1 5 m FROM PILE

K 24 -26 CATHODE 60 AS TEST D

26-305 ANODE 60 AS TEST D

2 16 DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED

2 16 10 m FROM PILE

I AS TEST

-
L

+ 3 kN/m2 respectively. (Apart from one axial cell and one pair of local cells, in which the water-
proofing failed, all the load cells on final recalibration which were very close to those obtained
originally.) The quality and reliability of these cells lead us to believe that the local stresses so
measured were unusually accurate. In particular, the radial stress values, which were virtually
identical from each pair of cells, are thought to be of a precision not achievable by the more usual
techniques based on pile wall hoop-stress measurements.

Other equipment
The pile was jacked into the clay at a rate of 0.35 mm/s by a 15 t hydraulic ram supported in
gymbals on a kentledge beam system which spanned the trench between two rail-mounted bogies.
The signals from all the load cell circuits were scanned at penetration intervals of approximately
125 mm.
The secondary electrodes used for most of the eo modified tests were lengths of 25 mm nominal
bore iron water pipe 3.5 m long pre-jacked into the clay in pairs in line with and 1.5 m to each
side of the pile.
The dc electrical potential was provided by a 300A Lincoln welding generator at voltages
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 23

SHEAR STRESS - kN/m2 ADHESION FACTOR L

cu
0 25 50 7s 0 25 0.5 0.75 1 .o
I 1 I 1 1 I 1
t
0 *3 x x

x x

x x

0 ma x

0 xx x

x - - - TESTS A.6 and C

0 --- TESTS D and E

0 - - - - TESTS F and C

Fig. 7. Distribution of shear stress on pile shaft at 3.3 m penetration for tests A to G

from 25 to 95 V. The electrode configurations and applied voltages used in each of the tests are
summarized in Table 1.

TEST RESULTS
Summary of results on untreatedpiles
Figures 5 to 13 contain results obtained from both treated and untreated piles. In this section
we shall summarize only the key features of the pile tests conducted without eo modification
(tests A, B, C). It was discovered subsequently that a protective layer of grease used on the pile
had not been completely removed for the first test (A) which probably accounts for the rather
lower total load recorded. The maximum total resistance measured on the untreated piles was
therefore approximately 60 kN (Fig. 5). Shaft resistance versus penetration is plotted in Fig. 6
together with superimposed curves of constant adhesion factor (a) based on Fig. l(b). The value
of u which fits the experimental results is seen to decrease from around unity at small pene-
trations to between 0.5 and 0.7 at full penetration, following the pattern reported by several
investigators including Meyerhof (1963) and Tomlinson (1970a, b). It was also possible to
examine the detailed distribution of shear stress (2) along the length of the pile at any particular
penetration. Both axial and local cell readings were used independently for this purpose and
gave closely similar results. Figure 7 shows such a distribution when the pile had been driven to
24 R. BUTTERFIELD AND I. W. JOHNSTON

SHEAR STRESS - kN/m’ ADHESION FACTOR 1

cu
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 1 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
L I 1 1 I 1 I 1 1
m ox XM X

WX x no

na

on

c
x --- TESTS A.6 and C

0 --- TESTS D and E

0 _--- TESTS F and C

a _---_ TESTS l-l and I

Fig. 8. Distribution of shear stress on pile shaft at 2.3 m penetration for tests A to I

a depth of 3.3 m. The left-hand side of the diagram gives the magnitude of the measured shear
stresses, whilst on the right-hand side they have been reduced to a dimensionless adhesion factor
by dividing them by the local undrained cohesion of the clay. This curve suggests that LXvaries
along the pile from around 1.0 near its head, to a minimum of 0.5 at its mid-point increasing
again to at least 0.75 towards the toe. Figure 8 shows similar information for a penetration of
2.3 m. Bearing in mind the non-uniformity of the c, profile, these results, and many others,
show a reasonably consistent pattern, a particular feature of which is that the higher shear
stresses develop towards the extremities of the pile.
Although it has been established independently, from a great many measurements on labor-
atory piles, with and without eo, that electro-osmosis has no significant effect on pile base load
capacity, the readings obtained from the lowest axial load cell (1) on the present pile were
complicated by the fact that this cell also picked up the resultant of the pile surface shear-stresses
(z) on the bottom 0.13 m of the pile shaft. One way to correct this would be to deduct (0.13
x nDcrc,) from the axial cell reading, based on an estimated (MC,)value at the pile toe. This has
been done in Fig. 9(a). Curve A is a base load plot calculated using N, = 9 and the results from
the untreated piles ( x ), taken alone, suggest that either N, > 9, or the shear stresses near the toe
reflect an c1value N 3.5 (or a combination of the two) (Butterfield and Johnston, 1973). In view
of this, it is probably helpful to digress here and discuss the other (eo modified) results, based on
the same estimated EC, values, shown in Figs 9(b) and (c).
There are two salient features.

(a) The cathodic test points (tests D to G) lie very near to the A line, particularly the high
(90 V) sets, F, G.
(b) The anodic tests (H, I) show much higher apparent toe resistances and the, lower
voltage, ‘switched’ tests (J, K) lie between the two extremes.
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 25

TOE RESISTANCE-kN
0 5 10 15 20 2.5 30
0

0.5

b:
z 1.0.
E
61 1.5.
x TESTS 4 B and C

5 2.0.

E
Z 2.5.
L
3.0 .

3.5
(a)

o TESTS II and E
0 TESTS F and G

(b)

t
g 1.0.
E
! 1.5-
0
A TESTS H and I
i= V TESTSJandK
2 2.0 _
L
5 2.5.
a

Fig. 9. Toe resistance for tests A to K

26 R. BUTTERFIELD AND 1. W. JOHNSTON

TOTAL RADIAL STRESS - kN/m z

4”bav P v * ul LOCAL CELLS 16 2

0.5 -

n
1.0-n
n
0
n
1.5 -

2.0 -

2.5 -

3.0 -

LOCAL CELLS 3 6 4

t
b
X TESTS A.6 and C
0 TESTS D and E
E 0 TESTS F and G
0 TESTS H and I
V TESTS J and K

2.5

Fig. 10. Total radial stress acting on local load cells for different penetrations for tests A to K
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 27

LOCAL CELLS I& 2 LOCAL CELLS 3 (L4 LOCAL CELLS 5.6.7 8 8

TESTS ABSC

12 3 4 5 6 7 8910

12 34 56 7 8910 12345678910

6r 6r
- s,
G cu CU

Fig. 11. Frequency of occurrence of or/c. during penetration of local load cells for tests A to K

The major short-term influence of eo is interpreted below in terms of the generation of pore
water pressures which modify the effective stresses (at approximately constant total stress.) The
above results show that, not only are the shear stresses (and therefore the effective radial direct
stresses) on the bottom 0.13 m of the pile greatly modified by eo but also, since a is very small in
the cathodic tests (N 0.2), the base loads can best be interpreted in terms of NCN 9 together with
exceptionally high shear stresses on the shaft adjacent to the pile toe.
The local load cells also measured the variation of total radial stress (a,) as the pile was installed
and these are plotted in Fig. 10, together with curves showing various multiples of the c, profile.
Because of the multiplicity of the readings and the inclusion, for brevity, of the complete series
of test results (A to K) the figure is rather congested. A clearer picture of the measured ai+,
relationship emerges from Fig. 11 which displays the same data in the form of histograms of the
frequency of occurrence of u, as different multiples of c,. These show that, for tests A, B, C,
the total radial stresses near the pile toe are mostly in the range (6 <err/c, < 9) whilst towards the
ground surface the range (4 < c,/c, < 6) is more typical. These results agree quite well with both
28 R. BUTTERFIELDAND I. W. JOHNSTON

6~
RADIAL STRESS - kN/m2 =”
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 I 2 3 4 5 6 I 8

: 10
b
E
I xx0 0 0 X0
i
8

2
4
8
I
20

E
x 0 0 xxnx

30

0 OCOXXX
33

* --- TESTS A.S and C

0 --- TESTS D and E

0 ---- TESTS F and G

Fig. 12. Distribution of total radial stress on pile shaft at 3.3 m penetration for tests A to G

theoretical predictions of 0, (Butterfield and Banerjee, 1970; Wroth et al., 1979) and other
measured data (Koisumi and Ito, 1967). Figures 12 and 13 show the specific distribution of total
radial stress, both as an absolute value and as a dimensionless ratio for penetrations of 3.3 and
2.3 m respectively.
Since both radial and shear stresses were measured simultaneously, it was possible to investi-
gate the value of 6” = tan-’ ( r / 6, ) averaged over some 200 readings. The result was 6” = 10 f 3”
which suggests that, for tests A, B, C, an appreciable, and essentially constant, proportion of the
radial stress was effective across the pile-soil interface and therefore the pore water pressures
generated during driving must have been dissipating quite quickly in the fissured clay. The
major short-term effect of electro-osmosis is to modify the effective stress distribution at the
pile-soil interface and indirect measurements of this will now be discussed in relation to the
tests made on both anodic and cathodic piles.

Tests with the pile as a cathode

The total pile resistance for tests D, E (60 V cathodic) and F, G (90 V cathodic) now lies
between 17 and 25 kN (Fig. 5) which represents a very considerable reduction from the basic
value of around 60 kN for the untreated pile. Figure 6 shows that c(has been drastically reduced,
by a factor of almost 5, to between 0.1 to 0.4 at small penetrations and 0.1 to 0.2 when fully driven.
The variation of adhesion factor along the pile in these tests is also shown in Figs 7 and 8 based
on local load cell readings at 3.3 and 2.3 m penetration. Again a very considerable reduction is
evident, although in neither case is there any substantial difference between the results obtained
at 60 V and those at 90 V applied potential.
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 29

RADIAL STRESS - kNlm2

OF=====

X - - - TESTS A.8 and C

0 - - - TESTS D and E

0 -__ - TESTS F sndG

6 ____ _ TESTS H and1

Fig. 13. Distribution of total radial stress on pile shaft at 2.3 m penetration for tests A to I

The relevant total radial stress measurements are summarized in Figs 10 and 11. A surprising
result is that, despite the large scatter, the 0, values are not appreciably different from those found
in the tests without eo, and certainly not sufficiently so to account for the almost five-fold reduc-
tion found in the shaft resistance. For example, local cells 1 and 2 near the pile toe recorded total
radial stresses generally in the range (6 < B,/c, < S), a marginal reduction only. This observation
applies equally well at other locations along the pile and is also supported by the local measure-
ments in Figs 12 and 13.

Tests with the pile as an anode

Figure 5 shows the variation of total resistance for tests H and I. Due to lack of kentledge these
tests had to be stopped at only 2 m penetration, nevertheless it is still possible to compare the
forces and stresses on the anodic pile with those of other piles at the same installed depth. At this
depth the total resistance of the anodic pile was about 63 kN whereas that of an untreated
pile 40 kN and a typical cathodic pile carried only some 17 kN. Therefore electro-osmosis can
equally well increase or decrease the total load capacity depending on the polarity of the pile.
The actual changes produced in this case, by applying 60 V across the pile and the two sup-
plementary electrodes, were almost exactly + 23 kN relative to the control pile resistance.
The average value of c( for the anodic tests (H, I) can be estimated from Fig. 6. At 2 m pene-
tration a N 1.5 compared to 0.7 and 0.1 for the control and cathodic tests respectively. The actual
shaft resistances were in the ratio 54 : 27 : 4.
Figure 8 shows the shear stress distribution at the maximum 2.3 m depth; CC is again generally
greater than 1 and reaches a value of 2 towards the pile toe.
Because only local cells 1, 2 and 3 penetrated the soil any significant distance, relatively few
total radial stress readings were obtained. Furthermore, test H generated cr values which were
untypically low compared to both test I and all other pile tests (Figs 10 and 1 l), which depressed
the average values shown in Fig. 13 significantly. The test H cr values are therefore probably in
30 R. BUTTERFIELD AND I. W. JOHNSTON

TOTAL PILE RESISTANCE - kN

I 1p ‘p ?“* 4: ” “p :10

K TEST J
o TEST K
n TEST L
v TEST M
0.5 -

V oa
V x0 0

V X&J

v A
x 0

on x 0
VA xc,0
A
x 0 A n
V n A
V x 0
AA tl
An
AA
V x 0

X 0
V X
V
0
x
V 0

v x
2.5- X 0
V
VV
X V 0
V X
VV
3.0-

-._

Fig. 14. Total pile resistance for tests J to M

error since the greatly increased load capacity can hardly be associated with a major reduction
in total radial stress.
The mean interface friction angle, tan- ‘(r/a,), was calculated, as before, for both the cathodic
and anodic tests. Once more there was considerable scatter, particularly in tests (H, I), but values
of 6- =2f2” for cathodic tests and 6+ =27+6” for anodic tests encompassed the results
comparably to the 6” values quoted earlier.

Other tests
Two additional tests J and K (Table 1) were undertaken to investigate the rate at which the
pile resistance responded to a reversal of electrical polarity. Both tests started with the pile as a
cathode and provided further data supporting the earlier (D to G) results even though the
potential used was only 30 V (i.e. a ‘nominal’ gradient of only 20 V/m). Test K had a slightly
different electrode configuration as an ad hoc check on the sensitivity of the system to the
secondary electrode layout. Up to a pile penetration of 2.5 m one electrode was only 0.6 m
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 31

TOTAL SHAFT RESISTANCE -k&N_ _

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 7c
-I. I I

0
x TEST J
3
x
05 o TEST K

1.0

6
i
E 1.5
I.

$
IFI
H 2.0

t;

E
D
B 2.5

3.0

3.5

Fig. 15. Total shaft resistance for tests J and K

deep with the other at the usual 3.6 m. As expected, this system was rather less efficient with
measured total and shaft resistances, at 60 V, of 26 and 16 kN compared with about 19 and 5 kN
for tests D to G. However, an inspection of Figs 10 and 11 will show that the total radial stresses
were again similar to those recorded in almost all tests. The polarity of the pile was reversed in
test J at 2.95 m penetration and the total resistance increased rapidly from 26 to 68 kN within a
further 200 mm driving (i.e. about 10 min), whilst the shaft load increased simultaneously by
40 kN from 16 to 56 kN.
Standard secondary electrodes were added to test K and the polarity reversed at 2.8 m pile
depth. Again the load capacity increased rapidly, this time by about 51 kN in the same period.
This latter result corresponds to an increase in LXfrom 0.15 to 0.9 although had more kentledge
been available it is very probable that the final adhesion factor would have been higher still.
It is worth noting that in order to extract the piles in tests J and K they were made cathodic
once more and the extraction forces were closely similar to the cathodic shaft resistances meas-
ured when pile driving. More information on pile extraction and response times on polarity
reversal is provided in Butterfield and Johnston (1980) and Thompson (1971).
32 R. BUTTERFIELD AND I. W. JOHNSTON

DRAINED SEALED
CATHODE ANODE

SEALED DRAtNED
CATHODE ANODE
(b)

SEALED
CATHODE

(cl

Fig. 16. Theoretical variation of porewater pressures for one-dimensional electro-osmosis with given boundary
conditions

LONG-TERM TESTS

Test L and M were intended to explore the longer-term effects of eo on pile load capacity,
particularly for the case where the applied (positive or negative) potentials were switched off
immediately after the piles had been installed. Since these tests were to cover a period of a few
months no load cells were used other than the one needed to measure to total axial load. They
were motivated in part by the following results obtained by Ghosh (1968) using a small 25 mm
dia. x 0.5 m long pile in a laboratory bed of remoulded London Clay (W = 31x, c, = 45 kN/m2
and an electrical potential of 5 V across a three-electrode system spaced 190 mm apart in an
equilateral triangle with the test pile at the centroid. In Ghosh’s tests the electrical potentials
were maintained over a period of 7 days and the pile load capacity measured at 1, 3 and 7 days
after installation. His results (Fig. 17) showed an almost six-fold increase in the pile load
capacity in 7 days when the anodic, and more surprisingly, the cathodic pile finally supported
70 % more load than an untreated one. Throughout all tests the base load remained constant.
The clay was certainly stiffened (W finally = 24 %) and electro-chemically hardened alongside
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 33

1
0 2 4 6
DAYS

Fig. 17. Effect of continuous electro-osmosis on total pile resistance (25 mm dia. pile)

the anode, an effect first noted by Casagrande (1948) using aluminium electrodes. Rather than
explore the question of how such results might scale to bigger piles, it was felt that a preliminary
look at the time-dependent load capacity of our 100 mm dia. pile, for cases where the electro-
osmotic treatment was applied only during the installation period, might be of interest. There-
fore test pile L was first driven cathodically to a depth of 1.5 m, at which point its resistance was
15 kN (Fig. 14), almost identical to that of piles D to G. It was then made anodic and its load
capacity increased very rapidly up to about 64 kN at 1.9 m penetration, again very closely similar
to the 61 kN measured at the same depth in tests H and I.
In test M the pile was driven solely as a cathode (80 V) to 2.7 m and disconnected. At this time
its total resistance was similar to the other cathodic piles (about I6 kN). However, as driving
continued (without eo) to 2.95 m the resistance was more than doubled (in 13 min) to 34 kN. On
reloading the following day it carried 50 kN, essentially the same load as the untreated piles
(A, B, C) at the same depth.
Figure 20 shows the results obtained as piles L and M were retested to failure at intervals over
a period of 120 days. The load capacity of the anodic pile dropped by about 15 % in the first 2
weeks and recovered very slowly thereafter to within 10% of its initial value. However, with
test M it was found that, not only did the pile resistance increase with time to that of untreated
piles, but a significant further, apparently permanent, increase occurred over the next few weeks.
Figure 19 shows that after about 4 months, the load capacity was around 100 kN, twice that
of the control piles. Since after 4 months all eo induced pore water pressures must have dissi-
pated, the large increase in pile strength is likely to have been caused by electro-chemical changes
within the clay. These long-term results are not understood and, in our opinion, need to be
studied at full scale if reliable, practically useful information is to be obtained.

INTERPRETATION OF TEST RESULTS

In common with most field tests, the measurements made contain a number of anomalies
primarily due to the irregular variation of soil properties within the test site. Nevertheless, the
results do strongly support the predictions made by smaller scale laboratory tests and are, in
addition, sufficiently numerous to reveal overall patterns of behaviour, particularly in relation
to the very significant modification of pile shaft resistance which can be achieved in clay soils by
34 R. BUTTERFIELD AND I. W. JOHNSTON

ESTIMATED POREWATER PRESSURE - kN/mZ

- 400 - 300 - 200 -100

t 1.0 - A X V-
b
E A X VQO
I
g 1.5 - A X vwo

A X Vi-m
z
y 2.0 - A x V +W
0”
x 00
z
2.5 - x OCI

X 0 cl

3.0 - X 00

3.5 1
x TESTS A.6 and C & TESTS Ii and I
0 TESTS D and E + TEST J
0 TESTS F and G V TEST K

Fig. 18. Estimated average pore water pressures on pile shaft during electro-osmosis for tests A to K

electro-osmosis. Before this can be discussed quantitatively the salient features of eo soil
consolidation need to be enumerated.

Electra-osmotic consolidation of soil

A detailed theoretical and analytical study of the way in which eo can modify the pore water
pressures within a clay mass will be found in Butterfield and Johnston (1977). The effect depends
primarily on the electrical and hydraulic boundary conditions imposed. The cited paper
presents an interpretation of a number of very precise electro-osmotic consolidation tests in
which particular care was taken to control the sample boundary conditions; to remove the gases
generated by electrolysis at the electrodes and to measure both internal electrical and hydraulic
potentials at a number of points within the soil throughout an eo consolidation process triggered
by sealing one of the boundaries. The key experimental observation was that the pore water
pressure generated at a sealed electrode rose very rapidly to its final, predictable value. This is in
direct contradiction of the ‘infinite rise time’ predicted by the conventional analysis of such a
problem (Wang and Vey, 1953). The cause of the very rapid pressure rise was found to be the
non-linearity of the electrical resistance of the soil which caused very high electrical gradients to
develop near the sealed electrodes in the early stages of consolidation. A revised model was
postulated which coupled the observed hydraulic and variable electrical behaviour and also
reconciled the measured and predicted pore pressure isochrones. These are illustrated in Fig. 16
which predict that, in the idealized sealed anode (cathode), drained cathode (anode) system,
pore pressures of [f (k,/k,)Ey,] should develop immediately at the sealed electrode, where
kh (mm/s) is the hydraulic permeability, k, (mm’/V s) the electro-osmotic permeability and
E(V) the applied potential.
If both are essentially sealed, which would be a one-dimensional approximation of the pile
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSIS ON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 35
150- ,

12s-

25-
A TEST L

-
I I
TEST M

0 i0 4; sb 80 100 120 0
DAYS AFTER DRIVING

Fig. 19. Variation of total pile resistance with time after application of electro-osmosis for tests L (1.7 m long pile,
anodic) and M (2.95 m long pile, cathodic). The dashed curve is test M scaled to approximately 1.7 m length

system, then equal and opposite pore pressures of half this value would develop adjacent to
each electrode. Even though the electrical field is quite different in our case from the one-
dimensional field, the sealed electrode pore pressures should theoretically reach the same final
values. In practice there will be limitations in the magnitude of the negative pore pressures which
can develop at the anode before cavitation occurs. There will also be flow along the pile-soil
interface under positive excess pore pressures which might well be increased by a hydraulic
fracture mechanism at high values. The problem is therefore both complicated and three-
dimensional, with the only clearly specified hydraulic boundary condition alongside the pile
that of zero potential at the ground surface.
The relevant values of k, and k,, for samples of the London Clay were found to be 5.3 x 10m4
mm’/V s and 18 x 10-s mm/s respectively (Butterfield and Johnston, 1977) from tests in which
(by using both back pressures and adequately high consolidation stresses in a triaxial cell) the
theoretically predicted positive and negative pore pressures were found to correlate well with
the measured values. The predicted pressures in our piling system are therefore uw f 14 x E
which corresponds to f 420 kN/m’ for even the smallest (30 V) electrical potential used.

Interpretation of the measured eflects of eo on pile load capacity

Although, unfortunately, no direct measurements of pore-water pressure were made they can
be inferred indirectly from the fact that the total radial stresses were very nearly constant in
all tests together with the mean values of the 6 =tan-‘(r/a,) ratios, namely, 6” = (10+2)“,
6- = (2 + 2)” and 6+ = (27 + 6)” as follows.
Since for any test series

r=0rtan6=a,‘tan6’=(a,‘-u)tan6” . . . . . * (1)
36 R. BUTTERFIELD AND I. W. JOHNSTON

with err, and 6’ (the effective interface friction angle) constant for all tests, we have

tana”= l-2 tanS’; tand’=(l-z--F)tan6.; tand+=(l-:+:)tand.. (2)

( ar >

where + Au is the (symmetrical) difference of pore pressure, from the untreated pile pressure
ue, generated by electro-osmosis. Despite the scatter within the sets of 6 values it will be found
that any plausible interpretation of them is restricted to 6”~ 12”, 6-~(l-2)“, 6+~(22-26)”
and 6’~ 13” whence (0 Q u,,/a, i 0.08) and (la Au/a, 2 0.8). If, further, the mean experimental
value of total radial stress is taken to be (4c, <a, < 5c,) and the mean c, N 60 kN/m* (Fig. 1)
we arrive at (240 d Au G 300) kN/m* relative to a base pore pressure (0 < u0 < 5) kN/m*. The
grand-means of all experimental results have been plotted on this basis in Fig. 18 which shows
Au against pile penetration. The results are reasonably symmetrical and fall encouragingly close
to the calculated Au values. The values of a,’ associated with these calculations via equations
(1) and (2) show that, whereas the maximum shaft load ratio of an anodic to an untreated pile is
unlikely to exceed 2, the cathodic to untreated pile ratio may fall even below 4. Due, no doubt,
to the reasons enumerated in the previous section (Electra-osmotic consolidation of soil), the
inferred values of Au are not linearly related to E although the higher voltages do produce slightly
greater changes of U. In retrospect, it would have been interesting to explore whether or not
there is a threshold E value of around 17 V (14 x 17 % 240) below which the effects of eo fall off
rapidly with E and above which the benefits to be derived from increasing E are relatively small.

CONCLUSIONS
Whereas neither the base load capacity nor the total radial stresses (a,), developed when the
100 mm dia. pile was jacked into the London Clay, were modified significantly by the application
of electro-osmosis the pile-soil interface shear stresses and the shaft load capacity (and therefore,
by implication, the effective radial stresses across the interface) were changed very substantially.
The application of from 30 to 90 V across the electrode system (at 1.5 m spacing) increased the
shaft load capacity of an anodic pile by a factor of about 2 and reduced that of a cathodic pile
by as much as 5 times.
The enhanced anodic load capacity was shown to be maintained (without additional eo) for
at least 4 months after installation with only a 10 % diminution and, most unexpectedly, the load
capacity of a single similar (but cathodic) test pile increased from its initial very low value to
approximately that of the anodic pile in the same period.
A large number of local total radial stress measurements supported an average (aJ value
along the pile of (4c, < ar < 5c,) accompanied, in this case, by only small post-installation pore
pressures (0 < u0 <O.l a,).
It might be noted here that not only were the piles driven into the upper closely fissured brown
London clay but also, based on simple Terzaghi square law scaling, the model consolidation
time scale will be around 25 times quicker than that for a typical prototype pile. The very low,
inferred, post-installation, u0 pore pressures are supported by the actual measured 6= tan-’
(z/a,) pile-soil interface friction angles (see the previous section) where, for example, for an
untreated pile 6”~ 12”. A smooth steel pile could not, conceivably, develop an effective friction
angle (8’) with the clay much in excess of this and consequently the radial stresses on the untreated
piles must have been almost entirely effective stresses when measured.
Local shear stress measurements, with and without eo enabled the effective friction angle
(6’) to be assessed at 5: 13” from which the symmetrical average pore pressure changes + Au
generated during eo installations were estimated to be (4c, <Au < 2,).
INFLUENCE OF ELECTRO-OSMOSISON METALLIC PILES IN CLAY 37

If the results are to be interpreted in terms of Skempton’s c1factor then the tests supported:
without eo (0.5 <a < l*O), anodic pile (1.0 <a <2*0), cathodic pile (0.1 <a <0.4), where the
values quoted cover the extreme variations measured along the pile length.
It is however preferable to deduce the load capacity from an assessment of c,’ and the interface
friction angle 6’. The results do show most strikingly that, although the shaft load capacity is
directly related to or’, this latter quantity is determined by the post-installation stress field which
may bear no relation whatsoever to either the vertical or undisturbed (K,) effective stresses in
the ground.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors wish to thank the National Research and Development Corporation for financial
support during this project and for their subsequent permission to publish the findings.

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