THE CONTRIBUTION OF PILE CAP TO THE BEHAVIORS OF VERTICALLY LOADED PILE GROUPS IN SAND

Su Hyung Lee1 and Choong Ki Chung2

ABSTRACT Model tests on free standing pile groups and piled footings with varying pile spacing in dense sand were carried out. In this study, the contributions of pile caps to the behaviors of vertically loaded pile groups were analyzed by comparing the bearing behaviors in piled footings with those in a single pile, a shallow footing (cap alone) and in free standing pile groups. From the test results, it was found that the effect of the cap in contact with underlying soil results in the increase of the skin friction with the dependency to the pile spacing and accordingly the increase of the total pile capacity. And the bearing mechanism of the cap with pile-soil-cap interactions was investigated, based on the pile spacing and the yield condition. INTRODUCTION Pile caps in pile groups are generally in direct contact with underlying soils and thus function as bearing elements. The bearing effects of pile caps cannot be simply estimated by adding the bearing capacity of the cap to that of the pile group. Loads carried by a cap affect the behaviors of individual piles in a group, which also affect the behavior of a cap. Therefore, many researchers have pointed out that cap-pile-soil interaction is a key factor to predict the behaviors of pile groups and have been devoted a great effort to clarify it. In recent years, remarkable advance in the interaction problems on theoretical basis has been attained but its practical applicability has not been generally verified, because field or experimental data related to cap-pile-soil interaction are rare. To get a better understanding of the contribution of a cap, load tests should be carried out on single piles, free-standing pile groups, piled footings, and on cap alone, using an identical standard testing procedure under equal soil conditions. In this study the effects of pile cap on the behaviors of pile groups in sand were explored by model tests. The 600 mm long piles with 32 mm diameter were driven at a spacings ranging from two to five pile diameters into artificial deposit of uniform dense sand to form square groups of nine piles. The piles were connected with 20 mm thick steel plate caps. For each spacing, two different kinds of tests were carried out with the cap resting directly on the soil surface (piled footing) and with the cap being separated from the soil surface (free standing), under otherwise identical condition. The test series also included a single pile and a shallow footing (cap alone) to allow comparisons with the behaviors of the single pile and the cap. Every pile was equipped with strain gauges placed in the top and the bottom of the piles to measure the total and tip loads in the piles. The load efficiencies suggested by Phung (1993), which are evaluated by comparing loads at the same settlement in the two tests, were adopted for the analyses. The cap-pile-soil interactions, the load-sharing characteristics between the cap and the pile group and the effects of the cap on the load transfer characteristics in piled footings with varying pile spacing were investigated. TESTING PROGRAM The main objective of the tests was to explore the contributions of pile cap to the behavior of piled footings in sand. Therefore, a free standing pile group and a piled footing under an identical soil condition and with an equal geometry were tested. Tests of a single pile and a cap alone were also carried out to allow comparisons. The model piles used in the tests were hollow cylindrical aluminum piles, 32 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm in thickness. The pile tip had a conical shape with the apex angle of 60. The lengths of all the piles were 600 mm,
1

Graduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Seoul National University, Shillim-dong, Kwanak-gu, Seoul, 151-742, Korea 2 Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Seoul National University, Shillim-dong, Kwanak-gu, Seoul, 151-742, Korea

and the depths of embedment of the piles were 580 mm for the free standing pile groups and of the single pile, and 600 mm for the piled footings. Every pile was equipped with two strain gauge bridges placed at the top and the bottom of the piles to measure the total and point loads transferred to the pile. Stiff steel plates with 365 mm 365 mm in plan, and 20 mm in thickness served as caps. The caps were effectively rigid. It was checked by measurements at four locations on the cap, which showed no significant differential settlements. In addition, the rigid behavior of the employed cap was verified by the method proposed by Hain and Lee (1978), in which the cap-supporting soil relative stiffness ( K c ) as shown in Equation (1) was used to judge the cap rigidity. Based on Kc value (=250) for the cap and soil used in this study, much higher than the recommended Kc value (=10) for rigid behavior, the employed cap can be regarded to be rigid. 2 4 E c tB (1 s ) (1) Kc = 3E s L4 Where, E c , E s = Elastic moduli of the cap and the supporting soil, respectively, s = Poissons ratio of the soil, L , B , t = the length, the breadth and the thickness of the cap, respectively. Dry uniform sand was used to conduct the model tests. The sand had the specific gravity of 2.66, and the effective particle size of 0.31 mm. The internal friction angle, determined by direct shear test, had a value of 35. For each test, a dense sand deposit was built by pouring sand from a fixed height into a soil box of 1m 1.4m 2.5m size and compacted in layers of about 40 cm thickness. The average relative density (Dr) of the deposit was about 70% and can be regarded as dense state. Nine piles were installed by driving in a symmetrical array at the center to center pile spacings ranging from two to five pile diameters to form a group. The two test series dealing with situations of contact between the cap and the soil were named consecutively F-series (free standing pile groups) and P-series (piled footings). The numbers just following the letters denote ratio of the pile spacing (s) to pile diameter (D). Tests of a single pile (S) and cap alone (C) were also carried out to allow comparison. The main features of all the performed tests are presented in Table 1. Single pile S Cap alone C Table 1: Summary of model tests Free standing pile groups F2 F3 F4 F5 P2 Piled footings P3 P4 P5

The piles were driven into the soil by a hammer. Wooden templates were used to locate the piles in correct positions and the inclinations of the piles were checked carefully by a level during driving. The central pile was always driven first. The piles were driven to about 2 cm above the soil surface for the free standing pile groups and to the level of the soil surface for the piled footings. After all the piles were installed, they were connected with the cap by bolts through the holes at the cap and the pile heads. Loads were brought in the constant rate of settlement of about 1 mm/min by a hydraulic jack. The total loads were measured by a load cell and the axial loads transferred to the pile heads and tips by strain gauges. The settlements were measured by LVDT at four locations on the upper surface of the cap. All the data were saved simultaneously on a hard disk of a computer at about every 5 seconds interval through a data logger and a data acquisition system board. TEST RESULTS The overall load-settlement curves of the free standing pile groups and the piled footings were compared to those with no pile-soil-pile and no pile-soil-cap interactions which can evaluate from the single pile test and the shallow footing test (the cap alone test). Apparently, the effects of both pile-soil-pile (Figure 1a) and pile-soil-cap interactions (Figure 1b) are not significant at the initial loads before yield, but thereafter the curves reveal the interaction effects with increasing the load carrying capacity. Also, the difference of the behaviors with respect to pile spacing after yield is observed as a result of dependency of the degree of interaction effects on pile spacing. The post-yield behaviors of the piled footings are progressive; i.e. the applied load increases with settlement increasing. It results from the direct contact effect of the cap, since the applying load on the cap induces an increase the density of underlying soil and accordingly increase the load carrying capacity. Thus, the progressive failure is regarded as one of the contributions of the cap.

(a) (b) Figure 1 : Load-settlement curves. (a) Free standing pile groups; (b) Piled footings. * Multiplying the load of single pile by number of piles in group (=9), **The load carried by the cap alone at the same settlement Bearing behaviors of piles Influential factors on the bearing behaviors of piled footings driven in sandy soils over a single pile can be listed as below; 1) The compaction of soil due to pile driving, which is larger in pile groups than in single piles. 2) The overlap of the displacement fields of the individual piles (i.e., the settlement of a specific pile induces the settlements of neighboring piles because of pile-soil-pile interactions). 3) The increase of the lateral earth pressure on the pile shaft due to the cap in contact with soil, which is dominant for the upper part of the pile. These factors for the bearing behaviors of piles in a piled footing have been investigated by many experts (Whitacker, 1960; Beredugo, 1966; Akinmusuru, 1980; Phung, 1993). But the influences of pile spacing on them were not clearly established in both quantitative and qualitative manners. So the analyses on the results of model tests performed in this study were arranged to focus on the influences of pile spacing on the bearing behaviors of the piled footings. The concept of group efficiency, where the ultimate bearing capacity of a pile group is compared with that of a single pile, has generally been adopted for analysis of free standing pile groups. However, there are a number of different criteria, which lead to different values of bearing capacity for a specific test. As a result, the efficiencies obtained are also different. Furthermore, in piled footings and shallow footings, the concept of group efficiency is not logical. So, load efficiencies (Phung, 1993) evaluated by comparing loads at the same settlement in the tests studied, is adopted for the analyses. The concept of load efficiency is the displacement criterion that is consistent with the concept of allowable settlement for structures. In this study, the contributions of caps to the behaviors of piled footings are explored at both pre-yield (0.5 mm settlement) and post-yield (3.0 mm settlement) conditions. Skin friction Figure 2 shows the load efficiencies calculated as the ratio of the average shaft load per pile in the free standing pile groups and in the piled footings to that of the shaft load in the single pile at the settlement of 0.5 mm and 3.0 mm. In the free standing pile groups, it can be found from the load efficiencies higher than unity that the skin frictions in pile groups are increased considerably by the overlapping effect of the compactions due to pile drivings. As might be expected, the load efficiencies are decreased with increasing pile spacing, reflecting the dependency of the compaction effect on pile spacing. Also, the load efficiencies and their related compaction effects in pile groups are decreased with increasing the settlements, as shown in Figure 2a and 2b. On the bearing behaviors of the piled footing, the effects of the cap-soil contact are added to the aforementioned compaction effects. In the previous research, the effects of a cap on the skin frictions of piles can be divided into two conflicting concepts. Phung (1993) reported that the skin frictions of the piles in a piled footing are increased with the increase in the lateral stress on the pile shaft caused by the cap-soil contact pressure. On the other hand, Liu et al. (1985) showed that the cap-soil contact causes weakening effect in the skin friction in case the ratio of pile length to cap width (L/B) is smaller than about 2.0, from the results of field tests on bored pile group in non-dense sandy soil. Butterfield and Banerjee (1971) also found the reduction in skin friction from the

results of boundary element analyses, suggesting that the phenomenon be due to the reduction of the relative displacements between pile shafts and surrounding soil caused by the settlement of the soil beneath the cap. In the present test results, the load efficiencies of the piled footings are greater than those of the free standing pile groups in both the pre-yield and post-yield conditions, as shown in Figure 2a and 2b. It means that the governing effect of the cap-soil contact is the increase of the skin friction of the piles by increasing the lateral stress on the pile shaft. However, it shows the tendency that their differences between the piled footings and the free standing pile groups are decreasing with increasing pile spacing (i.e., cap effects on skin friction of piles are dependent upon pile spacing.), even though a little deviations are observed in the post-yield condition. The dependency of the cap contact effect on pile spacing in the mobilization of the skin friction can be explained by the induced relative displacements between soil and pile shaft. As the role of a cap as a bearing element at wide pile spacing is increased, the settlement of the underlying soil by the contact pressure between a cap and soil is increased and eventually the skin friction is decreased with the reduced relative displacements.

(a) (b) Figure 2: The load efficiencies of average shaft frictions at settlements of (a) 0.5 mm; and (b) 3 mm. End bearing Figure 3 shows the load efficiencies calculated as the ratio of the average end bearing load per pile in the free standing pile groups and in the piled footings to that of end bearing in the single pile at the same settlement of 0.5 mm and 3.0 mm. The load efficiencies in both the free standing pile groups and the piled footings are very close to unity without showing any obvious dependencies on pile spacing, comparing with those of the shaft friction. Thus, the results indicate that pile-soil-pile and pile-soil-cap interactions have little influence on the end bearing of the piles and compare well with those of Phung (1993). And this trend is more remarkable after yield (Figure 3b). At the pile spacing of 5D, the noticeable decrease in the load efficiency due to the contact effect of the cap is observed. At the wide pile spacing, the contact effect of the cap seems to reach the pile tip before yield, so that it reduces the settlement by the pile tip load and accordingly the end bearing.

(a) (b) Figure 3: The load efficiencies of point loads at settlements of (a) 0.5 mm; and (b) 3 mm.

Total pile capacity The load efficiencies, calculated as the ratio of the load per pile in the free standing pile groups and in the piled footings to that of the load in the single pile at the same settlement of 0.5 mm and 3.0 mm, are shown in Figure 4. The load efficiencies in total pile capacities are slightly greater than unity, which is mostly attributed to the increase of the skin friction. And load efficiencies of the piled footings are greater than those in the free standing pile groups, also attributed to the increase of the skin friction. But the piled footing at the pile spacing of 5D in the pre-yield condition shows an exceptional behavior (i.e., its load efficiency is less than unity as well as that in the free standing pile group). This exception can be explained by the reduction of the end bearing resistance due to the effect of the cap at the pile spacing of 5D. Any significant differences between the pre-yield and the post-yield conditions are not identified except the pile spacing of 5D.

(a) (b) Figure 4: The load efficiencies of the piles at the settlements of (a) 0.5 mm (before yield); and (b) 3.0 mm (after yield). Bearing behaviors of cap Load efficiencies, calculated as the ratio of the load carried by cap in the piled footing to that of the cap alone at the settlement of 0.5 mm and 3.0 mm are shown in Figure 5. It is found that the load carried by the cap in the piled footing is much less than that of the cap alone at 0.5mm settlement before yield. This is obviously due to the pile-soil-cap interaction, which reduces the bearing effect of the cap by inducing settlement of the cap resulting from the displacement of the piles. However, as the settlement increases, the load efficiencies approach to unity at 3.0 mm settlement after yield, so that the cap exhibit its nearly full capacity with negligible pile-soil-cap interaction effects.

Figure 5: The load efficiencies of the cap

Figure 6: The proportions of load carried by cap.

The proportions of the load carried by cap to the total load are plotted with respect to load level and pile spacing in Figure 6. The load efficiencies increase with load level and reach to about 40% at yield. The curves show nearly identical trend after yield and the proportions increase at the same rate with the load level. However, they reveal the dependency to pile spacing before yield. At the pile spacings of 2D and 5D, the loads taken by the cap increase more rapidly than those do at 3D, and 4D. Kishida and Meyerhof (1965) showed that the bearing capacity of the pile cap in the piled footing can be estimated using the whole pile cap with a wide pile spacing or using the outer rim with a narrow pile spacing. It can be applicable to the present test results for the pre-yield conditions. The higher load efficiency of cap at 5D seems to be related with the mobilization of the cap-soil contact pressure on the area surrounded by the piles, which is estimated to be increased with pile spacing. However, the higher load bearing effect at the pile spacing of 2D, can be attributed to its larger area of the outer rim. The mechanism and the quantitative estimation of the bearing effect of the cap in the piled footing are not clearly defined and the further research in this field is required. CONCLUSIONS Based on the model tests on free standing pile groups and piled footings with varying pile spacing, a single pile and a cap alone in dense sand, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) The effect of the pile cap in the piled footing is significant in the skin friction but negligible in the end bearing. The shaft friction of the pile is significantly increased with the lateral stress increase on the pile shaft caused by the cap-soil contact pressure. Meanwhile, as the pile spacing increases, the skin friction of the pile is decreased by the reduction of the relative displacement between the pile shaft and the surrounding soil caused by the increased subsoil settlement beneath the cap. Therefore the pile spacing is closely related with the contribution of the pile cap to the skin friction 2) The bearing effect of the cap in the piled footing before yield is not fully mobilized, because of the pile-soil-cap interaction. But after yield, the cap exhibits its full capacity with negligible pile-soil-cap interaction. 3) The proportion of the load carried by the cap increases with the load level and reaches to about 40% of the total load at the yield of the foundation. It shows the dependency on pile spacing before yield, but after yield, no dependency to pile spacing is identified. 4) The load-settlement behaviors of the piled footings after yield are progressive, since applied loads on the cap induce an increase of the density of the underlying soil and accordingly increase the load carrying capacity. REFERENCE Akinmusuru, J. O. Jr. (1980). Interaction of piles and cap in piled footing. Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 106, No. GT11, pp. 1263-1268 Butterfield, R. and Banerjee, P. K. (1971). "The problem of pile group-pile cap interaction". Gotechnique, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 43-60 Beredugo, Y. O. (1966). An experimental study of the load distribution in pile groups in sand. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. III, No. 3. pp 145-166 Hain, S, J.and Lee I. K. (1978). "The analysis of flexible raft-pile systems". Gotechnique, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 65-83. Kishida, G. and Meyerhof, G.G. (1965). "Bearing capacity of pile groups under eccentric loads in sand". Proceeding 6th ISCMFE, Totonto, Vol.2, pp.270-274 Liu, J. L., Yuan, Z. L., and Shang, K. P. (1985). "Cap-pile-soil interaction of bored pile groups". Proceeding 11th ICSMFE, San Francisco, Vol.3, pp.1433-1436 Phung, D. Long (1992). "Footings with settlement-reducing piles in non-cohesive soil". Department of Geotechnical engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Dissertation. Vesi
, A. S. (1969), "Experiments with instrumented pile groups in sand", Performance of Deep Foundation, ASTM STP 444, pp.177-222 Whitacker, T. (1957), Experiments with model piles in groups. Gotechnique, Vol.7, No.4, pp.147-167 .