Load Carrying Capacity of Piles -

IS 2911 Part-1
BITS Pilani Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engg.
Pilani Campus

1
 IS 2911 Part-1 Concrete Piles
(2010)

Section 1 : Driven Cast-in-Situ Concrete Piles.

Section 2 : Bored Cast-in-Situ Concrete Piles.

Section 3 : Driven Precast Concrete Pies.

Section 4 : Precast Concrete Piles in Pre-bored Holes.

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Load Carrying Capacity of
Piles - Static Analysis

1.) Piles in Granular Soils.

2.) Piles in Cohesive Soils.

3.) Use of Static Cone penetration Data.

4.) Use of Standard Penetration Test Data for

Cohesionless Soil.

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Load bearing capacity of piles
(Annex B, IS 2911):For Piles in Granular Soils

𝑄𝑢 = 𝐴𝑝 0.5𝐷𝛾𝑁𝛾 + 𝑃𝐷 𝑁𝑞 + ෍ 𝐾𝑖 𝑃𝐷𝑖 tan 𝛿𝑖 𝐴𝑠𝑖

𝑖=1

𝑄𝑢 = 𝐴𝑝 𝑞𝑏 + ෍ 𝑓𝑠𝑖 𝐴𝑠𝑖
𝑖=1

𝐴𝑝 = Cross-sectional area of pile tip,

𝐴𝑠𝑖 = Surface area of pile shaft in the ith layer

𝐷= diameter of pile shaft, 𝛾= Effective unit weight of the soil at pile tip

𝑵𝜸 = Bearing capacity factor 𝑁𝛾 for general shear failure according to IS 6403)

𝑁𝑞 = as per the figure in IS2911-Part1, 𝜹=∅
Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Load bearing capacity
For Piles in Granular Soils
𝑛

𝑄𝑢 = 𝐴𝑝 0.5𝐷𝛾𝑁𝛾 + 𝑃𝐷 𝑁𝑞 + ෍ 𝐾𝑖 𝑃𝐷𝑖 tan 𝛿𝑖 𝐴𝑠𝑖

𝑖=1

𝑃𝐷 = Effective overburden pressure at pile tip

In working out pile capacity by static formula, the maximum
effective overburden at the pile tip should correspond to the critical
depth(=0.5*ϕ*D), which is as below
Critical depth = 15 times the pile diameter for ∅ ≤ 30
= 20 times the pile diameter for ∅ ≥ 40
(interpolate for intermediate values)

𝑃𝐷𝑖 = Effective overburden pressure for the ith layer

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Load bearing capacity
For Piles in Granular Soils
𝑛

𝑄𝑢 = 𝐴𝑝 0.5𝐷𝛾𝑁𝛾 + 𝑃𝐷 𝑁𝑞 + ෍ 𝐾𝑖 𝑃𝐷𝑖 tan 𝛿𝑖 𝐴𝑠𝑖

𝑖=1
𝑛

𝑄𝑢 = 𝐴𝑝 𝑞𝑏 + ෍ 𝑓𝑠𝑖 𝐴𝑠𝑖
𝑖=1
𝛿𝑖 = Angle of wall friction between pile and soil for the ith layer = ϕ’
𝐴𝑠𝑖 = Surface area of pile shaft in the ith layer
𝐾𝑖 = Coefficient of earth pressure applicable for the ith layer It
depends on the nature of soil strata, type of pile, spacing of pile and
its method of construction.
For driven piles in loose to dense sand with f varying between 30°
and 40°, Ki values in the range of 1 to 2 may be used (For bored
piles, Ki values in the range of 1 to 1.5 may be used)
Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
For ∅ varying between 30 and 40 𝐾𝑖 varies between
a.) 1 to 2 for driven piles.(K = 1 for∅ ≤ 30, K = 2 for ∅ ≥ 40 )
b.) 1 to 1.5 for bored piles.(K = 1 for∅ ≤ 30, K = 1.5 for ∅ ≥ 40 )

For piles passing through cohesive strata and

terminating in a granular stratum, a penetration of at
least twice the diameter of the pile shaft should be
given into the granular stratum.

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

𝑁𝑞 For Driven Piles
IS 2911 – 1 (sec. 1 and Sec. 3)

𝑁𝑞 = Bearing capacity factor

depending upon the angle of internal
friction at pile tip
(Nq factor will depend on the nature of
soil, type of pile, the L/D ratio and its
method of construction.)

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

𝑁𝑞 For
Driven
Piles

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

𝑁𝑞 For Bored Piles
IS 2911 – 1 (sec. 2 and Sec. 4)

𝑁𝑞 = Bearing capacity factor

depending upon the angle of internal
friction at pile tip
(Nq factor will depend on the nature of
soil, type of pile, the L/D ratio and its
method of construction.)

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Load bearing capacity of piles
(Annex B, IS 2911)

For Piles in Cohesive Soils

𝑛

𝑄𝑢 = 𝐴𝑝 𝑁𝑐 𝑐𝑝 + ෍ 𝛼𝑖 𝑐𝑖 𝐴𝑠𝑖
𝑖=1

𝐴𝑝 = Cross-sectional area of pile tip

𝐷= diameter of pile shaft
𝛾= Effective unit weight of the soil at pile tip
𝑁𝑐 = Bearing capacity factor (can be taken as 9)
𝑐𝑝 = Average cohesion in pile tip

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Load bearing capacity
For Piles in Cohesive Soils

𝑛 𝑛

𝑄𝑢 = 𝐴𝑝 𝑁𝑐 𝑐𝑝 + ෍ 𝛼𝑖 𝑐𝑖 𝐴𝑠𝑖 = 𝐴𝑝 𝑞𝑏 + ෍ 𝑓𝑠𝑖 𝐴𝑠𝑖

𝑖=1 𝑖=1

𝑐𝑖 = Average cohesion for the ith layer

𝐴𝑠𝑖 = Surface area of pile shaft in the ith layer

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

𝛼𝑖 Factor:𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 applying tan−1 in calculator, it should
be set in “Radians” for formula given below
𝛼 = 66.8308 − 42.53039 × tan−1 𝐶𝑢

𝛼𝑖 = Adhesion factor for the ith

layer depending on the
consistency of soil

Cu < 43 kPa → 𝛼 = 1
Cu > 173 kPa → 𝛼 = 0.272

Equations valid for Cu in range 43 to 173 kPa

𝛼 = 66.838 − 0.743 × tan−1 𝐶𝑢 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 applying tan−1 in calculator,

it should be set in “Degrees”.
𝛼 = 66.838 − 42.53 × tan−1 𝐶𝑢 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 applying tan−1 in calculator,
it should be set in “Radians”.
Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
 14

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Extent of the possible failure surface developing below
the pile toe.

15

Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus