Cast-in-Place Concrete Piles

ast in place concrete piles eliminate the need for

pile driving machinery which can cause dangerous
vibrations and precipitate landslides and which is
sometimes too costly for use on small jobs. Two simple
new techniques for installing cast-in-place piles
promise solutions to these problems.

CAST-IN-PLACE PILES WITH STEEL CORES

Steel-cored concrete piles cast in drilled shafts proved
effective in preventing landslides on part of the new freeway construction in Seattle, Washington, where usual
methods of driving piling were considered too hazardous because ground vibrations caused by the hammering might precipitate the slide. The method was developed by the Washington State highway department.
The problem became apparent when hairline cracks
developed in the area in which the contractor was proceeding with excavation pile driving, and footing and
column construction for shoring to support an uphill retaining wall. Further investigation revealed some displacement at the 108-foot elevation in an adjacent pier
footing excavation. Slope indicators were installed and
correlated findings indicated that the area encompassed

by the slide extended to the south for approximately 400

feet on a line just west of the proposed retaining wall.
The threatened hillside movement was particularly
serious because it threatened closure of one of the citys
main arterial streets and endangered a nearby apartment building. No movement had yet occurred in the
main area of the proposed uphill retaining wall and the
ancient fracture zone was 10 feet below the retaining
wall footing elevation. The immediate danger was the
possibility of the slide progression to the east beyond the
limits of the wall, necessitating difficult remedial work in
disturbed earth in a restricted right-of-way width. Also
the prospect of heightening a 30- to 40-foot wall or increasing excavation depths in a critical area were disquieting. Quick action was imperative. The need to prevent
ground vibrations such as those induced by a pile-driver led to the selection of a cast-in-place cylinder pile
type of construction.
This procedure required pre-drilling of holes, placing
a steel beam in each hole, and back-filling voids with
concrete. The upper zone would thus be pinned to the
lower zone through the thin fractured layer prior to any
movement, thus maintaining the stability of the earth in

Diagram of new piling system developed by a

British piling company.
Workmen thread a precast section of the pile over
central steel tube to form pile core.

both zones. Altogether 62 pilings were designed varying

in depth from 62 to 81 feet and requiring 4,410 lineal feet
of boring excavation, 2,900 cubic yards of ready mixed
concrete, 9,700 pounds of reinforcing steel and 1,453,000
pounds of high-strength, low-alloy structural steel I
beams.
Steel casings 1 1/4 inches thick and 4 feet 9 inches in
diameter were used to case the holes to their full depths
to retain the sandy clays. Excessive moisture in the borings required steady pumping prior to placing concrete
and slough from a wet sand strata was not always avoidable. Consequently it was found desirable to drill and
case to the upper limit of the sand zone, place the I beam
and then drive it to position with an improvised mandrel and hammer.
The contractor started out by using tremies down as
far as 70 feet, but lost them so frequently because of
hanging up on stud bolts that he finally placed the concrete directly into the cylinders. It was found that the
crew could place a 60-foot head of concrete before
pulling out the casing, so two casing lengths were placed
before pulling up. Because the earth pressure came primarily from the overburden the holes in the top 25 feet
were over-drilled regularly to 4 feet 4 inches and wider
casings put down, the standard casings inserted, the interstices backfilled with sand, and then the outer casings
removed before placing concrete.
A cast-in-place face wall was hung on the front of the
piles and fastened to the steel beams in the cylinders. To
do this engineers placed a wood blockout on the front
flange of the steel beam down to the wall footing elevation. The blockout was removed after excavation to subgrade, thereby permitting face wall dowels to be welded
to the beam flange.
The Washington State highway departments AX mix
was used for the concrete in the piers. This mix is a refinement of the A class giving a minimum ultimate
strength of 4,000 psi at 28 days. An admixture was used to
give early curing because the drilling of adjacent piles
would be necessary in two daysless than normal curing time.
Experience on this project has shown the versatility of
this type of design, and it appears certain that it will be
used on other jobs where dangerous earth conditions exist.

CAST-IN-PLACE PILES WITH PRECAST CORES

A British piling company has introduced a system
which uses precast sections for the core of the pile. The
result is a better and simpler technique which has proved
successful on several difficult projects.
A hole is bored in the ground to the required depth and
lined, as necessary, with a steel casing made up in convenient lengths. The precast sections are then threaded
over a central steel tube to form the pile core. Support is
by a special release gear fitted to the lower end of the
steel tube; the tube is also made up in short lengths

screwed together as assembly proceeds. Lowering into

the borehole continues as each section is added. Main
longitudinal reinforcement (4, 5 or 6 rods, 1/2 to 1 inch
in diameter) is threaded through holes in the sections,
and thus cannot be displaced. The steel lining of the
borehole is withdrawn and a grout mix pumped in simultaneously through the central hole in the sections.
The mix is under pressure to fill all voids both within the
body of the pile and between the core and the sides of
the hole. Subsoil water is forced out as the level of the
mix rises. The result is a high-strength core grouted together and into the subsoil to form a solid pile encased
in a thick skin of concrete firmly keyed to the substratum.
The sections are usually cast in lengths of 1, 1 1/2, and
3 feet and diameters of 11 1/2, 14 1/2 and 23 1/2 inches
for nominal pile sizes of 14, 18 and 26 inches (working
loads up to 40, 60 and 150 tons). Each section has a
ribbed annular surface to promote a good bond with the
surrounding mix and is reinforced with 1/4-inch spiral
binding at 6-inch pitch. The sections are cast of vibrated
concrete with a nominal 1 : 1 1/2 : 3 mix by volume. Maximum resistance to attack by sulfates in the ground water or subsoils can be assured by the use of sulfate-resisting cements, but standard portland cement and
other types of cement are often used.

All the equipment and components needed for the

piles are kept light and easy to handle. The vibration associated with pile driving is, of course, eliminated, a big
advantage in built-up areas, and headroom and space
problems are largely avoided. Piles up to 90 feet long are
regularly being formed in this way without difficulty.
Each stage of the assembly can be checked above
ground. Main use of the system at present is on small
jobs which do not justify the use of full-scale piling
equipment. Inclined piles are also being formed with the
system. Assembly through water, for such structures as
bridge piers, is easily achieved by using concrete pipe
sections as a permanent cofferdam.
View of some of the 62 cast-in-place piles taken after
the excavation had been completed but before the face
wall was cast. Wood knockout blocks visible on the exposed side of the piles were removed to permit welding
anchor bolts to the encased steel beams, the latter in
turn providing for the fastening of the wall panels.

PUBLICATION #C630069
Copyright 1963, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved