Example 8: Effects of Splice/Slack on Pile Stress Page 1 of 2

GRLWEAP Standard Examples

Example 8: Effects of Splice/Slack on Pile Stress

The echo print of the input data and the numerical output from the Wave Equation Analysis is
contained in the Example 8 Output file both for English and SI Units. Although it was attempted to
limit differences between this example and the corresponding one of earlier GRLWEAP versions,
minor output differences may be noted. Please also note that descriptions of basic input features of
GRLWEAP have been included in earlier examples and may not be repeated here.
Note: only splices with slacks need special attention in the input preparation. A welded splice has no
slack and, therefore, acts like a normal continuous pile section. See also Splices.

8.1 Background

Concrete piles are, in general, sensitive to tension stress waves, in particular if the piles
are long. In addition, long piles need to be spliced because of difficulties in handling.
Many splices consist of two matching steel fittings that are held together by pins, bolts,
bars, keys or other easily installable devices. A plate splice consists of two steel plates
covering the butts of the sections which are joined by welding. Such connections are
often referred to as mechanical splices. Another type is called acan splice which consists
of a lower concrete section over which a matching steel sleeve is attached to the bottom
of the upper section. This steel connecting sleeve is called the "can". There is no tension
transfer in a can splice. Thus, tension stresses must be relatively low in the neighborhood
of the splice. Furthermore, a tension stress wave traveling upwards would be reflected
thereby protecting the upper pile section from excessive tension. A comparison between
the effects of the two splice types will be demonstrated.

Please note that welded splices do not allow for any relative motion between the spliced
sections. They therefore behave like a uniform pile and are not analyzed with the splice model.

8.2 Input Data

Two cases are analyzed considering a pile of 160 ft (48.8 m) length. The hammer was a
Vulcan 100C (Hammer ID = 226) run at full stroke and then at a reduced stroke of 61%
or 2 ft (.61 m). The V100 C is a double acting hammer. The pile is designed with a splice
located 75 ft (22.9 m) below the top.

For the analysis, a 40 percent skin friction was assumed for a pile penetration of 120 ft
(36.6 m). A situation with high upper and lower friction was modeled with a compressible
layer between 12 and 90 ft (3.66 and 27.45 m) below the soil surface. This was done by
assigning the compressible layer with a relative distribution of 0.1 of the high friction
upper and lower layers (found under Variable Resistance Distr. from the Soil
Resistance Distr. Option drop-down box).

For the mechanical splice input, the slack value was set to 0.003 ft (1 mm). The
coefficient of restitution and round-out values were set at their respective recommended
values of 0.8 and 0.01 ft (3 mm). For the can splice, the slack was set to 99 ft (99 mm),
in other words to an unlimited value. The following values were entered under
Options/Pile Parameters/Splices.

Mechanical Splice Input:

Splice Distance Ten. C.o.R. Com. Slack

No. Slack Round Out

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Example 8: Effects of Splice/Slack on Pile Stress Page 2 of 2

75 ft .003 ft 0.8 0.01 ft

22.9 m 1.0 mm 0.8 3.048 mm

Can Splice Input:

Splice Distance Ten. C.o.R. Com. Slack

No. Slack Round Out
75 ft 99 ft 0.8 0.01 ft
22.9 m 99 mm 0.8 3.048 mm

8.3 Results

The results indicate that for low blow counts (corresponding to easy driving) the
maximum tension stress in the upper section of the pile is greater for the mechanical
splice than for the can splice. At high blow counts (corresponding to hard driving), the
results indicate that the maximum tension stresses are equal for both types of splices.
Note: can splices sometimes use a plywood or other cushioning material between the two
spliced pile sections. In that case it would be wise to model a multi-material pile with the
plywood entered as a as section of pile. See also Example 20

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