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Design of Bored Piles for Various Geological Formations in Singapore

Conference Paper · January 2013

DOI: 10.3850/978-981-07-4623-0_057

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 International Symposium on Advances in Foundation Engineering (ISAFE 2013)
5-6 December 2013, Singapore
Phoon, K. K., Chua T. S., Yang, H. B. & Cham, W. M. (editors)

DESIGN OF BORED PILES FOR VARIOUS GEOLOGICAL

FORMATIONS IN SINGAPORE
CHUA T.S, MICHELLE LEW, EDWARD KOH, LIM C.H.
Kiso-Jiban Singapore Pte Ltd, Singapore

ABSTRACT: Singapore probably has the longest pile lengths driven into the ground per capita.
Due to variable ground condition in Singapore, it was a common practice for pile to be
instrumented during ultimate pile load test to derive design parameters for the design of working
piles. Since 2003, the local building regulation recommended the minimum number and types of
pile test to be carried out for each project involving piling works. In addition, there was also an
increased in construction activities for building projects which used bored piles as foundation. This
taken together means numerous instrumented piles have been conducted and lot of test data are
available. This paper will present some of the test data from instrumented ultimate load test tests
and categorized them into various geological formations in Singapore namely Bukit Timah
Granite, Jurong, Fort Canning Boulder Bed and Old Alluvium. These data could serve as reference
for design or comparison. The factors that may affect the result of pile load test such as diameter of
pile and installation method in various geological formations will be discussed.

INTRODUCTION

The rapid development in Singapore created demand for high rise commercial buildings, private
condominiums and public housing flats. These in turn generated demand for bored piles which are
usually designed to support these buildings due to its high carrying capacity. In addition, these
buildings are getting taller. With limited building foot print, this resulted in heavier load that each
pile have to support. The required diameter of piles is therefore getting bigger and this necessitates
consideration in the area of pile design.

Locally, the design of bored piles is based on Singapore Standard Code of Practice for Foundation,
SS CP 4 (2003). It recommended some design parameters to be followed based on past practices.
Since 2003 when the Code was finalised, a large number of load tests have been conducted. This
paper will report some of these data from instrumented pile load tests and compared it with the
recommended values. The data could serve as a guide for preliminary design and avoid the case of
using ‘one-off optimistic’ pile load test result which can translate into installed pile failing to meet
working load test criteria or other undesirable consequences of damage to building.

The acceptability of working piles in local practice is based on the pile head settlement not exceed
25mm when loaded to 2.0 times it’s the working load (SS CP4, 2003). This criterion is achievable
under current piling practice by the use of traditional factor of safety. However, with the increase
in use of larger diameter bored piles which are observed to settle more under same working load,
the traditional safety factor may not be sufficient. In addition, with the impeding implementation
of Eurocode 7 (SS EN 1997-1, 2010) which allows reduction of correlation factors, ξ, to derive
characteristic values with increase of field tests, the passing of settlement criteria based on
traditional safety of factor will need to be re-calibrated. This paper will highlight observation on
factors that can affect the behavior of pile settlement that Engineers will need to take into
consideration when designing bored pile in order to satisfy the settlement criteria.
MAJOR FOUNDING FORMATIONS IN SINGAPORE

Figure 1. Competent founding formations in Singapore

Figure 2. Picture of the four formations (Bukit Timah Granite, Jurong Formation, FCBB, and Old
Alluvium) exposed at various sites in Singapore.

Bored piles in Singapore are mainly founded in four competent formations namely Bukit Timah
Granite, Jurong Formation, Fort Canning Boulder Bed (FCBB) and Old Alluvium (Chiam et al,
2003) as shown in Figure 1 (modified after Cai, 2010). It is a practice to consider the upper part of
the Bukit Timah Granite, Jurong Formation and Old Alluvium which consists of highly weathered
to residual soil with degree of weathering decreasing with depth (Yong & Karunaratne, 1983) to
contribute to the capacity of the piles. Figure 2 shows the pictures of the four formations exposed
at various sites in Singapore.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS BORED PILES

In local piling practice, the design of bored piles is usually based on modified Meyerhof Equation
which relates the SPT ‘N” values obtained from standard penetration to shaft resistance (fs) and
base resistance (qb). Ultimate shaft resistance, fs is given by:

fs = Ks N kPa, where N is the SPT ‘N’ value and Ks is the coefficient factor.

The ultimate base resistance, qb is given by:

qb = Kb (40N) kPa, where N is the SPT ‘N’ value and Kb is the coefficient factor.
A global factor of safety of 2.5 is commonly used to derive the allowable working load of pile. In
addition, a partial factor of safety approach is also considered by adopting a factor of safety of 1.5
for the shaft and 3 for the base. This is to allow for different resistance/settlement relationships of
shaft and base.

The design of piles using this approach together with limiting design parameters and limiting
concrete stress, usually results in pile able to satisfy the pile head settlement limit of not exceeding
25mm when loaded to 2.0 times its the working load, a recommendation by SS CP4 (2003).

DESIGN PARAMETERS FOR BORED PILES

SS CP4:2003 recommended a range of values for design of bored piles i.e. for stiff to hard
cohesive soil, a value of Ks between 1.5 to 2.5 may be adopted. It recommended that the value of fs
be limited to 150 kPa. This includes soils of Bukit Timah Granite and sedimentary Jurong
Formation. For dense or hard cemented soil in the Old Alluvium, a value of Ks between 2 and 3 is
recommended, subjected to limiting value of fs = 300 kPa. It also stated that higher value of Ks or
fs may be adopted if substantiated by sufficient load test under similar condition.

For the ultimate base resistance, the Code recommended a Kb value of between 1 and 3 subjected
to a limiting value of qb = 10 MPa for bearing strata with the SPT ‘N’ value equal to or greater
than 100. For unweathered rock, the limiting value of qb = 15 MPa was recommended.

In recent years, a large number of instrumented pile load tests have been conducted. The next few
sections will present some data obtained from pile load tests carried out in the various formations
and compared it with the recommended values.

Skin friction and base resistance values

Bukit Timah Granite

Bukit Timah Granite covers about one-third of Singapore main island surface. The intrusion of the
Bukit Timah Granite is believed to have taken place during early to middle Triassic Period (200 to
250 million years ago). It is believed to be the base formation for the whole of the main island. The
granite has since been weathered into the current geological form with deep weathered zones
comprising residual soil (GVI), completely weathered granite (GV), highly weathered granite
(GIV), moderately weathered granite (GIII), slightly weathered granite (GII) and finally fresh
granite (GI). The thickness of the weathered soils and rocks are variable. The granite exhibit
higher strength with depth associated with decreasing degree of weathering.

Chang et al (1989), Ho (1992), Poh & Chiam (1993), Chua and Wong (1994), Chang & Wong
(1995) and Ong. C.W et al (1999) studied bored piling in this formation. There are field data on
design values for GVI, GV and GIV but very little on GIII. Piles were usually founded on bedrock
with only short penetration resulting in few opportunities to install strain gauges.

Figure 3(a) show the plot of unit skin friction against SPT ‘N’ value. It can be seen that the current
recommendation of Ks of between 1.5 to 2.5 is reasonable for design. However, it also shows that
the values can be smaller than the lower limit. The lower values are notably located just above
 (a) (b)

Figure 3. Plot of skin friction against SPT ‘N’ for (a) Bukit Timah Granite (b) Jurong Formation

bedrock level and this can be attributed to disturbance and longer exposure time during the process
of coring into bedrock. There is insufficient data to correlate the skin friction for GIV and GIII to
unconfined compressive strength, UCS as this test was not commonly carried out. The limited data
available indicated that fs value is more than 500 kPa. Field tests indicated that high base
resistance, qb could not be achieved with certainty though a value of 10 MPa for GIII has been
verified at some site. This is partly due to inability is mobilise the base resistance during load tests.
It is generally accepted that the use of high base resistance is not recommended due to difficulty in
cleaning the base of the pile unless base grouting is carried out. In addition, base resistance is
unlikely to contribute significantly to reduction in pile settlement when loaded to 2 times its
working load especially for deep pile.

Jurong Formation

Jurong formation is a sedimentary rock formation and covers about one-third of Singapore Island.
It was formed from late Triassic to early Jurassic (175 - 235 years). Weathering grade is similar to
Bukit Timah Granite. Mudstone, sandstone, shales and conglomerate can be found in this
formation (Yong and Karunaratne, 1983). These beds can be severely folded and with faults lines.

Radhakrishnan and Leung(1989) and Leung (1996) studied bored piling in this formation. They
reported good value could be obtained for skin friction in moderately weathered rock. However,
the unit skin friction value could be affected by method of stabilization bore hole and time lag
between boring and casting of the pile.

Figure 3(b) show the plot of unit skin friction against SPT ‘N’ value. It can be seen that the current
recommendation of Ks is conservative. The limiting fs = 150 kPa as suggested by the Code is
conservative especially for soil with higher SPT ‘N’ value. For moderately weathered SIII, high
value of fs more than 500 kPa can be obtained. Use of high base resistance is not recommended
due to difficulty in cleaning especially in completely weathered S(V) which slaked under water as
Figure 4. Locations where FCBB where encountered during construction activities

large diameter bored piles will likely be constructed under ‘wet’ hole condition i.e. using
stabilising fluid. For SIII, the base resistance, qb of 5000 kPa or more can be obtained.

Fort Canning Boulder Bed, FCBB

FCBB is believed to be originated from Jurong Formation (Shirlaw et al (1990). It is a highly

heterogeneous material, which typically consists of a conglomerate of siltstone and sandstone,
gravel and cobbles and boulders from 2 to more than 10m, embedded in a matrix of clay, silt and
sand. They are likely to be formed in late Cretaceous. FCBB is usually not classified into
weathering grade. This formation can be found in many parts of the Central Business District in
Singapore. The updated locations where FCBB were encountered are shown in Figure 4.

Building foundation in this formation has been studied by Broms and Lai (1995), Chua and Lai
(1994), Wallace et al (1990) and Nasim et al (2003). This formation is by far the most complex
formation for the installation of bored piles due to the presence of hard sandstone boulders. There
are locations where the FCBB was found immediately after soft marine clay.

Due to randomness of the boulders distribution and difficulty in classifying its weathering grade,
unit skin friction was plotted against its Reduce level as shown in Figure 5 (a). A value of fs = 400
kPa seem reasonable for deeper depth but are not conservative for shallow depth. Engineers should
carry out load test at representative depths to obtain the design value. For design value for base
resistance is difficult to ascertain. Engineers should use a conservative base resistance based on
representative pile load test as the soil matrix will govern the design rather than the sandstone in
the form of the boulders (see Figure 6).
 (a) (b)

Figure 5. Plot of skin friction (a) against depth for FCBB (b) against SPT ‘N’ value for OA

Figure 6. Cores obtained from toe of a bored pile founded on FCBB

Old Alluvium, OA

The Old Alluvium was formed from late Tertiary to middle Pleistocene (2 - 7 million years old). It
is a dense deposit of interbedded sands, silts and clays laid down in a slowly subsiding basin. The
formation consists of coarse angular quatrtz feldspar sand and gravel which have probably been
derived from granite. Weathering and decomposition of the feldspar in the upper layers has
produced cohesive soil of clayey silty sand or sandy clay with some fine gravel. The clay content
of Old Alluvium tends to increase with increasing degree of weathering and proximity to the
ground surface. The weathering classification of Old Alluvium is based on SPT ‘N’ value.

Wei et al (2002) and Chan (2004) studied bored piling in this formation. The Old Alluvium is
considered the easiest formation for the installation of bored piles due to its consistency. The
results of the field tests are shown in Figure 5(b). It shows that Ks value of 2 to 3 is reasonable. For
base resistance, qb a value of up to 5000 kPa can be used. However, this is dependence on how the
base is cleaned and there is a need to verify this value on site by pile load test.
Figure 7. Load settlement curve for piles with different diameter

EFFECTS OF PILE DIAMETER

The maximum settlement at working load increases with increasing pile diameter at a constant
factor of safety. For large diameter pile, the application of conventional factor of safety is
insufficient to limit the settlement at working load (Chang et al, 1989). Figure 7 shows the
settlement vs WL% for different pile diameters for an actual bored piling project. It indicated that
pile with larger diameter will settle more for a given WL%. As settlement criterion at 2xWL is
always limited to 25mm, irrespectively of the pile diameter, pile with larger diameter need to more
conservatively design to satisfy this limit. It is therefore increasing more important to carry out
settlement analysis for large diameter piles.

PILE GROUP EFFECTS

Leung (2011) studies have shown that more loads will be transferred to the pile base under long
term service loading condition than short term load test condition. With the increasing high
structural loading that resulted in closer pile spacing, it is important to include detail analysis by
including pile group effect. With the advance in technology, Engineers could use numerical
modeling to analyse a foundation project by considering the complete pile group rather than
individual pile. It is hope that Engineers could collect useful data of completed projects for sharing
and comparison. This could be used to gauge and calibrate the results of numerical analysis.

CONCLUSION

The field data collected from pile load tests shows that the recommended values by SS CP4 2003
is reasonable. The FCBB data is included to close the gap in the Code’s recommended range of
values. Diameter of pile affects its settlement behaviour. Care should be taken when reviewing
extraordinary good results from a single pile load test. The reduction of correlation factors, ξ, as
suggested by Eurocode 7, has to be accompanied by settlement analysis to ensure that it can meet
settlement limiting value of the building. Field data collected from completed buildings should be
collected for comparison and calibration.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thanks Foo CY, Wu LP, Saw Han, Robin Chen and Win Lwin Oo for their
valuable supports. The contribution of field data from piling specialists is greatly acknowledged.
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