INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS, CHENNAI

Department of Civil Engineering

CE 3350 Geotechnical Engineering
Assignment # 4: Pile Foundations
Note: Make suitable assumptions wherever necessary.
1. (a) Pile driving in loose sands without predrilling tends to densify these soils. What effect does this
densification have on the load bearing capacity of such piles?
(b) A 400 mm 400 mm reinforced concrete pile is driven through a deposit of fine loose sand and
soft clay 20 m thick, to a depth of 1 m into an underlying stratum of dense sand. The water table is
located close to the ground surface. In submerged state, the angle of shearing resistance of sand was
35 and unit weight 10 kN/m3. Calculate the point bearing resistance of the pile.
2. (a) In what circumstances would you expect caving or squeezing conditions to be a problem? What
construction methods could a contractor use to overcome these problems?
(b) A 300 mm diameter concrete pile, 9 m long, is driven in a deposit of cohesionless soil. The average
corrected standard penetration resistance, N for the deposit is 15. Using the correlations, estimate
the safe load capacity of the pile. Adopt a factor of safety 2.5 and assume unit weight of 16 kN/m3
for the sand.
3. The following data was obtained in a vertical pile load test on a 300 mm diameter pile:
Load (kN)
50
100
200
300
400
500
600
Settlement (mm)
2.5
4.0
9.5
16.5
27.0
40.5
61.0
Plot the load-settlement curve and determine the allowable load as per IS Code.
4. A group of nine piles arranged in a square pattern is to be proportioned in a deposit of soft clay.
Assuming the piles to be square (with side 300 mm) and 10 m long, work out the spacing for 100 per
cent efficiency of the pile group ( = 1). Neglect bearing and assume adhesion factor of 0.8.
5. Design a friction pile group to carry a load of 3000 kN including the weight of pile cap at a site where
the soil is uniform clay to a depth of 20 m, underlain by rock. Average unconfined compressive
strength of clay is 70 kN/m2. The clay may be assumed to be of normal sensitivity and normally
consolidated. A factor of safety of 3 is required against shear failure.
6. A symmetrical 16 pile group in soft clay, with unconfined compressive strength of 40 kN/m2, is to be
used as foundation for a column. The piles are 300 mm in diameter and 10 m long and spaced at 900
mm centres. Determine the maximum load the group can carry with the piles failing (i) individually,
and (ii) as a block.
7. A concrete pile 15.24 m long having a cross section of 406 mm 406 mm is fully embedded in a
saturated clay layer for which sat = 19.02 kN/m3, = 0, and cu = 76.7 kN/m2. Determine the allowable
load that the pile can carry. (Let FS = 3). Use the method to estimate the skin friction and Vesic's
method for point load estimation.
8. A concrete pile is 18 m long and has a cross section of 0.406 m 0.406 m. The pile is embedded in a
sand having = 16 kN/m3 and ' = 37. The allowable working load is 900 kN. If 600 kN are
contributed by the frictional resistance and 300 kN are from the point load, determine the elastic
settlement of the pile. Given: Ep = 2.1 106 kN/m2, Es = 30 103 kN/m2, s = 0.38 and = 0.57.
9. A concrete pile measuring 0.406 m 0.406 m in cross section is 18.3 m long. It is fully embedded in a
layer of sand. The following is an approximation of the mechanical cone penetration resistance (qc)
and the friction ratio (Fr) for the sand layer. Estimate the allowable bearing capacity of the pile. Use FS
= 4.
Depth below ground surface (m)
qc (kN/m2)
Fr (%)
0 - 6.1
2803
2.3
6.1 - 13.7
3747
2.7
13.7 - 19.8
8055
2.8

4.1

10. The plan of a group pile is shown in Fig. 1. Assume that

the piles are embedded in a saturated homogeneous clay
having a cu = 86 kN/m2. Given: diameter of piles (D) =
316 mm, center to center spacing of piles = 600 mm and
length of piles = 20 m. Find the allowable load
carrying capacity of the pile group. Use FS = 3.

Fig. 1
11. A concrete pile of 450 mm diameter is driven to a depth
of 16 m through a layered system of sandy soil (c = 0)
as shown in Fig. 2. Assume that the value of in all the
layers of sand is equal to 0.75. The value of for each
layer as equal to half of the passive earth pressure
coefficient. The water table is at ground level. Calculate
the values of Qu and Qa with FS = 2.5 by the
conventional method for Qf and Berezantsev's method
for Qb.
Fig. 2
12. A group of 9 piles with 3 piles in a row were driven into a soft clay extending from ground level to a
great depth. The diameter and length of the piles were 300 mm and 10 m respectively. The
unconfined compressive strength of clay is 70 kPa. If the piles were spaced at 900 mm centre to
centre, compute the allowable load on the pile group on the basis of shear failure criteria for a factor
of safety of 2.5.
13. A 350 mm diameter closed-end steel pipe pile with 10 mm thick walls and a 20 mm thick bottom
plate is to be driven to a depth of 18.5 m into a soil that has fs = 50 kPa for downward loads and 40
kPa for upward loads and qt' = 9000 kPa. This pile will be constructed with the benefit of a wave
equation analysis and onsite dynamic testing. Compute the allowable downward and upward load
capacities.
14. An office building is to be supported on a series of 700 mm diameter, 12 m long piles that will be
built using the open hole method. The soil profile at this site is as follows:
Depth (m)
Soil Classification
Undrained Shear Strength, su (kPa)
0 - 2.2
Stiff clayey silt (CL)
70
2.2 - 6.1
Stiff silty clay (CL)
85
6.1 - 11.5
Very stiff sandy clay (CL)
120
11.5 - 30.0
Very stiff sandy clay (CL)
180
15 (a) What is "block failure" in a group of piles?
(b) A 500 mm square prestressed concrete pile (fc' = 40 MPa) is to be driven 20 m into a clay. The
ultimate side friction capacity, fsAs is 1450 kN and the ultimate net toe bearing capacity, qt'At is 300
kN. Using Equations (14.46) to (14.48) (See Coduto book), develop a load-settlement curve, then
determine the allowable load for a factor of safety of 2.5 and the corresponding settlement.
16. A building column carrying a dead load of 1100
kN and an imposed load of 300 kN is to be
supported by a single bored pile installed in firm
to stiff fissured London Clay (Fig. 3). Select
suitable dimensions and penetration depth to
obtain a safety factor of 2 in total pile resistance,
or safety factors of 3 in end bearing and unity in
shaft friction. Calculate the immediate
settlement at the working load.
Fig. 3
4.2