1

Lecture 5
Negative skin friction on pile
C F LEUNG
Center for Soft Ground Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
National University of Singapore
Bed Rock
End Bearing
Stiff Soil
Loading from the
superstructure
Soft
consolidating
soil
Pile subject to negative skin friction
Negative
friction
Positive
friction
Pile
6.1 Introduction
2
Above neutral plane, soil
settles more than the pile
inducing negative skin
friction
At neutral plane, soil and
pile settlement equals and
there is no load transfer
Below neutral plane, pile
settles more than the soil,
thus positive skin friction
as in normal case
6.2 Causes of soil settlement
Settlement of soil under new fill
Soft soil still undergoing consolidation
Drawdown of groundwater level
Dissipation of excess pore water pressure
created during pile driving in soft soils
3
Consolidation status of soil from
oedometer test
BS1377: 1990 (Part 5)
Typical sample dimension:
75 mm diameter and 19 mm high
The sample is loaded for 24 hours under
each loading pressure (see next slide for
figure) and the consolidation settlement of
the soil sample is measured regularly.
Oedometer
4
Oedometer apparatus
Parameters for the determination
of soil settlement
Compression
index C
c
Preconsolidation
pressure
c
Swelling
index C
s
Settlement of each clay layer
= H = H
o
e/(1 + e
o
)
5
Typical e-log p curve from Singapore
site investigation reports
Soil samples from Singapore site
investigations are often heavily disturbed
6
(1) If preconsolidation
pressure
c
< effective
overburden pressure
v
, soil
is under consolidated and
will settle.
(2) If
c
=
v
, soil is
normally consolidated and
primary consolidation
settlement has completed.
(3) If
c
>
v
, soil is
overconsolidated.
** Negative skin friction
must be considered for (1).
Negative skin friction needs
not be considered if there is
no new fill for (2) & (3).

v
6.3 Examples of negative skin friction problems
(1) Timber or RC piles
The magnitude of
negative skin
friction is larger
than the relatively
small load
bearing capacity of
timber or RC pile
7
Large differential settlement due to downdrag on embankment piles
(2) Piles supporting embankment
Embankment
Vertical piles
Small size
pile caps
Small size
pile caps
Geosynthetics
Geosynthetic reinforced
earth platform
Firm soil or bedrock
s
0
s0
Firm soil or bedrock
Embankment
Inclined piles Inclined piles
Vertical piles
Large size
pile caps
Large size
pile caps
s
0
s
(a) Conventional pile supported embankments
(b) Geosynthetic reinforced and pile supported embankments
Small size
pile caps
Geosynthetic reinforced
earth platform
s
0
s
Embankment
Inclined piles Inclined piles
Vertical piles
Large size
pile caps
Large size
pile caps
s
0
s
Embankment
Inclined piles
Large size Large size
s
0
s
(b) Geosynthetic reinforced and pile supported embankments
Settling
soil may
also induce
severe
bending on
inclined
piles
8
6.4 Mechanism of Negative skin friction
Mechanism of negative skin friction is not
entirely clear
Many different methods and approaches for the
design of pile against negative skin friction
Engineers often have differing views on whether
negative skin friction should be considered in the
design
Present state of the art
Examination of mechanism
To examine the mechanism of negative
skin friction using centrifuge modelling
technique
To investigate the performance of pile
subject to simultaneous negative skin
friction and vertical load
9
NUS
Geotechnical
Centrifuge
NUS
Geotechnical
Centrifuge
Effective radius 1.82 m; Maximum 200g; Maximum payload 40g-t
Centrifuge Modelling
By subjecting a
reduced-scale model
to an acceleration
field N times Earths
gravity (Ng), the
prototype stress
levels can be
reproduced.
N is the scale factor
between model and
prototype.
Centrifuge in-flight
Centrifuge in-flight
Acceleration
field
Ng =
2
R
10
Advantage of centrifuge modeling
for negative skin friction study
Consolidation time of clay can be speeded
up by N
2
times
A 24-hr soil consolidation in the centrifuge
at 100g is equivalent to
24 x 100 x 100 hrs
=240,000 hrs
=over 27 years in prototype scale
NUS Centrifuge Control Room
1--Centrifuge operation control 2--Signal amplifiers 3--Data acquisition system
4--Hydraulic servo-valve controller 5--Hydraulic control panel 6--CCTV 7--Image
processing system
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
11
(1) Vertical actuator
(2) Long LVDT
(3) Sand hopper
(4) Loading frame
(5) Supporting frame
(6) Soil container
(7) Load cell
(8) Horizontal actuator
(9) Guiding flaps
(10) Model pile
(11) Clay sample
(12) Sand layer
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(3)
(2) (1)
4
0
5
1
0
8
0
1
2
0
7
5
4
8
0
Schematic experimental
setup (unit in mm)
Clay sample
Vertical actuator
Sand hopper
Supporting frame
Soil container
Horizontal actuator
Sand surcharge
Onboard hydraulic
control system
Side-view camera
Dense sand
12
Stain gauges Pile cap
Copper wire
Terminals
Semi-conductor strain gauges were installed along the model
pile shaft. The gauges have large gauge factor and provides much
better sensitivity in strain measurement.
The sand hopper (top view) capable of
applying sand surcharge in-flight
13
Top view: sand allowed to fall onto clay to simulate surcharge
placement during centrifuge flight
Side view
14
T-bar Penetrometer tests were carried
out at 100g and 1g on the soil to
measure the soil strength profile
25mm
5mm
Laboratory vane shear tests were conducted
on the soil at 1g to calibrate the T-bar tests
15
0 10 20 30 40
Undrained shear strength (kPa)
20
16
12
8
4
0
S
o
i
l

d
e
p
t
h

(
m
)
Vane shear_1
Vane shear_2
Vane shear_3
Vane shear_4
Vane shear_5
Vane shear_6
regress line
projected strength
(100g)
T-bar test (1g) T-bar test (100g)
After self-weight
consolidation
After sand
surcharge
before surcharge
Soil strength profile
Note soil
strength
reduces
significantly
from 100g field
to 1g field
0
400
800
1200
1600
2000
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
S
o
i
l

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

s
e
t
t
le
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
0
20
40
60
80
100
P
i
l
e

h
e
a
d

s
e
t
t
le
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Soil surface
settlement
Pile head settlement
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Time (month)
E
x
c
e
s
s

p
o
r
e

p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

(
k
P
a
)
P1
P2
P1 P2
P2
P1
Locationof transducers
-20
0
20
40
60
80
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Time (month)
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

(
k
P
a
)
surcharge
self-weight
consolidation
surcharge loading
(a)
(b)
(c)
Development of
(a) surcharge loading
(b) soil and pile head
settlement and
(c) excess pore water
pressure with time
(1) Negative skin
friction only
Self-weight consolidation
stage simulates the condition
of piles installed in under-
consolidating soil
16
Pile settlement
Pile settlement is a major concern as it
increases with increasing soil settlement until full
pile slip (when soil strength is fully mobilized and
pile does not settle any further even with
increasing soil settlement);
see Fig. (b) of last slide
Thus engineers must examine soil and pile
settlements under working condition
0
500
1000
1500
2000
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Time (month)
D
o
w
n
d
r
a
g

f
o
r
c
e

(
k
N
)
Level-03
Self-weight consolidation Surcharge loading
Level-04
Level-01
Level-05
Level-06
Level-07
Level-09
Level-08
Development of downdrag forces versus time
(readings obtained from highly sensitive semi-
conductor strain gauges along pile shaft)
Pile top
Pile base
Level 1 to 9 pile top to base
17
0
400
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Prototype ti me (days)
P
i
l
e

a
x
i
a
l

f
o
r
c
e

(
k
N
)
0
20
40
60
80
100
P
i
l
e

h
e
a
d

s
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Maximum downdrag
force on the pile
Pile head settlement
test NSF1
test NSF2
test NSF1
test NSF2
Development of downdrag force follows that of pile head settlement
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Pile axial force (kN)
D
e
p
t
h

b
e
l
o
w

o
r
i
g
i
n
a
l

g
r
o
u
d

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

(
m
)
3th month
12th month
30th month
Commencement of surcharge
84th month
86th month
120th month
End of test
Sand
Neutral plane
End of self-
weight
Pile axial force transfer profiles (Test N1 on friction
pile socketed in sand; negative skin friction only)
(b) Surcharge
(a)
Neutral
plane is at
about 90%
of clay
depth
18
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
Uni t shaft resi stance (kPa)
D
e
p
t
h

(
m
)
90 days
180 days
1 year
2 years
3 years
end of stage
Time after spinning
Sand
Unit shaft friction distribution during self-weight consolidation
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
-40 -20 0 20 40 60
Uni t shaft resi stance (kPa)
D
e
p
t
h

(
m
)
end of previous stage
5 days
30 days
90 days
1 year
2 years
4 years
end of test
Time after surcharge
Sand
Unit shaft friction distribution after surcharge loading
The results show that the soil strength has been fully
mobilized. That is pile adhesion factor = 1
19
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400
Pi l e axi al force (kN)
D
e
p
t
h

(
m
)
Test N1
Test N2
Test N1
Test N2
End of self-weight
consolidation
End of consolidation
after surcharge
bottom of clay layer
Test NSF1
Test NSF2
Test N1: friction pile (results shown earlier) neutral plane at 90% of clay depth
Test N2: end-bearing pile (pile resting on hard rock) neutral plane at 100% of
clay depth
Neutral
plane
Mobilization of soil strength
Pile adhesion factor = 1 (as established
earlier)
factor from 0.2 to 0.3 (see next figure)
Conventional design values are hence
acceptable.
20
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

C
l
a
y

d
e
p
t
h

(
m
)
Test N1
Test N2
Test A1
Test A2
Test A3
Test A4
Test ID
Measured values from centrifuge tests
Pile experiences negative skin Pile experiences negative skin
friction is also likely to carry vertical friction is also likely to carry vertical
load simultaneously or afterwards load simultaneously or afterwards
The next series of tests investigates The next series of tests investigates
behaviour of pile subject to negative behaviour of pile subject to negative
skin friction under different working skin friction under different working
vertical loads vertical loads
(2) Pile subject to simultaneous negative
skin friction and vertical load
21
Onboard hydraulic servo-valve closed-loop control
system for the application of vertical load on pile
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Prototype ti me (days)
P
i
l
e

a
x
i
a
l

f
o
r
c
e

(
k
N
)
Level-01
Level-02
Level-03
Level-04
Level-05
Level-06
Level-07
Level-08
Level-09
Self-weight
consolidation
Axial loading
stage
consolidation under
surcharge loading
-20
0
20
40
60
80
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

(
k
P
a
)
surcharge
In this example, a vertical load of 4750kN was applied in-between
the self-weight consolidation stage and surcharge loading stage.
22
-8
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Pile axial force (kN)
D
e
p
t
h

b
e
l
o
w

o
r
i
g
i
n
a
l

g
r
o
u
n
d

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

(
m
)
End of axial
loading
1 week
1 month
6 month
End of test
Sand
End of self-weight
consolidation
Moving trend of
the neutral plane
Pile axial load transfer profiles under vertical load and sand surcharge.
At stage 1 under self-weight consolidation, pile subject to negative skin friction
as before. The lock-in negative skin friction is about 800 kN.
I ncreasing vertical load
after surcharge
Fig. 5.25 Typical result of load settlement response
(Test No. 6)
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0 30 60 90 120 150
Settl ement at pi l e top (mm)
L
o
a
d

(
k
N
)
Pile top
Pile Tip
Maintained axial load
Load=4750KN
Additional settlement due to
surcharge
Additional settlement after
Maintaining axial load
S
a
S
At stage 2 under vertical load, a vertical load of about 2400
kN would cause the pile to settle more than the soil and is
enough to eliminate the lock-in NSF in pile.
Note that there is no further soil settlement at this stage!
23
-200
0
200
400
600
800
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Ti me start from pi l e axi al l oadi ng (days)
R
e
l
a
t
i
v
e

s
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t
,

S
r

(
m
m
)
Level-09
Level-08
Level-07
Level-06
Level-05
Level-04
Level-03
Level-02
Level-01
Axial loading stage
level-09
level-08
level-07
level-06
level-05
level-04
level-01
level-03
level-02
At stage 3 surcharge loading, soil settlement along the upper
part of the pile exceeds the pile settlement inducing NSF again.
The neutral point lies in-between strain gauge level 4 and 5.
Important findings
If there is no more soil settlement under working
condition, it may not be necessary to consider
negative skin friction if the applied vertical load is
large enough to overcome the lock-in negative
skin friction.
Negative skin friction must be considered if there
is concurrent soil settlement under working
condition.
24
-8
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
P
z
/P
D
e
p
t
h

(
m
)
Test A1 (P=4750 kN)
Test A2 (P=3350 kN)
Test A3 (P=8000 kN)
Sand
Test ID
Pile axial force distribution
after surcharge loading
Two more tests were conducted with applied
load of 3350 kN and 8000 kN respectively
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000
Force P
add
(kN)
D
e
p
t
h

(
m
)
3350 kN
4750 kN
8000 kN
Sand
Axi al l oad P
Thus it is established that the load transfer due to applied load
and the development of negative skin friction along the pile shaft
are independent of each other and can be analysed separately.
Development of negative skin friction for the 3 tests is fairly consistent.
25
-8
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Pi l e axi al force (kN)
D
e
p
t
h

(
m
)
before surcharge
1 week
6 months
end of test
>before surcharge
>1 week
>6 months
>end of test
Sand
Sand surcharge
Time after surcharge
Test A1
Test A4
Claylayer
Shift of neutral
plane in test A1
Shift of neutral
plane in test A4
The finding of 2 independent process can be further
confirmed from the above
Important finding
As the process of negative skin friction and axial
load transfer along pile shaft are independent,
Allowable load (geotechnical capacity) =
(Base resistance +positive skin friction below
neutral plane)/factor of safety
minus negative skin friction
plus load transfer from ground to neutral plane
26
Load
D
e
p
t
h

b
e
l
o
w

g
r
o
u
n
d

s
u
r
f
a
c
e
Load
D
e
p
t
h

b
e
l
o
w

g
r
o
u
n
d

s
u
r
f
a
c
e
D
e
p
t
h

b
e
l
o
w

g
r
o
u
n
d

s
u
r
f
a
c
e
Load
P P
Studies on pile group in process
Piles are often arranged in group
It is believed that the pile-soil-pile cap
interaction effect can reduce the
magnitude of negative skin friction (but by
how much?)
Further tests are currently in progress to
investigate pile group subject to negative
skin friction and vertical load
27
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
0 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800
Pile axial force (kN)
D
e
p
t
h

b
e
l
o
w

o
r
i
g
i
n
a
l

g
r
o
u
n
d

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

(
m
)
Series8
single pile
2 pile group
4 pile group
Series5
Single pile
2 pile group
4 pile group
Sand
Self-weight consolidation
At the end of test
Preliminary pile
group results
Single pile has the
highest negative skin
friction. However,
the difference in
magnitude of
negative skin friction
between single pile
and small pile groups
(pile number < 5) is
not significant.
Summary of findings
Pile settlement must be checked if there is
soil settlement under working condition
Position of neutral plane for friction pile
can be lower than that proposed by
existing theories
Determination of magnitude of negative
skin friction by existing theories is okay
28
Summary of findings (cont.)
If there is no soil settlement under working
condition, it may not be necessary to consider
negative skin friction if the applied load is large
enough to eliminate the lock-in negative skin
friction
The load transfer due to applied load from the
surface to neutral plane can be employed to
arrive at a less conservative design for negative
skin friction
Summary of findings (cont.)
Friction piles
Negative skin friction less severe than that on
end-bearing piles
Pile settlement is a major concern
End-bearing piles
Negative skin friction more severe
Pile settlement is smaller than that of friction
piles
29
6.5 Design method for single pile
(1) Pile head settlement (very important and can
be critical)
Soil settlement has completed
Not a major concern as the large pile settlement
occurs before construction of superstructure
On-going soil settlement
Pile settlement is a major concern as settling soil will
drag the pile down
Difficult to evaluate (case by case)
(a) Settlement of end-bearing piles
Pile head settlement is approximately the sum of
(i) Elastic compression of pile due to applied load
(ii) Elastic compression of pile due to negative skin
friction
(iii) Pile tip deformation [treated as rigid footing on
hard stratum]
=(Applied Load +negative skin friction)
x(1 -
b
2
)/d
b
E
b
30
(b) Settlement of friction piles
Depends on the magnitude of downward
soil movement before full pile slip
Finite element analysis is required to
estimate the pile head settlement (this
requires the magnitudes of subsurface
movements; normally not available in
practice)
(2) Pile material stress (structural capacity)
Important and can also be critical especially for
lightly loaded piles in soft soils
Net allowable load =allowable load minus
negative skin friction
Notes:
(a) Negative skin friction is taken as a load
(b) HK GEO recommends that transient live loads need
not be included for above case. Hence the net allowable
load must be at least >dead loads. (Poser question:
Why?)
31
(3) Geotechnical capacity
Allowable load =
(Base resistance +positive skin friction below
neutral plane)/factor of safety
minus negative skin friction
Take factor of safety as 1.5 for this extreme scenario
(also in view of the findings in Section 6.4).
Position of neutral plane:
(a) at base of soft soil layer for end-bearing pile; or (b) at
about 0.9 depth of settling soil for friction pile
Determination of negative skin
friction
Same approach as positive friction case
e.g. unit skin friction
f
s
= c
u
where is pile adhesion factor (taken as 1
for conservative design)
and c
u
is soil undrained shear strength
The method can also be used.
32
IMPORTANT
Both the structural and geotechnical pile
capacity must also pass the usual design
(without negative skin friction
consideration) checks covered in Lecture
2!
6.6 Case study and example
Different loadings and soil conditions
warrant different pile types and sizes Refer
to attached Excel file for details.
Poser question 1 Does tunnel
excavation induce negative skin friction on
adjacent existing piles? If yes, what would be
the anticipated subsurface settlement profile and
its effects on the piles?
33
+ 5 m CD
0 m CD
- 25 m CD
Sand fill
Soft clay of variable thickness
Stiff clay
Poser question 2 Jurong Island deep sea reclamation: 30 m
sand fill followed by thick underconsolidating soft clay. Discuss
problems of negative skin friction on piles in this case and
recommend remedial measures.
6.7 Reduction of negative skin friction
Provide dummy casing or sleeve around
pile to prevent direct contact with settling
soil
Predrill oversized hole through soft soil
prior to pile installation (hole filled with
bentonite slurry)
Use of slender pile section in soft soil
layers
34
Electro-osmosis
Current applied between pile (cathode) and
an anode causes migration of pore pressure
towards pile
Reduce effective stress and hence negative
skin friction
Very good effect on silty soils
Bitumen coating (see next slide)
If magnitude of negative skin friction is too large, the pile
may be coated with bitumen (above neutral plane) to reduce
the negative skin friction (up to 90% reduction reported).
Bitumen coated on prestressed spun pile
35
6.8 Pile group
Group interaction effects are beneficial as
negative skin friction on individual piles will be
reduced (up to 30% reported).
Distribution of negative friction among piles is
not the same (centre piles has the least negative
skin friction due to the most severe group
interaction).
Little benefits for small pile group (number of pile
<5) in very soft soils due to full pile slip.
Settling
soil
Pile cap
Pile
group
Pile
More efforts are required to drag the entire pile group
including the pile cap. The pile-pile cap-soil interaction
helps to reduce negative skin friction on a pile group.
Pile cap
Settling
soil
Pile
group
Pile
The magnitude of free field soil movement for pile group
is reduced especially for inner piles.
36
(1) Bowles and HK GEO recommend that
the negative skin friction of a pile group
may be taken as the lesser of
Sum of negative skin friction around pile
group perimeter plus effective weight of
settling soil enclosed by the perimeter (i.e.
sum of 1 +2 +3 +4 in next slide), or
Sum of negative skin friction on individual
piles
Different approaches:
Fill
Settling soil
Neutral plane
(1) Effective weight of
fill within pile group
perimeter
(2) Negative skin
friction of fill
around pile group
perimeter
(3) Effective weight of
settling soil within
pile group perimeter
(4) Negative skin
friction of settling
soil around pile
group perimeter
Pile settles more than the
soil beneath neutral plane
Ground level
37
Negative skin friction on pile group
(2) Terzaghi and Peck -- Sum of negative skin
friction for settling soil around pile group
perimeter plus effective weight of fill enclosed by
the perimeter (i.e. sum of 1 +4 from previous
slide)
(3) NAFAC DM7, Tomlinson and Canadian
Geotechnical J ournal -- Sum of effective weight
of fill and settling soil enclosed by the pile group
perimeter (i.e. sum of 1 +3 from previous slide)
Comments
Approach (1) is the most conservative,
perhaps too conservative.
Suggest to adopt approach (2) and (3)
and take the higher of the 2 values of
negative skin friction on pile group.
Need further research to study
mechanism of negative skin friction on
pile group!