DEEP FOUNDATIONS

Lesson 09 - Topic 4
Drilled Shafts

Learning Outcomes
g At

the end of this session, the

participant will be able to:

- Contrast driven piles and drilled shafts

- Compare mobilization of base (tip) and
-

side (shaft) resistance

Describe drilled shaft construction
processes
Discuss the need for quality control for
drilled shaft construction

Definitions
Figure 9-56

Driven Piles vs Drilled Shafts

g Drilled

shaft is installed in a drilled

hole, unlike the driven pile
g Wet concrete is placed in the drilled
hole and cures directly against the soil
forming the walls of the borehole

- Side-support (casing and/or slurry) may be

necessary for stabilization of the open
hole and may be left in place

g Installation

method and equipment

varies with the subsurface conditions

Advantages of Drilled Shafts

g Construction

equipment is mobile and

construction can proceed rapidly
g Excavated geomaterials can be
examined
g For end-bearing situations, the soil
beneath the tip may be examined or
probed for weaker materials
g Changes in shaft size may be made
during construction

Advantages of Drilled Shafts

g Heave

and settlement at the ground is

normally small
g Personnel, equipment and materials for
construction are readily available
g Noise and vibration level from the
equipment is less than other forms of
construction for deep foundations (e.g.,
driven piles)

Advantages of Drilled Shafts

g Applicable

to a wide variety of
subsurface conditions, e.g., can be
constructed through cobbles and for
many feet into hard rock as well as
frozen ground
g Use of a large single drilled shaft
(without pile cap) is possible
g Extensive data bases documenting
load-transfer information are available

Advantages of Drilled Shafts

g Smaller

footprint than a footing and can

thus be constructed near railroad,
existing structures and in constricted
areas
g Shafts may be more economical than
spread footing, particularly when the
foundation support layer is deeper than
10-ft below the ground or at water
crossings

Special Considerations for

Drilled Shafts
g Construction

procedures are critical to

the quality of the drilled shaft
g Knowledgeable inspection is required
g Not normally used in deep deposits of
soft clay or in situations where artesian
pressures exist
g Static load tests to verify ultimate
capacity of large diameter shafts are
very costly

Effect of Subsurface Conditions

on Drilled Shafts
g Caving

soils

- Temporary casing or other side support

g Flowing

groundwater

g Artesian

water conditions

- Leaching of concrete
- Use of slurry

- Could cause collapse of the shaft

excavation

g Cobbles

and boulders

- Sometimes require special tools

Effect of Subsurface Conditions

on Drilled Shafts
g Presence

of existing foundations and

structures
- Loss of ground volume into the exacation
g Landfill material that cannot be excavated
- e.g., an old car body
g Rock
- Specialized drilling tools
g Weak stratum below base of shaft
- May need to extend shaft through the weaker
layer

Estimating Ultimate Axial

Capacity of Shafts in Soils
g Ultimate

capacity, Qult, in compression

Qult = QS + QT W
g Ultimate

capacity, Qult, in uplift

Qult 0.7QS + W

Geotechnical Allowable Shaft

Load, Qall
Qall = Qult/ FS
g FS

is the factor of safety

g Usually FS = 2.5 assuming a normal
level of field quality control during shaft
construction. Normal is based on the
minimum recommendations of FHWA
g If a static load test is performed, FS=2.0
may be used

Computation of Geotechnical
Axial Capacity
g Cohesive

soils

- Total stress for undrained conditions

Similar to Tomlinson method for driven piles

- Effective stress for drained conditions

g Cohesionless

soils

- Effective stress method for drained

loading conditions

Cohesive soils Side Resistance

g Side

resistance (Eq. 9-36)

N

QS = D iS ui z i
i =1

is the adhesion factor as follows:

= 0.55

= 0.55 0.1(S u p a 1.5)

g Ultimate

for S u p a 1.5
for 1.5 S u p a 2.5

unit side load transfer

fsi = i Sui

Non-contributing zones

Side
Resistance
Mobilization
in Cohesive
Soils

Figure 9-58

Cohesive soils Tip Resistance

g Tip

resistance (Eq. 9-39)

QT = qT AT = NcsutAt
g

is the adhesion factor as follows:

Nc = 6.0[1+0.2(z/D)]; Nc 9

Unit Tip Resistance in Cohesive

Soils
qTR = (2.5/[aD/12 + 2.5b]) qT
where
D is the diameter of shaft in inches,
a = 0.0071 + 0.0021 (z/D)
with a 0.015, and
b = 0.45(sut)0.5
with 0.5 b 1.5

Tip
Resistance
Mobilization
in Cohesive
Soils

Figure 9-59

Cohesionless soils Side

Resistance
g Side

resistance (Eq. 9-44)

N

QS = D z i i z i
/
i

i =1

is the adhesion factor as follows:

where: i = 1.5 0.135 z i

g Ultimate

with 1.2 > i > 0.25

unit side load transfer (4 ksf)

/

fsi = i vi

Side Resistance Mobilization in

Cohesionless Soils
Figure 9-60

Cohesionless soils Tip

Resistance
g Tip

resistance (Eq. 9-47)

QT = qT AT
For N60 75: qT = 1.2N60
For N60 > 75: qT = 90 ksf
g Reduced

in ksf

tip resistance for large size

shafts (D is shaft diameter in inches)
qTR = [50/(12D)] qT

Tip
Resistance
Mobilization
in
Cohesionless
Soils

Figure 9-61

Axial Shaft Capacity in Layered

Soils
g Divide

subsurface profile into layers

g In each layer use the appropriate
method
g Sum the resistances from each layer

Group Action, Group Settlement,

Downdrag and Lateral Loads
g Similar

to driven piles
g Refer to FHWA (1999) publication for
guidance

Example 9-5
g Using

FS=2.5, size a shaft for resisting

170 tons of vertical design load
N60-values
N60 = 11
N60 = 14
N60 = 14
N60 = 22
N60 = 12
N60 = 19
N60 = 21
N60 = 37

Example 9-5
g FS=2.5
g Ultimate

axial load = (2.5)(170) = 425 tons

g Assume a 3-ft diameter straight shaft
g Thus, circumference = d = 9.42-ft
g Assume a shaft length of 60-ft
g Use formulation as follows
N

QS = D z i i z i
/
i

i =1

where: i = 1.5 0.135 z i

with 1.2 > i > 0.25

Example 9-5
g Compute
Depth
Interval,
z, ft
04
4 30
30 60

side resistance with depth

Surface Area
per depth
interval,
z()(D), ft2
37.7
245.0
282.7

Avg effective vertical

(overburden) stress,
/zi, tsf
0.115
0.572
1.308

i = 1.5 0.135 z i

QS
Tons

with 1.2 > i > 0.25

1.20
0.94
0.59
QS

5.20
131.70
218.20
355.10

Example 9-5
g Compute

tip resistance
g At 60-ft, N60 = 21
g qT = 1.2 N60 = 25.2 ksf = 12.6 tsf
g Tip area, AT = 7.07 sq. ft.
g QT = qT AT = 7.07(12.6) = 89.1 tons
g Total

axial resistance, Qult = QS + QT

g Qult = 355.1 tons + 89.1 tons = 440 tons
g Okay

Example 9-6

N60 = 20
N60 = 25
N60 = 50

Axial Capacity in Rocks

g Side

resistance (Eq. 9-50, 9-51)

Q SR = D R L R q SR
q SR = 0.65 E p a (q u p a )0.5 < 0.65p a (f c p a )0.5
g Use

information in Chapter 5 to
evaluate the elastic modulus of rock
mass

Axial Capacity in Rocks

g Tip

resistance (Eq. 9-52, 9-53)

Q TR = A T q TR
qTR = 2.5 qu

Intermediate GeoMaterials
(IGMs)
g Cohesive

IGM

- Su value of 2.5 to 25 tsf

g Cohesionless

IGM

- N60 values > 50 blows/ft

g Refer

to FHWA (1999) publication for

further information and design
procedures for shafts in IGMs

Construction Methods
g Dry

method
g Wet method
g Casing method
g Cleaning

of the shaft excavation is the

most important step in construction of
drilled shafts

Dry Method
Drill

Clean Position Place

Cage
Concrete

Wet Method
Drill

Slurry Clean Position Place

Cage Concrete

Casing Method
Drill

Case

Clean Position Place

Cage Concrete

Effect of Shaft Cleaning During

Construction

Quality Assurance and Integrity

Testing
g Drilled

shafts are manufactured at the

site
g Often anomalies develop during
construction
g An anomaly is deviation from an
assumed geometry of the shaft and/or
shaft properties (e.g., homogeneity)
g NHI

132070 2.5-day course

Types of Anomalies in Drilled

Shaft
g Necking
g Bulbing
g Soft-bottom
g Voids

or soil intrusions
g Poor quality concrete
g Debonding
g Lack of concrete cover
over reinforcement
g Honey-combing

Non Destructive Tests (NDTs) for

Detection of Anomalies
g NDTs

are geophysical tests

g External

- Sonic echo
- Impulse response
- Ultra-seismic

g Internal

- Crosshole Sonic Logging (CSL)

- Gamma Density Logging (GDL)
- CSL Tomography (CSLT)
- Perimeter Sonic Logging (PSL)
- Neutron Moisture Logging (NML)

Crosshole
Sonic
Logging

Gamma
Density
Logging

Load Testing of Drilled Shafts

g Static

Load Tests

- Similar to driven piles

- Osterberg Load Cell test

g Statnamic
g Must

test

perform caliper logging and NDTs

before load testing

Osterberg Load Cell Test

Osterberg Cell
g Table

9-11, Table 9-12

Cage
Centralizers
O-cells between
two steel plates
CSL tubes

Instrumentation
(strain gages)

Statnamic Load Test

Statnamic Load Tests

Learning Outcomes
g At

the end of this session, the

participant will be able to:

- Contrast driven piles and drilled shafts

- Compare mobilization of base (tip) and
-

side (shaft) resistance

Describe drilled shaft construction
processes
Discuss the need for quality control for
drilled shaft construction

Any Questions?
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