Estimates of shaft and end loads in piles in chalk using strain

gauge instrumentation

S. BUTTLING*

Since the end of 1973, eight test piles in chalk have been instrumented in order to determine
detailed information on their behaviour under test. Of these eight, four were bored and four
were driven, and the distributions of load with depth have been determined for the jirst time in
chalk in a similar manner to that previously used in sands and clays. The driven piles were
instrumented with strain gauges only, while the bored piles were instrumented with strain gauges
and rod extensometers. All were tested under maintained loads to at least twice the working
load, and some were subjected to cychc loadings. From the detailed strain profiles now available,
together with information on the cross-sectional area and on the modulus from strain results over a
control length, it has been possible to determine load variations with depth. By considering
depth increments and integrating strain profles it has been possible to determine relationships
between the loads mobilized both in shaft load transfer and in end-bearing, and the differential
movements between pile and soil which produced them. Graphs are produced giving quantitative
relationships calculated from the above mentioned tests for three sites in the Upper and Middle
Chalk at various depths, and some of the implications on design procedure are discussed. Com-
parison between bored and driven piles shows much higher creep strains in the higher stressed
conditions of the latter, and the efsects of this and other aspects of the loadprofiles are discussed.

Depuis la fin de 1973, huit essais de pieu dans de la craie, ont t% effectues, de man&e a obtenir
des informations detaillees sur leur comportement pendant les essais. Sur ces huit pieux, quatre
furent fores et quatre battus, les distributions des charges en profondeur ont et.6 determinees pour
la premiere fois dans la craie, de la meme facon que celles precedemment &is&es dans les sables
et argiles. Les pieux battus furent equip&s uniquement de jauges de deformation, tandis que les
pieux fores furent equipb avec des jauges de deformation et des extensometres a tige. Tous
furent testes sous des charges maintenues a, au moins, deux fois la charge de travail, et certains
furent soumis, a des chargements cycliques. Grace aux projils d&ail&s de deformation maintenant
disponibles, et aux informations sur le module de deformation sur une longueur bien definie, il a e’te’
possible de determiner les variations de charge en profondeur. En considerant Ies augmentations
de profondeur et en integrant les pro@ de deformation, il a &possible de determiner les relations
entre les charges mobilisees respectivementpar le frottement lateral et par la resistance depointe,
et les mouvements dtJ&entiels entre pieux et sol qui les ont produits. Des abaques sont fournis,
donnant des relations quantitatives calculees h partir des essais mentionnes ci-dessus, pour trois
chantiers dans la Craie Superieure et Moyenne, a des profondeurs diverses, et quelques-unes des
implications sur la methode de calcul, sont discutees. La comparaison entre les pieux fores et les
,vieux battus, montre pour ces derniers deformations de fluage beaucoup plus importantes pour les
contraintes elevees, et Ies consequences de cela et d’autres aspects desprojils de chargement, sont
discutes.

* Cementation Research Ltd.

134 S. BUTTLING

I I

Fig. 1. Vibrating wire strain gauge

Previously published information (Farmer (1969), Geffen and Amir (1971), Reese et al. (1973),
Touma and Reese (1974)) has given relationships between load and depth for bored piles in
clays and sands, formed both under a bentonite suspension and in the dry, Load measure-
ments within the piles have been obtained from electrical resistance strain (ERS) gauges
attached to the steel reinforcement and from extensometers within the pile measuring com-
pression of the concrete column. Such information has not hitherto been published for piles
in chalk.
Since the end of 1973 eight test piles in chalk, four bored and four driven, have been instru-
mented by Cementation Research Ltd on behalf of various clients for the purpose of examining
the load support of the pile by the surrounding material. In all cases the instrumentation has
been carried out using vibrating wire strain gauges (Fig. 1).
The technique used for the instrumentation of bored piles has been to provide a full depth
nominal reinforcement cage, on to which the gauges were mounted, and tubes attached to
various depths into which free rods were later placed to act as extensometers. The four
driven piles were Raymond step taper, consisting of a driven steel shell filled with in situ
concrete. In these piles extensometers have not been used because of limited space, and
strain gauges have been attached to a steel member held centrally in the steel shell by sets of
three spacers at 120” to each other. While all the bored piles were concreted by tremie the
driven piles were also concreted from the bottom by pumping through a 100 mm pipe, in
order to reduce the risk of damage to the gauges.
It is common practice in engineering to monitor strain when load information is required,
and to convert strains to loads through knowledge of the elastic modulus and the stressed area.
In concrete piles this is not always straightforward, since the modulus of the concrete can be a
variable within a pile, and it is the modulus pertaining to the actual gauge position that is
relevant.
It is also important to know the area of pile being stressed, and the relative steel and concrete
areas. In the bored piles here considered the area was determined from dimensions measured
by a three-legged caliper. This was lowered to the bottom of the hole, the legs were released,
and as it was slowly raised a continuous chart of diameter against depth was produced. In the
PILES IN WEAK ROCK 135
four driven shell piles the casing size was used as a reasonably accurate measure of diameter.
With regard to the modulus, the strain at a position where the load is precisely known, and
where the concrete density is typical of the pile must be monitored. While the former is
known best near the pile head, where no load transfer has occurred, there may be small
variations in the latter throughout the depth which could affect conversion of strain to load.
The practice was to use the gauge nearest to the surface in the driven piles, and one from
within a double sleeved section for the bored piles.
During maintained load tests the strain gauges and extensometer dial gauges were read for
each load increment and, from the data, profiles of strain with depth were drawn. Using the
cross-sectional area information and an inferred modulus, profiles of load with depth were
produced. From these it was possible to determine the amount of load transfer taking place
over certain portions of the pile and at the base in end bearing, and from knowledge of the pile
settlement and integration of strain profiles the relative pile/soil movements which generated
these load transfers were calculated.
In order to derive this information from the test data, it has been necessary to make as-
sumptions regarding the conversion of strain to load and to total movement. However, it is
felt that the results indicated on the graphs are within about 10%.

LOAD TRANSFERS CALCULATED FOR BORED PILES

It has been decided to use the term ‘load transfer’ for the means of load dissipation along
the shaft of a pile, rather than side or skin friction, since these imply a mechanism occurring
directly at the concrete/soil interface. While this may be relevant in the case of a pile in firm
clay with a smooth bore, it is considered that with a roughened bore in chalk the important
shear zones may be at the limit of irregularities or along lines of pre-existing weakness such as
joints, fissures or bedding planes.
Data are presented for three different sites, two in the Upper Chalk along the Thames
Estuary, and one in the Middle Chalk on the south coast of England. In order to compare
the information deduced from the strain gauges for the different sites the standard penetration
test (SPT) N values from each site investigation are shown. This has been necessary because
it is the only relevant information from two of the sites, and provides an approximate measure
of the relative quality of the chalk. Mallard and Ballantyne (1976) mention the recording of
quite different SPT values when different techniques were used, and Dennehy (1975) discusses
the importance of visual inspection in association with SPT.

Littlebrook
The first two instrumented test piles were installed for the Central Electricity Generating
Board at the Littlebrook D Power Station site by Cementation Piling and Foundations Ltd,
and are described in greater detail by Mallard and Ballantyne (1976). The aim was to examine
separately the load transfer and end-bearing capacities of the chalk, and to this end two piles,
each I.05 m in diameter, were constructed with 8 m penetration into chalk. In order to mini-
mize other influences, the upper alluvial horizons were isolated from the piles by the use of a
double sleeving system. Both piles were bored under a bentonite suspension and concreted
by tremie but one had a void at the base (Fig. 2), in order to prevent any end-bearing forces
being mobilized.
Both piles were tested by the maintained load method, and load/settlement information at
the pile head was recorded. It transpired that in one pile there was leakage of cementitious
material into the bottom of the annulus between the sleeves, with the effect that the load being
applied to the top of the chalk was considerably less than that applied to the pile head. This
136 S. BUTlUNG

+
Clay

Peat

-_ Ml&l 4
ZZ reinforcemen
Main.
t-1
-_

reinforcement*
+

+ Location
of gauger
+
+

+
+

+
Voided Solid
toe pile toe pile
+

K-7

Fig. 2. Sections through two instrumented test piles: LittlebrookD

is mentioned because the presence of strain gauges in this instance enabled the effect of this
problem to be established, and the true loads applied to the chalk socket in each case to be
calculated.
Data on load transfer are in fact only available for the voided pile since the caliper records
were not available for the end-bearing pile. It was, however, apparent from both strain
gauge and extensometer results that very little load transfer occurred over the upper 4 m of the
sides of the end-bearing pile. Using both types of instrumentation it has been possible to
plot the curves shown in Fig. 3 for the shortening of the length of pile in chalk against the load
applied to the top of the chalk. It is apparent that the shortening of the end-bearing pile is
much greater than that of the voided pile, indicating more uniform strain distributions, and in
fact the slope of the curve for the end-bearing pile at low loads is almost exactly the same as
that obtained from the modulus assuming no load transfer. At higher loads there is some
reduction in slope, indicating that not all of the applied load reaches the base, amounting to an
average load transfer over the sides of 135 kN/m2.
As a result of these calculations it was possible to define limits for the end-bearing load/
settlement relationship for 8 m penetration into the chalk (Fig. 4) assuming (a) all end-bearing
with no shaft load transfer, (b) a reasonable amount of load transfer over the lower 3 m
commensurate with that for the voided pile.
The deduced relationships between displacement of various sections relative to the adjacent
soil and the shaft load transfers this produces are shown in Fig. 5. There is obvious scatter,
with evidence of some bands being weaker than others, but a trend to increased strength with
depth. Maximum stresses developed were of the order of 400 kN/m2 at displacements of
about 20 mm.
 Load : kN
2wo 4cal 6Qoa 8ocQ
I

IZ-

16 -
\
20 - \
E
E \
;;
z 24-
\
5
1
% \
0 ?.a- Lord transfer
rsInlur3m
of voided pile
32- \

36- \
- -Voided pile

-End bearing pile

40-

Fig. 3. Compression of two chalk sockets: Littlebrook D Fig. 4. Developmeat of end-bearing stress with displacemeat : Littlebrook D
138 S. BUTTLING

Displacement: mm

Fig. 5. Development of load transfer with displacement: Littlebrook D

Erith
The third instrumented pile test was carried out at the site of Erith oil works, where Cementa-
tion Piling and Foundations Ltd was installing 107 piles to support four 71.5 m high silos and
an elevator tower, with live and wind loadings which were high relative to the dead load.
The test pile was founded 10 m into the chalk, and had a nominal diameter of 1.05 m. The
pile was permanently lined through the upper layers of fill and clay (Fig. 6), and boring was
done under a bentonite suspension through the ballast and chalk. The diameter of the hole
was measured with the calipers and this showed an over-break occurring just at the lower limit
of the permanent liner in the ballast. During load testing the strain gauges showed that the
importance of the end bearing of this overbreak was considerable at first, but removal of the
load and subsequent reapplication in cyclic fashion reduced the amount of support provided
and loads were transferred lower down the pile.
Using the same processes as before the end-bearing stresses have been calculated from the
strain gauges closest to the pile base and the settlements that produced them from the difference
between pile head settlement and the longest extensometer (Figs 7 and 8). In Fig. 8 the results
from various depths are more scattered than those from Littlebrook, with some consistency
between the loads transferred at the top and bottom layers and apparently stiffer layers in
between. Maximum load transfers mobilized lie between 120 and 290 kN/m2 at relative
displacements of about 3.5 mm.

Dover
The third site where bored piles in chalk have been instrumented was in the test piling for the
A2 Lydden-Dover extension. The client was the South Eastern Road Construction Unit of
the Department of the Environment, and the piling contractor again was Cementation Piling
and Foundations Ltd. In this case the pile, a scaled down version of the working pile, was
PILES IN WEAK ROCK 139

900 mm in diameter with 10 m penetration into the hard Middle Chalk (Fig. 9) which in this
location (within the harbour) was overlain by recent chalk fill and a concrete raft.
In this pile test there was loss of function of gauges during construction, but sufficient data
were available for sensible load profiles to be produced which agreed well with the extenso-
meters. These showed steady decay of load with depth, more rapidly in the lower 5 m of
harder material, with no load remaining at the base. This interpretation was backed up by
the fact that the longest extensometer recorded deflexions under load testing which matched
the settlement of the pile.

,t Gauge

0 Extcnrometer

Fig. 6. Section through test pile: Erith

End-bearing stress: kNlm2

200 400 Mx)
1 I

l-

E
..
E 3-
E
hD .
n 4-

6-

Fig. 7. Development of end-bearing stress with displacement: Edith

 140

Displacement: mm

Fig. 8. Development of load transfer with displacement : Erith

Soft and medium

hard chalk
fragments
(made ground)

Hard to very
hard fissured
white chalk
(MiddleChalk)

X Gauger

Fig. 9. Section through test pile: Dover

 141
PJLES IN WEAK ROCK

t
I
04 0.6 0.8 I.0
0.2
Dirplacement
mm :

Fig. 10. Development of load transfer with displacement : Dover

8.5
/
l Littlebrook
/

I I 1
IO 100
0. I \
Displacement: mm

Fig. 11. Development of load transfer with displacement for bored piles on three sites
142 S. BlJlTLlNG

The upper layers of chalk fill were effectively isolated from the pile by the use of a permanent
liner vibrated into place. Strain gauges within this liner gave consistent readings, with the
exception that the highest gauge gave higher strains, suggesting the lower modulus one might
expect at that depth.
Only two zones have been isolated for load transfer calculations, one being the upper 4 m of
the Middle Chalk, and the other the 5 m immediately below it. These are shown in Fig. 10
and are identified by the depths of the centres of the layers below the top of the chalk (2 m and
6.5 m respectively). Load transfers here were of the order of 120 kN/m2 but at very small
displacements (about 1 mm at the upper level and O-3mm at the lower).

Comparison of results from bored piles

In Fig. 11 the results from all three sites are plotted together to a logarithmic scale of dis-
placement. It can be seen that for the two Upper Chalk sites the load transfers at small
displacements (about 1 mm) have similar values between 20 and 80 kN/m2, but the chalk at
Littlebrook required displacements an order of magnitude larger than those at Erith to
mobilize the higher load transfers.
Detailed site investigation information was available for the Littlebrook site as described by
Mallard and Ballantyne, but for Erith, as mentioned previously, only SPT N values were
obtained. Fig. 12 shows the approximate ranges of these Nvalues for comparison of the sites.
It can also be seen in Fig. 11 that the much harder Middle Chalk reached useful values of load
transfer at very small displacements.

Prediction of load/settlement behaviour

At this stage it is difficult to draw firm conclusions but it may be possible, with more data, to
use graphs such as Fig. 11 in a more idealized form to predict load/settlement and load transfer
information from an incremental model (Thurman and D’Appolonia (1965), Coyle and Reese
(1966), Poulos and Mattes (1969)). In this type of model a base settlement is first assumed,
and from information such as that described an estimate is made of the end-bearing load that
will be developed. Applying this to an element of pile one can calculate the compression of
the concrete, and from this deduce the relative movement at the circumference of the element.
From another appropriate curve the load transfer is estimated and this procedure is repeated
to the top of the pile, considering the various soil strata as appropriate. The end result is a
load distribution plot that considers the effects, however small, of all strata, and a load/settle-
ment value for the pile head. Repeated calculations will provide further points in order to
plot a load/settlement curve. Since the process is repetitive yet simple, provided the soil
information can easily be supplied in the right format, the computation lends itself readily to
automation.
The end result is not only a representation of load transfer with depth, but also of load/
settlement. It is therefore suggested that this could provide a useful design tool, given
sufficient field data, which could enable realistic predictions of settlements under working loads
to be made.

LOAD TRANSFERS FOR DRIVEN PILES

Four Raymond step taper piles have been instrumented for the CEGB on the Littlebrook
site. Two were for the Generation Development and Construction Division and are de-
scribed in detail by Mallard and Ballantyne, and the others for the Transmission Division.
The results obtained from these tests are very different from those obtained in the bored pile
tests and this is believed to be for three reasons.
PILES IN WEAK ROCK 143
N
20 40 M) 80 loo 120

I4

Fig. 12. Comparative WT N values for the three sites

Concrete creep
Although this is a complex subject, it is mentioned because the changes in strain with time
recorded in the driven piles were very much higher than those in the bored piles. The stress
levels were significantly higher, with the result that for a long pile it is possible that a measurable
amount of the head settlement is due to creep in the concrete column under constant load, and
not all of it relates to pile/soil movement.
Load calculations depend on a reasonable estimate of the elastic strain at any gauge position,
but at high stresses the creep behaviour becomes non-linear and reliable calculations are
virtually impossible. Because of this, graphs for load transfer development have not been
presented since their value is questionable. In general terms the load transfers at 10 mm
movement were 75-100 kN/m2 for the top 5 m of chalk, rising to 200 kN/m2 between 5 and
10 m.

Soil movement
As shown by Mallard and Ballantyne, it is possible at low stress levels to estimate the
concrete creep at depth, and subtracting this from the total change in strain gives a measure of
the way in which the load is being redistributed within the soil. This is a relatively rapid
process, significant changes being recorded within 1 h. The implication of this is that upon
application of a load increment, the pile shortens elastically and then, while settlement is pro-
ceeding, the load is redistributed within the pile. In comparison the strain readings within the
bored piles did not change with time, indicating that once the pile had shortened elastically
under load it settled en masse through the chalk, with no change in load profile. It is likely
therefore that the means of support for the two systems are different and that this temporal
effect in the driven piles arises from the mechanical fracturing of the chalk arising from the
installation.
144 S. BUTlUNG

ib

- HC6 20
--A i

\.

1
24

Fig. 13. Strains recorded prior to testing in the driven piles: Littlebrook D

Negative skin friction

As mentioned by Mallard and Ballantyne, the alluvial deposits overlying the chalk in this
situation, and the surcharge above, were settling at a rate of about 25 mm/month at the time of
testing. Any effect of this on the bored piles was isolated by the double sleeve system but the
driven piles were simply placed in a prebore. Strain gauges in these piles were initially read
after concreting, and again before testing, though readings during the test have always been
referred to a zero condition at the start of testing in the past.
On plotting out the strains measured in the piles at the time of testing (Fig. 13) it was
apparent that a pattern was emerging, showing strains increasing with depth to a maximum
value and decreasing again. The most striking example was in the two Transmission Division
piles where the behaviour under test was remarkably different. The settlements under three
times the working load were approximately 8 mm for one pile (A) and 19 mm for the other(B).
On examining the load distribution with depth (Fig. 14(a)) it appeared that pile A shed most of
its load in the top few metres, and pile B carried most of its load on the end. However if the
 PILES IN WEAK ROCK 145
Load: kN Load: kN
, 4cy 800 '200 y0 2opo 2"o 2?00 04p0,. 800 1200 1600 2ooO 2400 2800 3200 3600

O- 2-
i’ 1,
4-

6-

8- ‘\\
\
\.
\
./
I
/
!
20 -

22-
i --__A
_/” --_-_B 24.

Y+
/’
i
24 26.
/'
/'
/'
26 t 28-
(a)
lb)
Fig. 14. Estimated load distributions at 2400 kN applied load, Lifflebrook D: (a) without pretesting strains
for driven piles; (b) from total strahu for driven piles

pretesting strains are included, then the load profiles and end-bearing stresses become much
more alike (Fig. 14(b)) though for pile A the variation during testing was small. It was
also apparent from the areas under the strain profiles that the shortening of the piIes in total
was greater than the measured settlements, suggesting that settlement had occurred during the
pretest period. In order to estimate this, the end settlements needed to develop the given
end-bearing stresses in pile HC6 (see Mallard and Ballantyne) were calculated, and hence total
settlements were postulated. These brought the overall settlements under three times working
load to 30 mm and 25 mm.
It is worthwhile noting that the estimated end-bearing stress/settlement relationships (Fig. 15)
for three of the piles have similar slopes while one (SC6 of the first pair) has a much steeper
slope and lower stresses. This could be because the toe of SC6 was softer as a result of
driving, or because the end-bearing characteristics of the other three were improved by the
steadily applied preload. If this latter were the case, it might give insight into the behaviour of
these piles in the long term.
One further piece of information relating to the behaviour of the fill is illustrated in Fig. 16.
The data were obtained from an instrumented pile driven to 16 m, i.e. founded in the ballast,
which was monitored for some time after load testing had been finished. It is apparent that
up to 50 hours after testing the pile was still making elastic recovery, but that thereafter the
strains were increasing due presumably to negative skin friction on the pile.
146 S. BUTTLING

End bearing rrrerr : MN/m*

\ x

32

36 t

Fig. 15. Estimated development of end-bearing stress with displacement for driven piles: Littlebrook D

CONCLUSIONS
From the instrumentation included in four bored piles founded in chalk, information has
been derived relating local movement between pile and soil at various levels for three different
sites. These sites represent different qualities of the Upper and Middle Chalk: more data of a
similar nature in these materials are required, but it is considered that with such information
better predictions of load-carrying capacity and settlement behaviour of single piles could be
made than hitherto. In order to relate different sites to the information available, a detailed
site investigation including pressuremeter or plate bearing tests is required, in the absence of
which the SPT N value remains the best available parameter for pile design.
Change in strain profile with time within large diameter bored piles was very small, indicating
that all the movement measured at the pile head during a maintained load stage relates to
movements between pile and soil equally over the whole depth.
In driven piles of smaller diameter and higher stress levels the effects of concrete creep become
considerable, but it is apparent that not all of the change in strain recorded at depth is creep of
the concrete: some of it is due to a readjustment of load within the pile. Nevertheless the
length of the pile is changing, and settlements recorded at the head under maintained loading
do not necessarily apply equally to all depths in the pile.
The estimated readjustment of load within the driven piles under a steady load is greater
than that in the bored piles, and this is probably due to the effects on the chalk of the different
installation techniques of the two types.
The effects of negative skin friction caused by settlement of superficial strata can readily be
monitored with strain gauges and have been found to be significant. They appear to have a
marked effect on the subsequent load/settlement behaviour of a pile under test, and may give an
indication of the long-term behaviour.
PILES IN WEAK ROCK

%ne after end of test: h

20 40 70 100 400
400

Fig. 16. Change in strain with time after testing, 16m driven pile: Littlebrook D

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Author wishes to acknowledge the co-operation of the Central Electricity Generating
Board, the South Eastern Road Construction Unit of the Department of the Environment,
Unilever Ltd, Raymond International (UK) Ltd and Cementation Piling and Foundations
Ltd in granting permission for publication of this Paper.

REFERENCES
Coyle, H. M. & Reese, L. C. (1966). Load transfer for axially loaded piles in clay. J. Soil Me& Fndns Div.
ASCE 92, SM2, l-26.
Dennehy, J. P. (1975). Correlating the SPT N value with chalk grade for some zones of the Upper Chalk.
GPotechnique 25, No. 3, 610-614.
Farmer, I. W. (1969). Analysis ofpile test results Bidston Moss. Internal Research Report R.39/69, Cementa-
tion Research Ltd.
Geffen, S. A. & Amir, J. M. (1971). Effect of construction procedure on load carrying behaviour of single piles
and piers. Proc. 4th Asian Regional Conf. Soil Mech. Fndn Engng Bangkok 1,263-268.
Mallard, D. J. & Ballantyne, J. L. (1976). The behaviour of piles in Upper Chalk at Littlebrook D Power
Station. GPotechnique 26, No. 1, 116-132.
Poulos, H. G. & Mattes, N. S. (1969). The behaviour of axially loaded end bearing piles. Gdotechnique 19,
No. 2,285-300.
Reese, L. C., O’Neill, M. W. & Touma, F. T. (1973). Bored piles installed by slurry displacement. Proc. 9th
Znt. Conf. Soil Mech. Fndn Engng Moscow 3, 203-9.
Thurman, A. G. & D’Appolonia, E. (1965). Computed movement of friction and end bearing piles embedded
in uniform and stratified soils. Proc. 6th Znt. Conf. Soil Mech. Fndn Engng 2, 323-327.
Touma, F. T. & Reese, L. C. (1974). Behaviour of bored piles in sand. J. Geotechnical Eng. Div., ASCE 100,
GT7,749-162.