TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES

CUBAO, QUEZON CITY

ASSIGNMENT NO. 1

BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PILE FOUNDATIONS

AR. ROEL D. SAMSON

INSTRUCTOR

ALEXANDER K. SECRETARIO
STUDENT

14 AUGUST 2018
DATE

AR41FA3
SECTION
A pile is basically a long cylinder of a strong material such as concrete that is pushed into the ground to act as a
steady support for structures built on top of it.

Pile foundations are used in the following situations: when there is a layer of weak soil at the surface. This layer
cannot support the weight of the building, so the loads of the building have to bypass this layer and be transferred to
the layer of stronger soil or rock that is below the weak layer.

When a building has very heavy, concentrated loads, such as in a high rise structure, bridge, or water tank. Pile
foundations are capable of taking higher loads than spread footings.

Types of Pile Foundation(based on structural behavior)

1. End Bearing piles

In end bearing piles, the bottom end of the pile

rests on a layer of especially strong soil or rock. The
load of the building is transferred through the pile
onto the strong layer. In a sense, this pile acts like a
column. The key principle is that the bottom end
rests on the surface which is the intersection of a
weak and strong layer. The load therefore bypasses
the weak layer and is safely transferred to the strong
layer.

Piles by themselves do not support the load, rather

acts as a medium to transmit the load from the
foundation to the resisting sub-stratum*.

*Stratum is a layer or a series of layers of rock in the ground.

2. Friction piles
Friction piles work on a different principle. The pile
transfers the load of the building to the soil across
the full height of the pile, by friction. In other words,
the entire surface of the pile, which is cylindrical in
shape, works to transfer the forces to the soil.

To visualize how this works, imagine you are

pushing a solid metal rod of say 4mm diameter
into a tub of frozen ice cream. Once you have
pushed it in, it is strong enough to support some
load. The greater the embedment depth in the ice
cream, the more load it can support. This is very
similar to how a friction pile works. In a friction pile,
the amount of load a pile can support is directly
proportionate to its length.

3. Compaction piles
Compaction piles are used to compact loose
granular soil, thus, increasing their bearing
capacity. The compaction piles themselves do not
carry load. The pile tube , driven to compact the
soil, is gradually taken out and sand is filled in its
place thus forming a sand pile.

4. Tension/Uplift piles
These piles anchor down the structure subjected
to uplift due to hydrostatic pressure or due to over-
turning moment.
Uplift forces can develop as a result of hydrostatic
pressure, seismic activity or overturning moments.
In particular, tall structures such as chimneys,
jetties and transmission towers can be subject to
high wind loads and hence, overturning moments.
The compressive and tensile forces generated
must be transmitted to the ground along the length
of the pile.
Tension piles resist uplift forces through the action
of friction along their length, by under-reaming
(that is enlarging the end of the pile), by the action
of helical bearing plates welded to the pile shaft, or
by bonding the pile into rock.
Tension piles may also be used to resist the
horizontal forces from sheet piling walls.
5. Anchor piles
These provide anchorage against the horizontal
pull from sheet pulling or any other pulling.

The piles are designed as tension piles transferring

their load to the ground by friction, by under-
reaming or by bonding into unfractured rock. It is
most important that allowance be made, when
anchoring into rock, for the possible damage and
shattering of the rock or pile surface during driving.

It is also important to give special consideration to

the use of piles as anchor piles for testing if they
are to be incorporated as working piles in the final
scheme.

6. Sheet piles
Sheet piles are sections of sheet materials with interlocking
edges that are driven into the ground to
provideearth retention and excavation support. Sheet
piles are most commonly made of steel, but can also be
formed of timber or reinforced concrete.
Sheet piles are commonly used for retaining walls, land
reclamation, underground structures such as car parks and
basements, in marine locations for riverbank
protection, seawalls, cofferdams, and so on. Prior to Anchor Piles
installation, piles should be carefully inspected for
straightness, cracks and the integrity of the interlocking
components. Driving must be carefully monitored and
should stop immediately if the pile ceases to penetrate
the soil, before moving on to the next pile along. In some
cases, several adjacent piles will be unable to penetrate to
the design depth. At this point, effort should be made to
remove the obstacle, either by partial excavation or using
a water jet. There is an acceptable number of ‘under-
driven’ sheet piles, but this will vary according to the
specific design requirements. Sheet piles have a tendency
to deviate from a vertical plane during driving and instead
lean sideways. This is due to encountering obstacles within
the soil which act as deflection. Guide controls should be Sheet Piles
used to counter this. One technique is to drive piles in
panels. This involves pitching and driving two piles to part
or full-penetration at either end of a panel of piles. The
panel is therefore supported by the
‘bookended’ piles during driving to their final position. The
pair left on the end then forms the support of the next panel
along. Another technique is to use trestles and walings to
support and position sheet piles during driving. Vibratory
hammers are often used to install sheet piles, although if
soils are too hard or dense, an impact hammer can be
used. At certain sites where vibrations are a concern, the
sheets can be hydraulically pushed into the ground.
7. Driven Piles
Driven (or displacement) piles are driven, jacked,
vibrated or screwed into the ground, displacing the
material around the pile shaft outwards and
downwards instead of removing it.
Driven piles are useful in offshore applications, are
stable in soft squeezing soils and can densify
loose soil.
There are two groups of driven piles:
Driven in situ: Either with a
permanent concrete or steel casing, or with
temporary casing.
Preformed: Prefabricated off-site
from timber, concrete or steel.
Installation: A pile hammer is used to
drive piles into the ground, which compacts
the soil around the side and leads
to densification of the mass and increases
its bearing capacity. However, with saturated, silty
or cohesive, as opposed to granular, soil,
poor drainage quality does not allow for the
same densification. The water in the soil leads to a
decrease in the overall bearing capacity and the
pile design must allow for this.
The blow count is the number of times the pile must
be struck in order to be driven down to the desired
depth. Where there are variations in the subsurface
conditions, pile lengths may have to be cut-off or
spliced to extend their length.
As there are no special casings required and no
delays related to concrete curing, driven pilesare
well suited to difficult site conditions. They can be
used immediately when driven through water, can
be installed to create temporary work platforms,
and used in a large diameter form in earthquake-
prone regions.
8. Bored Piles
Bored (or replacement) piles remove spoil to form a
hole for the pile which is poured in situ. They are
used primarily in cohesive subsoils for the
formation of friction piles and when forming pile
foundations close to existing buildings.
Bored piles are more popular in urban areas as
there is minimal vibration, they can be used where
headroom is limited, there is no risk of heave and
where it may be necessary to vary their length.
If the boring and pouring takes place
simultaneously, piles are called continuous flight
auger(CFA) piles.
Installation: Bored piles are drilled using buckets
and/or augers driven by percussion boring (vibratory
hammers) or through rotary boring (twisting in place).
In unstable soil strata, the use of bentonite fluid
assists in stabilising the bore especially in large
diameter deeper piles and allows the insertion of
heavily reinforcing steel cages. This is known as flush
boring (see more below).
If the boring and pouring takes place
simultaneously, piles are known as continuous flight
auger (CFA) piles.
Piles are known as large diameter piles if they are 600
mm or more in diameter. Small diameter piles of less
than 600 mm are sometimes placed in groups under a
common pile cap to receive heavy loads.
Large diameter piles can have their bearing
capacity increased by under-reaming the shaft at the
base. This is achieved by an expanding cutting tool
which cuts a conical-shaped base up to three times
the diameter of the main shaft.
The form of support to the pile or borehole affects the
pile formation. Bored piles can be either supported or
unsupported.

9. Screw piles

Screw pile foundations are a type of pile

foundation with a helix near the pile toe so that
the piles can be screwed into the ground. The
process and concept is similar to screwing
into wood.
A screw pile may have more than one helix (also
called a screw), depending on the usage and
the ground conditions. Generally, more helices are
specified if a higher load is required or softer
ground in encountered.

Installation: Installing screw pile foundations takes

considerably less time and machinery and usually
costs less than installing a
standard concrete foundation. Depending on the
size of the piles, a range of different size
of plant can be used for the installation, including
hand-held machines. In many instances, only one
machine is required for a steel, screw pile
foundation installation. Screwed piling is installed
with a hydraulic torque drive.
10. Micropiles

Micropiles are piles that have a relatively small

diameter, typically in the range of 100-250 mm.
They can also be described as:
Minipiles (generally mini piles are smaller than
micro piles)
-Pin piles
-Needle piles.
-Root piles.
-Lightweight piles.
The size of the pile is determined by the load-
bearing capacity of the ground and the size of rig
that is able to access the piling location.
They can be driven or screw piles and tend to be
used where access is restricted, for
example underpinning structures affected
by settlement. They were first used in Italy in the
1950s in response to the demand for
innovative underpinning techniques that could be
used for historic buildings and monuments.
Micropiles can also be used in combination with
other ground modification techniques where
complex site conditions and
design specifications are present.

Installation:
In a typical installation process a high-
strength steel casing is drilled down to the design
depth. A reinforcing bar is inserted and high-
strength cement grout pumped into the casing. The
casing may extend along the full length of the pile,
or it may only extend along part of the length of the
pile, with the reinforcing bar extending along the full
length.
Drilling may be achieved by a removable bit, or by
a sacrificial head to the steel casing.
In some cases, the steel casing may be removed,
or partially removed, and further grout pumped in at
pressure.
They can be installed in restricted access sites
where there is low headroom by the use of lagging.
This is where wood, steel or precast
concrete panels are inserted behind the pile as
the excavation proceeds so as to resist the load of
the retained soil and transfer it to the pile. Greater
capacity can be achieved by post-grouting within
the bond length to increase frictional forces with
surrounding soils.
11. Geothermal piles

Geothermal piles combine pile foundations with

closed-loop ground source heat pump systems.
They provide support to a structure, as well as
acting as a heat source and a heat sink.
In effect, the thermal mass of the ground enables
the building to store unwanted heat
from cooling systems and allows heat pumps to
warm the building in winter. Generally, ground
source heat pumps extract heat from the ground by
way of underground pipes which are laid either
horizontally or vertically in the ground.
In geothermal piles, the pipe loops are laid
vertically, within the piles themselves.
Generally, ground source heat pumps used in
domestic situations extract heat from the ground
over a certain number of hours per year, by way of
underground pipes which are laid either horizontally
or vertically in a hole in the ground. In geothermal
piles, the pipe loops are laid vertically, in order for it
to be possible for them to be incorporated into
the pile foundations.
Classification based on Material and Composition

1. Concrete Piles
a. Pre-cast
- The precast concrete pile are generally used for maximum design load of a bout 80 tons. They must be
reinforced to withstand handling stresses.
- They require space for casting and storage, more time to set and curing before installation and heavy
machine are required for handling purpose and driving.
- These piles require heavy pile driving machinery which is mechanically operated.
- The size of pile may vary from 30 cm to 50 cm in cross-sectional dimension, and up to 20 m length or
more in length.
- Reinforcement may include longitudinal steel bars of 20mm to 40mm in diameter, 4 to 8 nos. with lateral
tie 5 to 10mm wire spaced at 10cm c/c for top and bottom 1m length and 30m c/c for the middle length.
- A cast steel shoe, properly secured to pile mild steel straps is provided at its lower end.
- Toe protect the pile and help in penetrating into hard strata during driving.

a1. Procedure for forming Pre-cast Concrete Piles:

- The form work of required space is prepared. Usually metal forms are used for mass manufacture. The
inner sides of the form is coated with either soap solution so that soil does not adhere to the side.
- The reinforcement cage, as per design, is placed in the form maintaining proper cover all aroud. Cast
steel shoe is also placed, and is secured to the reinforcement with the help of mild steel straps.
- Concrete is then placed in the form and well vibrated with the help of form vibrators. Mix of concrete
1:2:4 with maximum size of aggregate equal to 19mm.
- When the pile is driven into soil it is subjected to impact stress at its head.
- Remove the form after three days. But the piles are kept in same place for 7days. The piles are then
shifted to curing tank where concrete is allowed to mature for at least 4 weeks before being driven.
- Maturing period can be reduced if, raped hardening cement is used instead of normal Portland cement.

b. Cast-in-situ Concrete Piles

The cast-in-situ concrete piles are generally used for maximum design load of 75 tons. They are installed
by pre-excavation, thus, eliminating vibration due to handling stresses.
b1. Types of Cast-in-Situ Concrete Piles
- Driven Piles(Cased or Uncased)
- Bored Piles(Pressure Piles, Bored Compaction and Under-reamed Piles)

2. Timber piles
Timber can be used for manufacture of temporary piles and also for permanent ones in regions where
timber is readily and economically available. It’s most suitable for long cohesion piling and piling under
embankments.
3. Steel piles
Steel can be used for both temporary and permanent works. They are suitable for handling and driving for
piles with prolonged lengths. Their relatively small cross sectional area along with the high strength makes
penetration easier in firm soil. If it’s driven in to a soil with low Ph value, there may occur a risk of corrosion
which can be eliminated by tar coating or cathodic protection.
4. Composite piles
When a pile consists of a combination of different materials in the same pile, it’s called as Composite pile.
For example, part of timber pile which is installed above ground water could be endangered to insect attack
and decay. So to avoid this, concrete or steel pile is used above ground water level whilst timber is installed
under the ground water level.