XAR605 UNIT 2 embedded) to distribute loads which

PILE FOUNDATION are larger than one pile can bear.

Deep foundation Pile caps and isolated piles are
• A deep foundation is a type typically connected with grade
of foundation that transfers beams to tie the foundation elements
building loads to the earth together; lighter structural elements
farther down from the surface bear on the grade beams, while
than a shallow foundation does heavier elements bear directly on the
to a subsurface layer or a range pile cap.
of depths.
• A pile or piling is a vertical Foundations provide support for
structural element of a deep structures by transferring the load to
foundation, driven or drilled the rock or layers of soil that have
deep into the ground at sufficient bearing capacity and
the building site. suitable settlement characteristics.
There are many reasons that
a geotechnical engineer would CLASSIFICATION OF PILE
recommend a deep foundation . FOUNDATION
1. very large design loads Based on material
2. Poor soil at shallow depth or  Timber
 Steel
3. Site constraints like property
 Reinforced concrete 
lines.
Pile foundations are deep foundations  Composite
used when the site has a weak shallow Based on construction method
bearing strata making it necessary to  Driven piles
transfer load to a deeper strata either  Cast in situ piles
by friction or end bearing principles.   Driven and cast in situ piles
Based on load transmission
 End bearing piles  
 Friction piles

FACTORS GOVERNING THE

SELECTION OF PILE
Foundations relying on driven piles
often have groups of piles connected
by a pile cap (a large concrete block
into which the heads of the piles are
• Length of the pile in relation to
the load and type of the soil
• Characters of the structure
• Availability of the materials
• Types of loading
• Factors causing deterioration
• Ease of maintenance
• Estimated cost of types of piles,
initial cost, life expectancy and
cost of maintenance
• Availability of funds.

PILE SPACING
The c/c distance of successive piles is
known as pile spacing.
It has to be carefully designed by
considering the following factors:
1. Types of piles
2. Material of piles
3. Length of the piles
4. Grouping of piles
5. Load on the piles
6. Obstruction during pile driving
7. Nature of soil through which
piles are passing
The spacing between the piles in
group piles can be assumed base on
the following:
Minimum spacing between the piles is
2.5 m
Maximum spacing between the piles is
8m
Classification of pile based on material
TIMBER PILE
Timber can be used for manufacture of
temporary piles and also for
permanent ones in regions where
timber is readily and economically
available.
Trees with exceptionally straight trunks
are required.
The pile length is limited to the length
of a single tree, about 20m, since one
cannot join together two tree trunks.
The entire city of Venice in Italy is
famous for being built on wooden piles
over the sea water.
STEEL PILE
Steel can be used for both temporary
and permanent works. They are
suitable for handling and driving for
piles with prolonged lengths.
Their relatively small cross sectional
area along with the high strength
makes penetration easier in firm soil.
If it’s driven in to a soil with low Ph
value, there may occur a risk of
corrosion which can be eliminated by
tar coating or cathodic protection.
Usual length : 15 m to 60 m
Usual load : 300 kN to 1200 kN
Advantages:
• Relatively less hassle during
installation and easy to achieve
cutoff level
• High driving force may be used
for faster installation
• Good to penetrate the hard
strata
• Load carrying capacity is high
Disadvantages:
• Relatively expensive
• There is noise pollution during
its installation
• It is prone to corrosion
• It bends while driving
CONCRETE PILES
Concrete is used to manufacture of 
Precast concrete piles, cast in place
and pre-stressed concrete piles. Pre-
stressed concrete piles are becoming
more approved than the ordinary pre-
cast as less reinforcement is required.

COMPOSITE PILES:  the
When a pile consists of a combination
of different materials in the same pile,
it’s called as Composite pile.
For example, part of timber pile which
is installed above ground water could
be endangered to insect attack and
decay. So, to avoid this, concrete or
steel pile is used above ground water
level whilst timber is installed under
the ground water level.
CONCRETE PILES
Classification of pile based on
construction method
PRECAST CONCRETE PILES
• Usual length : 10 m to 45 m
• Usual load : 7500 kN to 8500
kN
CAST- IN- SITU CONCRETE PILES
• length : 5 m to 15 m
• Load : 200 kN to 500 kN
Advantages:
• Relatively cheap
• It can be easily combined with
the concrete superstructure
• Corrosion resistant
• It can bear hard driving
Disadvantages:
• Difficult to transport
• Difficult to achieve desired cut
off
CONCRETE PILES
• Reinforce concrete piles are
molded in circular, square,
rectangle or any octagonal
form.
• They are casted and cured in
casting yard, then
transported to the site of driving.
• They are driven in similar
manner as timber piles with the
help of pile drivers.
• Diameter normally varies from
35 cm to 65 cm, length varies
from 4.5 m to 30 m.
• Function of reinforcement in a
precast pile is to resist the
stresses during handling,
driving and final loading on the
pile rather than strengthen the
pile to act as a column.
• Longitudinal reinforcement is
usually 20 mm to 50 mm in dia.,
and stirrups of 6 mm to
10 mm dia.
• For 90 cm length at head and
toe, stirrups spacing is 8cm c/c
and for remaining intermediate
length, it is about 30 cm c/c.
• Circular piles are seldom
tapered. When tapered, piles
length is restricted to 12m.
• A concrete cover of 5 cm is
maintained throughout, over the
main steel bars.
• Has greater ability to withstand
extremely hard driving
• It is more durable in sea water
because of absence of crack.
• It has greater column capacity
• It has lesser handling costs
because of light weight.
DRIVEN FOUNDATIONS
1. Prefabricated piles are driven
into the ground using a pile
driver.
2. Driven piles are
either wood, reinforced
concrete, or steel.
3. Wooden piles are made from
the trunks of tall trees.
4. Concrete piles are available in
square, octagonal, and round
cross-sections
5. Steel piles are either pipe piles
or some sort of beam section
(like an H-pile).
6. They may be driven either
vertically or at an angle to the
vertical
7. Piles are driven using a pile
hammer.
8. These are first cast at ground
level and then hammered
or driven into the ground using
a pile driver.
9. This is a machine that holds the
pile perfectly vertical, and then
hammers it into the ground blow
by blow.
10. Each blow is struck by lifting a
heavy weight and dropping it on
the top of the pile - the pile is
temporarily covered with a steel
cap to prevent it from
disintegrating.
11. The pile driver thus performs
two functions - first, it acts as a
crane, and lifts the pile from a
horizontal position on the
ground and rotates it into the
correct vertical position, and
second, it hammers the pile
down into the ground.
12. Piles should be hammered into
the ground till refusal, at which
point they cannot be driven any
further into the soil.
Advantages
 Piles can be precast to the
required specifications.
 Piles of any size, length and
shape can be made in advance
and used at the site. As a result,
the progress of the work will be
rapid.
 A pile driven into granular soil
compacts the adjacent soil
mass and as a result the
bearing capacity of the pile is
increased.
 The work is neat and clean. The
supervision of work at the site
can be reduced to a minimum.
The storage space required is
very much less.
 Driven piles may conveniently
be used in places where it is
advisable not to drill holes for
fear of meeting ground water
under pressure.
Disadvantages
 Precast or prestressed concrete
piles must be properly
reinforced to withstand handling
stresses during transportation
and driving.
 Advance planning is required
for handling and driving.
 Requires heavy equipment for
handling and driving.
 Since the exact length required
at the site cannot be determined
in advance, the method involves
cutting off extra lengths or
adding more lengths.
 This increases the cost of the
project.
  Driven piles are not suitable in
soils of poor drainage qualities.
If the driving of piles is not
properly phased and arranged,
there is every possibility of
heaving of the soil or the lifting
of the driven piles during the
driving of a new pile.
Cast-in-situ piles
 These are concrete piles. These
piles are distinguished from
drilled piers as small diameter
piles.
 They are constructed by making
holes in the ground to the
required depth and then filling
the hole with concrete.
 Straight bored piles or piles with
one or more bulbs at intervals
may be cast at the site.
 The latter type is called under-
reamed piles. Reinforcement
may be used as per the
requirements.
Cast-in-place piles are made in the
following steps:
 hammer a thin-walled steel tube
into the ground
 remove all earth left inside the
tube
 lower a steel reinforcement
cage into the tube
 cast the pile by pouring wet
concrete into the tube
 The thin walled steel tube is
called the casing, and only
serves to form a secure mold
for casting concrete that is free
from earth and debris. It has no
structural role to play after the
casting is complete.
 Some soils are highly cohesive,
meaning that if one drills a hole
into the soil that is say 1 foot
wide by 50 feet deep, then the
soil holds the shape of the hole
and does not collapse into the
hole and block it. If such soil is
present at the site, then one
does not need to leave a casing
in place: one can use the casing
to drill the hole for the pile, and
then remove it, and then cast
the pile in place. This saves
costs as the same casing tube
can be used to drill holes for all
the piles.
Advantages
 Piles of any size and length
may be constructed at the site.
 Damage due to driving and
handling that is common in
precast piles is eliminated in
this case.
 These piles are ideally suited in
places where vibrations of any
type are required to be avoided
to preserve the safety of the
adjoining structure.
 They are suitable in soils of
poor drainage qualities since
cast-in-situ piles do not
significantly disturb the
surrounding soil.
Disadvantages
• Installation of cast-in-situ piles
requires careful supervision and
quality control of all the
 materials used in the These transmit most of their loads to
construction. the load bearing layer (which can be
 The method is quite dense sand or rock). Most of the pile
cumbersome. It needs sufficient capacity is inferred from the end
storage space for all the bearing point.
materials used in the
construction.
 The advantage of increased
bearing capacity due to
compaction in granular soil that
could be obtained by a driven
pile is not produced by a cast-
in-situ pile.
 Construction of piles in holes
where there is heavy current of FRICTION PILES
ground water flow or artesian These transmit their load through the
pressure is very difficult layers through which the piles pass
which is mostly through the surface
CLASSIFICATION OF PILE friction (skin friction) with the
FOUNDATIONS BASED ON LOAD surrounding soils.
TRANSMISSION Here the piles are driven to such a
The pile foundations are classified depth that the frictional resistance
based on load carrying characteristic which is developed at the side of the
of piles, material of pile construction piles equals to the load coming on the
and type of soil. piles.
Classification based
on load transmission:
 End bearing piles  
 Friction piles

Classification based on the effect of

soil
Driven piles:
In this process of driving of pile into the
ground, soil is moved radially when the
END BEARING PILES (POINT
pile shaft enters the ground. There
BEARING)
may exist a component of movement
of the soil in the vertical direction.
Hence driven piles are considered
as displacement piles.
Bored piles:
In this process, a void is formed by
boring or excavation before pile is
introduced into the ground. Piles can
be produced by casting concrete in the
void. Boring piles are considered as
non-displacement piles.
Pile Installation Methods
In pile foundations, Installation process
and methods of installation are equally
important as the design process.
During the design of piles,
the installation method and equipment
should be carefully selected in order to
avoid the damages to the pile.
Pile driving methods (displacement
piles)
Dropping weight:  used to establish sheet piles
A hammer with approximately the
weight of the pile is raised to a suitable
height and is released to strike the pile
head.
Vibration: 
The amplitude of vibration used here
should be sufficient to break the skin
friction on sides of pile. This is bested
suited for sandy or gravelly soils.
Under reaming:
This is a special type of auger bored
piles which is used to exploit the
bearing capacity of respective strata
by providing an enlarged base.
SHEET PILES
 Sheet piles are used to restrain
soft soil above the bedrock in
excavation
 Sheet piling is a form of driven
piling using thin interlocking
sheets of steel to obtain a
continuous barrier in the
ground.
 The main application of sheet
piles is in retaining
walls and cofferdams erected to
enable permanent works to
proceed.
 Normally, vibrating hammer, t-
crane and crawl drilling are
Can be used to construct of piers, oil
terminals, waste storage facilities,
bridges, houses, buildings, dry
docks other construction sites and for
the strengthening of pond banks,
preventing slumping into a pit and
flooding.
Steel is the most common form
of sheet piles as it has good resistance
to high driving stresses, excellent
water-tightness, and can be increased
in length either by welding or bolting.
They are connected by interlocking.
Steel sheet piling is the most common
because of several advantages over
other materials:
1. Provides high resistance to driving
stresses.
2. Light weight
3. Can be reused on several projects.
4. Long service life above or below
water with modest protection.
5. Easy to adapt the pile length by
either welding or bolting
6. Joints are less apt to deform during
driving.
Lengths can reach 34 meters.
Each segment is flipped 180° versus
the preceding segment.
The segments lock together using a
variety of interconnections.
The fully assembled structure is
formed in a linear, circular, or other
shape.
To reduce the filtering space, mixed
sealant is injected. Additionally, it may
be combined with the use of dowels,
metal beams and pipes.
Metal dowels are hot-rolled and cold-
rolled.
Application:
Used in foundation pits, coastline
strengthening, bridge construction,
piers, tide control, flood protection,
agriculture irrigation, water reservoir
and other work requiring extremely
strong support in a narrow geometry.
They are used for the following
purposes:
• To construct retaining walls in
docks and other marine works.
• To protect erosion of river
banks.
• To retain the sides of the
foundation trenches.
• To confine the soil to increase
its bearing capacity.
• To protect the foundation of
structures from the erosion
caused by river or sea.
• To isolate foundation from
adjacent soil
Timber sheet piles are generally used
for short spans in
temporary structures, and to resist light
lateral loads.
They are typically connected together
by tongue and groove joints.
The disadvantage of timber piles is
that they require preservative
treatment and are not generally
suitable for soils consisting of stones.
Reinforced concrete sheet piles are
formed using precast
concrete members, usually connected • Secant pile walls are formed by
together by tongue and groove joints. constructing intersecting
They are commonly used in reinforced concrete piles.
permanent river embankments, canals • The secant piles are reinforced
and other marine structures. with either steel rebar or with
The toes of the piles are usually cut steel beams and are
with an oblique face to facilitate easy constructed by either drilling
driving and interlocking, while the under mud or auguring.
heads are finished off by casting a • Primary piles are installed first
capping beam. with secondary piles
constructed in between primary
Sheet pile walls are constructed by: piles once the latter gain
sufficient strength.
1. Laying out a sequence of sheet pile • Pile overlap is typically in the
sections, and ensuring that sheet piles order of 3 inches (8 cm).
will interlock.
2. Driving (or vibrating) the individual In a tangent pile wall, there is no pile
sheet piles to the desired depth.  overlap as the piles are constructed
3. Driving the second sheet pile with flush to each other.
the interlocks between the first sheet ADVANTAGES:
pile and second "locked" 1. Increased construction alignment
4. Repeating steps 2 & 3 until the wall flexibility.
perimeter is completed 2. Increased wall stiffness compared to
5. Use connector elements when more sheet piles.
complex shapes are used. 3. Can be installed in difficult ground
(cobbles/boulders).
Sheet pile wall disadvantages are: 4. Less noisy construction.
1. Sections can rarely be used as part The main disadvantages of secant
of the permanent structure. pile walls are:
2. Installation of sheet piles is difficult 1. Verticality tolerances may be hard to
in soils with boulders or cobbles. In achieve for deep piles.
such cases, the desired wall depths 2. Total waterproofing is very difficult
may not be reached.  to obtain in joints.
3. Excavation shapes are dictated by 3. Increased cost compared to sheet
the sheet pile section and interlocking pile walls.
elements. Secant pile wall design when steel
4. Sheet pile driving may cause beams are used involves the use of
neighborhood disturbances weaker than normal concrete.
5. Settlements in adjacent properties
may take place due to installation
vibrations

SECANT PILE WALL DESIGN FOR

DEEP EXCAVATIONS
TANGENT PILE WALL
Tangent pile walls are a variation of
secant pile walls and soldier pile walls.
However, tangent pile walls are
constructed with no overlap and ideally
one pile touches the other.
Compared to secant pile walls, tangent
pile walls offer the following
advantages:
1. Increased construction alignment
flexibility.
2. Easier and quicker construction.
The main disadvantage of tangent pile
walls: They cannot be used in high
groundwater tables without dewatering