Buildings Ordinance (Cap 123)
PNAPs (not legal requirements)
Albert T. Yeung, BSc (Eng) MS PhD
MHKIE FICE MASCE
RPE (CVL, ENV & GEL) CEng PE
Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Hong Kong
PNAP 1 Practice Notes in Force
PNAP 66 Pile Foundations
PNAP 132 Site Investigation and Ground
Investigation
PNAP 141 Foundation Design
PNAP 158 Ban on Hand-dug Caissons
PNAP 225 Ground Investigation Works in
Schedule Areas Approval and Consent
PNAP 242 Quality Supervision Requirements
for Foundation Works
Schedule Area 1 Mid-levels
PNAP 85 - Development in Mid-levels
Scheduled Area - Buildings Ordinance section
2(1), Building (Administration) Regulation
8(1)(bb)(vii) and 8(1)(1)
Schedule Area 2 North-western New
Territories
PNAP 161 - Development in the Area Numbers
2 & 4 of Scheduled Areas
Environmental Permit
Noise Permit
Specifications
Government Specifications
Private contracts
BS 8004 Foundations
Eurocode Code No. 7 Geotechnics
BS 8110 Structural Use of Concrete
Code of Practice for Foundations (Hong
Kong Building Authority)
Schedule Area 3 Mass Transit Railway
Protection Area
PNAP 77 - Mass Transit Railway Protection -
Mass Transit Railway (Land Resumption and
Related Provisions) Ordinance, Buildings
Ordinance Scheduled Area No. 3
Schedule Area 4 Ma On Shan
PNAP 161 - Development in the Area Numbers
2 & 4 of Scheduled Areas

Schedule Area 5 Sewage Tunnel
Protection Areas
PNAP 165 - Sewage Tunnel Works - Sewage
Tunnels (Statutory Easements) Ordinance
Section 17A and Scheduled Area Number
5,Buildings Ordinance, Cap 123
American Society of Civil Engineers: www.asce.org
Institution of Civil Engineers: www.ice.org.uk
American Society for Testing and Materials:
www.astm.org
American Petroleum Institute: www.api.org
National Research Council of Canada: www.nrc.ca
Buildings Department:
www.info.gov.hk/bd/english/documents/index.html
Environmental Protection Department:
www.info.gov.hk/epd/
Civil Engineering Department:
www.info.gov.hk/ced/eng/

!
" Granitic rocks
# $ Presence of core stones
! Difficulty of founding level
! identification
Difficulty of pile driving

Terzaghi (1955)

Volcanic rocks Sedimentary rocks

Presence of zones of low strength
Presence of zones of high permeability
Expansion potential of weathered
materials
Difficulty of founding level
identification
Presence of interbedding weak layers
Problems of potential differential
settlement
%& !
' ! # & !
( & &
$ $
) ! &
& $
! #
*
& #
!
) Karl Terzaghi
Ralph B. Peck

!
Design cannot be separated from
Foundations
construction issues
Construction methods & materials Shallow Deep
can affect capacity, load-displacement Foundations Foundations

characteristics, construction program Spread Raft Compensated Pile Caissons

and economics Footings Foundations Foundations Foundations

 $

+ !

Soft soil

With a
piled
Firm bearing soil or bedrock Without a foundation foundation
 Vertical load

Rock

Load

!
! # ))
#
# #
)

Horizontal force
Uplifting force

, # ))
#
# ))
#
#
# #
(

$ )
# )
 Zone of
! erosion !

#
))
#' & Swelling
soil

Stable
soil

%
Fence

Bored pile wall

Assumed groundwater table

100 mm Grade 20D/20 concrete slab

#
with A393 wire mesh

Proposed 225 U-channel

Existing shotcreted
surface

5 rows of soil nails keyed in rock

at 2000 c/c in both directions

!
- . Configuration
Straight shaft
Large-diameter bored piles Bell-out
Rock socketed
Typical sizes:
800 mm, 1 m, 1.2 m, 1.5 m, 1.8 m, 2 m, 2.2 m,
2.5 m, 2.8 m and 3 m
/ + 0 /
& &
Well established design methodologies
Soil / rock can be inspected before, during and
after construction
Construction materials can be inspected before,
during and after construction
Well established construction methods
Pile integrity can be reliably assessed
Depth and diameter can be varied easily
Can be constructed in nearly any type of
geomaterial
/ + 0
& !
Installation procedure is complicated
Liable to squeezing or necking
Special techniques needed for concreting in
water-bearing soils
Cannot be extended above ground level without
special adaptation
Raking bored piles are difficult to construct
& -+ 0 &
Pile material and welding can be thoroughly
inspected before driving
Not liable to squeezing or necking
Easily spliced
Available in various lengths and sizes
Construction operations not affected by
groundwater
High load carrying capacity
Displace small amount of soil during
installation
+ 0
Equipment can break up practically all kinds
of obstructions
Construction equipment are quite mobile
Materials forming pile are not governed by
handling and driving stresses
Can be installed without appreciable noise or
vibration
No ground heave
Can be installed in conditions of low headroom
- .
Large-diameter bored piles
Driven steel H-piles
& -+ 0 &
Can be driven very long length
Can be designed to withstand high combined
bending, compressive and/or tensile stress
Projection above ground level advantageous to
marine structures
Raking piles can resist lateral loads effectively
No open hole to keep
No bentonite to handle
Easy installation and economical
 & -+ 0 &
Not applicable in bouldery ground or steeply
sloping rockhead
Section may be controlled by handling stress
Load carrying capacity limited by driving stress
May be susceptible to corrosion
May be damaged when driving through
obstructions
May suffer unseen damage that reduces load
carrying capacity
Founding conditions remain unknown
& -+ 0 &
Noise and vibration caused by driving may be
unacceptable
Displacement of soil during driving may lift
adjacent piles or damage adjacent structures
Preboring through obstructions can be expensive
Cannot be driven in conditions of low headroom

! + -+ 0 &
- . Pile material and welding can be thoroughly
inspected before driving
Large-diameter bored piles Not liable to squeezing or necking
Driven steel H-piles Easily spliced
Available in various lengths and sizes
Push-in steel H-piles
Construction operations not affected by
groundwater
High load carrying capacity
Displace small amount of soil during
installation

+ -+ 0 &
Can be jacked very long length
Can be designed to withstand high combined
bending, compressive and/or tensile stress
No limitation on working hours
Every pile is load tested
No open hole to keep
No bentonite to handle
Easy installation and economical
+ -+ 0 &
Not applicable in bouldery ground or steeply
sloping rockhead
Section may be controlled by handling stress
May be susceptible to corrosion
May be damaged when jacking through
obstructions
May suffer unseen damage that reduces load
carrying capacity
Founding conditions remain unknown
Working space required is quite large
 $ -+ 0
! &
- . Pile material and welding can be thoroughly
inspected before installation
Large-diameter bored piles Not liable to squeezing or necking
Driven steel H-piles Easily spliced
Push-in steel H-piles Available in various lengths and sizes
Socketed steel H-piles High load carrying capacity
Displace very small amount of soil during
installation

$ -+ 0 $ -+ 0
& &
Can be designed to withstand high combined Installation procedure more complicated
bending, compressive and/or tensile stress Raking piles impractical
Projection above ground level advantageous to Construction procedure may affect groundwater
marine structures regime
Drilling of rock socket takes time
Founding conditions remain unknown
Difficult to install in conditions of low headroom

!
- . Type of structure to be supported
Load carrying capacity required
Large-diameter bored piles
Subsurface conditions
Driven steel H-piles
Availability of materials and plants
Push-in steel H-piles
Local experience
Socketed steel H-piles
Site constraints
Minipiles
Construction schedule
Overall economy
 1 !
!

Structural failure of the foundations

Bearing capacity failure of the
supporting soils

! %

Ultimate
Ultimate Ultimate
Load
= Tip + Side
1 Carrying
q ult = cN c + qNq + BN Capacity
Resistance Resistance

2 Self
Weight

Not to cause structural distress
Not to cause excessive tilting of the
superstructure
Satisfy seviceability requirements of
the superstructure
= i + c + s
Immediate settlement (distortion
settlement) i
Consolidation settlement c
Secondary compression settlement s