Ultimate Shaft Friction and Load-Displacement Response of Axially Loaded Piles in Clay Based on Instrumented Pile Tests
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYThis article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 12
Abstract
New semiempirical design procedures for the determination of ultimate shaft friction and load-displacement response of axially loaded piles in clay are proposed. A main basis for developing the new procedures was detailed review and reassessment of results from a series of pile load-test programs published over the past 30 years on piles well instrumented to monitor soil and pore pressures as well as load distribution along the pile shafts. Two new alternative procedures are proposed for predicting the ultimate shaft friction: an approach, which uses the normalized undrained strength based on direct simple shear tests as a main correlation parameter, and a approach, which uses the overconsolidation ratio (OCR). Both approaches include the effects of the plasticity index of the clay, , which is shown to have an especially large impact on the correlations when . In practical design, it is recommended that both methods be used and design values be selected for the ultimate shaft friction that represents an average for the two methods. Pile diameter, length, or stiffness or whether the pile is open- or closed-ended seem to have little impact on the shaft friction. However, a moderate effect of pile length or flexibility on the total ultimate pile capacity comes out of the proposed curves, which include some postpeak reduction.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
NGI’s past director Suzanne Lacasse and NGI’s Research Fellowship Committee very kindly allotted the author time and funding to undertake the work presented herein. Many past and present colleagues at NGI have also taken part in NGI’s pile testing programs described herein. Without their dedicated and enthusiastic support, these research programs would not have succeeded the way they have. Special thanks goes to Professor Kaare Høeg, who very kindly agreed to review draft versions of the dissertation behind this paper as well as this paper, and in that connection came up with some very constructive comments and suggestions.
References
Aas-Jakobsen. (2003a). “Bru over Børselva. Vurdering av resultater fra prøvebelastning av peler.” Project 7618, Document No. KK030-G-005, Oslo, Norway (in Norwegian).
Aas-Jakobsen. (2003b). “Bru over Vigda. Vurdering av resultater fra prøvebelastning, PDA-målinger og CAPWAP analyse av stålrørspeler.” Project 7616, Document No. KK030-G-006, Oslo, Norway (in Norwegian).
American Petroleum Institute (API). (1978). “Planning, designing and constructing fixed offshore platforms.” API-RP2A, 5th Ed., Washington, DC.
American Petroleum Institute (API). (1987). “Planning, designing and constructing fixed offshore platforms.” API-RP2A, 17th Ed., Washington, DC.
American Petroleum Institute (API). (2007). “Recommended practice for planning, designing and constructing fixed offshore platforms—Working stress design.” API-RP2A-WSD, 21st Ed., Washington, DC.
Augustesen, A. H. (2006). “The effects of time on soil behavior and pile capacity.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Aalborg Univ., Aalborg, Denmark.
Azzouz, A. S., and Baligh, M. M. (1984). “Behavior of friction piles in plastic Empire clays.” Research Rep. No. R84-14, Vol. 1, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA.
Azzouz, A. S., and Lutz, D. G. (1986). “Shaft behavior of a model pile in plastic Empire clays.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 389–406.
Azzouz, A. S., and Morrison, M. J. (1988). “Field measurements on model pile in two clay deposits.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 104–121.
Bjerrum, L. (1953). “Les pieux de fondation en Norvege.” Ann. Inst. Tech. Batiment Travaux Public., 6(63/64), 375–376.
Bogard, D., and Matlock, H. (1998a). “Lateral pressure measurements during 2.5 years of consolidation setup.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Vol. 1, Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 433–444.
Bogard, D., and Matlock, H. (1998b). “Static and cyclic load testing of a 30-inch-diameter pile over a 2.5-year period.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Vol. 1, Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 455–468.
Bond, A. J. (1989). “Behaviour of displacement piles in overconsolidated clays.” Ph.D. thesis, Imperial College London, London.
Bond, A. J., and Jardine, R. J. (1990). “Research on the behaviour of displacement piles in overconsolidated clay.” Rep. OTH-89, U.K. Dept. of Energy, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.
Bond, A. J., and Jardine, R. J. (1995). “Shaft capacity of displacement piles in high OCR clay.” Géotechnique, 45(1), 3–23.
Burland, J. F. (1973). “Shaft friction of piles in clay—A simple fundamental approach.” Ground Eng., 6(3), 30–32.
Chandler, R. J. (1968). “The shaft friction of piles in cohesive soils in terms of effective stresses.” Civ. Eng. Publ. Works Rev., 63(738), 48–51.
Chow, F. (1996). “Investigation into the behavior of displacement piles for offshore structures.” Ph.D. thesis, Imperial College London, London.
Cox, W. R., Cameron, K., and Clarke, J. (1993). “Static and cyclic axial load tests on two 762 mm diameter pipe piles in clays.” Proc., Large-Scale Pile Tests in Clay, J. Clarke, ed., Thomas Telford, London, 268–284.
Cox, W. R., Kraft, L. M., and Verner, E. A. (1979), “Axial load tests on 14-inch pipe piles in clay.” Proc., 11th Offshore Technology Conf., Vol. 2, Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 1147–1158.
Coyle, H. M., and Reese, L. C. (1966). “Load transfer for steel piles in clay.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 92(2), 1–26.
De Cock, F., Legrand, L., and Huybrechts, N. (2002). “Overview of design methods of axially loaded piles in Europe: Report of ERTC-3—Piles, ISSMGE Subcommittee.” Proc., 13th European Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Czech Geotechnical Society, Prague, Czech Republic, 663–715.
Dennis, N. D., and Olson, R. E. (1983). “Axial capacity of steel pipe piles in clay.” Proc., Conf. on Geotechnical Practice in Offshore Engineering, ASCE, Reston, VA, 370–388.
Eide, O., Hutchinson, J. N., and Landva, A. (1961). “Short and long-term test loading of a friction pile in clay.” Proc., 5th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 2, Dunod, Paris, 45–53.
Ertec. (1982). “Site investigation and soil characterization study at Block 58, West Delta Area, Gulf of Mexico.” Rep. No. 82-200-1, Alameda, CA.
Ertec. (1985). “Testing of a 30-inch diameter instrumented pile in soil clay.” Rep. No. 82-200-4, Alameda, CA.
Femern. (2011). “Ground investigation report.” Rep. GDR 00.1-001, Ramböll Arup Joint Venture, Ramböll, Denmark.
Flaate, K. (1968). Bearing capacity of friction piles in clay, Veglaboratoriet, Oslo, Norway (in Norwegian).
Flaate, K., and Selnes, P. (1977). “Side friction of piles in clay.” Proc., 9th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 1, Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Tokyo, 517–522.
Gibbs, C. E., McCauley, J., Mirza, U. A., and Cox, W. R. (1993). “Reduction of field data interpretation of results for axial load tests of two 762mm diameter pipe piles in clay.” Proc., Large-Scale Pile Tests in Clay, J. Clarke, ed., Thomas Telford, London, 285–345.
Holmquist, D. V., and Matlock, H. (1976). “Resistance-displacement relationships for axially loaded piles in soft clay.” Proc., 8th Offshore Technology Conf., Vol. 1, Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 553–569.
Hultin, T. (1928). “Bidrag til kännedomen om friktionspålars bärighet.” Svenska kommunal-tekniska föreningen, Festskrift, Stockholm, Sweden, 121–144 (in Swedish).
Jardine, R. J., and Chow, F. C. (1996). “New design methods for offshore piles.” Publication MTD 96/103, Marine Technology Directorate, London.
Jardine, R. J., Chow, F., Overly, R., and Standing, J. (2005). ICP design methods for driven piles in sands and clays, Thomas Telford, London.
Jardine, R. J., and Lehane, B. M. (1993). “Research into the behaviour of offshore piles: Field experiments in soft clay.” Offshore Technology Rep., Health Safety Executive U.K., London.
Jardine, R. J., Puech, A., and Andersen, K. H. (2012). “Cyclic loading of offshore piles: Potential effects and practical design.” Proc., 7th Int. Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics Conf., Society for Underwater Technology, London, 59–100.
Karlsrud, K. (1986). “Analysis of fundamental aspects of pile-clay interaction under static cyclic axial loading based on field model tests.” Rep. 40018-12, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway.
Karlsrud, K. (2012). “Prediction of load-displacement behavior and capacity of axially loaded piles in clay based on interpretation of load test results.” Ph.D. thesis, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Karlsrud, K., Clausen, C. J. F., and Aas, P. M. (2005a). “Bearing capacity of driven piles in clay, the NGI approach.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics, Taylor & Francis, London, 775–782.
Karlsrud, K., Hansen, S. B., Dyvik, R., and Kalsnes, B. (1993a). “NGI’s pile tests at Tilbrook and Pentre—Review of testing procedures and results.” Proc., Conf. on Recent Large-Scale Fully Instrumented Pile Tests in Clay, J. Clarke, ed., Thomas Telford, London, 405–429.
Karlsrud, K., and Haugen, T. (1983). “Cyclic loading of piles and pile anchors—Field model tests.” Rep. 40010-28, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway.
Karlsrud, K., and Haugen, T. (1984), “Cyclic loading of piles and pile anchors—Field model tests—Phase II.” Rep. 40018-11, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway.
Karlsrud, K., and Haugen, T. (1985). “Axial static capacity of steel model piles in over-consolidated clay.” Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 3, Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1401–1406.
Karlsrud, K., and Hernandez-Martinez, F. G. (2013). “Strength and deformation properties of Norwegian clays from laboratory tests on high-quality block samples.” Can. Geotech. J., 50(12), 1273–1293.
Karlsrud, K., Jensen, T. G., Wensaas Lied, E. K., Nowacki, F., and Schram Simonsen, A. (2014). “Significant ageing effects for axially loaded piles in sand and clay verified by new field load tests.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Offshore Technology Conference, Houston.
Karlsrud, K., Kalsnes, B., and Nowacki, F. (1993b). “Response of piles on soft clay and silt deposits to static cyclic loading based on recent instrumented pile load tests.” Proc., Conf. on Offshore Site Investigation Foundation Behavior, Society for Underwater Technology, London, 515–537.
Karlsrud, K., Lunne, T., Kort, D. A., and Strandvik, S. (2005b). “CPTU correlations for clays.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 2, IOS Press, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 683–702.
Karlsrud, K., and Mahan, A. (2010). “Evidence of long term ageing effects on axial capacity of piles in soft clay.” Proc., GeoFlorida 2010: Art of Foundation Engineering Practice, Geotechnical Special Publication 198, M. H. Hussein, J. B. Anderson, and W. M. Camp, eds., ASCE, Reston, VA, 325–342.
Karlsrud, K., and Nadim, F. (1990). “Axial capacity of offshore piles in clay.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Offshore Technology Conference, Houston.
Kolk, H. J., and der Velde, E. (1996). “A reliable method to determine friction capacity of piles driven into clays.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Offshore Technology Conference, Houston.
Konrad, J.-M., and Roy, M. (1987). “Bearing capacity of friction piles in marine clay.” Géotechnique, 37(2), 163–175.
Kraft, L. M., Esrig, M. I., and Murphy, B. S. (1980). “Amoco effective stress axial capacity cooperative program.” ESAAC Project Summary Rep., Amoco Production, Chicago.
Kraft, L. M., Jr. (1982). “Effective stress capacity model for piles in clay.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 108(11), 1387–1404.
Kraft, L. M., Jr., Kagawa, T., and Ray, R. P. (1981a). “Theoretical curves.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 107(11), 1543–1561.
Kraft, L. M., Jr., Verner, E. A., and Cox, W. R. (1981b). “Pile load tests: Cyclic loads and varying load rates.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 107(1), 1–19.
Ladd, C. C., and Foott, R. (1974). “New design procedure for stability of soft clays.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 100(7), 763–786.
Lambson, M. D., Clare, D. G., and Semple, R. M. (1993). “Investigation interpretation of Pentre and Tilbrook grange soil conditions.” Proc., Large-Scale Pile Tests in Clay, J. Clarke, ed., Thomas Telford, London, 134–196.
Lehane, B. M. (1992). “The behaviour of a displacement using instrumented field piles.” Ph.D. thesis, Imperial College London, London.
Lehane, B. M., and Jardine, R. J. (1992). “The behaviour of displacement piles in glacial till.” Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on the Behaviour of Offshore Structures, Vol. 1, BPP Technical Services, London.
Lehane, B. M., and Jardine, R. J. (1994a). “Displacement-pile behaviour in a soft marine clay.” Can. Geotech. J., 31(2), 181–191.
Lehane, B. M., and Jardine, R. J. (1994b). “Displacement pile behaviour in glacial clay.” Can. Geotech. J., 31(1), 79–90.
Lehane, B. M., Li, Y., and Williams, R. (2013). “Shaft capacity of displacement piles in clay using the cone penetration test.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 253–266.
Matlock, H., Bogard, D., McClelland, F., and Chan, H. C. (1998). “Technical program: Tension pile study.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 407–413.
McClelland. (1988a). Large diameter pile tests programme, Soil and foundation investigation, Tilbrook site—Final report, BP International, London.
McClelland. (1988b). Large diameter pile tests programme, Tilbrook pile tests, results, analyses and interpretations, BP International, London.
Meyerhof, G. G. (1976). “Bearing capacity and settlement of pile foundations.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 102(3), 195–228.
Morrison, M. J. (1984). “In situ measurements on model piles.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (1987). “Design of offshore piles in clay—Field tests and computational modelling. Summary, interpretation and analyses of the pile load tests at the Onsøy test site.” NGI Rep. 52523-23, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (1988a). “Design of offshore piles in clay—Field tests and computational modelling. Summary, interpretation and analyses of the pile load tests at the Lierstranda test site.” NGI Rep. 52523-26, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (1988b). “Design of offshore piles in clay—Field tests and computational modelling. Summary, interpretation and analyses of the pile load tests at the Pentre test site.” NGI Rep. 52523-27, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (1989a). “Pile load tests in stiff clay—Presentation of data from tests at Tilbrook Grange.” NGI Rep. 885032-1, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (1989b). “Pile load tests West Delta—Review and assessment of reliability of test data.” NGI Rep. 882016-1, Revision 1, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (1989c). “Pile load tests West Delta—Supplementary laboratory tests and interpretation of soil data.” NGI Rep. 882016-3, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (1991). “Pile load tests in stiff clay—Phase II. Summary and evaluation of NGI’s pile tests at Tilbrook Grange.” NGI Rep. 885032-2, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (1994). “Verification and user's manual for computer program PAX2, Version 2.1.” NGI Rep. 525286-1, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). (2013). “Time effects on pile capacity—Summary and evaluation of pile test results.” Final Rep. 20061251-00-279-R, Oslo, Norway.
Olson, R. E., and Dennis, N. D. (1982). “Review and compilation of pile test results, axial pile capacity.” Final Rep. to American Petroleum Institute on Project PRAC 81-29, Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Ove Arup and Partners. (1988). Tension and lateral pile tests at Tilbrook Grange, BP International, London.
Randolph, M. F., and Murphy, B. S. (1985). “Shaft capacity of driven piles in clay.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Offshore Technology Conference, Houston.
Randolph, M. F., and Wroth, C. P. (1978). “Analysis of deformation of vertically loaded piles.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 104(12), 1465–1488.
Roy, M., Blanchet, R., Tavenas, F., and LaRochelle, P. (1981). “Behaviour of sensitive clay during pile driving.” Can. Geotech. J., 18(1), 67–85.
Roy, M., and Lemieux, M. (1986). “Long-term behaviour of reconsolidated clay around a driven pile.” Can. Geotech. J., 23(1), 23–29.
Schofield, A. N., and Wroth, C. P. (1968). Critical state soil mechanics, McGraw Hill, London.
Seed, H. B., and Reese, L. C. (1957). “The action of soft clay along friction piles.” Trans. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., 122(1), 731–754.
Semple, R. M., and Rigden, W. J. (1984). “Shaft capacity of driven pipe piles in clay.” Proc., Analysis and Design of Pile Foundations, J. R. Meyer, ed., ASCE, Reston, VA, 59–79.
Taylor, D. W. (1948). Soil mechanics, Wiley, New York.
Tomlinson, M. J. (1957). “The adhesion of piles driven in clay soils.” Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 2, Butterworths, London, 66–71.
Veritec. (1984). “Tension pile study CNRD 13-2. Final report with appendices A-E F-L.” Rep. 84-3861, Oslo, Norway.
Vijayvergiya, V. N., and Focht, J. A., Jr. (1972). “A new way to predict capacity of piles in clay.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Offshore Technology Conference, Houston.
Wendel, E. (1900). Om profbelastning på pålar med tillämpning deraf på grundläggningsförhållena i Göteborg, Tekniska Samfundet i Göteborg, Handlingar, Göteborg, Sweden (in Swedish).
Woodward-Clyde Consultants. (1979). “ESSAC project. Evaluation of prediction methods. Field model pile load tests Hamilton Airforce Base, Novato California.” Rep. Prepared for Amoco, Baton Rouge, LA.
Zeevaert, L., et al. (1950). “Discussion of ‘Effect of driving piles into soft clay’.” Trans. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., 115(1), 286–345.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 12 • December 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 6, 2013
Accepted: Jul 7, 2014
Published online: Sep 4, 2014
Published in print: Dec 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Feb 4, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.