JACK-IN PILE DESIGN

Some Malaysian Experience

By : Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Chow Chee Meng Date: November 2009
G&P Geotechnics Sdn Bhd (www.gnpgeo.com.my)

INTRODUCTION
Jack-in pile has been adopted in Malaysia since early 1990s Currently, 600mm diameter spun pile with working load up to 3000kN adopted for high-rise developments up to 45-storeys

HIGH CAPACITY JACK-IN PILE MACHINE

HIGH CAPACITY JACK-IN MACHINE

Maximum jack-in force up to 7000kN Width of machine up to 13.5m Required clearance for piling works: 5.5m to 6.9m (centre jacking) Clearance can be reduced to 1.5m to 2.0m for side jacking but maximum jack-in force reduced to approx. 3500kN

Typical schematic of high capacity jack-in pile machine

SMALLER CAPACITY JACK-IN PILE MACHINE

Maximum Jack-in Force = 700kN Size = 4.8m x 3.6m

Maximum Jack-in Force = 1500kN Size = 6.6m x 5.0m

PROS & CONS

PROS:
Low noise and vibration Faster construction rates (vs. bored piles) Cleaner sites (vs. bored piles)

PROS & CONS

CONS
Strong and flat piling platform required Larger working area required (vs. driven piles) Limited pile size (vs. bored piles) Unable to go through intermittent hard layers/boulders (vs. bored piles)

GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY OF PILES

Malaysian conventional design practice:

Qsu Qbu Qag = + Fs Fb

Qsu + Qbu Qag = Fg
2.0 1.5 3.0

(eq.1)

(eq.2)

GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY OF PILES

Ultimate shaft resistance, fsu = Ksu x SPT-N (in kPa) Ultimate base resistance, fbu = Kbu x SPT-N (in kPa) Typically, Ksu = 2.5 Kbu = 200 to 400 (clay to sand)

GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY OF PILES

Design experience based on driven piles experience Valid for jack-in pile design?

BEHAVIOUR OF JACK-IN PILES

BEHAVIOUR OF JACK-IN PILES

Rankine Lecture by Prof. Mark Randolph (2003):
Bored piles zero residual pressures End-bearing can only be mobilised at relatively large displacement

BEHAVIOUR OF JACK-IN PILES

Driven and jacked in piles - significant residual pressures are locked in at the pile base during installation Higher end-bearing can be mobilised at working load

BEHAVIOUR OF JACK-IN PILES

White & Lehane (2004):
Greater number of cycles during pile installation larger reduction in shaft friction

White & Lehane, 2004

Reduction in shaft resistance!!!

BEHAVIOUR OF JACK-IN PILES

Deeks, White & Bolton (2005):
The measured jacking force during installation indicates plunging capacity of the pile

BEHAVIOUR OF JACK-IN PILES

Jacked piles have a high base stiffness Stiffness of jacked piles > 2 times stiffness of driven piles > 10 times stiffness of bored piles Less settlement at similar imposed load!!!

CASE HISTORIES

CASE HISTORIES
Four different sites in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor
Granite formation with silty SAND/sandy SILT

Site A 31-storey condominium Site B 45-storey condominium Site C 40 to 43-storey condominium Site D 15-storey condominium

Site A

Site B

Site A

Site B

PILE DETAILS
Pile size: 400mm to 600mm Pile working load: 1520kN to 3000kN Pile termination criteria:
Generally, jacked to 2.0 times working load with holding time of 30 seconds (two cycles)

PILE PERFORMANCE
All piles selected for testing (22 Nos.) achieved the required test load within allowable settlement limits Pile length varies from as short as 6.5m to 37m

6000 5800 5600 5400 5200 5000 4800 4600 4400 4200 4000 3800 3600 3400 3200 3000 2800 2600 2400 2200 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 0

600mm Spun Pile, Pile length = 20.7m

2.0*WL

APPLIED LOAD (kN)

Site B

1.0*WL

5.57mm
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

13.05mm
9 10 11 12 13 14 15

PILE TOP SETTLEMENT (mm)

8000 7500 7000 6500 6000

600mm Spun Pile, Pile length = 34.8m

2.0*WL Residual settlement after unloading from 2.5*WL < 6.0mm 1.0*WL Settlement at 2.5*WL Site D

APPLIED LOAD (kN)

5500 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 0

8.48mm
2 4 6 8

23.84mm

10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26

PILE TOP SETTLEMENT (mm)

BEHAVIOUR OF JACK-IN PILES

From the pile load test results:

Pile performance is satisfactory for pile length as short as 6.5m

BEHAVIOUR OF JACK-IN PILES

Pile performance is satisfactory for piles where preboring has been carried out
Pile geotechnical capacity is a function of jack-in force during installation VALID!

TERMINATION CRITERION
1. Jack the pile to 2.0 times of the design load for a minimum of two cycles. 2. Pressure held for minimum 30 seconds with settlement not exceeding 2mm.

TERMINATION CRITERION

Is 30-seconds holding time too short to ensure long-term settlement will not be a problem?

TERMINATION CRITERION
Objective of specifying termination criterion:
To install the pile to the required depth to achieve the required geotechnical capacity!!!

NOT for long-term settlement verification!!!

TERMINATION CRITERION
Driven piles long-term settlement of piles cannot be directly assessed during pile driving Bored piles verification of pile capacity and settlement depends solely on load tests

JACK-IN PILE DESIGN

Responsibility of designer to ensure selected pile installation system can install the piles to the required level Termination criterion should be subjected to verification via maintained load test
To verify capacity and settlement characteristics

ADVANTAGES OF JACK-IN PILE

GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY OF PILES

Design experience based on driven piles experience Valid for jack-in pile design?

GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY OF PILES

Estimation of pile capacity using conventional pile design formula:
Results of 500mm spun pile on less optimistic load test results Pile capacity estimation based on Ksu = 2.5 and Kbu = 300

5000 4500 4000

500mm Spun Pile, Pile length = 16.5m

APPLIED LOAD (kN)

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

Pile show some signs of yielding

PILE TOP SETTLEMENT (mm)

GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY OF PILES

Estimated pile working load (WL) based on conventional design = 1700kN Pile settlement at 1*WL (2300kN) = 6.41mm Pile settlement at 2*WL (4600kN) = 21.83mm

GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY OF PILES Conclusion:

Pile capacity estimated based on driven piles experience tends to underestimate jack-in pile capacity

GEOTECHNICAL CAPACITY OF PILES Conclusion:

Ultimate geotechnical capacity of jack-in piles is a function of maximum jack-in force during installation

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

High capacity jack-in pile foundations have been successfully adopted for highrise buildings

SUMMARY

Behaviour of jack-in piles: Mobilized shaft friction and end-bearing resistance at working load is expected to be higher compared to driven piles

SUMMARY
Recommended termination criterion in weathered granite:
Jacked to 2.0 times the design load for a minimum of two cycles Held for minimum of 30-seconds with settlement not exceeding 2mm

SUMMARY

Ultimate geotechnical capacity of jack-in piles is a function of maximum jack-in force during installation

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Ir. Dr. Gue See Sew & Ir. Chow Chee Meng
G&P Geotechnics Sdn Bhd (www.gnpgeo.com.my)