Deep Foundations

Limit State Design, Tensile Load and

Load Tests
Pile resistance and limit state design
The resistance of a pile, R, is the sum of the base and shaft
resistances.

In EC 7, the resistance R may be factored using gRC to

obtain the design resistance i.e.

Q bu  Qsu
R (9.12a)
g RC
or
Q bu Qsu
R  (9.12b)
g Rb g Rs

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Basis of Geotechnical Design
Design Approaches
Design Approach 1

Combination 1: A1 “+” M1 “+” R1

Combination 2: A2 “+” M2 “+” R1
or
Combination 2: A2 “+” (M1 or M2) “+” R4 for axially loaded piles or
anchors
Design Approach 2
Combination : A1 “+” M1 “+” R2

Design Approach 3
Combination : (A1 or A2) “+” M1 “+” R3
A1 :on structural actions
A2 :on geotechnical actions

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 Basis of Geotechnical Design
Design Approaches
Design Approach 1

Combination 1: A1 “+” M1 “+” R1

Combination 2: A2 “+” M2 “+” R1
or
Combination 2: A2 “+” (M1 or M2) “+” R4 for axially loaded piles or
anchors

For axially loaded piles, Design Approach 1 Combination 2 (DA1b)

A2 “+” M1 “+” R4 is used for calculating the design resistance

A2 “+” M2 “+” R4 is used for calculating unfavourable design actions

owing to negative skin friction (downdrag) or transverse loading.

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 Lower values for R4 if
serviceability is verified or
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Example 9.1
A single steel tubular pile of outside diameter 0.3 m, wall thickness 10
mm and length 10 m is driven into dry loose sand. The soil has unit
weight, g = 15 kN/m3, f’ = 32o and c’ = 0. Along the pile-soil interface, it
may be assumed that K = 1 and d’ = 0.75 f’. Assuming that the pile is
plugged and the weight of the soil inside the pile is negligible,
determine the allowable (permanent) design load on the pile under
EC7 DA1b.
Soil is dry, u  0.
For DA1b, the design val ues are :
 tan f '   tan 32 o 
f'des  tan 1    tan 1 
 1.0 
  32o
 g tan f' 
   
d'des  0.75f'des  24o
g ' 15
g 'des    15 kN / m3
g g 1.0

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Example 9.1

Q bu  A p N q 'q 
Lp 10
For   33 and f'des  32o , Fig. 9.6 gives N q  25
D0 0.3
Q bu A p N q g desL p 0.0707  25  15  10
Q bu,des     156 kN
g Rb g Rb 1.7

Qsu D0 0 Kg desz tan d'des dz

10
Qsu, des   (see Eq. 9.1a and 9.9)
g Rs g Rs
10
2 z 
  0.3  1  15     tan 24o
 2 0

1.5
 210 kN
 R  Q bu , des  Qsu , des  156  210  366 kN
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Example 9.1
For ULS to be satisfied for EC 7 DA1b,
Q  R
For permanent unfavourable action, g A  1.0,
 Q  366 kN is the maximum allowable characteristic load

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Example 9.2
A 0.75-m diameter bored concrete pile (weight density = 24 kN/m3) is
to be formed in a two-layer deposit of clay with the water table at the
ground surface. The upper layer of clay has saturated unit weight, g =
18 kN/m3, and constant undrained shear strength cu = 100 kPa. Below
this lies a thick lower layer of strong clay starting at a depth of 15 m
below the ground surface. This clay layer has g = 20 kN/m3, and cu =
200 kPa. All calculations are to be completed to EC7 DA1b.

a.Determine the maximum allowable design load (permanent) which

the pile can support under undrained conditions if it is 15 m long.
b.Determine the total length of pile required to support a (permanent)
characteristic load of 3 MN under undrained conditions.

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Example 9.2
(a) (b)

100 kPa 100 kPa

Lp - 15
200 kPa 200 kPa

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Example 9.2
For EC 7 DB1b, design material parameters are :
 c   100 
c u1,des   u1      100 kPa
 g c   1.0 
 u
g 18
g1,des    18 kN / m3
g g 1.0
c   200 
c u 2,des   u 2    200 kPa
 gc   1.0 
 u 
g 20
g 2, des    20 kN / m3
g g 1.0

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Example 9.2a
For a 15 m long pile, the shaft is in the upper clay while the base is on
the lower clay with d  0.

Q bu , des 

A p sc N cc u 2, des  gL p 
gRb
For d/B  0, sc N c  6.2 from Figure 8.10
  0.752
6.2  200  18  15
 Q bu , des  4  334 kN
2.0
 c 
For non - displacement piles,   1.16 -  u  for 30  c u  150
 185 
D0 L pc u1, des   0.75  15  0.62  100
Qsu, des    1370 kN
g Rs 1.6

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Example 9.2a
 R  Q bu , des  Qsu, des  334  1370  1704 kN

To satisfy ULS :
g A Q A  self - weight of pile  R
 
g A Q  g concA p L p  R
  0.752  
1.0 Q  24     15   1704

 4 
   
Q  1545 kN

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Example 9.2b
If the pile is to carry a permanent characteristic load of 3 M N,
the pile has to be longer than 15 m, i.e.
   
g A Q  g concA p L p  R  g A 3M N  g concA p L p  R
Assuming large d/B, s c N c  9.0
  0.752
4
 
9.0  200  18  15  20 L p  15
 Q bu ,des   391  4.42L p kN
2 .0
 c u1 
For non - displacement piles, 1  1.16 -    0.62 for 30  c u1  150
 185 
 2  0.35 for c u2  150

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Example 9.2b
Qsu, des 
  
D0 151c u1, des  L p  15  2c u 2, des 
g Rs


  
  0.75 15  0.62  100  L p  15  0.35  200 
1.6

 1370  103 L p  15 
 103L p  205
3000  10.6L p  391  4.42L p  103L p  205
3000  10.6L p  186  107.42L p
96.8L p  2814
L p  29 m
Check : d/B  (29 - 15)/0.75  18.7, s c N c  9.0 is O.K.

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Pile resistance from in-situ tests - SPT
Empirical correlations based on the results of pile loading tests and in-
situ tests are commonly used to provide alternative methods of obtaining
pile resistance.
From SPT data :
Q bu  A pC b N 60 ( kN ) (9.13)
where N 60  SPT value in the vicinity of the pile base.

Pile type Soil Cb

Displacement (driven) Sand 400-450
Silt 350
Glacial till 250
Clay 75-100
Driven cast-in-situ Cohesionless 150
Bored Sand 100
Clay 75-100

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Pile resistance from in-situ tests - SPT
For shaft resistance :
Qsu  AsCs N 60 ( kN ) (9.14)
where N 60  average SPT value along the length of the pile.
As  perimeter area of pile

For unknown soil conditions , Cs  2.0 (Clayton 1995)

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 Pile resistance from in-situ tests - CPT
The results of CPT can be used directly in pile design, particularly for
driven piles because of the similarity between CPT and the method of
pile installation.
The bearing resistance is :
q b  Ccpt q c ( kN ) (9.15)

where q c  average cone resistance over 1.5D 0 above and below the base of the pile.

Pile type Soil Cb

Driven (closed) Sand 0.4
Clay (undrained) 0.8
Clay (drained) 1.3
Bored Sand 0.2

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Pile resistance from in-situ tests - CPT
Correlations of CPT with shaft friction parameters are
notoriously unreliable and are not recommended for use.

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Pile resistance from in-situ tests
The values of Qbu and Qsu determined from in-situ tests are
characteristic resistances in EC 7 framework. If n tests
have been conducted, the characteristic resistance (Rk =
Qbu + Qsu) is determined using:
 R avg R min 
R k  min  , 
 3 4 
Table A.NA.10 – Correlation factors ( to derive characteristic values
of the resistance of axially loaded piles from ground test results
 For n = 1 2 3 4 5 7 10
3 1.55 1.47 1.42 1.38 1.36 1.33 1.30
4 1.55 1.39 1.33 1.29 1.26 1.20 1.15

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Piles under tensile loads
While piles are most commonly used to carry compressive
loadings, there are a number of situations where piles may
carry tensile loads. These include:

 When used as part of a pile group supporting a structure to

which horizontal or moment loading is applied;
 When used as reaction piles to provide reaction in a pile
load tests;
 To provide anchorage against uplift forces.

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Piles under tensile loads
(a) Moment

Compression

Tension

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Piles under tensile loads
(c)

Uplift

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Piles under tensile loads
Compression Tension

For piles under

tension, the
same method to
determine shaft
resistance for
compression of
piles can be
used.
No base resistance!

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Piles under tensile loads
However for piles under tension, field test data for non-
displacement piles show that the shaft resistance is
reduced by 30%.

Fig. 9.15 Shaft friction in tension: (a) a for non-displacement piles in fine-grained soil,
(b) shaft resistance for non-displacement piles in coarse-grained soil.

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Load Testing
It is common practice in the design of piles to verify the
capacity of a pile design using a pile load test. The
reasons are:

1. The uncertainty associated with using empirical

properties in calculations (e.g. a and b) is reduced;
2. It can be verified that the proposed construction
technique is acceptable and allows the integrity of the
cast-in-place piles formed using the proposed method to
be checked;
3. It can be verified that the ULS and SLS will be met by
the proposed design.

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Load Testing
Load tests may be carried out on trial piles (a.k.a. test
piles) and working piles (a.k.a. contract piles).

Trial piles are piles which are constructed solely for the
purposes of load testing, usually before the main piling
work commence. If sufficient load can be applied, these
piles can be tested to the ULS to verify the pile capacity.

Working piles are piles that will be part of the foundation,

and as such are not tested to failure. A typical maximum
load in such a test would be 150% of the working load that
the pile will ultimately carry, allowing for the SLS to be
verified with an allowance for possible redistribution from
other piles within the foundation.
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Load Testing

Fig. 8.1(b) foundation performance and limit state design.

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Load Testing
Load tests can be broadly classified into:

1.Static load tests

2.Dynamic load tests

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Static load test
Static load tests is the most common form of pile testing,
and the method is most similar to the loading regime in
the completed foundation.

The load can be applied using a kentledge or reaction

piles.

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Static load test

Fig. 9.16 Static load testing of piles: (a) using kentledge, (b) using reaction piles.

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Static load test
If kentledge is used,
the weight must be at
least equal to the
maximum load, though
this is normally
increased by 20% to
account for variability
in the predicted
capacity.

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Static load test

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Static load test
Pull-out test can also be
conducted to determine the
tensile resistance. Tension
piles and anchor system
should be proof tested up to
130% of the required test
load. An in-line load cell is
used to measure the force
applied to the pile head, while
the displacement of the pile
head may be measured using
local displacement
transducers or by remote
measurement using precision
leveling equipment.

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Static load test
Using Osterberg Cell
Hydraulic fluid is pumped into
the jack and both pressure
and volume are noted. The
jack expands and pushes up
the shaft. The shaft
movement is measured by a
dial gauge. Thus, a plot of
side friction capacity vs axial
movement is obtained.
If a telltale rod is included at
the bottom of the jack, the
downward movement at the
bottom can be used to obtain
a plot of toe-bearing pressure
vs axial movement.

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Static load test
Static load tests can be tested in two modes: constant rate of
penetration (CRP) tests or maintained load tests (MLT). Usually
constant rate of penetration test is used for trial piles and maintained
load test is for working pile.

In CRP test, a penetration rate of 0.5- 2 mm/min in compression is used

to displace the pile until either steady ultimate load is reached or the
settlement exceeds 10% of the pile diameter (or width for a square
pile). CRP test can be conducted on tension piles in which case the
rate of pull is reduced to 0.1 to 0.3 mm/min as the pile will mobilise its
tension capacity at much smaller displacements than in tension.

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Static load test
Maintained load tests (MLT) are used for working piles. This involves
applying load to the pile through a jack which is then maintained for a
period of time. The procedure is as follows:

1.Load to 100% of the design (working) load, also called the design
verification load in 25% increments;
2.Unload fully in 25% increments;
3.Reload directly to 100% design verification load, then load to 150% of
the working load (also called proof load) in 25% increments;
4.Unload fully in 25% increments

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Static load test
For piles which are long, of large diameter, in strong soil, having an
under-ream, or any combination of these features, pile load test may
not be continued to failure due to the cost involved or the relatively
large settlement required.

In such cases, a number of methods are available to extrapolate the

test data to the ultimate capacity. One such method is orginally
proposed by Chin (1970).

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Static load test Plot s/Q versus s
Chin (1970) assumed that
the load-settlement curve
can be approximated by a
hyperbola.

Fig. 9.17 Interpretation of pile capacity using Chin’s method

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Example 13.3 – The load-settlement data shown in the figure 13.11
were obtained from full-scale static load test on a 400-mm square, 17-
m long concrete pile (fc’ = 40 MPa). Use Chin’s method to compute the
pile load capacity in compression. (Adapted from Coduto 2001)
0.012

Settlement / Applied Load (mm/kN)

0.01

1/Pult =0.000375
0.008

0.006

0.004

0.002

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Settlement (mm)

Chin' s method :
1
Pult   2665 kN
0.000375

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Static load test in design by EC 7
In EC 7, the load test result is not used directly, instead the Rk is
determined by dividing by a correlation factor  which depends on the
number of tests:

 R avg R min 
R k  min  , 
 1  2 

Table A.NA.9 – Correlation factors ( to derive characteristic values

of the resistance of axially loaded piles from static pile load tests
 For n = 1 2 3 4 ≥5
1 1.55 1.47 1.42 1.38 1.35
2 1.55 1.35 1.23 1.15 1.08

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Example: Static pile load tests were conducted on three
identical piles at a site. The estimated ultimate pile
capacities are 305, 296 and 315 kN. Determine the
characteristic resistance Rk of the pile according to EC 7.

305  296  315

R avg   305 kN
3
R min  296 kN
For 3 pile load tests, 1  1.42 and 2  1.23
 305 296 
R k  min  ,   min 215,240   215 kN
1.42 1.23 

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Dynamic load test
For piles which are long, of large diameter, in strong soil,
having an under-ream, or any combination of these
features, pile load test may not be continued to failure due
to the cost involved or the relatively large settlement
required.

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Dynamic load test
Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA)

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Dynamic load test - PDA

(Coduto 2001)

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 Dynamic load test
Statnamic Test
A combustion chamber filled with
solid propellant fuel is placed
between the top of the pile and a
reaction mass.The test consists
of igniting the fuel, which leads to
explosive combustion, the high
pressure gases drive the mass
upwardsand the pile downwards.
The acceleration is about 10-20g
i.e. 10-20 times the load used in
conventional testing and hence
only 5-10% of the maximum pile
load is required as a reaction
mass.

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