Studia Geotechnica et Mechanica, Vol. 37, No.

4, 2015
DOI: 10.1515/sgem-2015-0048

PILE LOAD CAPACITY CALCULATION METHODS

BOGUMI WRANA

Civil Engineering Department, Institute of Structures Mechanics, Soil-Structure-Interaction Branch,

Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Krakw, Poland,
e-mail: wrana@limba.wil.pk.edu.pl

Abstract: The article is a review of the current problems of the foundation pile capacity calculations. The article considers the main
principles of pile capacity calculations presented in Eurocode 7 and other methods with adequate explanations. Two main methods
are presented: method used to calculate the short-term load capacity of piles in cohesive soils and method used to calculate
the long- term load capacity of piles in both cohesive and cohesionless soils. Moreover, methods based on cone CPTu result are pre-
sented as well as the pile capacity problem based on static tests.

Key words: pile load capacity calculation, Eurocode 7, method and method, direct methods based on CPTu data

1. INTRODUCTION The pile load capacity on compression (Fig. 1a1c)

is considered in the article, in particular the sufficient
compressing resistance case (Fig. 1a).
Piles can be either driven or cast in place. Pile
driving is achieved by: impact dynamic forces from
hydraulic and diesel hammers; vibration or jacking.
Concrete and steel piles are most common. Driven
piles which tend to displace a large amount of soil due
to the driving process are called full-displacement
piles. Cast-in-place (or bored) piles do not cause any
soil displacement, therefore, they are non-displace-
ment piles.
Piles may be loaded axially and/or transversely.
The limit states necessary to be considered in the
design of piles are the following (EN-1997-1,
7.2.(1)P):
Bearing resistance failure of the pile foundation,
Insufficient compression resistance of the pile
(Fig. 1a), Fig. 1. Piles load capacity:
Uplift or insufficient tensile resistance of the pile (a)(c) on compression, (d), e) on tension,
(Fig. 1d), (f)(h) on transverse loading
Failure in the ground due to transverse loading
(Fig. 1f), Figure 2a shows the following main parameters
Structural failure of the pile in compression (Fig. used in the pile capacity problem:
1b), tension (Fig. 1e), bending (Fig. 1g), buckling s(Q) load-settlement top pile data recorded in the
(Fig. 1c) or shear (Fig. 1h), in-situ test on compression,
Combined failure in the ground, in the pile foun- sk characteristic settlement, generally calculated
dation and in the structure, using the assumption on soil behavior as: semi-
Excessive settlement, heave or lateral movement, infinite elastic, isotropic and homogenous area
Loss of overall stability, (Boussinesq theory), which gives such larger set-
Unacceptable vibrations. tlement than the measured one,

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Rc;d design resistance as the capacity parameters (1) The results of static load tests, which have been
determined from designing standards, considered demonstrated by means of calculations or other-
in the present article, wise, to be consistent with other relevant experi-
Rtest in-situ static test result on top pile, ence,
Qlim limit resistance defined as rapid settlement (2) Empirical or analytical calculation methods whose
occurs under sustained or slight increase of the ap- validity has been demonstrated by static load tests
plied load the pile plunges. in comparable situations,
Ration of Qlim/Rc;d = t presents the total safety (3) The results of dynamic load tests whose validity
factor. has been demonstrated by static load tests in com-
parable situations,
(4) The observed performance of a comparable piles
foundation, provided that this approach is sup-
ported by the results of site investigation and
ground testing.

Equilibrium equation
The equilibrium equation to be satisfied in the ul-
timate limit state design of axially loaded piles in
compression is
Fc; d Rc; d , (1)

where Fc;d is the design axial compression load and

Rc;d is the pile compressive design resistance.
Fig. 2a. Capacity parameters:
Rc;d design resistance, Rtest static test result, Design axial load
Qlim limit resistance, s(Q) load-settlement curve
from top pile measurement sk characteristic settlement The design axial compressive load Fc;d is obtained
by multiplying the representative permanent and vari-
Figure 2b shows typical load/settlement curves for able loads, G and Q by the corresponding partial ac-
compressive load of the shaft Qs and the base Qb load tion factors G and Q
capacity and the total load capacity Qt characteristic
Fc; d = G Grep + Q Qrep . (2)
depending on soil layers: (a) for friction pile and
(b) for end-bearing pile.
The two sets of recommended partial factors on
actions and the effects of actions are provided in Ta-
ble A3 of Annex A of EN 1997-1.

Characteristic pile resistance

Eurocode 7 describes three procedures for obtain-
ing the characteristic compressive resistance Rc,k of
a pile:
(a) Directly from static pile load tests with coefficient
1 and 2 for n pile load tests, given in Table A.9
Fig. 2b. Typical load/settlement curves for compressive load tests: of EN 1997-1 Annex A,
(a) friction pile; (b) end-bearing pile (b) By calculation from profiles of ground test results or
by calculation from ground parameters with coeffi-
cient given in Table A.10 of EN 1997-1 Annex A,
2. APPROACHES OF PILE DESIGN (c) Directly from dynamic pile load tests with coeffi-
ACC. TO EN-1997 cientgiven in Table A.11 of EN 1997-1 Annex A.
In the case of procedures (a) and (b) Eurocode 7
provides correlation factors to convert the measured
EN 1997-1 7.4(1)P states that the design of piles pile resistances or pile resistances calculated from
shall be based on one of the following approaches: profiles of test results into characteristic resistances.

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Case (c) is referred to as the alternative procedure in or by separating it into base and shaft components Rb;d
the Note to EN 1997-1 7.6.2.3(8), even though it is and Rs;k, using the relevant partial factors, b and s
the most common method in some countries.
Rb; k Rs ; k
Rc; d = + . (6)
Characteristic pile resistance from profiles b s
of ground test results The combinations of sets of partial factor values
Part 2 of EN 1997 includes the following Annexes that should be used for Design Approach 2 are as fol-
with methods to calculate the compressive resistance, lows
Rc,cal of a single pile from profiles of ground test re- DA2.C1: A1 + M1 + R2
sults:
(a) D.6 Example to determine Rc;cal based on cone where R2 for base, shaft and total: t = b = s = 1.1 in
penetration resistance: relating the piles unit base case of compression, and t = 1.15 in case of shaft in
resistances qb at different normalised pile settle- tension.
ments, s/D, and the shaft resistance qs to average
cone penetration resistance qc values. The values
in Tables D.3 and D.4 are used to calculate the pile 3. DRAINED AND UNDRAINED
base and shaft resistances in the pile. LOADING CONDITIONS
(b) D.7 Example to determine Rc;cal base on maximum
base resistance and shaft resistance from the qc val-
ues obtained from an electrical CPT. Drained loading occurs when soils are loaded
(c) E.3 Example to determine Rc;cal based on results of slowly, resulting in slightexcess pore pressures that
an MPM test. dissipate due to permeability.On the other hand,
Characteristic total pile compressive resistance Rc;k undrained loading occurs when fine-grained soils are
or the base and shaft resistances Rb;k and Rs;k may be loaded at a high rate, they generate excess pore pres-
determined directly by applying correlation factors 3 sures because these soils have very low permeabil-
and 4 to the set of pile resistances calculated from the ities.
test profiles. This procedure is referred to as the Model The drained (or long-term) strength parameters of
Pile procedure by Frank et al. (2004) to determine Rc;cal. a soil, c and must be used in drained (long-term)
analysis of piles.
The undrained (or short-term) strength parameter
Characteristic pile resistance
of a soil, cu, must be used in undrained (short-term)
from the ground parameters
analysis of piles.
The characteristic base and shaft resistances may
also be determined directly from the ground parame-
ters using the following equations given in EN 1997-1 4. ESTIMATING LOAD CAPACITY
7.6.2.3(8) OF PILES
Rb; k = Ab qb; k (3)
Pile load carrying capacity depends on various
Rs ; k = A s;i qs ; i ; k (4) factors, including: (1) pile characteristics such as pile
length, cross section, and shape; (2) soil configuration
where and short and long-term soil properties; and (3) pile
qb;k characteristics of unit base resistance, installation method. Two widely used methods for pile
qs;i;k characteristics of unit shaft resistance in the design will be described:
i-th layer. method used to calculate the short-term load
capacity (total stress) of piles in cohesive soils,
Design compressive pile resistance method used to calculate the long-term load
The design compressive resistance of a pile Rc;d capacity (effective stress) of piles in both cohesive
may be obtained either by treating the pile resistance and cohesionless soils.
as a total resistance Piles resist applied loads through side friction
(shaft or skin friction) and end bearing as indicated
Rc; k in Fig. 3. Friction piles resist a significant portion of
Rc; d = (5)
t their loads by the interface friction developed be-

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tween their surface and the surrounding soils. On the stress and undrained shear strength but decreases for
other hand, end-bearing piles rely on the bearing long piles.
capacity of the soil underlying their bases. Usually, Niazi and Mayne [24] presented 25 methods of
end-bearing piles are used to transfer most of their estimating pile unit shaft resistance within -method
loads to a stronger stratum that exists at a reasonable and compared them. They showed main differences
depth. with respect to parameters: length effect, stress his-
Design bearing capacity (resistance) can be de- tory, Ip, su, v , progressive failure, plugging effect.
fined as Belowthe main methods estimating skin friction in
claysare shown:
Rc , d = Qb + Qs = Ab qb + A s ,i qs ; i ; d . (7) (a) American Petroleum Institute (API, 1984, 1987)
The equation by API (1984, 1987) suggests values
for as a function of cu as follows
cu 25
1 90 for 25 kPa < cu < 70 kPa,

= 1.0 for cu 25 kPa, (9)
0.5 for cu 70 kPa.


(b) NAVFAC DM 7.2 (1984). Proposition for coef-
ficient depends on type of pile (Table 1)

Table 1. vs. undrained shear strength (NAVFAC DM 7.2)

Soil Undrained shear

Pile type
consistency strength su [kPa]
Fig. 3. Piles side friction (shaftor skin friction)
and end bearing Very soft 012 1.00
Soft 1224 1.000.96
Timber and
Medium stiff 2448 0.960.75
concrete piles
5. -METHOD, SHORT-TERM LOAD Stiff 4896 0.750.48
CAPACITY FOR COHESIVE SOIL Very stiff 96192 0.480.33
Very soft 012 1.00
Soft 1224 1.000.92
5.1. UNIT SKIN FRICTION qs(z) Steel piles Medium stiff 2448 0.920.70
Stiff 4896 0.700.36
Very stiff 96192 0.360.19
The method is based on the undrained shear
strength of cohesive soils; thus, it is well suited for
As in the API method, effective stress effects are
short-term pile load capacity calculations. In this
neglected in the DM 7.2 method.
method, the skin friction is assumed to be propor-
(c) Equation based on undrained shear strength and
tional to the undrained shear strength su, of the cohe-
effective vertical stress, Kolk and Van der Velde
sive soil as follows and the interface shear stress qs
method [18]. Coefficient is based on the ratio
between the pile surface and the surrounding soil is
of undrained shear strength and effective stress.
determined as
A large database of pile skin friction results was
qs ( z ) = ( z ) su ( z ) (8) analyzed and correlated to obtain value (Table 2).
(d) Simple rules to obtain coefficient based on
where
su/ v proposed standard DNV-OS-J101-2007
su undrained shear strength,
adhesion coefficient depending on pile mate- 1
rial and clay type. 2 or su / v 1,
su / v
It is usually assumed that ultimate skin friction is = (10)
1
independent of the effective stress and depth. In real- 4 or su / v > 1.
ity, the skin friction is dependent on the effective 2 su / v

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 Pile load capacity calculation methods 87

Table 2. Skin friction factor dependent on su/ v

su/ v 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
0.95 0.77 0.70 0.65 0.62 0.60 0.56 0.55 0.53 0.52 0.50 0.49 0.48
su/ v 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 3.0 4.0
0.47 0.42 0.41 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.41 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.39 0.39

(e) Mechanism controlling friction fatigue, Randolph Figure 4 presents mobilized values of versus
[26] sud/ v 0 for all piles discussed in this paper. Studies
Randolph [26] suggested that progressive failure, have shown that the plasticity index has a largeimpact
which occurs in strain softening soil, was a possible on the mobilized ultimate shaft friction and corre-
mechanism controlling friction fatigue. The progres- sponding -values.
sive failure from the peak (peak) to the residual (res)
shaft resistance is shown in Fig. 4. Randolph [26]
proposed a reduction factor (Rf) which depends on the 5.2. UNIT BASE RESISTANCE qB
degree of softening and the pile compressibility K
2
1 For cohesive soils it can be shown, using Ter-
R f = 1 (1 )1 (11) zaghis bearing capacity equation, that the unit base
2 K
resistance of the pile is
where
qb = ( su )b N c (13)
peak
DL2 where (su)b is the undrained shear strength of the co-
( EA) pile
hesive soil under the base of the pile, and Nc is the
= res , K = , (12)
peak wres bearing capacity coefficient that can be assumed equal
to 9.0 (Skempton [29]).
EA axial stiffnes of pile,
wres post-peak displacement required to mobi-
lize the residual shaft resistance.
6. -METHOD, LONG-TERM
(f) Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, NGI-05 LOAD CAPACITY FOR COHESIVE
Karlsrud et al. [15], proposed modification of the
AND COHESIONLESS SOILS
NGI method by introducing correlation of sud/ v 0 and
Ip with coefficient presented by the trend lines
shown in Fig. 4. New data are included herein, all
6.1. UNIT SKIN RESISTANCE qs(z)
previous data have been re-interpreted.

The method is based on effective stress analysis

and is suited for long-term (drained) analyses of pile
load capacity. The unit skin resistance qs, between
the pile and the surrounding soil is calculated by
multiplying the friction factor, , between the pile
and soil by h

qs ( z ) = h = ( z ) K ( z ) v ( z ) = ( z ) v ( z ) (14)

where at rest pressure coefficient depends on the

installation mode, usually K = K0, with K0 =
(1 sin)(OCR)0.5 3,
OCR overconsolidation ratio,
v vertical effective stress.
Niazi and Mayne [24] presented 15 methods of
Fig. 4. Measured values of in relation to normalized strength, estimating pile unit shaft resistance within -method
for all piles (Karlsrud et al. [15]) and compared them. They showed main differences

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between them with respect to parameters: r , , ,

OCR, K, v , L, d, su, ID, Ip. The main methods esti-
mating skin frictionare shown below:
(a) according to NAVFAC DM 7.2(1984), =
(z)K(z) = tan (z)K(z), Tables 3 and 4.

Table 3. Pile skin friction angle ()

Pile type Pile-soil interface friction angle ()

Steel piles 20o
Timber piles 3/4
Concrete piles 3/4

Table 4. Lateral earth pressure coefficient (K)

Fig. 5. Chart for determination of -values
K (piles under K (piles
Pile type dependent on OCR and Ip, Karlsrud [16]
compression) under tension)
Driven H-piles 0.51.0 0.30.5
Driven displacement piles 6.2. UNIT BASE RESISTANCE qb
1.01.5 0.61.0
(round and square)
Driven displacement tapered Using Terzaghis bearing capacity equation, the
1.52.0 1.01.3
piles
unit base resistance at the base of the pile can be cal-
Driven jetted piles 0.40.9 0.30.6
culated
Bored piles (less than 60 cm
0.7 0.4
in diameter) qb = ( v )b N q + cb N c (15)

where
(b) proposition value of = (z)K(z) can be estimated ( v ) b vertical effective stress at the base of the
according to the following propositions:
pile,
Author Proposition of value cb cohesion of the soil under the base of the pile,
McClelland [21] = 0.15 to 0.35 for compression, Nc = (Nq 1)cot .
for driven piles = 0.10 to 0.25 for tension (for uplift piles)
= 0.15, 0.75, 1.2 for = 28, 35, 37, Values of bearing capacity factor Nq
for driven piles
Meyerhof [22] (a) Janbu [13] presented equations to estimate capacity
= 0.1, 0.2, 0.35 for = 33, 35, 37,
for bored piles coefficients Nq and Nc for various soils
= Ctan( 5)
Kraft and Lyons
[19] C = 0.7 for compression, C = 0.5 for tension
(uplift piles)

(c) Average K method

Earth pressure coefficient K can be averaged from
Ka, Kp and K0: K = (K0 + Ka Kp)/3 where: K0 = (1
sin ), Ka = tan2(45 /2), Kp = tan 2(45 + /2)
(d) Karlsrud [16]
Karlsrud [16] proposed to take into account the
plasticity index Ip in -method. Figure 5 shows dia-
gram of -values from as low as 0.045 for low-
plastic NC clays to about 2.0 to very stiff clays with
OCR of 40, which is the upper range of available pile Fig. 6. Shear surface around the base of a pile:
data. definition of the angle (Janbu [13])

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N q (tan + 1 + tan 2 ) 2 exp(2 tan ) friction angle decreases with depth. Hence Nq, which
is a function of the friction angle, also would reduce
where is an angle defining the shape of the shear with depth. Variation of other parameters with depth
has not been researched thoroughly. The end bearing
surface around the tip of a pile as shown in Fig. 6. The
capacity does not increase at the same rate as the in-
angle ranges from /3for soft clays to 0.58 for
creasing depth. Figure 7 attempts to formulate the end
dense sands.
bearing capacity of a pile with regard to relative den-
(b) Values of bearing capacity factor Nq according to sity (ID) and vertical effective stress v (Randolph et
NAVFAC DM 7.2(1984), see Table 5. al. [17]).

Table 5. Friction angle vs. Nq

[] 26 28 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Nq for driven piles 10 15 21 24 29 35 42 50 62 77 86 120 145
Nq for bored piles 5 8 10 12 14 17 21 25 30 38 43 60 72

If water jetting is used, should be limited 6.4. CRITICAL DEPTH FOR SKIN FRICTION
to 28. This is because water jets tend to loosen the (SANDY SOILS)
soil. Hence, higher friction angle values are not war-
ranted. Skin friction should increase with depth and it be-
comes a constant at a certain depth. This depth was
named a critical depth. The typical experimental
6.3. PARAMETERS THAT AFFECT
variation of skin friction with depth in a pile as evi-
THE END BEARING CAPACITY
dence for critical depth is shown in Fig. 8.

The following parameters affect the end bearing

capacity:
(c) Effective stress at pile tip,
(d) Friction angle at pile tip and below ( ),
(e) The dilation angle of soil (),
(f) Shear modulus (G),
(g) Poissons ratio (v).

Fig. 8. Variation of skin friction (Randolph et al. [27])

Remarks:
As one can see, experimental data do not support
the old theory with a constant skin friction below
the critical depth.
Skin friction tends to increase with depth and just
Fig. 7. End bearing capacity of a pile above the tip of the pile to attain its maximum
with regard to relative density (ID) and effective stress value. Skin friction would drop rapidly after that.
(Randolph et al. [27]) Skin friction does not increase linearly with depth
as was once believed.
Most of these parameters have been bundled into No satisfactory theory exists at present to explain
the bearing capacity factor Nq. It is known that the the field data.

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Due to lack of a better theory, engineers are still 6.5. CRITICAL DEPTH FOR END BEARING
using critical depth theory of the past. CAPACITY (SANDY SOILS)

Reasons for limiting skin friction

Pile end bearing capacity in sandy soils is related
The following reasons have been offered to explain to effective stress. Experimental data indicate that end
why skin friction does not increase with depth indefi- bearing capacity does not increase with depth indefi-
nitely, as suggested by the skin friction equation: nitely. Due to lack of a valid theory, engineers use the
1. K value is a function of the soil friction angle ( ). same critical depth concept adopted for skin friction
Friction angle tends to decrease with depth. Hence, as forthe end bearing capacity. As shown in Fig. 11,
K value decreases with depth (Kulhawy [20]). the end bearing capacity was assumed to increase till
2. Skin friction equation does not hold true at high the critical depth. It is clear that there is a connection
stress levels due to readjustment of sand particles. between end bearing capacity and skin friction since
3. Reduction of local shaft friction with increasing the same soil properties act in both cases, such as ef-
pile depth, see Fig. 9 (Rajapakse [28]). fective stress, friction angle, and relative density. On
the other hand, two processes are vastly different in
nature.

Fig. 9. Example of unit skin friction distribution

(Rajapakse [28])
Fig. 11. Unit base bearing capacity and critical depth
Let us assume that a pile was driven to a depth of
3 m and unit skin friction was measured at a depth of The following approximations were assumed for
1.5 m. Then let us assume that the pile was driven fur- the critical depth within the bearing zone:
ther to a depth of 4.5 m and unit skin friction was meas- Critical depth for loose sand = 10 D (D is the pile
ured at the same depth of 1.5 m. It has been reported that diameter or the width),
unit skin friction at 1.5 m is less in the second case. Critical depth for medium dense sand = 15 D,
NAVFAC DM 7.2 gives maximum value of skin Critical depth for dense sand = 20 D.
friction and end bearing capacity is achieved after 20 The critical depth concept is a gross approximation
diameters within the bearing zone. The following that cannot be supported by experimental evidence.
approximations were assumed for the critical depth:
Critical depth for loose sand = 10 D (D is the pile
diameter or the width), 7. ESTIMATING PILE LOAD CAPACITY
Critical depth for medium dense sand = 15 D, BASED ON CPT RESULTS
Critical depth for dense sand = 20 D.

7.1. INTRODUCTION

Owing to the difficulties and the uncertainties in

assessing the pile capacity on the basis of the soil
strength-deformation characteristics, the most fre-
quently followed design practice is to refer to the for-
mulae correlating directly the pile capacity compo-
nents of qb and qs to the results of the prevalent in situ
tests. Within the domain of these in situ methods, the
Fig. 10. Critical depth: dc critical depth, fcd unit skin friction cone penetration test (CPT) is one of the most fre-
at critical depth, fcd = K c tan, quently used investigation tools for pile load capacity
c effective stress at critical depth evaluations. Ever since the first use of CPT in geo-

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 Pile load capacity calculation methods 91

technical investigations, research efforts have ad- Semi-empirical methods with the purely CPT pa-
vanced the very elementary idea of considering it as rameters, the additional estimated parameters are
mini-pile foundation. This has resulted in plethora of taken into account (r, , , K, v 0 , L, d, su, ID).
correlative relationships being developed between the Indirect CPT methods employ soil parameters,
CPT readings cone resistance (qc) or more proper such as friction angle and undrained shear strength
corrected cone resistance (qt), sleeve friction ( fs), and obtained from cone data to estimate bearing ca-
shoulder pore water pressure (u2) and the pile capacity pacity. The indirect methods apply strip-footing
components of qb and qs. bearing capacity theories, and neglect soil com-
As commonly reported (e.g., Ardalan et al. [2]; pressibility and strain softening. These methods
Cai et al. [5], [6]), there are two main approaches to are rarely used in engineering practice.
accomplish axial pile capacity analysis from CPT
data: (a) rational (or indirect) methods and (b) direct
methods. 7.2. DIRECT CPT METHODS

In one viewpoint, the cone penetrometer can be

considered as a mini-pile foundation as noted by Ar-
dalan et al. [2] and Eslami and Fellenius (1997). The
mean effective stress, compressibility and rigidity of
the surrounding soil medium affect the pile and the
cone work in a similar manner.This concepthas led to
the development of many direct CPT methods.

Fig. 12. CPT based evaluations of pile capacity

(Niaziand Mayne [24])

Direct CPT methods used the similarity of the

cone resistance with the pile unit resistances. Some
methods may use the cone sleeve friction in deter-
mining unit shaft resistance. Several methods mod-
ify the resistance values to consider the difference
in diameter between the pile and the cone. The in-
fluence of mean effective stress, soil compressibil-
ity, and rigidity affect the pile and the cone in equal
measure, which eliminates the need to supplement
the field data with laboratory testing and to calcu-
late intermediate values, such as K, and Nq.
Pure empirical methods initial formulations
were based solely on cone resistance (qc) derived
from mechanical cone penetrometers. Subse-
quently, with the introduction of the electrical
cone penetrometer, the additional channels meas- Fig. 13. Upper and lower empirical values
uring sleeve friction ( fs), and porewater pressures of different piles in coarse grained soils for:
(u1 and u2) were considered. (a) qs(z); (b) qb (after Kempfert and Becker [17])

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Unit skin resistance qs(z) and unit base resistance qb mon practice is by means of a static loading test. The
capacity is the total ultimate soil resistance of the
Based on the load test database up to 1000 load
pile determined from the measured load-settlement
tests on precast concrete, cast-in-place concrete, steel
behavior. It can be defined as the load for which
pipe, screw cast-in-place, and micro piles etc.,
rapid settlement occurs under sustained or slight
Kempfert and Becker [17] developed correlations for
increase of the applied load the pile plunges. This
pile qs(z) and qb from CPT qc and su. Their results,
definition is inadequate, however, because large set-
presented in the form of empirically derived charts
tlement is required for a pile to plunge and is not
with upper and lower bound estimates of qs(z) and qb
obtained in the test. Therefore, the pile capacity or
(Fig. 13), have been integrated into the national Ger-
ultimate load must be determined by some definition
man recommendations for piles.
based on the load-settlement data recorded in the
Partial embedment reduction factor test.
Load-displacement curves obtained from axial
White and Bolton [31] studied, the causes of low load tests on pile foundations exhibit differing shapes
values of qb/qc in sand in contrast with qb = qc for and resulting conclusions. There is only a single value
steady deep penetration (e.g., cavity expansion solu- of load termed capacity that is selected from the
tions and strain path method). They examined a data- entire curve for design purposes. Yet, there are at least
base of 29 load tests on a variety of CE piles (steel 45 different criteria available for defining the axial
pipe piles, Franki piles with enlarged base, and precast capacity (Hirany and Kulhawy [8]). An example of
square, cylindrical and octagonal concrete piles) and a load test conducted on a 0.76 m diameter, 16.9 m
CPT qc data. The low value of qb/qc, which forms long drilled shaft installed at Georgia Institute of
basis of the apparent scale effect on the diameter, can Technology is shown in Fig. 15.
be attributed topartial embedment in the underlying
hard layer (Fig. 14), whereas, partial mobilization was
explained by defining failure according to a plunging
criterion. They concluded that any reduction of qc
when estimating qb of CE piles in sand should be
linked to the above factors rather than pile diameter.

Fig. 15. Comparison of capacity interpretation criteria

from axial pile load tests (Hirany and Kulhawy [8])

When interpreting loading tests, the failure con-

dition can be interpreted in several different ways.
Tomlinson [30] lists some of the recognized criteria
and list disadvantages and advantages of pile tests in
general. The main interpreted failure loads corre-
Fig. 14. Partial embedment reduction factor on qb spond to settlements equal to 0.1d, where d is the
(after White and Bolton [31]) equivalent pile diameter referring to an equivalent
circle diameter for square and hexagonal piles. Such
definition does not consider the elastic shortening of
8. PILE LOAD CAPACITY DETERMINED the pile, which can be substantial for long piles,
FROM STATIC LOAD TESTING while it is negligible for short piles. In reality, set-
tlement relates to a movement of superstructure (pile
with soil), and it does not relate to the capacity as
The pile bearing capacity is necessary to verify a soil response to the loads applied to the pile in
with the assumption of the design. The most com- a static loading test.

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 Pile load capacity calculation methods 93

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