INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE

CEN-306: FOUNDATION ENGINEERING

PILE FOUNDATIONS-V

by

DR. AKANKSHA TYAGI

Contents

• Under-reamed Piles

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Under-reamed Piles

• An ‘under-reamed’ pile is one with an

enlarged base or a bulb; the bulb is
called ‘underream’. There could be
one or more under-reams in a pile; in
the former case, it is called a single
underreamed pile and in the latter, it
is said to be a multi-under-reamed
pile.
Single under-reamed Multi under-reamed
• Under-reamed piles are cast-in-situ
pile pile
piles, which may be installed both in
sandy and in clayey soils.

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Under-reamed Piles

• The sides may be stabilised, if necessary, by the use of bentonite slurry,

sometimes called ‘drilling mud’.
• The under reams are formed by a special underreaming equipment. The
ratio of bulb size to the pile shaft size may be 2 to 3; usually a value of
2.5 is used.
• The bearing capacity of the pile increases because of the increased base
area; the more the number of under-reams the more the capacity.
• Field tests indicate that an under-reamed pile is more economical than a
straight bored pile for a given load

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Under-reamed Piles

Load Capacity of under reamed piles [IS 2911 Part 3 (1980)]

Clayey soils: For clayey soils the ultimate load carrying capacity of an under-reamed
pile may be determined from the expressions:

End Bearing For multi-underream

(kg)=Ultimate load capacity of pile
=Cross-sectional area of pile stem at toe level (cm2)
=Bearing capacity factor (generally taken as 9)
(kg/cm2)=Cohesion of soil around toe = { and are the under-reamed and stem
diameter, respectively in cm}

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Under-reamed Piles

Load Capacity of under reamed piles [IS 2911 Part 3 (1980)]

(kgf/cm2)= Average cohesion of soil around the under-reamed bulbs

=Reduction factor (0.5 for clays)
(cm2)= Surface area of the stem
(cm2)= Surface area of the cylinder circumscribing the underreamed bulbs

NOTE 1 - The first two terms in formula are for bearing and the last
two for friction components.

NOTE 2 - If the pile is with one bulb only the third term will not occur.

NOTE 3 - For calculating uplift load first term will not occur in formula

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 D
α Ca A s

D
α Ca A s

Du Du
Ca ’ A s’

D Aa Ca ’ Nc

Ap Nc cp
D Aa Ca ’ Nc

Ap Nc cp
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 Under-reamed Piles
Load Capacity of under reamed piles [IS 2911 Part 3 (1980)]
Key Points related to expression
The expression to determine the ultimate load carrying capacity of an under-reamed
pile in Clayey soil is:

The above expression to determine the load capacity of under-reamed piles in clay
soils holds for the usual spacing of under-reamed bulbs spaced at not more than
one-and-a-half times their diameter.

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Under-reamed Piles
Load Capacity of under reamed piles [IS 2911 Part 3 (1980)]
Sandy soils: For Sandy soils the ultimate load carrying capacity of an under-reamed pile may
be determined from the expressions:

(cm2)= ; is diameter of stem

(cm2)= ; is diameter of under-reamed bulb
= Number of under-reamed bulbs
γ= Average unit weight of soil (submerged unit weight in strata below water table)
and = Bearing capacity factors depending upon the angle of internal friction

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Under-reamed Piles
Load Capacity of under reamed piles [IS 2911 Part 3 (1980)]

(cm)= Depth of the centre of different under-reamed bulbs below ground level
(cm)= Total depth of pile below ground level (cm)
= Earth pressure coefficient (usually taken 1.75 for sandy soils)
δ= Angle of wall friction (may be taken equal to the angle of internal friction φ)
(cm)= Depth of the centre of first under-reamed bulb
(cm)= Depth of the centre of the last under-reamed bulb

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 D
n=2
d1
Friction
component

d2

df
𝑨𝒂 ( 𝟏
𝟐
𝑫𝒖 γ 𝑵 γ +γ 𝑵 𝒒 𝒅𝟏 )
Du

D
𝑨𝒂 ( 𝟏
𝑫 γ 𝑵 γ +γ 𝑵 𝒒 𝒅𝟐
𝟐 𝒖 )
𝑨𝒑 ( 𝟏
𝟐
𝑫 γ 𝑵 γ +γ 𝒅 𝒇 𝑵 𝒒 ) 11
For Stem portion:

Get critical depth;

Draw Variation of effective stress
Get fsav and fsmax

(USE  and D)

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Under-reamed Piles
Load Capacity of under reamed piles [IS 2911 Part 3 (1980)]
Key Points related to expression

1. The first two terms in the formula are for bearing component and the last one for
friction component.
2. For uplift bearing on tip, Ap will not occur.
3. will be as specified in 1S : 6403-1971 and, will be taken from Fig. in next slide.
This factor, apart from the angle of internal friction φ depends upon the method
of installation of pile and the component containing this factor will generally be
over estimated (up to about twice) in bored piles.

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Under-reamed Piles
Load Capacity of under reamed piles [IS 2911 Part 3 (1980)]

Determination of Bearing capacity factor Nq:

Bearing capacity factor Nq can be determined
from the chart provided in IS : 2911 (Part III) -
1980

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