,

' I

The effects of plugging on pile performance and design ,

t

SAMUELG . PAIKOWSKY
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Lowell, 1 University Avenue, Lo well, MA 01854, U.S. A .
AND
ROBERTV. WHITMAN
Department of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue,
Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A .
Received May 24, 1989
Accepted April 5, 1990
D>uringinstallation of open-pipe piles, soil enters the pile until the inner-soil cylinder develops sufficient resistance
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to prevent further soil intrusion and the pile becomes "plugged." In spite of its frequent occurrence, only limited attention
has thus far been given to this phenomenon and its consequences. The effects of plugging on pile performance and
design are examined in reference to the following aspects: ultimate static capacity, time-dependent pile capacity, and
dynamic behavior. Pile plugging is shown to have the following effects: marked contribution to the capacity of piles
driven in sand; delay in capacity gain with time for piles driven in clay; and change in behavior of piles during installation,
causing it to differ from that described by the models commonly used to predict and analyze pile driving.
Key words: pipe piles, pile plugging, open-ended piles, static capacity, time-dependent capacity, dynamic analysis,
pile driving, pile performance.
+

Durant l'installation de pieux cylindriques a paroi mince, le sol progresse A l'interieur du tube jusqu'ace qu'il developpe
la resistance necessaire pour s'opposer toute autre penetration de materiel, creant ainsi un ctbovchon>).Jusqu'a ce
jour et malgre la frequence du phknomkne, peu d'efforts ont ete consacres A son etude et a ses cons2quences. Les aspects
suivants de ce bouchon sont etudiis : capacite statique ultime, variation de la capacite en fonction du temps et
comportement dynamique du pieu. I1 est demontrC que le bouchon augmente considerablement la capacite du pieu
For personal use only.

lorsqu'il est enfoui dans du sable, et qu'il retarde l'augmentation de la capacitk du pieu lorsque 'celui-ci est enfoui dans
des argiles. Enfin, le bouchon affecte le comportement du pieu durant la phase d'installation; comportement qui diffkre
de ce que prkdisent les modkles communement utilises pour l'analyse de penetration de pieux.
Mots elks :pieux cylindriques a paroi mince, bouchon de pieu, pieux ouverts, capacite statique, capacite differee,
analyse dynarnique, installation de pieux, comportement de pieux.

Can. Geotech. J . 27, 429-440 (1990)

Introduction measurements cause in pile driving operations; and (iii) lack

Open-pipe piles are widely used for foundations in con-
struction both on land and offshore. During the initial stage
of installation, soil enters the pile at a rate equal to the pile
penetration. As penetration continues, the inner-soil cylinder
may develop sufficient frictional resistance to prevent further
soil intrusion, causing the pile to become "plugged."' The
open-ended pile then assumes the penetration characteristics
of a closed-ended pile. The mode of pile penetration signif-
icantly controls the soil-pile interaction during and after
installation.
In spite of the frequent occurrence of plugging (Paikowsky
et al. 1989) and the importance of its effects, only limited
attention has thus far been given t o the subject (see Szechy
1959, 1961; Kishida 1967a, 19673; Kishida and Isemoto
1977; Kishida et al. 1985; Kindel 1977; Klos and Tejchman
1977; Randolph et al. 1979; Randolph 1987). This limited
attention, and resultant scarcity of data, can be attributed
t o (i) misidentification of plugging by referring to the aver-
age plug length rather than to the incremental changes
(Paikowsky et al. 1989); (ii) complications that plug
' ~ l t h o u ~technically
h the inner soil can be referred to as
a "plug" only when it prevents entry of additional soil during
penetration, the term "soil plug" is commonly used in reference
to any soil mass inside the pile, regardless of its state during
installation.
Printed in Canada / ImprimC au Canada
of knowledge about consequences of pile plugging.
Deformations and stresses in the surrounding soil during
open-ended penetration differ substantially from those
created by plugged (closed-ended) or partially plugged (par-
tial soil penetration) piles. This paper presents a general
investigation describing the major consequences of pile plug-
ging. This investigation does not attempt t o provide solu-
tions to the associated engineering problems but rather
describes three effects of pile plugging.
The influence of a soil plug on the ultimate static
capacity of piles
The ultimate static capacity2 of an open-ended pipe pile
can be estimated in the following manner (see Fig. 1):
111 Qunpiugged = C fso 'A o + C fsi 'A i + 9, 'At
121 Qplugged = C fso 'A o + 4, .A p = Qclosed-ended
where fso and fsi are the unit shaft frictions outside and
inside the pile; A, and Ai are the shaft areas of the pile,
outside and inside; A , , A, are the cross-sectional area of
the pile and the steel tip; and q, is the unit end bearing
capacity.
2 ~ h different
e load vs. settlement ratios for open-unplugged,
open-plugged, or closed-ended piles, is an important issue, which
is not examined in depth in this paper.
 430 CAN. GEOTECH. J. VOL. 27, 1990
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FIG. 1. Stresses acting on open pipe piles under (a) unplugged

For personal use only.

and (b) plugged conditions.

The magnitude of q, acting on the steel area may differ

in general from that acting on the total cross section. For
undrained penetration in clay, deep penetration in sand, and
for the purpose of the present discussion, they are assumed
to be the same.
The plug of an open-ended pile is mobilized when the
accumulated inside skin friction (reduced by the plug weight)
exceeds the ultimate static bearing capacity of the soil below
the toe of the pile. The pile then behaves as though it is
closed-ended, and [2] defines its maximum static capacity.
In clays, the values off,, depend on the undrained
shear strength, the geometry of the cutting shoe, and the
delays in pile driving (e.g., as a result of adding sections dur-
ing offshore construction). In granular soils, the value of
f,, depends on the soil compaction, which is a function of FIG. 2. The effect of a plug upon the static capacity of a pile
the penetration mode (i.e., large lateral displacement of soil in (a) clay and in (b) sand.
will increase the lateral stress). The value o f L i depends on
the arching phenomenon, which is controlled by the inner
soil - pile friction coefficient and the normal stress along
that interface (Paikowsky 1989). For the purpose of the pres- 50% (Toolan and Fox 1977). This reduction is within the
ent paper, [I] and [2] are used to conduct a simplified3 range shown in Fig. 2a. It is emphasized that the relations
evaluation of the effect of a plug upon the static capacity in Fig. 2 are subjected to the conditions summarized in
of a pile. The results of this evaluation are presented in Fig. 2 Appendix 1; they are applicable to quasi-static penetration,
as (i) the ratio between the total capacity of an open-ended and the validity of the normalized fashion in which the
unplugged pile (Q,,,,) to that of a closed-ended pile results are presented cannot be applied to all pile diameters,
(Qclosed)VS. depth of penetration (D) normalized with especially in sand.
respect to the pile diameter (B); and (ii) the contribution The relations in Fig. 2 indicate the following:
of the point capacity (Q,) to the total capacity of a closed- 1. The point contribution to the total capacity of a pile in
ended pile (Qc,o,ed)vs. normalized depth of penetration. clay is reduced rapidly with depth. At a depth ratio of
Both relations with an approximated range are presented D / B = 30, the point carries about 25% of the total ultimate
for soft-to-stiff clay and a medium dense sand. For piles load (the exact force that reaches the tip under working loads
in clay, the influence of an enlarged wall thickness at the is controlled by the relative stiffness of the pile to that of
pile's toe (shoe) may also be considered by reducing hi by the soil).
2. Pipe piles in clay are expected to plug (i.e., when Q,,,,
3 ~ e Appendix
e 1 for the underlying assumptions. reaches Qclosed)at a depth ratio of D/B = 10-20.
 PAIKOWSKY AND WHITMAN
1~c51s
I INCI: (OPEN / CLOSED) (%)
o 20 40 60 80 100
es~stanceforces
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For personal use only.
statlc load test
FIG 3. The resistance force ratio of open-ended to closed-
ended piles pushed into clay vs. normalized penetration depth, (pre-
pared using data from Karlsrud and Haugen (1981)).
3. Plugging of open piles in clay, therefore, does not con-
tribute significantly to the capacity of the pile.
4. The point contribution to the total resistance of a pile
in sand decreases gradually with depth but cannot be ignored
even at deep penetrations.
5. ~ u l l lugging of piles in sand is expected to take place
at a depth ratio of about D/B = 25-35.
6. Plugging of open piles in sand contributes Significantly
to the capacity of the pile.
Experimental results relevant to the above, simplified
evaluation are presented in Figs. 3 and 4 for clay and sand,
respectively, and discussed herein briefly.
Tests on large-scale model piles were carried out by the
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (Karlsrud and Haugen
1981). Two piles of diameter B = 153 mm, wall th~ckness
t = 4.5 mm, and length 5.15 m* one ched-ended and the
other open-ended, were pushed into overconsolidated clay.
~n analysis of the plugging measurements has been Pre-
sented elsewhere (Paikowsky et a[. 19891, showing that to
a depth of 16.5 diameters, the penetrating soil had a surface
elevation higher than the ground elevation at the site. Partial
plugging started at a depth of 11 diameters and full plugging
was achieved at a depth of 21 diameters. With further
penetration, additional soil (7 5 1 5 % ) ~entered the pile;
4~pecific(incremental) recovery ratio y = dL/dD, the first
derivative of the plug length L with respect to the penetration depth
D, y = 0 for fully plugged piles and y = 100% for unplugged piles.
43 1
1
however, towards the end of the ppnetraiion, a tendency to
120 full plugging was again observed.
The resistance to penetration (pushing at a rate of 25 mm/s
(open) and 0.75 mm/s (closed)) of the open- and the closed-
ended piles was used to prepare Fig. 3. The ratio of the static
load test results (performed about 1.5 months after installa-
tion) at the final penetration depth was added. The load test
results indicate an 11Yo increase in the capacity ratio in rela-
tion to the ratio of the resistances to penetration at the final
depth. The range of resistance ratio from Fig. 2a was added
to Fig. 3 showing that (1) the ratio of open- and closed-ended
pile resistances and the plugging depth during quasi-static
penetration fits the simplified predicted behavior, and
(2) when plugged, the open-ended pile developed a resistance
equal to that of the closed-ended pile. The same quasi-static
analysis was also found to be applicable for accurately
predicting the plugging depth during the free run5 of off-
shore piles (Paikowsky et al. 1989).
A series of tests on closed- and open-ended small-scale
model pipe piles was carried out by Kishida (1967a, 1967b).
Piles 500 mm in length, ranging in diameter from 10 to
150 mm were pushed slowly (2 rnmLs.) into a very loose dry
sand. Figure 4 was prepared based'on Kishida's data show-
ing ( a ) the resistance to penetration vs. penetration depth
for closed- ( B = 50 mm) and open-ended ( B = 50 mm,
100 mm) piles, and (b) the load-settlement behavior of these
piles at their final penetration depth ( D = 450 mm). Each
data point in Fig. 4 represents the average value obtained
from three tests for the B = 50 mm diameter piles and from
two tests for the B = 100 mm diameter piles. The range of
values for each measurement is represented by a line across
the data points. Examination of the plugging measurements
(Paikowsky 1989) and Fig. 4 reveals the following.
1. Comparison between the open- and closed-ended
50-mm-diameter piles shows that in the initial stages of
penetration, the resistance of the closed-ended piles is greater
than that of the open-ended piles. For example, at a penetra-
tion depth of 100 mm (D/B = 2), the force required to push
the closed-ended piles is twice that required for the open-
ended piles. As penetration progresses, the pushing force
required for the open-ended pile increases at a greater rate
and approaches that of the closed-ended pile, so that at a
depth of 250 mm (D/B = 5 ) , both piles exhibit the same
resistance to penetration. With further penetration, the
pushing force required for the open-ended pile slightly
exceeds that of the closed-ended pile. At the final penetra-
tion depth of 450 mm (D/B = 9), the average resistances
are 500 and 4-70 N for the open- and closed-ended piles,
respectively.
2. Examination of the plugging process of the open-ended
pile reveals that when penetrating from a depth of 100 mm
to a depth of 250 mm, the specific recovery ratio of the open
pile decreased from 7 = 97% to 20% as a result of signifi-
cant plugging. At its final penetration depth, the recovery
ratio of the open-ended pile was about = 4q0, which is
indicative of complete plugging.
3. The 100-mm-diameter open-ended pile did not plug (at
the final stage ;=. 9 1 ~ 7 ~Figure
). 4 shows that the curve
describing the pile resistance at different penetration depths
follows the same pattern as that of the 50-mm open-ended
5 ~ i l run
e (free run) is the pile penetration due to the dead
weight (pile + driving system) prior to driving.
 CAN. GEOTECH. J . VOL. 27, 1990
I \

PILE RESISTANCE (N)

*,
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For personal use only.

LOAD (N)
FIG. 4. Installation and load tests on open and closed-ended model pipe piles pushed into loose sand: ( a )pile resistance vs. penetra-
tion depth, ( b ) load settlement relations at the final installation depth, (prepared using data from Kishida (19676)).

pile prior to plugging. At the final penetration depth, the
50-mm plugged pile exhibited a resistance approximately
equal to that of the 100-mm unplugged pile, which has four
times its cross-sectional area.
4. Comparison of the load-settlement behavior of the
three piles in Fig. 4b reveals the following. (i) The open-
and closed-ended 50-mm-diameter piles exhibit the same
ultimate bearing capacity of about 400 N. (ii) Following
ultimate load, the open-ended pile exhibited larger settlements
than the closed-ended pile. However, the entire load-
settlement curves for the two piles are very similar. (iii) The
100-mm-diameterunplugged pile exhibited a load-settlement
behavior similar to that of the 50-mm-diameter closed-ended
and plugged piles. Its ultimate bearing capacity of about
500 N (analyzed by Kishida to be 400 N) is much smaller,
however, than its potential when plugged (about 1750 N,
based on the same bearing capacity).
5. The above leads to the conclusion that under static
loading, plugged piles behave almost identically to closed-
ended piles, and under working loads both will have the
same response.
6 . The plugging of piles in sand is a complex phenome-
non even under quasi-static penetration (Paikowsky 1990).
As mentioned above, the plug resistance is controlled by the
arching mechanism, and therefore the plugging depth was
not correctly assessed through the simplified assumptions of
Appendix I. However, both the simplified analysis and the
test results demonstrated the effect of the plugging on the
static capacity of open-ended piles in sand.
The influence of a soil plug on time-dependent pile
capacity
The allowable load, and the stage and manner in which
the load can be applied, is determined by the rate of gain
in pile capacity with time after driving. An estimate of the
effect of the mode penetration (open vs. closed) on the rate
of capacity gain of piles in clay follows.
 PAIKOWSKY AND WHITMAN
I \

4
Before Installation I, 1, , Before Installation

- ur, 1
-t

soil
After Installation ement After
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CLOSED ENDED PILE OPEN ENDED PILE

u,/Ro = J (r/Ro)2 + 1 - r/Ro ur/Ro = J (r/Ro)2 + p - r/Ro z 5 .%

For personal use only.

NORMALIZED RADIAL DISTANCE (r/Ro)

FIG. 5 . ( a ) Radial soil movements around closed and open-ended pipe piles (Randolph.et al. 1979); ( 6 ) normal radial displacement
for a 1220 mm (48 in,) pile.

Radial consolidation
It is assumed that the piles are driven into insensitive clay
in which thixotropy (Skempton and Northey 1952) is not
a factor. In such clay, the increase of skin resistance with
time is associated only with migration of pore water. This
migration is caused by excess pore pressure initiated during
pile penetration.
As the capacity of a pile in clay is controlled primarily
by the skin friction, the increase in bearing capacity of such
piles is therefore determined by radial consolidation of the
clay (Soderberg 1962). For this reason, the gain in resistance
can be analyzed using radial diffusion theory. The time
associated with a specified degree of consolidation is given
by
[3] t = T h * ~ 2 / ~ h
in which t is the elapsed time since pile driving, Ch is the
coefficient of radial consolidation, Th is the time factor,
and R is the radius of the pile (closed-ended, R = B/2).
Thus, the time needed to develop pile capacity is proportional
to the square of the pile size. By normalizing [3], one can
use the dissipation time around a closed-ended pile of one
size (Rl,tl) io estimate that of another size (R2,t2), such
that
The use of [4] assumes no effect of pile diameter on the
magitude of soil stresses or pore pressure. These assump-
tions were confirmed by Baligh and Levadoux (1980), who
compiled measurements of excess pore pressure due to
 CAN. GEOTECH. J. VOL. 27, 1990
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FIG.6 . Decay of excess pore pressure around piles driven in BBC (initial OCR = 2), after d r t e r et al. (1979).
For personal use only.
installation of closed-ended piles from various case histories.
The data were presented in the form of normalized excess
pore pressure (with respect to the original vertical effective
stress a:,) versus the logarithm of the normalized radial
distance (with respect to the pile radius). The different data
points fall within a narrow range (e.g., the excess pore
pressure near the pile shaft was about 2.1(+0.2)~:,). This
indicates that the magnitude of the soil stresses and the pore
pressures is not a function of the pile diameter. Furthermore,
Grosch and Reese (1980) reinterpreted data gathered by
Vesic (1977), which describe the increase in pile capacity with
time after installation. They plotted the time required for
the piles to reach 50% of their maximum capacity vs. the
pile diameter. The obtained relations were those of [4],
despite the fact that the data were gathered at various sites
having different clays (mostly soft).
The above findings can be summarized as follows.
1. Equation [4] can be used to estimate the time required
for dissipation of excess pore pressure around one closed-
ended pile when given the dissipation measurements of
another pile of a different size in the same soil.
2. Since the magnitude of the stresses and excess pore pressure
around the pile is not determined by the size of the pile, the
dissipation time must therefore be controlled by the volume
of soil displaced during penetration. For closed-ended piles,
the volume of the displaced soil is proportional to the square
of the pile size, which is expressed by [4].
3. The bearing capacity of a pile in clay is primarily controlled
by the skin friction. The skin friction is, in turn, controlled
by the effective stresses near the pile shaft. These stresses
are a function of the pore pressure, which during consolida-
tion following driving is determined by the volume of soil
displaced by the pile penetration. Logic dictates that [4],
which relates pile size to dissipation time of excess pore
pressure, can also be used to predict a gain of pile bearing
capacity with time.
i
I
Soil displacements pnd pufe pressure dissipation around
open-ended vs. closed-ended piles
Study of the soil displacement around open vs. closed-
ended piles may be utilized, therefore, to determine the ratio
of the gain in bearing capacity between the two types.
The volume of the displaced soil during open-ended
unplugged pile penetration depends on the pile diameter and
wall thickness. Simplified expressions that describe the radial
soil displacements for open- and closed-ended piles were
developed by Randolph et al. (1979). These expressions (see
Fig. 5a) are based on radial volume conservation and assume
the following: (i) no change in soil volume during penetra-
tion; (ii) soil displacement is radial; and (iii) only outward
displacements occur during the penetration of open-ended
piles. The equations, along with the calculated soil
displacements due to penetration of a 1220-mm-(48-in.)
diameter pile in plugged (closed-ended) and unplugged
modes, are presented in Fig. 5. Figure 5b demonstrates the
large soil displacements caused by penetration of plugged
piles as opposed to the much smaller soil displacements of
open-ended pile penetration.
Bogard et al. (1985) presented data describing pore-
pressure dissipation following the penetration of open-ended
unplugged and closed-ended model piles. Both cases exhibit
the same normalized pattern of pore-pressure dissipation.
Since the dissipation patterns were shown to be similar for
both types of piles, [3], which describes radial consolidation,
can be applied in both cases. Equation [4] can, therefore,
be used to assess the dissipation time around an open-ended
unplugged pile based on the known dissipation time around
a closed-ended pile. However, a value that represents the
displaced soil volumes and corresponding soil behavior for
the two types of piles must be substituted for the ratio of
R, over R2 in [4].
One way to derive a value for this ratio is to follow the
logic of [4]. Calculation of the ratio of the displaced soil
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FIG. 7. Predicted pore pressure dissipation decay around plugged and unplugged piles (Based on PLS measurements).
volumes of closed-ended vs. open-ended piles of the same
outer diameter leads to
For personal use only.
for which R, is the outer radius of the piles ( = B/2), and
Ri is the inner radius of the open-ended pile ( = R, - t).
A more comprehensive solution is presented by Carter
et al. (1979). In their study, a soil model based on modified
Cam clay was used, in which undrained conditions with sub-
sequent consolidation could be simulated. Figure 6 shows
the results obtained, presented as a set of curves that
describe Ti, the excess pore-pressure ratio in the soil adjacent
to the pile (with respect to the maximum excess pore
pressure) as a function of a nondimensional time factor for
piles of different wall thicknesses penetrating into Boston
Blue Clay (BBC) (see Fig. 5a for the definition of p). It
should be noted that when predicting the maximum pore
pressure (urnaxnormalized by the initial undrained shear
strength C,(o)) for the open-ended piles, the pressure is
dependent on the dimensions expressed by p; these relations
(presented as part of Fig. 6) predict a constant ratio of
Aurnax/C,,(o) = 4.05 for the pore pressure around any
closed-ended piles (p = 1.0).
Prediction of pore-pressure dissipation time around open-
ended vs. closed-ended piles
The approach outlined above was used to prepare Fig. 7,
which presents predictions of excess pore-pressure dissipa-
tion for a 1220-mm (48-in.)-diameter pipe pile with a wall
thickness of 38.1 mm (1.5 in.). The curves were constructed
in the following manner.
1. Curve no. 1 shows the pore-pressure dissipation data
measured by a P L S ~cell following penetration in BBC
(from Morrison 1984). The excess pore-pressure ratio is
-
u = Au/Aurnax= (u - uO)/(ui - u0) in which u is the
?he piezo-lateral stress cell (PLS) measures simultaneously the
total horizontal stress and pore pressure on the shaft of a closed-
ended model pile. The cell diameter is 38.4 mm (1.51 in.), and it
is pushed at a constant rate of penetration of 20 mm/s.
pore-pressure measurement with time, being equal to ui at
time of installation and uo after dissipation (hydrostatic
pressure).
2. Curve no. 2 was constructed using [4] to adapt curve no. 1
to the diameter of the closed-ended 1220-mm pile.
3. Curve no. 3 represents a rough estimate of the pore-
pressure dissipation around an open-ended pile, with a diarn-
eter of 1220 mm, that penetrates in an unplugged mode. The
ratio between the decay of excess pore pressure around the
open-ended pile (curve no. 3) to that of the closed-ended
pile (curve no. 2) is based on (i) the relations described by
Fig. 6 (Carter et al. 1979) at 50% consolidation for relative
displacement of p = 1 (for the 1220-mm closed-ended pile)
and p = 0.12 (for the 1220-mm open-ended pile); and (ii)
the relations of [5].
The soil displacements associated with curve no. 3 (open-
ended, unplugged) and curve no. 2 (closed-ended, plugged)
have been presented in Fig. 5. Using Fig. 6 , this difference
is estimated to generate a pore pressure next to the plugged
pile about twice that of the unplugged pile. As a result of
the larger displaced soil volume and the greater pore pressure,
the time that is required for the pore pressure to dissipate
around the 1220-mm closed-ended pile (of Fig. 7) is about
an order of magnitude greater than the time required for
pore-pressure dissipation around the 1220-mm open-ended
pile.
Prediction of gain in capacity with time for open-ended vs.
closed-ended piles
The relations of Fig. 7 can be further analyzed to evaluate
the gain in capacity with time. If no other measurements
exist, a simplified assumption of a direct relation between
gain in pile capacity to pore-pressure dissipation can be used.
This assumption (supported by the previous discussion) leads
to the following relations:
where Q(t) is the pile capacity at time t after installation,
Qfinalis the pile capacity after full dissipation, and 1 - Ti is
the degree of consolidation. The simplified relations of [6]
 436 CAN. GEOTECH J. VOL 27, 1990 i

' I 2 i
LENGTH SOIL
TYPE DIA. it. TYPE -. LOCATION
steel H 14" :;: Silt Tappan Zee, N Y

A s t e e l pended
ipe 6" 22 S o f t Clay San F r a n c i s c o
A steel pipe 12" 60 SoftClay Michigan
r
-
I- @ 242 Soft to
U Q s t e e l pipe 24" Stiff Eugene I s l a n d
,Q o Clav
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---
TIME, SINCE DRIVING I days Ir I' >

month 1 year :.
10. y e a r s

FIG. 8. Comparison of predicted set-up time for a 1220 mm (48 in.) pile, installed in BBC, to field data collected by Vesic (1977).
(1 in. = 2.54 cm).
For personal use only.

imply that the pile capacity at the penetration time ( t = 0,
-
u = 1) is zero. Measured values of the horizontal effective
stresses (a;) during penetration (Morrison 1984), while
assuming that the skin friction and, therefore, the pile
capacity, are proportional to a; at any time during con-
solidation, allow adjustment of [6] in the following manner:
[71 Q(t) z
- - Ki + (1 - Ki)(l - a)
Qfina~
where Ki is the ratio of the horizontal (radial) effective
stress at the time of penetration to the original vertical effec-
tive stress (a:/u(,).
Use of [7] and data provided by Morrison (1984) enable
estimation of the gain in capacity with time for the 1220-mm
pile. The estimations for the two modes of penetration
(plugged and unplugged) are presented in Fig. 8 along with
measurements compiled by Vesic (1977). Figure 8 shows the
following. 1. The calculated gain in capacity with time fits
in with the general trend of actual measured data. 2. For
the considered 1220-mm friction piles driven in BBC, the
time required for the closed-ended plugged pile to achieve
its maximal bearing capacity is an order of magnitude greater
than that required for the unplugged open-ended pile. 3. An
unplugged pile with a diameter of 1220 mm in BBC requires
2.5 days to reach 50% and 25 days to reach 90% of its max-
imum capacity. A plugged pile of the same diameter will
require a much longer time, such that 50% of its maximum
capacity is reached after 50 days and 90% after 500 days.
The following should be emphasized in regard to the
above suggested relations.
1. The data compiled by Vesic (1977) were obtained by
direct pile load testing at different time stages (e.g., Seed
and Reese 1955, 1957). The calculated curves are based on
measurements of pore-water dissipation around a model
pile, and are subject to the assumptions made for [7].
Morrison (1984) measured values of a, and u with time, but
relations such as those of [7] need additional confirmation of
the direct influenck of those values on the skin friction.
2. The accuracy of this process when applied to a sensitive
(st = 6) clay, such as the BBC, is questionable, taking its
thixotropic behavior into consideration (O'Neill 1985). For
these reasons, the calculated curves in Fig. 8 should be
regarded as an approximation that serves the purpose of the
present illustration.
3. All analyses assumed that the plugged pile is analogous
to a closed-ended pile. While this assumption is entirely cor-
rect for the end-bearing consideration, it is conditional for
the time-dependent pile capacity. If the pile penetrates in
a plugged mode along a length that is significant in relation
to its penetration depth in an unplugged mode, then these
approximations are valid. If, however, the pile penetrated
in a plugged mode for only a short distance at the end of
its driving, then the effect on the gain in capacity with time
will be less than that described above, despite the fact that
the contribution of a given pile length to the total capacity
of friction piles increases with depth.
The influence of a soil plug on the dynamic behavior
and analysis of piles
Dynamic analysis of pile driving is performed for two
major reasons: (i) Prediction of the dynamic behavior of
piles prior to construction. Such analysis enables the estab-
lishment of relations between observed dynamic resistance
(in the form of the hammer-blow count for a certain energy
level) and anticipated static capacity. (ii) Prediction of the
pile behavior under static loads, utilizing analysis of dynamic
measurements obtained during driving. Both analyses are
typically based on a numerical solution of the one-
dimensional wave equation (I-D WE). The solution utilizes
mathematical models for the pile, the pile-soil interaction,
and, in the case of the predriving analysis, for the driving
system also (Smith 1960).
 PAIKOWSKY A,NDWHITMAN \ 437
I >

The friction stresses 6) are agtivated by the pile move-

TON
PILE T-l/B 1 ment, and under free wave motion E' = O), [8] becomes
PEN. - 3 1 . 0CI
DIAMETER-
HAMMER - era
M-2500
IN.
the familiar 1-D WE.
Several assumptions, such as prismatic shape and homo-
geneity, are implicit in the development of the 1-D WE. It
is also assumed that under loading, plane parallel cross sec-
tions remain plane and parallel and that a uniform distribu-
tion of stress exists across each plane. It should be noted
that the assumption of uniaxial stress does not include uni-
-5awC- Fmsd. axial strain. Thus, owing to Poisson's effect, there are lateral
v
- 1www I---- Vm-d. *EA/C expansions and contractions arising from the axial stress that
are associated with lateral inertia (Graff 1975). The additional
friction term was included under the assumption that the
soil is stationary (has no inertia effects) and the action of
Can. Geotech. J. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by 68.148.154.147 on 06/27/20

TON the friction forces does not violate any of the previous
PILE T-1/B
assumptions.
L. E.
PEN.
-- 85. E M
81. O M
DIAMETER-
HAMMER - 88
M-2500
IN.
- These underlying assumptions used for the theoretical
1500 description of the pile condition during driving are adequate
for most practical purposes.
The one-dimensional wave equation in light of pile plugging
To ensure the validity of the above analysis for open-
ended pile penetration, two possible'-inner-soil - pile interac-
tions must be examined. :.
F c a l . (a) Intrusion of soil into the p@epile during itspenetration
in an unplugged mode.
During unplugged penetrafion, the inside and outside fric-
For personal use only.

tion can be cumulatively represented by one friction stress.

TON I I
Analysis of the dynamic measurements obtained during driv-
P I L E T-1/B
ing of unplugged, open-ended, large-diameter piles, using
2www -
L. E.
PEN.
-- 14. O M
31. O M
DIAMETER-
HAMMER - 6W
M-2300
IN.
- the above approach, was presented by Paikowsky (1982).
ISWE- Four offshore static load tests of up to 12 MN were found
to be in 90% agreement with the predicted static capacity.
1 www - Figure 9 presents measurements and analytical results of a
5ww - 1524-mm (60 in.) unplugged pipe pile driven with a Menck
2500. The pile length was 65.9 m and the penetration was
I
31.0 m with a plug length of 30.4 m. Figure 9a shows the
0
measured force and velocity (multiplied by the pile
-Frnrd.
i impedance). The calculated and the measured forces at the
-5ww

F c a l .
-1wow
FIG.9. (a) Measurements of force and velocity vs. time for an
unplugged pile; ( 6 )Plot of measured force at pile top compared
to force obtained from TEPWAP analysis; (c) Comparison between
measured force near tip of pile and calculated force obtained from
TEPWAP analysis (referring to measurements at pile top)
(Paikowsky 1982).
In the case of open-ended pile penetration, the validity
of the theory and the models used must be reviewed in light
of the various possible inner soil - pile interactions.
The one-dimensional wave equation and its underlying
assumptions
Stress propagation in a pile during driving can be
described by the following equation of movement:
in which u(x, t) is the longitudinal displacement of
infinitesimal segment; A, and S, are the pile area and cir-
cumference, respectively; and E, and p, are the modulus of
elasticity and density of the pile material.
top and the tip of the pile are shown in Figs. 96 and 9c,
respectively.
The pile capacity was estimated using a computer program
called TEPWAP.' This program allows the input of the
measured velocity at the pile top as a function of time, solv-
ing [8] for a set of parameters describing the soil resistance
(dynamic and static) along the pile. Adjustments of the
parameters are made until the calculated force at the top
matches that measured, as shown in Fig. 9b. Figure 9c
presents the comparison between calculated force at the tip
(obtained from the above procedure) to the measured force
at the tip. The match between these forces at the tip verifies
the validity of the analysis. From the calculated resistance
that led to the match in Fig. 9b, the static component acting
cumulatively on the inside and outside walls and tip of the
pile was predicted to be 10.9 MN, compared with 12.0 MN
measured in a static load test. From this analysis it can be
concluded that when an open-ended pile penetrates in an
unplugged mode, a dynamic analysis can be conducted by
considering only the resultant of the inner- and outer-wall
friction.
'TEPWAP (Paikowsky 1982) utilizes a procedure somewhat
similar to the CAPWAP analysis described by Gravare et al. (1980).
 438 CAN. GEOTECH. J.
7 13N
PILE TEST #4
2"em - L. E.
PEN.
-- GO. 3 9 M
Be. P W M
DIAMETER-
HAMMER-
5R IN.
M-ZSPm
1S*-9 - displacement. This complex pile-plug behavior is not con-
Can. Geotech. J. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by 68.148.154.147 on 06/27/20
T2h:
inwa
L. E.
PEN.
-- as. 3 9 ~
35. Z w M
DIAMETER-
HAMMER-
5.5 IN.
M-25~70
I unacceptable as it could not explain the gain in capacity,
For personal use only.
FIG. 10. (a) Measurements of force and velocity vs. time for
a plugged pile, ( b ) Plot of measured force at pile top compared
to force obtained from TEPWAP analysis (Paikowsky 1982).
(b) Fully plugged mode, in which the inside soil is
displaced the same distance as the steel pipe.
When a pipe pile becomes fully plugged during penetra-
tion, the dynamic conditions differ from those previously
described for closed and open-ended unplugged piles.
When a nonhomogeneous pile is subjected to an impact
stress, the assumption that a plane parallel cross section
remains plane implies uniform strain throughout the cross
section. Therefore, a combined modulus of elasticity can
be used (e.g., reinforced concrete pile). However, in a
plugged pile only the steel pipe is subjected to the impact.
When the propagating stress wave encounters the plug, it
is subjected to an abrupt change in the cross section. If full
compatibility between the pile and the soil plug is assumed,
the problem can be overcome by considering the different
impedances of the two sections.
A simple dynamic evaluation of the plug behavior, assum-
ing a rigid soil plug and full compatibility, can be developed
as follows. When the soil mass accelerates with the pile wall,
the inside shaft friction is given by
The acceleration during driving is in the order of a few
hundred g's (say a,, = 200 g), and therefore the friction is
about 1B M N / ~(B~is the pile diameter in metres).
Calculations of friction stresses using [9] for large-diameter
pipe piles would indicate that such piles can never plug, espe-
cially when considering soil softening during pile driving.
However, since such piles do plug, the assumption of full
compatibility is unlikely. The soil plug, being incompatible,
is subjected to radial shear-stress propagation in addition
VOL. 27, 1990 ,
to longitudinal compressive'itress. An analysis of this system
requires separate consideration ofhthei n h i a of the soil plug
itself, even though the pile and the plug undergo equal
sistent with the simplified underlying assumptions of [8],
so that fully plugged piles cannot be analyzed utilizing the
1-D WE.
Analysis of the dynamic measurements obtained during
driving of an artificially plugged pile (concrete plug, inter-
nal annulus) was performed using TEPWAP. Figure 10
presents a comparison between calculated and measured
forces at the top of a 1422 mm (5641-1.) plugged pile driven
with a Menck 2500. The pile length was 69.35 m and the
penetration was 36.20 m with a plug length of about 30 m.
Even though a reasonable agreement is observed in Fig. lob,
the predicted capacity resulting from this analysis was
which was indicated by the blow count observed in the field
(similar results from WE analysis were reported by Stevens
et al. 1982).
Several attempts were made to resolve the problem of the
dynamic analysis of plugged piles.,.Heerma and DeJong
(1980) modeled the inner soil plug as"an independent lumped
mass-spring system subjected to 1,imited friction induced by
the inner pile wall. This system does not correctly model the
actual mechanism as described above and is therefore ade-
quate only as long as the pile remains unplugged.
Other analyses utilizing tlfe'finite element method (e.g.,
Smith and Chow 1982; Simons 1985) have the potential of
solving the problem through a detailed mesh, which allows
for both shear and normal stress propagation in the soil plug,
as well as the wave traveling in the pipe. However, because
of differences in the speed of wave propagation in the two
media, the analysis of the required mesh is time consuming
and therefore expensive, while the simplified meshes sug-
gested by the researchers failed to address the problem, as
they could not simulate the complex mechanism of the
system.
Randolph (1987) modified the aforementioned "pile
within a pile" analysis of Heerma and DeJong by introduc-
ing an extra degree of freedom, allowing elastic relative
displacement between the pile wall and the center of mass
of the internal soil. Although being a step in the right
direction, it does not yet allow sufficient consideration for
modeling the special plug mechanism, resulting in question-
able soil resistances when compared with the undrained shear
strength of the soil.
The above discussion leads to the conclusion that when
an open-ended pile penetrates in a plugged mode, a complex
mechanism of pile-plug interaction and independent plug
behavior renders the prevaling dynamic pile analysis method
invalid.
Conclusions
The plugging of a pile alters its mode of penetration,
thereby affecting its static capacity and dynamic behavior.
1. A fully plugged open-ended pile acquires the tip resis-
tance of a closed-ended pile, resulting in a substantial
increase in bearing capacity of piles driven in sand.
2. The plugged pile penetration mode is accompanied by
large soil displacements typical of closed-ended piles. The
increased volume of displaced soil results in a more extensive
region of pore-pressure increase around a pile driven in clay.
Therefore, the time required for the pile capacity gain
 PAIKOWSKY AN13 WHITMAN
increases in accordance with the longer time needed f o r the
pore pressure dissipation. This time factor is o f great
significance, a n d must be taken into account in pile design.
3. T h e inner soil in a fully plugged pile exhibits a complex
behavior under the dynamic loads o f driving. Analyses using
t h e 1-D WE fail t o model correctly the actual plug-pile
interaction, a n d s o d o not accurately predict field behavior
o r explain dynamic measurements.
T h e importance o f pile plugging in affecting the behavior,
design, a n d analysis o f pipe piles has been reviewed i n this
paper. A s plugging was found t o have a great influence o n
pile performance, further interest in the phenomenon should
be focused on (a) detection o f plugging o f piles driven in
Can. Geotech. J. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by 68.148.154.147 on 06/27/20
clay a n d ways t o prevent it, a n d (b) acquiring a basic under-
standing o f t h e plugging mechanism in order t o enable
prediction o f plugging o f piles in sand a n d (or) assess the
inner soil capacity after installation.
BALIGH, M.M., and LEVADOUX, J.N. 1980. Pore pressure dissipa-
tion after cone penetration. Publication No. R80-11, Department
of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA.
BALIGH,M.M., AZZOUZ,A.S., and MARTIN,R.T. 1980. Cone
penetration tests offshore the Venezuelan coast. Report
No. R80-31, Department of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
For personal use only.
BEGEMANN, H.K.S. 1969. Negative skin friction of a single pile.
Special Session on Negative Skin Friction and Settlement of Pile
Foundations, 7th International Conference of Soil Mechanics
and Foundation Engineering, Mexico City, Mexico, 1969. Paper
No. I.
BOGARD, J.D., MATLOCK, H., AUDIBERT, J.M.E., and BAMFORD,
S.R. 1985. Three years experience with model pile segment tool
tests. Proceedings of the 7th Offshore Technology Conference,
Houston, TX, OTC 4848, pp. 65-72.
CARTER,J.P., RANDOLPH, M.F., and WROTH,C.P. 1979. Some
aspects of the performance of open and closed-ended piles. Pro-
ceedings of a Conference on Numerical Methods in Offshore
Piling, Institution of Civil Engineering, London, U.K.,
pp. 165-170.
GRAFF,K.F. 1975. Wave motion in elastic solids. Ohio State Uni-
versity Press, Columbus, OH.
GRAVARE, C.J., GOBLE,G.G., RAUCHE,F., and LIKINS,G. 1980.
Pile driving construction and control by the CASE method.
Ground Engineering, 13(2): 20-25.
GROSCH,J.J., and REESE,S.C. 1980. Field tests of small-scale pile
segments in a soft clay deposit under repeated axial loading. Pro- RANDOLPH,
ceedings of the 12th Offshore Technology Conference, Houston,
TX, pp. 143-151.
HEERMA, E.P., and DEJONG,A. 1980. An advanced wave equa-
tion computer program which simulates dynamic pile plugging
through a coupled mass-spring system. In Numerical methods
in offshore piling, Institution of Civil Engineers, London, U.K.
1980, pp. 37-42.
JAMIOLKOWSKI, M., LANCELLOTTA, R., TORDELLA,L., and
BATTAGLIO, M. 1982. Undrained strength from CPT. Proceed-
ings of the 2nd European Symposium on Penetration Testing
(ESOPT) 11, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 599-608.
KARLSRUD, K., and HAUGEN, T. 1981. Cyclic loading of piles and
pile anchors, field model tests at HAGA. Static reference tests
on piles A1 and A2. Data Report 40010-4, Norwegian
Geotechnical Institute,
KINDEL, C.E. 1971. Mechanism of soil resistance for driven pipe
piles. 4th Annual Symposium of the Waterway, Port, Coastal
and Ocean Division of American Society of Civil Engineers,
Long Beach, CA.
KISHIDA,H. 1967a. Model tests on ultimate bearing capacity of
439
i
I
open piles installed in sand. (in Japanese). winistry of Construc-
tion, Institution of Building Research, Japan.
-1967b. The ultimate bearing capacity of pipe piles in sand.
Proceedings of the 3rd Asian Regional Conference on Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Haifa, Israel, 1967,
Vol. 1, pp. 601-604.
KISHIDA,H., and ISEMOTO,M. 1977. Behavior of sand plugs in
open-end steel pipe piles. Proceedings of the 9th International
Conference of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
Tokyo, Japan, pp. 601-604.
KISHIDA,H., UESUGI,M., and MORITA,S. 1985. Behavior of dry
sands in steel pipe piles. 8th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Con-
ference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
KLOS, J., and TEJCHMAN, A. 1977. Analysis of behaviour of
tubular piles in subsoil. Proceedings of the 9th International Con-
ference of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Tokyo,
Japan, Vol. 1, pp. 605-608.
MCCLELLAND, B. 1974. Design of deep penetration piles for
ocean structures. ASCE Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Division, 100: 705-747.
MESRI,G. 1975. Discussion on "New design procedure for stability
of soft clays." ASCE Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Division, 101: 409-412.
MEYERHOF, G.G. 1976. Bearing capac$y and settlement of pile
foundations. ASCE Journal of Geotechnical Engineering Divi-
sion, 120(GT3), 197-228. ;.
-1983. Scale effects of ultimate pile capacity. ASCE Jour-
nal of Geotechnical Engineering, 109(6): 797-806.
MORRISON, M.J. 1984. In-situ measurements on a model pile in
clay. Ph.D. Thesis, Repartkment of Civil Engineering,
Massachusetts I n s ~ t h t eof Technology, Cambridge, MA.
O'NEILL,D.A. 1985. Undrained strength anisotropy of an over-
consolidated thixotropic clay. M.Sc. Thesis, Department of
Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA.
PAIKOWSKY, S.G. 1982. Use of dynamic measurements to predict
pile capacity under local conditions. M.Sc. Thesis, Department
of Civil Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology,
Haifa, Israel.
-1989. A static evaluation of soil plug behavior with applica-
tion to the pile plugging problem. Sc.D. Thesis, Department of
Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA.
-1990. The Mechanism of pile plugging in sand. Proceedings
of the 22nd Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, TX,
OTC 6490, Val. 4, pp. 593-604.
PAIKOWSKY, S.G., WHITMAN,R.V., and BALIGH,M.M. 1989.
A new look at the phenomenon of offshore pile plugging. Marine
Geotechnology, 8(3): 213-230.
M.F. 1987. Modeling of the soil plug response during
pile driving. Proceedings of the 9th Southeast Asian Geotechnical
Conference, Bangkok, Thailand. pp. 6-1 to 6-14.
RANDOLPH, M.F., STEINFELT, J.S., and WROTH,C.P. 1979. The
effect of pile type on design parameters for driven piles. Pro-
ceedings of the 7th European Conference on Soil Mechanics,
Brighton, U.K. British Geotechnical Society, London, U.K.,
V O ~2,. pp. 107-114.
SEED,H.B., and REESE,L.L. 1955. The action of soft clay along
friction piles. Proceedings of American Society of Civil Engineers
(81), Paper 842.
-1957. The action of soft clay along friction sites. Transac-
tions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Paper
NO. 2882, pp. 731-764.
SIMONS,H.A. 1985. A theoretical study of pile driving. Ph.D.
Thesis, Cambridge University, Cambridge, U.K.
SKEMPTON, A.W. 1951. The bearing capacity of clays. Building
Research Congress, London. The Institution of Civil Engineer-
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SKEMPTON, A.W., and NORTHEY,R.D. 1952. The sensitivity of
clays. Geotechnique, 3: 30-53.
 440 C A N . GEOTECH. J. VOL. 27, 1990 \
1.
I

SMITH,E.A.L. 1960. Pile driving analysis by the wave equation.
ASCE Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Division,
86(4): 35-61.
SMITH, I.M., and CHOW,Y .K. 1982. Three-dimensional analysis
of pile driveability. Proceedings of the 2nd International Con-
ference on Numerical Methods in Offshore Piling, pp. 1-19.
SODERBERG, L.O. 1962. Consolidation theory applied to founda-
tion pile time effects. Geotechnique, 7: 217-225.
STEVENS,R.F., WILTSIE, E.A., and TURTON,T.H. 1982.
Evaluating pile drivability for hard clay, very dense sand, and
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SZECHY, C.H. 1959. Tests with tubular piles. Acta Technica of
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SZECHY, C.H. 1961. The effects of vibration and driving upon the
Can. Geotech. J. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by 68.148.154.147 on 06/27/20
same. With the development of the full pluggingxate, greater
friction stresses are developed at the lower part of the soil
plug. These, however, will not affect the above assumption,
as at this stage the analysis considers the pile as a closed-
ended one.
5. Groundwater is assumed to be at the surface elevation
and the ratio between the total and the effective soil unit
weight is y, = 2.47'.
6. Pile diameter to wall thickness B/t = 40 is used. This
ratio is within the range commonly found in offshore pile
design (Paikowsky et al. 1989).
7. Piles in clay.
( a ) end resistance.
=
qp qc = Nc Cu + avo

voids in granular soil surrounding a pile. Proceedings of the 5th

International Conference of Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Paris, France, Vol. 11, pp. 161-164.
TOOLAN, F.E., and Fox, D.A. 1977. Geotechnical planning of
piled foundations for offshore platforms. Proceedings, the Insti-
tution of Civil Engineers, Part 1, pp. 221-244.
VESIC,A.S. 1977. Design of pile foundations. Publication No. 42.
National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Synthesis of
Highway Practice, National Research Council, Washington, DC.
ZEITLEN, J.G., and PAIKOWSKY, S.G. 1982. Discussion on "New
design correlations for piles in sands." ASCE Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering Division, 108(GT-l l), 1515-151 8.
Appendix 1: The assumptions made for obtaining the
For personal use only.
where N, is the bearing capacity factor, Cu is the undrained
shear strength, avois the total vertical stress at tip elevation,
and q, is the cone tip resistance (stress).
Setting the tip bearing capacity being equal to q, may be
questionable, because of geometry and steady-state penetra-
tion differing from incipient failure. The traditional value
is N, = 9 (e.g., Skempton 1951); using cavity expansion,
Vesic (1977) suggested values varyfng between 10 to 12 for
soft to stiff clay. In light of the reliability of the cone
penetration test (CPT) results,-*itis believed that they pro-
vide more accurate Nc values in spite of the above remarks.
Using a wide range of test results (e.g., Baligh et al. 1980;

relations in Fig. 2 Jamiolkowski et al, 1982), lye adopted the following value
The aim of Fig. 2 is to provide general normalized rela- of N, for soft tostiff clays (nonfissured):
tions describing the ratio (in percent) of tip and total resis- Nc = 14.5 ( + 30%)
tance of open-ended over closed-ended piles, both in sand and
and clay. These ratios are presented as a function of the pile
Cu z 0.22 a:, (Mesri 1975)
penetration (D), normalized by its diameter (B). The rela-
tions of Fig. 2 were obtained using the following general, ( b ) Skin resistance
simplified assumptions.
1. The analysis does not consider dynamic effects during f,, = ---
1 q, (Begemann
17.5
1969)
driving; e.g., the effect of strain rate on the shear strength
and the inner-soil mass - pile relations during transient f,, z C,, (Vesic 1977)
loading. The analysis is therefore applicable to quasi-static Substituting Cu, q,, and y, = 2.47' leads to an average
penetration only. skin friction along the pile of fso = 0.135y1D
2. Pile diameter is assumed not to influence pile capacity. where D is the depth of penetration.
This assumption is correct for the ultimate skin friction of 8. Piles in sand.
driven and bored piles in sand or clay, but it is limited to ( a ) End resistance
pile diameters smaller than 0.5 m ( B I0.5 m) when con-
sidering the end bearing capacity of the piles (Meyerhof where Nq is the bearing capacity factor, and q,,, is the
1983); e.g., when increasing pile diameter from 0.5 to 1.O m, limiting value of q, at the critical depth D,.
Meyerhof suggests a reduction of the end bearing of 44%
in medium dense sand and 33% in stiff fissured clay. Loose sand: Dc z 7B - -
4' = 30" Nq = 35
3. The different load-settlement relations of the open and
closed piles are not considered when referring to the pile
medium dense sand: D, z 15B - 4' z 35' -
capacity.
4. The shaft friction is affected by various factors, such densesand: Dcz18B-4' z40°-Nq=70
as soil density, surface roughness, and construction method
D, uses values from Meyerhof (1976), 4' uses typical
(McClelland 1974). These factors are assumed to be identical
values, and Nq use values from Zeitlen and Paikowsky
for the analysis of the open-ended and closed-ended pile
(1982).
capacity. For simplification, the effect of pile penetration
( b ) Skin resistance
on soil compaction, and therefore on the shaft resistance,
Using McClelland's (1974) simplification (which was sug-
is not considered, and hi is assumed to be equal to fso
gested for D > 6B), we obtain
regardless of the pile diameter. This assumption is supported
by the aforementioned fact that pile-diameter effect on shaft .
f s z 7 ' ' D tg4 ' 5 fsrnax
friction can be neglected (Meyerhof 1983). Furthermore, as where f,,,, is the limiting value off, at the critical depth
long as the piles are penetrating in an unplugged mode, the Dc-
inside and outside shaft friction can be assumed to be the