9.

Axial Capacity of Pile Groups

CIV4249: Foundation Engineering Monash University

Fu

Fu + W = Pbase + Pshaft Axial Capacity

Pshaft W

Shear failure at pile shaft

Pbase

Bearing failure at the pile base

Tension Capacity
Tu - W = Pshaft,t < Pshaft,c Pshaft,t
Shear failure at pile shaft

Applications
Large Distributed Weight Low Weight Very Large Concentrated Weight

Soft to Firm Clay Dense Sand Strong Rock

ug Group P Capacity

Pile Cap

Overlapping stress fields Progressive densification Progressive loosening Case-by-case basis

Pug n.Pup Pug = e.n.Pup

Efficiency, e
Pile Cap
n = 5 x 5 = 25

Clay

Soil Type of Piles, n Number Spacing/Diameter

d s s/d typically > 2 to 3

Sand

Rock

Types of Groups Free-standing Capped

Flexible Cap Rigid Cap

Feld Rule for free-standing piles in clay

13/16 11/16

B 8/16 C

reduce capacity of each pile by 1/16 for each adjoing pile

e = 1/15 * (4 * 13/16 + 8 * 11/16 + 3 * 8/16) = 0.683

Converse-Labarre Formula for free-standing piles in clay

n = # cols = 5

e = 1 - q (n-1)m + (m-1)n 90 mn q=
d=0.3

tan-1(d/s)

e = 0.645 m = # rows = 3

s = 0.75

Block Failure
Flexible Cap

PBL = BLcbNc + 2(B+L)Dcs D cs

Nc incl shape & depth factors

cb L,B Pug = min (nPup,PBL)

Empirical Modification
PBL = BLcbNc + 2(B+L)Dcs

Pug = min (nPup,PBL) 1 1 1 P2ug = n2P2up + P2BL

1 = 1 + n2P2 up e2 P2BL n

nPup

Block Failure
Flexible Cap

D = 20m d = 0.3m cs = cb = 50 kPa

L = B = 5m

Capped Groups
Bc x Lc Rigid Cap

Ptotal = Pgroup + Pcap

for single group pile block failure, failure, PP == ccap ccap NN [B [B Lc - nA - BL cap cap cc cL cc p]

BxL

Efficiency increases
1.0
0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3

72 capped

72 free-standing

s/d 1 2 3 4

Piles in Granular Soils

End bearing - little interaction, e = 1 Shaft - driven
For loose to medium sands, e > 1 Vesic driven : 1.3 to 2 for s/d = 3 to 2 Dense/V dense - loosening?

Shaft - bored
Generally minor component, e = 1

Pile Settlement

Elastic Analysis Methods

based on Mindlins equations for shear loading within an elastic halfspace Poulos and Davis (1980) assumes elasticity - i.e. immediate and reversible OK for settlement at working loads if reasonable FOS use small strain modulus

Definitions
Area Ratio, Ap RA = Ap / As Ap

Pile Stiffness Factor, K

K = RA.Ep/Es

Ep
As

Es

Floating Pile
% load at the base b = boCKCn

Ep

Es,n d h

Pile top settlement r = P.IoRKRLRn / Esd

Solutions are independent of soil strength and pile capacity. Why?

Rigid Stratum

P = 1800 kN

Floating pile example

b = boCKCn r = P.IoRKRLRn / Esd
bo = 0.038 CK = 0.74 Cn = 0.79 b = .022 Pb = 40 kN Effect of : L = 15m db/d = 2 h = 100m Io = 0.043 RK = 1.4 RL = 0.78 Rn = 0.93 r = 4.5mm

Ep = 35,000 MPa 25 0.5 32 Es = 35 MPa n = 0.3 Rigid Stratum

Pile on a stiffer stratum

% load at the base

b = boCKCbCn

Ep

Es,n d

Pile top settlement r = P.IoRKRbRn / Esd

Stiffer Stratum Eb > Es

Layered Soils

Ep

E1,n1

E2,n2
d

Es = 1 L

S Ei hi

Stiffer Stratum Eb > Es

P = 1800 kN

Stiffer base layer example

b = boCKCbCn
n = 0.3

r = P.IoRKRbRn / Esd

Ep = 35,000 MPa 25 Es = 35 MPa 0.5

Eb = 70 MPa

bo = 0.038 CK = 0.74 Cn = 0.79 Cb = 2.1 b = .0467 Pb = 84 kN

Io = 0.043 RK = 1.4 Rb = 0.99 Rn = 0.93 r = 4.5 mm

Effect of: Es = 15 MPa to 15m

Movement Ratios
MR is ratio of settlement to PL/AE Focht (1967) - suggested in general : 0.5 < MR < 2 See Poulos and Davis Figs 5.23 and 5.24

Pile group settlment

Floating Piles End bearing piles

r g Rs r p
Single pile settlement is computed for average working load per pile