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Integrity Problems of Concrete Piles

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by FPrimeC/Aug 04 2017

This article describes certain construction practices that can result in integrity problems in
concrete piles and drilled shafts. Defects can occur at any point during the construction of
bored concrete pile. Most common types of pile integrity issues are presence of voids;
inconsistency in concrete mix, concrete; entrapped groundwater or slurry; and geometric
errors. These defects can be categorized based on the place in the construction sequence
at which the defect occurs.

What is Pile Integrity ?

In general, Pile Integrity refers (ASTM D 5882) to certain characteristics of deep
foundations and piles such as:

Physical Dimensions of Pile (Length or Cross-Section);

Continuity of Pile (presence of Voids or Major Cracks); and
Consistency of the Pile Material.

Certain pile construction practices can lead to defects in drilled shafts. These defects can
be major voids, poor quality concrete, geometric errors, and entrapped slurry or ground
water. These defects may negatively impact the the load bearing capacity and load
distribution properties. Piles and deep foundations transmit top structure loads to strong
substrate through friction and/or standing on bed rock. This load transmission is performed
effectively when there are no major integrity problems in concrete piles; Defects may result
in partial settlement to significant damage or collapse of the top structure. 

Pile Construction Methods

Before we begin, let us briefly review the main three methods of pile construction:

Dry Method: In this procedure, the borehole is excavated, and backfilled directly with
concrete.
Casing Method: In this procedure,  a temporary casing is used to support the borehole,
prevent caving, and prevent intrusion of groundwater before placement of concrete.
Direct Slurry Displacement: In this method, drilling fluid is used to stabilize the borehole
during excavation. The liquid is then displaced by placing concrete under the fluid
through tremie pipe.

There are different methods of drilling, and different types of drilling liquid. No matter what
procedure is selected by design engineers, it is necessary to make sure no voids, or poor
patches form in the concrete pile. One should also make sure that the properties and
characteristics of the fresh concrete meets the requirement for the specific drilling
method. Guide to Tremie Concrete for Deep Foundations (DFI, 2018) provides the
specifications of concrete materials.

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Most Common Integrity Problems of Concrete

Piles
Construction practices can negatively impact the integrity of drilled shafts. Every
construction site is unique, depending on the soil type, and subsurface condition, a suitable
construction practice is adapted. This makes the construction of each individual shaft a
unique project. Another complication is that both drilling and concerting problems happen
within the shaft, far from the curious eyes of contractor or the inspector, making it very
difficult to verify the quality, and integrity  of drilled shafts (Michael W. O’Neill, TRB,
1991)  

The process of quality control for this group of elements is very much through indirect
measurement of other parameters, i.e. resistance of pile to driving or drilling, or other non-
destructive testing techniques (NDT). NDT methods can shed light on this hidden part of
concrete piles. (Learn more: NDT methods of Pile Integrity Testing)

Integrity problems are commonly categorized based on the place in the construction cycle
at which the defect occurs:

Defects arising from general construction problems,

Defects arising from drilling problems,
Defects arising from casing management problems,
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Defects arising from slurry management problems, and
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Defects resulting from design deficiencies.
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Source: (Michael W. O’Neill, TRB, 1991)

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General Construction Problems
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Incorrect construction procedures can lead to defects in drilled shafts. Defects arising from
general construction problems can be categorized in two general common defects:

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Problems arising from free fall procedure Free fall method for delivering concrete toCONTACT
the
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bottom of the drilled shaft is permitted if the proper concrete mix is selected. However, without
taking the precautionary actions to direct the concrete stream away from reinforcing steel or

the sides of the excavation, segregation can happen. This may result in small voids in the
vicinity of steel rebar. Segregated concrete is often less dense, and tends to have lower p-
wave speed.
Out of Position Drilling: In general, drilled-shaft contractors should place shafts so that the
drilled shaft shall be within 3 inches (75 mm) of plan position at the top of shaft and the center
of excavation is vertical to
within 2 percent. When contractor has drilled the shaft out of pre-defined position, it will result
in inadequate concrete cover, and eccentric loading of the pile. 

Defects Resulting from Drilling Problems

Proper drilling method and equipment should be selected for each job site, otherwise, this
may result in certain defects such as sloughing of soil during concreting. 

Integrity Problems Resulting from Casing

Management
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Poor handling and management of temporary casing is a common source of pile integrity
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problems. Certain issues can arise from improper management of casing:
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Use of Dirty and/or dented Casing: This may increase the concrete-casing shearing
stresses (during lifting the casing), which might place tension in concrete underneath the
bottom of the casing, and creating “Necking”. This will replace concrete with soil or

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7/27/23, 6:20 PM Integrity Problems of Concrete Piles |FPrimeC - FPrimeC Solutions Inc.
groundwater, or even voids. In extreme cases, this may result in total discontinuity of the
lower section.
Delay in Extracting Casing: Premature setting of concrete inside the casing, or delay in
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extracting casing (casing left in borehole) can be a major issue in friction piles, mainly
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because soil-concrete side resistance is considerably larger than soil-steel resistance. 
 Poor Workability of Concrete Mix

Integrity Problems Arising from Slurry Management

Poor management of slurry can affect the integrity and quality of the concrete piles. 

Improper Cleaning of the Base of the Shaft

Delay in Placing Steel Cage and Tremie: This issue, along with the one mentioned above
can result in creating a bullet shape shaft base (voids underneath); this will impact the base
bearing capacity. 

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Major Defects in Concrete Drilled Shafts

1- Major Voids
Similar to cracks, voids can affect the consistency and quality of pile materials. Voids can
affect the load bearing capacity of concrete piles, as they reduce the effective cross-
sectional dimension. pile integrity testing does not provide any useful information about the
portion of the pile that locates underneath the major voids or cracks.

2- Soil Inclusion
According to HON-FUNG CYRIL CHAN (1987 ) Inclusion of foreign material, soil lumps,
slurry, etc. within the body of the pile can negatively impact the integrity of piles and deep
foundations. This could happen as a result of borehole wall slide into the hole which can
potentially create gaps over length of pile. Soil inclusion can impact the load bearing
capacity of the pile. Evaluating soil inclusion through acoustic waves can be quite
challenging since the acoustic impedance between the two regions of hardened concrete
and soil might not be significant. Methods such as pile integrity test (sonic-echo) can be
used to evaluate the integrity issues.

3- Necking
Necking in concrete piles can happen during casting of pile shaft in soft clay. This rapid
change of cross section (as a results of necking) can be a source of integrity problem.
Necking can affect the load bearing capacity of concrete piles. According to Zhaoyin Zhou,
“Poor performance and large water loss of mud causes water swelling of plastic layer or
form lax honeycomb thick mud cake; improper distance between neighboring pile
constructions, the stresses in the layers of soil has not been diffused, soft clay creeps in
new holes, or the bit size wears excessively are the main causes.”

4- Bulging
El-Wakil and Kassim cite that bulging is defined as a kind of pile shape imperfection;
bulging increases the pile cross-section in certain areas along the pile length. While bulging
may increase the pile ultimate load capacity, it is still considered as a pile defect and should
be investigated. Pile integrity testing can effectively help identify bulging and necking in
concrete piles.

How To Evaluate Integrity Problems?

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assume you're ok with According
this, but you to
canthe ASTM D5882,
opt-out if you wish. pile integrity refers to qualitative evaluation of the physical
dimensions,
Cookie continuity of a pile, and consistency of the pile material. Different NDT
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methods have been developed to assess the integrity of piles and deep foundations:

Low Strain Impact Integrity Test (Learn More)

Crosshole Sonic Logging

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High Strain Integrity Test (Dynamic Analyzer)
Thermal Integrity Profiling

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