Piles 291

steel u.c.

reinforcement

plan
plan cap plate

50 mm cover top
100 mm cover bottom

pile
cap

100 mm

steel pile section

F ig. 14.20 R ein f o r c ed p ile h ea d .

section

F ig. 14.19 Pile c a p , t y p ic a l r ein f o r c em en t .

staggered piles

Single column loads supported on larger pile groups can

create significant shear and bending in the cap which will
need top and bottom reinforcement as well as shear links
(see Fig. 14.19).
The heads of r.c. piles should be stripped and the exposed
reinforcement bonded into the pile cap for the necessary
bond length. Pile caps to steel piles can be reduced in depth
if punching shear is reduced by capping and/or reinforcing plan on capping beam
the head of the pile, as shown in Fig. 14.20.
F ig. 14.21 C o n t in u o u s c a p p in g b ea m .
Piles for continuous capping beams supporting load-bearing
walls can be alternately staggered to compensate for the
eccentricity of loading due to the 75 mm out-of-line toler- Often the ground beam can be designed compositely with
ance (see Fig. 14.21). the walls above and by using composite beams a standard
nominal size ground beam, dictated mainly by the prac-
14.8 Design of foundations at pile head ticalities for construction, can be used. This has the
advantage of standardizing shuttering, reinforcement and
A general description of ground beams and pile caps is
excavation, making site construction simple, economic and
discussed in Chapter 9 (see section 9.5.8) and restraints and
quicker than the traditional solution. Many different beams
cap/beam details are briefly mentioned.
designed ignoring the benefit of the contribution from the
In addition to providing restraint, the ground beam is also structure above can severely complicate the foundations
used to transfer loads from the superstructure to the pile (see Fig. 14.23).
and can be used with or without pile caps. For example, two
When considering the use of composite action, considera-
alternative layouts are shown in Fig. 14.22 indicating a wide
tion must be given to services which may pass through
ground beam solution and a narrow beam using pile caps.
below ground level in these zones. It is often the case that in
Where the increased width of the beam needed to accom- adopting composite beams the resulting shallow beams can
modate the pile diameter, plus the total of all necessary be more easily made to pass over the services. The use of
tolerance, is only slight and where a reduction in beam composite action should however be used with caution if
depth helps to compensate for the additional concrete, a there is a requirement to maintain flexibility of future lay-
wider beam omitting the pile caps can be more economic. out. Any modifications involving the introduction of major
292 F o u n d a t io n T y p es: S elec t io n a n d D esig n

ground ground
beam beam

cap

pile pile

section section

plan plan
w id e ground beam pile cap and narrow
ground beam

F ig. 14.22 A lt er n a t iv e b ea m /c a p la y o u t s.

stand ard nominal ground beam d ifferent beam siz es d ue

for practical construction to vary ing load
composite beam d esign normal r.c. beam d esign

F ig. 14.23 C o m p o sit e a c t io n v er su s n o r m a l d esig n .

openings in the walls would invalidate the design assump-

load -bearing w alls
tion that the wall and foundation act together.
A further help in standardizing a smaller and more
movement joints economic section is that composite action often makes it
movement
fl oating slab possible to precast the beams alongside the excavation and
joint
roll them into position, speeding up construction.
For building structures the basic alternative foundations
for support on piles generally adopted consists of one or a
ground beams combination of the following:
Type 1 Concrete ground beams with or without caps sup-
porting the main superstructure load but with a
piles floating ground floor slab between the main wall
(see Fig. 14.24).
ty pical section th rough piled
Type 2 Concrete ground beams and suspended in situ or
found ation w ith fl oating ground slab
precast concrete floor slabs (see Fig. 14.25).
F ig. 14.24 Piles a n d floating g r o u n d sla b . Type 3 Flat slab construction (see Fig. 14.26 ).