Pile cap moments and shears for design are best obtained by using a FEM or a computer

program such as B-6 based on the finite-grid method (FGM), or, preferably, B-28. When
the cap load is at the centroid of both cap and group, the group is symmetrical, and the cap
load is vertical, any computer program for plates will give node moments with adequate
accuracy. The FGM can be used to obtain both the node moments and shears. In using these
programs one replaces (or adds the vertical pile spring) the soil spring at the nodes where
piles are located with a pile "spring" and produces a set of output. Since the pile spring is
usually several orders of magnitude larger than the soil springs in the soft soils where piles
are usually used, the model is not significantly improved by using soil springs at all nodes
and with soil and pile springs in parallel at the pile nodes.
When there are battered piles and/or additional load degrees of freedom, one must use
a special program to obtain a correct pile cap solution. This problem is considered in more
detail in Sec. 18-11. In three- and four-pile groups centrally loaded with a vertical load, cap
flexibility is not a factor as each pile carries P/n, where n = the three or four piles in the group.
When there are more piles than this—particularly both interior and exterior—cap flexibility is
a significant factor; e.g., in a centrally loaded five-pile group with four exterior and one central
pile the central pile will carry most of the load until the cap becomes very rigid (thick). In a
long-term case, the pile loads might tend to even out somewhat; however, the piles must be
designed to support worst-case loading even if it is transient.

18-7 BATTER PILES

When large lateral loads are to be resisted by a pile group, it has been a common practice
to use piles driven at a slope with the vertical, i.e., batter piles. It has also been common to
assume that the batter piles carry all the lateral loads. All piles have some lateral load-carrying
ability dependent on the pile width, the flexural rigidity (EI) of the pile, and the stiffness of
the soil in which they are embedded. Early methods of pile-group analysis with both vertical
and lateral loads were primarily graphical. These early methods also assumed that the piles
were axially loaded, which precluded bending moments being developed. From combining
graphical solutions and the assumptions of axial loading, it naturally followed that the lateral
loads had to be carried by batter piles.
Modern methods of pile-group analysis use the computer, and additionally lateral pile-
load tests have verified what the computer solutions illustrate, namely, that all the piles in a
group carry lateral load. The graphical solutions are no longer used, since they are obviously
incorrect. The computer method of group analysis, being the only practical way of analyzing
a group, is the only method presented in this chapter.
Common pile batters range from J12 (1 horizontal to 12 vertical) to /J12. When the batter
exceeds /J 4 , the driving may require special equipment, with resulting increased costs.

18-8 NEGATIVE SKIN FRICTION

When a fill is placed on a compressible soil deposit, consolidation of the compressible mate-
rial will occur. When a pile is driven through (or into) the compressible material (either before
or after fill placement) before consolidation is complete, the soil will move downward relative
to the pile. This relative movement will develop skin friction between the pile and the moving
soil termed negative skin friction. According to measurements reported by Bjerrum et al.
(1969), Bozozuk (1972), and Bozozuk et al. (1979), the negative skin friction can exceed the
allowable load for pile sections. Fellenius (1972) has also reported large values of measured
negative skin resistance.
The principal effect of negative skin resistance is to increase the axial load in the lower
fixed portion of the pile. It may result also in increased pile settlements due to the axial
shortening and/or additional point penetration of the pile under the increased axial load. Note
that in Fig. 18-9 the fill settlement may be such that a gap forms between the bottom of the
pile cap and the soil. This will transfer the full cap weight to the piles and may change the
bending stresses in the cap.
Negative skin friction can produce large tension stresses when the effect is from expan-
sive soils—especially if no, or insufficient, gap is left between soil and pile cap and the soil
expands against both the pile and the cap.
Negative skin friction can be developed from the following:

1. A cohesive fill placed over a cohesionless soil deposit. The fill develops shear resistance
(adhesion) between the soil and pile from lateral pressure/flow effects, so that the pile,
is pushed downward as the fill consolidates. Little effect is produced in the underlying
cohesionless soil except that the weight of fill increases the lateral pressure. This provides
additional skin resistance against further pile penetration and raises the center of resistance
nearer the cohesive fill for point-bearing piles.
2. A cohesionless fill placed over a compressible, cohesive deposit. In this case there will be
some downdrag in the fill zone, but the principal downdrag will occur in the zone of consol-
idation. For point-bearing piles any settlement of the group will be due to axial shortening
of the pile. For floating piles, additional penetration with matching settlement will occur
unless the pile is sufficiently long that the bottom portion can develop enough positive
skin resistance to balance the additional load developed by negative (or downward) skin

Gap
Cohesive Cohesionless New fill
fill fill

• Point may be in
firm material

(a) (b) (C)

Figure 18-9 Development of negative friction forces on a single pile from a cohesive or cohesionless fill or on
a pile group in a cohesive soil fill.
 resistance. In this case an approximation of the location of the balance, or neutral, point
can be made.
3. Lowering of the groundwater table with resulting ground subsidence.
4. Pile-driving (and load-test) operations that produce negative stresses in the upper shaft
when the load is released and the pile shaft expands upward. The resulting slip and nega-
tive skin resistance must be balanced by a positive skin resistance in the lower shaft and/or
point load [Vesic (1977)].

For negative skin resistance forces to develop significantly, a portion of the pile must be
fixed against vertical movement, such as the point being on rock or the lower part being
in a dense sand. If the entire pile moves down with the consolidation effect no negative skin
resistance forces develop. For a single pile the negative skin resistance force can be estimated
as follows:

1. For cohesive fill overlying cohesionless soils as in Fig. \S-9a:

Pnf = ( ' a'p'qKdz (18-15)

Jo
where a' = coefficient relating the effective lateral pressure qK to the shearing resistance
about the pile perimeter; a' = tanS where S = 0.5 to 0.9$; su is replaced by
qK as this is somewhat of a drained case
p' = pile perimeter
K = lateral earth-pressure coefficient; use K = K0 = 1 - sin </>
q = effective overburden pressure at any depth z

Equation (18-12) could be written using the equivalent of fs from any of Eqs. (16-14) to
obtain the /3 method, which may be more reliable than the a method of Eq. (18-13) [see
Indraratna et al. (1992)]. That is,
(Lf
Pnf = rfiqdz
Jo
where r = reduction factor ranging from about 0.5 to 1.0.
2. For cohesive soil underlying cohesionless fill take the origin of coordinates at the bottom
of the fill (see Fig. 18-96):

Pnf = a'p'qKdz (18-16)

Jo
Below the neutral point (refer to Fig. 18-10), if there is one, positive friction is developed
to the bottom of effective pile length L:
fL
PPf = a'2p'qKdz + Pnp (18-17)

where Pnp = amount of negative skin resistance carried by the point where point-bearing
piles are used and other terms as previously defined.
Note that the general form of q is
 Cap

Fill

p' = perimeter

Neutral
point

Pa + Pn/ < Pnp + Pp+ P pf

Pnp + Pp + P pf
Figure 18-10 Location of neutral point to satisfy statics of vertical equilibrium with negative skin friction acting
on pile.

Also it may be necessary to adjust the integration limits if the soil is stratified to obtain a
summation of negative skin contributions.
If we take a' = a'2, and a floating pile where Pnp = 0, and if we equate Eqs. (18-16) and
(18-17) after integration for the limits shown, we obtain

a'p' {qoLx + ^Y~\K = a'p'qo(L - Lx)K + a'p'yf(L2 - I*)*

from which Lu the distance to the neutral point, is

*.-£ (H)- a
which reduces for qo = 0 to

Note that L is the effective pile length in the embedment zone and usually is not Lp.
 The Pnp term of Fig. (18-10) requires estimation for either point-bearing piles or where
it may be substantial for floating piles. The most recent attempt to refine the location of the
neutral point and obtain a general quantification of the negative skin resistance is that of
Matyas and Santamarina (1994). This work is not presented because in the author's opinion
there are too many estimations (both yield and working load side and point displacements and
point capacities—five values to estimate). From their work, however, it does appear that the
neutral point is somewhere between L/2 and L/3 (of Fig. 18-10) measured upward from the
pile point. The L/3 point seems particularly applicable when the point carries a substantial
part of the design load.
If you have enough load test data to compute the neutral point directly, this method is
preferable—but seldom likely to be carried out because of the expense. Alternatively, you
might compute the neutral point using Eq. (18-18) and see where it locates along shaft zone
L. Then arbitrarily compute the estimated axial load to this neutral point and also at depths of
about 0.6L and 0.67L down the shaft length L. If the pile shaft can carry these loads using an
SF on the order of 2 to 3, it is adequately sized. If the shaft is overstressed, then use a slightly
larger pile cross section.
When the piles are spaced at small s/D ratios, the negative friction force may act effectively
on the block perimeter rather than on the individual piles to obtain two modes of stressing
requiring investigation:

1. The total group negative skin resistance as the sum from the individual piles,

Qn =^Pnf (18-19)

2. The "block" skin resistance based on shear resistance on the block perimeter H- weight of
block trapped between the piles,
Qn = fsLfP'g + yLfA (18-20)

where y = unit weight of soil enclosed in pile group to depth Lf

A = area of pile group enclosed in perimeter p'g (Fig. 18-9c)
fs = a'qK = effective skin resistance on the group perimeter
p'g = perimeter of pile group

The maximum from Eq. (18-19) or (18-20) should be used for the estimate of the nega-
tive skin resistance that could be developed. Some evidence exists [Baligh et al. (1978),
Indraratna et al. (1992)] that coating the pile shaft downdrag zone with a special bitumen
mixture will substantially reduce the negative skin friction force.

Example 18-5. Estimate the negative skin-friction effect for the pile group shown in Fig. E18-5.
The group is square and the piles are driven through the fill after it has been placed and while the
underlying soil is still in a consolidating state. The CD angle of internal friction of the fill is assumed
as shown.

Solution. We will use Eq. (18-14) to obtain the single-pile increase:

(after integration)
 Pile'cap

406 mm OD Fill

Figure E18-5

Obtain a' = 0.667 tan $ = 0.667 tan 30° = 0.385. Then by inspection go = 0. Take K = K0 =
1 - s i n 30° = 0.5, so that
_ 0.385(77 x 0.406)(17.29 X 3.052)0.50
rnf — — 20 KN

Check the alternative possibility of block loading of the piles using Eq. (18-20). Take the effective
perimeter of the group based on center-to-center pile spacing:

Qn = fsLfp'g + yLfA [Eq. (18-20)]

where /, = ^ ~

p'g = 2(2 X 1.37) = 5.48 m

Then

Qn = 0.385 x 17.29 x 3 . 0 ^ x 5.48 x 0.5 + ^ x ^ x & x ] ^ 2

= 85 + 396 = 481 kN

The increase per pile is 481/9 = 53 > 20 kN and controls.

There is no certainty that the s/D is such as to allow this latter negative resistance to develop, but
one will be on the safe side to assume this increase is due to negative skin resistance in the absence
of a better limitation on s/D.

Example 18-6. Redo Example 18-5 as if the fill is only 1.5 m deep and the underlying soil is a
soft clay. Assume the piles are D = 400 mm X 25 m long. The water table is at the top of the clay
and y'clay = 9.4 kN/m3. Assume the piles are floating and the clay is normally consolidated with
(/>' = 30°(CD).

Required. Compute the location of the neutral point and the maximum load increase in the piles
due to negative skin function.

Solution. We will use Eq. (18-18) and take an effective L = 25 - 1.5 = 23.5 m:
qo = 17.29 X 1.5 = 26kPa (on top of clay)
Next Page

Solving by trial (programmable calculator), we find L\ = 15.9 m. From the ground surface (or base
of pile cap) Lx = 15.9+ 1.5 = 17.4 m. The increase in pile load is the accumulation of negative
friction from the fill base (distance of Li) to the neutral point (see Fig. 18-10), or

Pn = a'p'{ao + ^-\LxK

Use a' = 0.667 tan 30° = 0.385; tf = l-sin<£ = 0.50; and/?' = TTD = OAOTT = 1.26 m to find

(26 +
Q 4 X 1S Q\
2 115.9 X 0.50 = 388 kN

Check positive resistance (no point load and L = 23.5 m) by Eq. (18-14)

f P os=ay[^(L-L,)+ y ' (L2 2 " L ' ) ]^

f 9 4(23 53 - 15 92)1
;
= 0.385 x 1.26 26(23.5 - 15.9) + ^ 2 0.50
= 389 vs. 388 kN (within round-off and O.K.)
The increase in pile load due to negative skin friction = 388 kN.

18-9 LATERALLY LOADED PILE GROUPS

This topic has produced a quantity of conflicting literature—primarily concerning whether a
group of, say, four piles would displace more with a lateral group load Phg = 40 kN than a
single pile with a load Phs = 10 kN. For example, one case reported in the literature involved
a nine-pile group consisting of 2134-mm pipe piles with tw = 57 mm. The measured group
Sh8 — 135 mm versus a single pile 8hp « 40 mm. Ooi and Duncan (1994) report using a
nine-pile group with a rigid cap; pile spacing on the order of s/B = 3; and HP 250 X 63
(10 X 42) piles. It was given that the group load Phg = 9Phs = 400.5 kN produced a lateral
8hg = 3.4 mm, whereas a single pile with P 5 = 44.5 kN had a Shp = 1.7 mm. Several other
lateral pile tests have reported similar ratios of 8hg/8hp.
Stating that a cap is "rigid" does not make it so, for pile cap computations including the
flexural rigidity (EI) of the cap indicate that a cap on the order of 2 to 3 m in plan has to be
between 1.8 and 2 + m thick—most caps are considered "rigid" if they are from 0.6 to 1 m
thick (see Sec. 18-6). If the cap is not truly rigid, in-plane plate distortion from both bending
and shear may be measured as a part of the cap displacement; for small displacements, the
percent error can be large, i.e., 1 mm in 4 mm is a 25 percent error.
There are only two tests reported in the literature (known to the author) in which one
can have confidence that "rigid" caps were indeed used: by Kim and Brungraber (1976) and
Beatty (1970). In both cases the caps were massive blocks of concrete. In the Kim-Brungraber
case the group displacement 8hg was about 50 percent of the single-pile displacement 5 ^ . In
the Beatty case it was difficult to draw any conclusions since they tested two-pile and six-pile
groups. From two of the tests under nearly identical loading conditions—ground contact and
no passive resistance—the two-pile group when loaded to 180 kN had a lateral displacement