THE CAPACITY OF DRIVEN STEEL H-PILES

L. J. Endicott and X. Zhang

AECOM Asia Company Ltd

The Hiley formula, which is fundamentally based on transfer of energy from the
hammer to the pile, has been used for estimating the capacity of driven piles for
decades. In the early years the formula gave reasonable results, notably for short
piles. However as piles have become longer and of higher capacity and as new
techniques have developed the formula has become less reasonable and some
users have modified the formula. Pile Dynamic Analysis (PDA) was devised as a
mean of numerically modeling the dynamic effects of driving piles. Instrumentation
for PDA provides a direct measurement of the forces transferred to the top of the
piles during driving. Comparison between results of many static load tests with
PDA has validated the PDA method of determining the capacity of the piles. As a
consequence PDA is now widely adopted as the method for acceptance of capacity
of driven piles in Hong Kong.
As a consequence, in addition to dozens of results of static load tests, results of
many hundreds of PDA tests are available. These results provide the opportunity
to examine some long held concepts such as the smaller the final set, the higher
is the capacity of the pile. By contrast there is substantial evidence that in many
cases the driving force in the piles can be independent of their final set over quite
a wide range of values of final set.
Based on a study of the test results for many piles it is proposed that it is time
to change methods of determining capacity of piles by using modified versions of
the Hiley Formula and to use the PDA method. Moreover the PDA method can
be used to determine maximum stresses in piles and thereby establish criteria to
prevent damage to piles during driving.

Keywords: Hiley Formula, Pile Dynamic Analysis, Capacity of Piles.

1. INTRODUCTION

Pile Dynamic Analysis (PDA) testing has been in use for several decades to check the
integrity of piles, Reference Goble et al (1996). As the result of comparison between hundreds of static load tests with PDA tests analyses during the last decade it has been observed
that analysis is a fairly accurate method for pile capacity prediction, Reference Fung et al
(2004). It has become a common practice in Hong Kong to adopt PDA testing for checking the ultimate capacity of driven piles and it is quite common nowadays for contracts
whereby every driven pile is subjected to PDA testing. As a consequence there are many
hundreds of PDA testing results.
PDA testing involves instrumentation with strain gauges and accelerometers attached
to the top of each pile such that during the fractions of a second whilst the hammer strikes

Advances in Foundation Engineering

Edited by K. K. Phoon, T. S. Chua, H. B. Yang and W. M. Cham
Copyright 2014 Research Publishing Services.
ISBN: 978-981-07-4623-0 :: doi:10.3850/978-981-07-4623-0 049

345

346

Advances in Foundation Engineering

the pile the driving force in the pile can be deduced form the strain gauges and the acceleration can be measured and the velocity and displacement can be computed, Pile Dynamics
Inc (2000). From this data, the maximum driving force, FMx, at the top of the pile can be
determined. The analysis is configured in order to estimate the frictional forces down the
shaft of the pile and the reaction at the toe, for which the maximum force at the toe is
RMx. The analysis requires input estimates of dynamic properties of the ground and trials
are carried out to match the recorded FMx vs. time recorded at the top of the pile. In the
past, calibration of the PDA analysis was carried out by comparison with static load tests.
Comparison of PDA results with static load tests has identified dynamic properties of the
ground which give good agreement with the static load test results and now less static load
tests are carried out.
Notwithstanding the use of PDA testing to prove the capacity of driven piles, many contracts require the use of the Hiley Formula, or similar, to estimate the final set for driving
according to the size of pile, length of the pile, size of hammer and the strike of the hammer
to be used.
This paper makes use of PDA test data from three sites in Hong Kong where steel
H-piles of 350 mm 350 mm 180 kg/m size were driven to depths generally in the
range of 20 m to 60 m using hydraulic hammers ranging from 16tonnes to 25tonnes and
with strikes of 0.4 m to 4 m. Test results are available for driven piles with a set of the order
of 400 mm per 10 blows down to less than 10 mm per 10 blows.
2. MODIFIED HILEY FORMULA

The Hiley Formula has been used for decades to estimate the capacity of driven piles.
It considers the energy of WH from the hammer, of weight W and strike or drop height of
H, transmitted to a pile of weight P, with a coefficient of restitution of e and an efficiency
of Eh . It also considers the absorption of the energy by the set s, and by half of the temporary compression of the cushion Cc , and the temporary compression of the pile C p and of
the soil Cs . The energy transmitted divided by the absorption gives the driving reaction R
which is taken to be the capacity of the pile. The Hiley Formula can be stated as follows:


2
Eh WW++PPe W H
(1)
R=
S + 12 (Cc + C p + Cs )
By inspection of this formula, the set, s, is in the denominator and therefore R, the driving
resistance or capacity, is inversely proportional to the magnitude of the set.
It is common to estimate the temporary compression of the pile by computing the elastic
compression under the imposition of the driving force as follows:
Cp =

RL
EA

(2)

Where L is the length of the pile, E is the elastic modulus of the pile and A is the cross
sectional area of the pile.
C p is proportional to L and appears in the denominator of the Hiley Formula and therefore R, the computed driving force, is related inversely to the length of the pile.

The Capacity of Driven Steel H-Piles

347

It is a common practice to determine the set to which a pile shall be driven to achieve
a specified capacity and to produce a tables with values of set decreasing for increased
lengths of pile for different weights and drop of the hammer.
3. PDA TEST RESULTS

Instrumentation data from the PDA tests include values for FMx. This is the measured driving force at the top of the pile and, according to the Hiley Formula, it should be inversely
related to the set. This conception has been examined by combining the data from all three
sites and includes the results from 496 PDA tests. Figure 1 shows a plot of values of FMx
vs. set (mm/10 blows) for a 16 tonnes hammer.
It is evident that, for sets in the range of about 50 mm/10 blows to nearly 400 mm/10
blows, the driving capacity is very close to 6000 kN. This result is contrary to the conception
that as the driving force is inversely related to the set. A similar plot for the use of a 25
tonnes hammer is shown in Figure 2.
This data also does not reflect an inverse relationship between the set and the driving
force.
Both sets of data show significantly increased forces as the set is reduced below about
10 mm/10 blows. This set is defined as refusal (CP, 2004). Such hard driving normally is
associated with end bearing on very hard material such as rock whereby the compression
wave in the pile is reflected at the toe and travels up the pile and thereby increases the
maximum force at the top of the pile.
Based on this interpretation, the basic driving force in a pile with little or no reflection
from the base might be considered to be of the order of about 6000 kN for the 16 tonnes
hammer and about 7000 kN to 7300 kN when using a 25 tonnes hammer.
It may also be considered that when driving to refusal, reflection from the base increases
the maximum force at the top of the pile to more than 8000 kN for these two cases.
Another consideration is that the driving force is proportional to the mass of the hammer
and the strike. Figures 3 and 4 show plots of FMx vs. Strike for the 16 tonnes hammer and
25 tonnes hammer respectively from the data with final set over 25 mm. These plots show
a trend of increasing maximum driving force with increasing strike. However it is evident
that FMx is not proportional to strike as adopted in the Hiley Formula.
The maximum force at the base of the pile is not measured directly, it is computed by
a process of estimating by trial the shaft friction and matching the measured force/time/
deflection relationships measured at the top of the pile. However the comparison of PDA

Figure 1. FMx vs. Set utilizing a 16 T hammer.

Figure 2.

FMx vs. Set utilizing a 25 T hammer.

348

Advances in Foundation Engineering

Figure 3. FMx vs. Strike of 16 T hammer.

Figure 4. FMx vs. Strike of 25 T hammer.

Figure 5. RMx vs. set for 16 T hammer.

Figure 6. RMx vs. set for 25 T hammer.

Figure 7. RMx and FMx vs. Pile length.

test results with static load tests indicate that the computations are generally reasonably
good, Fung et al. (2004). Figure 5 shows a plot of RMx vs. set for the 16 tonnes hammer.
The results are similar to the values of FMx with some differences. For sets (shown in Fig. 1)
greater than refusal (10 mm/10 blows) some values of FMx are less than 6000 kN, the value
for FMx at the top of the pile, and this may be attributed to a reduction of force in the piles
due to shaft friction. Likewise, when driving to refusal (less than 10 mm/10 blows) the
RMx is increased with values generally similar to those recorded at the top of the pile but
marginally greater.
Likewise Figure 6 shows a plot of RMx vs. set for the 25 tonnes hammer. In this plot there
is a tend with a lot of results lying above the value of RMx = 7200 kN and when driving
to refusal the maximum values rise to about 8500 kN which is marginally more than that
recorded for FMx as shown in Figure 2.

The Capacity of Driven Steel H-Piles

349

Pile length varies in the studied area. Figure 7 shows the differences between RMx and
FMx value for different pile length .The plot shows that the influence of pile length on RMx
and FMx are not significant.
4. CONCLUSIONS

Based on this study, it can be concluded that 305 mm 305 mm 180 kg/m H-piles
driven by 16 tonnes and 25 tonnes hammers can achieve a capacity of 6000 kN to about
7200 kN without driving to refusal for a range of set values from 10 mm/10blows to as
much a 120 mm or even 350 mm (the range of data available). Importantly the driving
force is almost constant, unrelated to the set, until refusal is achieved and reflection from
the toe increases both the driving force and the bearing capacity. The actual driving force
and capacity can be increased by increasing the strike, but the force and capacity are not
directly proportional to the strike, and are not related to the length of the pile, as adopted
in the Hiley Formula.
By driving to refusal, i.e. to sets of 10 mm/10 blows or less the forces in the piles are
computed to increase by as much as 2000 kN. Such hard driving runs the risk of damage
to the tips of the piles unless they are reinforced.
It is considered that, with the continued use of PDA testing for driven piles, the selection
of weight of hammer and strike could be determined empirically from previous PDA data
and that the Hiley Formula, even with modifications is no longer a useful predictor.
REFERENCES
1. CP2004, Code of Practice for Foundations, Buildings Department, the Government of the
H.K.S.A.R., October 2004.
2. Fung, W. K., Wong, M. K. and Wong, C. T., A study on Capacity Predictions for Driven Piles,
H.K.I.E. Transactions Volume 11 Number 3 (2004), 1016.
3. LI, W. W., Wong, M. K. and Chan, Y. K., The Application of PDA/CAPWAP to Ensure Quality
and Capacity in Driving Long Steel H-piles. H.K.I.E. Transactions Volume 18 Number 2 (2010),
pp. 1016.
4. Goble, G. G. and Likins, G. E., On the application of PDA Dynamic Pile Testing, STRESSWAVE
Conference 1996. Orlando, Fl (1996).
5. Pile Dynamics Inc., Pile Driving Analyser Manual 4535 Emery Industrial Parkway, Cleveland,
OH 44128 (2000).