Shaft Capacity of Open-Ended Piles in Clay
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 11
Abstract
This paper describes an experimental investigation designed to assess the impact of pile end condition on the capacity of piles installed in soft clay. A series of field tests are described in which instrumented open-ended and closed-ended model piles were jacked into soft clay. The radial stresses, pore pressures, and load distribution were recorded throughout installation, equalization, and load-testing. Although the total stress and pore pressure developed during installation were related to the degree of soil plugging, the radial effective stress that controls the shaft resistance was shown to be independent of the mode of penetration. The long-term shaft capacity of the open-ended pile was closely comparable to that developed by closed-ended piles, suggesting a limited influence of end condition on the fully equalized shaft resistance. In contrast to the shaft resistance, the base capacity was highly dependent on the degree of plugging.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the following people who contributed to the work; the technical staff at UCD: Frank Dillon and George Cosgrave, and Professor Barry Lehane who developed the test site. In addition David Igoe and Dave Cadogan are acknowledged for their contributions during the many weeks of field work. The first author is funded by a Sustainable Energy Ireland/IRCSET scholarship and was a recipient of a Geotechnical Society of Ireland award.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 11 • November 2011
Pages: 1090 - 1102
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 19, 2010
Accepted: Feb 24, 2011
Published online: Oct 14, 2011
Published in print: Nov 1, 2011
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