CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY
BMCS I
G4 – PILE DRIVING
Content
1. Introduction
2. Pile Types
a. Effect on existing ground
i. Large Displacement Piles
ii. Small Displacement Piles
iii. Replacement Piles
b. Materials used for Piling
i. Timber Piles
ii. Steel Piles
iii. Concrete Piles
1. Pre Cast
2. Bored
iv. Advantages
v. Disadvantages
c. Bearing Methods
i. End Bearing Piles
ii. Frictional Bearing Piles
3. Pile Construction
a. Locating of Piles
b. Pile Driving
c. Bored Cast In-Situ Piles
4. Pile Testing
1. Introduction
The foundation of a structure is defined as that part of the structure in direct contact with the
ground and which transmit the superstructure load to the ground. A properly designed
foundation will transfer and distribute the load to the ground without overstressing the soil.
Foundation Types
1. Shallow Foundation
2. Deep Foundation
A pile foundation is called as deep foundation and it will distribute the load in the vertical
direction.
F F
Deep foundations distribute load vertically
Shallow foundations distribute load laterally
Figure 1.0
So the piles are used in such case that the soil strength is not sufficient to bear the laterally
distributed load due to the superstructure.
2. Pile Types
The categorization of piles can be done considering few different parameters such as effect
on the existing ground, material used and bearing condition.
a. Effect on existing ground
i. Large Displacement Piles
When there is a large displacement of the surrounding soils due to the pile driving
process such type of piles called as large displacement piles. Normally precast
concrete piles and timber piles are included into this category.
Figure 2.0
ii. Small Displacement Piles
If the Displacement of the surrounding soils due to the pile driving process, is small
(compared to the above mentioned pile type) that type of pile is called small
displacement piles.
So the cross sectional area of this type of piles are smaller. Normally steel piles are
considered as small displacement piles.
Steel Piles - I Sections Hollow Cylindrical steel Piles
Figure 3.0
iii. Replacement Piles
In replacement piles the existing soil will be removed and filled with concrete. Bored
Cast In-Situ piles are under this category.
Drilled Hole Replaced by Concrete
Properties of the surrounding soil will be decreased due to disturbance in drilling process
Figure 4.0
b. Materials Used for Piling
i. Timber Piles
Common types of timber that used for timber piles are,
Hora
Coconut
Rubber
If the timber always inside the water, it can last for a longer period. Decaying
process will be increased if the timber goes dry and wet frequently. Piling should
be done under the water before the timber start going in decaying process.
Maximum deviation of the centre line position should not exceed 25 mm or 1
Figure 5.0
Protection of the Pile (Top and Bottom)
For the Bottom
Pointing the pile (not enough) Provide High Strength Steel
For the Top Figure 6.0
Provide Steel Band (to prevent brooming)
Provide Steel Cap (Helmet)
Figure 7.0
Advantages
No Necking or Squeezing
Can be used in under water conditions
Materials in pile is not governed by handling or driving stresses
Disadvantages
Can be subjected to decaying quickly if the pile comes over the water level
Can be damage easily in the driving process (brooming, pile bottom can be
broken)
Not suitable for large scale projects
Cannot be driven in very long lengths
Availability of suitable straight timber is less
ii. Steel Piles
Steels piles are normally driven piles and having various shapes of sections. They can
be Cylindrical, Square type or H – section type. Also they can be hollow sections or
solid ones. Normally hollow (open end) piles can be considered as small displacement
piles while solid or hollow (closed end) piles are considered as large displacement
piles.
Advantages
No Necking or Bulging
Construction operations not affected by ground water
Materials in pile is not governed by handling or driving stresses
Disadvantages
Can be easily subjected to corrosion
Noise and vibration due to driving may be unacceptable
Difficult to use when an inclined bed rock is present
iii. Concrete Piles
Reinforcement should satisfy the static design load and the load applied at the driving
process. It is important to make sure that the bed rock condition. Cover to the
reinforcement will be depending on the aggressiveness of the exposure condition,
concrete strength.
Minimum strength within 28 days = 25 kN/mm2
There are two types of concrete piles.
1. Pre Cast Concrete Piles
Pre cast concrete piles will be driven into the ground at the particular location by a
Simple Drop Hammer, Vulcan Drop Hammer, Single Acting Hammer, Hydraulic
Hammer, Diesel Hammer or Vibratory Hammer.
Advantages
Not liable to ‘squeezing’ or ‘necking’
Construction operations not affected by ground water
Projection above ground level advantageous to marine structures
Can be driven in very long lengths
Can be designed to withstand high bending and tensile stresses
Disadvantages
Noise and vibration due to driving may be unacceptable
Displacement of soil during driving may lift adjacent piles or damage adjacent
structures
Un-jointed types, cannot be varied in length to suit varying level of bearing
stratum
May break during driving, necessitating replacement piles
May suffer unseen damage which reduces carrying capacity
2. Bored Cast In-Situ Concrete Piles
Bored piles are used when we have a shallow bed rock. Bored piles are the most
common pile type that used in Sri Lanka. While boring we used a liquid called
‘Bentonite Slurry’ to facilitate the boring process ensuring the stability of the wall of
the bored pile.
Core Recovery (CR) and Rock Quality Designation (RQD) of the bed rock present are
important to consider in determining the socketing length in this piling process.
Advantages
Length can readily be varied to suit variation in level of bearing stratum
In-situ loading tests can be made in large-diameter pile boreholes, or
penetration tests made in small boreholes
Very large (up to 7.3m diameter) bases can be formed in favourable ground
Drilling tools can break up boulders or other obstructions which cannot be
penetrated by any form of displacement pile
Can be installed in very long lengths
Disadvantages
Concrete in shaft liable to squeezing or necking in soft soils where
conventional types are used
Special techniques needed for concreting in water-bearing soils
Concrete cannot be inspected after installation
Cannot be extended above ground level without special adaptation
Low end-bearing resistance in cohesion less soils due to loosening by
conventional drilling operations
Drilling a number of piles in group can cause loss of ground and settlement of
adjacent structures
c. Bearing Methods
i. End Bearing Piles
End bearing piles will be driven or cast into the bed rock (socketing) and the major
contribution in bearing the load will be given by the bed rock.
ii. Frictional Bearing Piles
Frictional bearing piles will not be driven until the bed rock is encountered, and the
almost all the load is bear by the surrounding soil due to frictional resistance.
3. Pile Construction
a. Locating of Piles
Locating of piles depends on the type of construction, superstructure load, bearing
capacity of a single pile and the site condition. There can be single pile sections and also
group pile sections. Normally a high-rise
Figurebuilding
8.0 can have single pile to support a
column while a bridge type of construction normally having pile groups.
Bearing capacity of a single pile will be the key factor in determining the number of piles
that we should have for a particular structure.
b. Pile Driving
Pile driving will be done using a hammer and the load applying process can be done by
dropping the hammer or vibrating it. There are various types of hammers such as
following;
Simple Drop Hammer
Vulcan Drop Hammer
Single Acting Hammer
Hydraulic Hammer
Diesel Hammer
Vibratory Hammer
Muller Vibrator
Figure 9.0: Hydraulic Hammer Figure 10.0: Muller Vibrator
c. Bored Cast In-Situ Piles
Bored Cast In-Situ Piles is a replacement pile type. First boring of the pile will be done up
to the required depth and then the applying of reinforcement and concreting will be done.
Boring will be done using a steel boring tool and there are few types of boring methods.
Percussion Boring (This can be done using a Winch machine)
Figure 11.0: Winch Machine Figure 12.0: Boring Tool (Chisel)
Rotating Auger or Rotating Cutter Method
Figure 13.0
4. Pile Testing
There are some other problems or defects on piles such as
Necking
Bulging
Cracking (the concrete of the pile is not continuous)
Settling
Less bearing capacity
These types of defects can be identified doing two different types of tests. They are,
1. PIT (Pile Integrity Test)
2. PDA (Pile Dynamic Analysis)
Pile Integrity Test (PIT)
PIT is conducted to check whether the integrity of the pile is in an acceptable condition. The
test is performed by applying an impact wave at the pile top using a hand hammer. PI Tester
shows the results as whether the pile has necking or bulging.
PI Tester
Reiforcement Signal Cable
Concrete Hammer High viscosity Gel
Bulging Reflected wave
Impact wave
Necking
Crack of the concrete
Pile
Figure 14.0
By reflecting the wave the deformation of the pile (whether there was a crack across the pile
or necking or bulging) can be identify by the PI Tester.
Necking
Bulging
Poor
Concrete
depth (m)
5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Figure 15.0
Pile Dynamic Analysis (PDA)
By doing Pile Dynamic Test we can identify specially about the settling problems and
bearing capacity problems. PDA is to determine the pile resistances that can be mobilized and
also examine the structural integrity of the pile.
Work by Hammer = Resistance x Displacement
ExWxH = design load x 0.0035 m
Where, E – Efficiency of the crane W – Load of the Hammer
H – Height 0.0035 – Max displacement allowable
tons
Force
500.0
Velocity
250.0
0.0
100 m/s
-250.0
Figure 16.0
When testing the pile, the impact of each hammer drop is sense by the sensors (the strain
sensor and the velocity sensor) fixed at 1.25 m deep from the top of the pile. And signals will
be sent to the ‘Pile Dynamic Analyzer’. From that PDA results gives as a graph using
software called CAPWAP.
Figure 17.0
A.K.S. de Alwis (B.Sc. Eng)
