20 loading tests on piles embedded in sandy soils

100

Piles

Qlim/P

Cov(Qlim/P)

Replacement
piles

12.1

0.26

CFA

37.5

0.25

Displacement
piles

73.1

0.08

80

Replacement piles.

60
40

42%

55% (2004)

Displacement piles world market (van Impe 2003)

CFA

20
0
1985

1986

1987

1988

Italian market - Trevisani (1992)

1989

1990

1991

Displacement piles

Pile - Bearing capacity

Qlim = Plim + Slim

Qlim Plim S lim

d
p
d s dz
4
0
2

Piles in sand
End bearing capacity :p = Nq vL
Nq,accordingtoBerezantzev,dependsontheratioL/d(slendernessratio)andon
thefrictionangle.

Local shaft capacity:s = k vz

where vz is the effective vertical lithostatic stress at the depth z; k is an empirical
coefficient mainly dependent on the technology and on the soil properties; the
coefficientisessentiallytheangleoffrictionavailableattheshaft-soilinterface.

End bearing capacity : p = Nq vL

Kerisel (1961) and Vesic (1967) experimental results show that the end bearing
capacity do not increase linearly with the depth .

Failure pattern below the base of a pile

(Vesic 1967)

Silos effect (Berezantzev et al. 1961)

p N ' L

The limiting value was attributed to

some form of arching effect..
.
More rational explanation may lie
in the variation of the friction angle
with confining pressure.

qb N q 'v
p ' N q 'v

Nq .. Shallow found. factor depends only

on

I R I D (10 ln p ' (kPa)) 1

' cv 3 I R (deg rees )

p (qb) da Fleming et al. (Piling Engineering 1986)

Reasonable way to
estimate p at failure
geometric mean of end
bearing pressure at
failure and the ambient
vertical effective stress

Many published
solutions for Nq
.

Nq by Beretzantev et
al. (1961) is the most
widely used

Local shaft capacity :

s = k vz

Piles in clay: undrained calculations using total stress

End bearing capacity :

p vL N c cu
Nc 9

Local shaft capacity :

s = cu

(Skempton 1951)

(Tomlinson, 1957)

Fleming et al. (Piling Engineering 1986)

API 1986

c
0.5 u
'v

0.5

c
0.5 u
'v

0.25

c
if u 1
'v
c
if u 1
'v

API 1993 20th edition

Effects of constructional details on pile behavior

Drilled shaft in sand
D = 0.914 m L = 10 m

Ata e ONeill (1997)

Bentonite slurry cake < 1 mm

Polimeric slurry

no cake

Bentonite slurry cake 10 mm

0

0 .4

0 .8

= s lim / 'v

1 .2

Effects of constructional details on pile behavior

Beaumont clay - OCR = 410 - IP = 2555%

D = 0.2730.914 m L = 724 m
Bored piles - polimeric slurry
Bored piles bentonite slurry
Bored piles
Driven steel tubular piles
0

0 .2

0 .4

0 .6

= s lim / C

0 .8
u

ONeill (1999)

Site :
Auchan Napoli
Load test
D = 800 mm;
L = 13.00 m
Date: 05/04/2006

Site :
Auchan Napoli
Load test
D = 600 mm;
L = 13.00 m
Date: 19/04/2006

Loading test on
the same driven
piles 3 weeks and
2 months after the
installation

OLD ITALIAN CODE

D.M. 11.03.1988 :

FS= Qlim/Qes= 2,5 if bearing capacity was determined by theoretical means

FS= Qlim/Qes= 2

if bearing capacity was determined by loading tests

TESTO UNITARIO
NORME TECNICHE PER LE
COSTRUZIONI
G.U. 23 SETTEMBRE 2005 N 22

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Piles with a diameter larger than 1 m
Large diameter bored piles were developed principally to cope
with higher building loads...
The piles are effective in a wide range of soils but are particularly
economical when bearing on a firm founding strata

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Very high vertical loads: depending on the diameters,
vertical loads per pile vary from 2.000 to 15.000 kN.
Large pile depth: the techniques used can reach a
depth of 60 meters and more.
Important horizontal loads or bending moments at the
pile top: the pile diameter allows very impressive
reinforcement cages to be used (up to 2% of the
concrete section).

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

The ground is removed by an excavating tool, such as a bucket, auger or
core barrel, mounted on a crane equipped with an appropriate rotary table.
The boring is possible in a variety of soils, from soft ground to loose rock.
While boring, a recoverable steel casing is pushed into the ground. In order
to avoid any penetration of soil or of water into the casing, a soil plug
should be maintained inside the casing during boring.
In the case of high ground water table, an hydrostatic excess pressure can
be maintained inside the casing in order to avoid decompression or erosion
of the soil surrounding the pile.
When a resistant layer is reached, the pile base is cleaned and the
reinforcement cage is installed in the pile, using the drilling unit. The pile
is concreted using a tremmie pipe to avoid concrete segregation. The use of
a tremmie pipe, or bell, is possible even under water.

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Execution sequence
1.

Drilling above the ground water level

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Execution sequence
1.

Drilling above the ground water level

2.

Drilling below the ground water level

3.

Drilling below the ground water level.

4.

Concreting with a plunging tube.

5.

Final extraction of the temporary casing.

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

In order to mobilize the end bearing capacity a
settlement of the pile tip w 10 -20 % D.
Generally such an indication is more practically
referred to the head of the pile and the
settlement of the pile needed to mobilize the
end bearing capacity is fixed to w 25 % D
(which includes of course some shortening of the
pile)
To mobilize the shaft friction settlement of the
pile head of the order of a few centimetres are
needed .. . independently of the pile
diameter

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

If designed as medium diameter bored piles with
the usual safety factors the risk to develop
excessive and not tolerable settlement under
service load is high.

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Early contribution by Berezantzev (1965)
Calculation of the end bearing capacity as that
value of the force transferred at the pile tip
which causes the development of (not reversible)
plastic strains ..
This force should correspond to settlement at
the pile tip w 6% -10% D and can be
evaluated with the same standard formula:
p = N*q vL

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Early contribution by Berezantzev (1965)

p = N*q vL

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Empirical method by Wright & Reese (1977):
Based on the results of pile load tests and NSPT
(site investigation).
Minimum between s(z) = 0,7 tan v(z)
the two values
s(z) = f (Nspt)

plim= f (Nspt) derived by the experiment as that force which

correspond to a settlement w 0,05 D (and related to Nspt)

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Empirical method by Wright & Reese (1977):

S(z) = f (Nspt)
plim= f (Nspt)

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Empirical method by Wright & Reese (1977):

LARGE DIAMETER BORED PILES

Empirical method by Wright & Reese (1977):