Construction Technology-IV

Under-Reamed Pile

Under-Reamed Pile
1. GENERAL:
Under-reamed piles are (1) bored cast-in-situ pile and (2) bored
compaction concrete piles having one or more bulbs formed by suitably
enlarging the borehole of the pile stem. With the provision of bulbs, sufficient
bearing or anchorage is available. Typical details of bored cast-in-situ under-

reamed pile foundation are shown in figure 1.0.

1=455 Approx, 2=30-455 Approx, Du= Normally 2.5 D
1a. Section of single Under-Reamed Pile
Multi Under-Reamed Pile

1b.Section

of

Fig 1 .TYPICAL DETAILS OF BORED CAST in situ UNDER-REAMED

PILE Foundation
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Construction Technology-IV

Under-Reamed Pile

All dimensions are in millimetres

These piles find application in widely varying situations in different types
of soils where foundations are required to be taken down to a certain depth in
view of considerations like the need
(a) To avoid the undesirable effect of seasonal moisture changes as in
expansive soils;
(b) To reach firm strata;
(c) To obtain adequate capacity for downward, upward and lateral loads and
moments; or
(d) To take the foundations below scour level.
When the ground consists of expansive soil, for example black cotton soil,
the bulb of the under-reamed pile provides anchorage against uplift due to
swelling pressure apart from the increased bearing. In case, of filled-up or
otherwise weak strata overlying the firm strata, enlarged base in the form of
under-reamed bulb in firm strata provides larger bearing area and piles of
greater bearing capacity can be made. In loose to medium pervious sandy and
silty strata, bored compaction piles can be used as the process of compaction
increases the load bearing capacity of the piles. Under-reamed piles may also be
used under situations where the vibration and noise caused during construction
of piles are to be avoided. The provision of bulb(s) is of special advantage in
under-reamed piles to resist uplift and they can be used as anchors.
2.

TERMINOLOGY:
Batter Pile (Raker Pile): the pile which is installed at an angle to the vertical.
Bearing Pile: a pile formed in the ground for transmitting the load of structure
to the soil by the resistance developed at its tip or along its surface or both. It
may be formed either vertically or at an inclination (Batter Pile) and may be
required to take uplift. When it is primarily meant for resisting uplift or pull it is
called an Anchor Pile. If the pile supports the load primarily by resistance
developed at the pile point or base it is referred to as an End Bearing Pile and if
the load is supported primarily by friction along its surface, the pile is termed as
Friction Pile.
Bored Cast in situ Pile: a pile formed within the ground by excavating or
boring a hole within it, with or without the use of a temporary casing and
subsequently filling it with plain or reinforced concrete. When the casing is left
permanently it is termed as cased pile and when the casing is taken out it is
termed as uncased pile. In installing a bored pile, the sides of the borehole
(when it does not stand by itself) is required to be stabilized with the aid of a
temporary casing, or with the aid of drilling mud of suitable consistency.
Bored Compaction Pile: a bored cast in situ pile with or without bulb(s) in
which the compaction of surrounding ground and freshly filled concrete in pile
bore is simultaneously achieved by suitable method. If the pile with bulb(s), it is
known under-reamed bored compaction pile.

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Construction Technology-IV
Under-Reamed Pile: a bored cast in situ or bored compaction concrete pile
with an enlarged bulb(s) made by either cutting or scooping out the soil or by
any other suitable process.
Multi-Under-Reamed Pile: an under-reamed pile having more than one bulb.
The pile having two bulbs is known as double under-reamed pile.
Cut-Off Level: It is the level where the installed pile is cut-off to support the
Under-Reamed
Pile
pile caps or beams or any other structural components at that
level.

3. MERITS & DEMERITS:

MERITS:

length can be varied

removed soil can be compared with design data
penetration tests can be carried out in boreholes
very large bases can be formed in favourable ground
drilling tools can break up boulders and other obstructions
pile is designed to working stresses
very long lengths possible
little noise and vibration during construction
no ground heave

DEMERITS:

piles liable to squeezing and necking in soft soils

special techniques required for concreting in water bearing ground
concrete cannot be inspected after installation
enlarged bases cannot be formed in collapsible soil
cannot be easily extended above ground
boring may cause instability and settlement of adjacent structures

4. POSSIBLE APPLICATION OF U/R PILE:

Where a soil layer of adequate bearing capacity lies too deep for the
economic use of conventional footings.

Where the soil layer(s) immediately underlying a structure are soft or

poorly compacted.

Where the soil layer(s) immediately underlying a structure are moderately

or highly variable in nature.

On sites where the soil strata, and in some cases the ground surface are
steeply inclined.

On river or shoreline sites where tidal or wave action or scouring may vary
the amount of material near the surface.

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Construction Technology-IV

For structures transmitting very high concentrated loads.

For structures transmitting significant horizontal or inclined loads.

For structures which structurally or functionally may be sensitive to

differential settlement.

Under-Reamed Pile
5.

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF U/R PILE:

Normally the following equipment will be required in

manual operation:
a) An auger;
b) An under-reamer;
c) A boring guide; and
d) Accessories like spare extensions, cutting tool,
concreting
Funnel, etc;
e) Drilling bucket.

For the piles of size larger

than 30 cm and for larger
depths
additional
equipment required will be
a portable tripod hoist with
a manually operated winch. For piles in
high ground water table and unstable soil
conditions, boring and under-reaming shall
Short Flight
Auger
be carried out with bentonite
slurryClay
using
suitable equipment. Tremie pipe shall be
used for concreting.

The
additional
equipment
required for under-reamed compaction pile are the following:
a) Drop weight for driving the core assembly, and
Drilling Bucket b) Pipe or solid core.

normally

The selection of equipment and accessories will depend upon the type of
under-reamed piles, site conditions and nature of strata. Also it will
depend on economic considerations and availability of manually or power
operated equipment.

Bore holes may be made by earth augers. In case of manual boring, an

auger boring guide shall be used to keep the bores vertical or to the
desired inclination and in position.

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Construction Technology-IV

After the bore is made to the required depth, enlarging of the base shall
be carried out by means of an under-reaming tool.

In ground with high water table having unstable pile bores, boring and
under-reaming may be carried out using a suitable drilling mud. In
normally met soil strata, drilling mud can be poured from top while boring
and under-reaming can be done by normal spiral earth auger and underreamer. The level of drilling mud should always be about one metre above
water table or the level at which caving in occurs. In case of very unstable
strata with excessive caving in, continuous circulation of drilling mud using
suitable pumping equipment and tripod, etc, along with modified auger
and under-reamer may be used.

Sometimes permeable strata overlying a rim clayey stratum may be cased

and normal boring and under-reaming operation may be carried out in
clayey stratum.

To avoid irregular shape and widening of bore hole in very loose strata at
Under-Reamed
Pile
top, a casing pipe of suitable length may be used
temporarily during
boring and concreting.
For improved control over the inclination of batter piles, a tripod hoist with
fixed pulley should be used for lowering in of under-reaming tools.

For placing the concrete in bore holes full of drilling mud or subsoil water,
tremie pipe of not less than 150 mm diameter with flap valve at the
bottom should be used.

For batter under-reamed piles, the reinforcement cage should be placed

guiding it by a chute or any other suitable method. If concreting is not
done by tremie, it should be done by chute.
In under-reamed compaction piles, suitable devices should be used for
guiding the movement of drop weight and specified core assembly for its
vertical driving. For operating the drop weights of adequate capacity,
suitable winch with hoisting attachment should be used.

6.

DESIGN CONSIDERATION:
The diameter of Under-reamed bulb (D u) is normally 2.5 times (may
vary from 2 to 3 times) the stem diameter (D) depending on the feasibility
of construction and design requirements. For piles up to 30 cm diameter,
the spacing of the bulbs should not exceed 1.5 times the diameter of the
bulb. For piles greater than 30 cm, spacing can be reduced to 1.25 times
the stem diameter.
The minimum diameter of stem for borehole needing stabilization by
drilling mud should be 25 cm.
The top most bulbs should not be at a min. depth of two times the
bulb diameter. In expensive soils, it should not be less than 1.75 m below
G.L. the minimum clearance below the underside of the pile cap

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Construction Technology-IV
embedded in the ground and the bulb should be a minimum of 1.5 times
the bulb diameter.
7.

DESIGN OF PILE CAP:

Pile caps are generally designed considering pile reaction as either
concentrated loads or distributed loads. The depth of pile cap should be
adequate for the shear for diagonal tension and it should also provide for
necessary anchorage of reinforcement both for the column and the piles.
The pile caps may be designed by assuming that the load from
column or pedestal is dispersed at 455 from the top of the cap up to the
mid-depth of the pile cap from the base of the column or pedestal. The
reaction from piles may also be taken to be distributed at 45 from the
edge of the pile, up to the mid-depth of the pile cap. On this basis, the
maximum bending moment and shear forces should be worked out at
critical sections.

8.

SPACING:
Generally the C/C spacing for bored under-reamed piles in a group
should be two times the bulb diameter (2D u). It should not be less than
1.5Du. For under-grade beams, the spacing of pile should generally not
exceed 3 m.

Under-Reamed
Pile
In under-reamed compaction piles, the spacing
should not be less
than 1.5Du.
9.

GROUP EFFICINCY:
The group efficiency of under-reamed piles at a normal spacing of
2Du is equal to the safe load of an individual pile multiplied by the number
of piles in the group. For piles at spacing of 1.5D u, the safe load assigned
per pile in a group should be reduced by 10 %.
In under-reamed compaction piles, at the usual spacing of 1.5D u, the
group capacity will be equal to the safe load of an individual pile
multiplied by the number of piles in the group.

10.

CONSTRUCTION:
Normally the equipment required for manual operations are
mentioned in TOPIC 5. For piles of deeper and larger size than 30 cm, a
portable tripod hoist with manually operated which is required. For
compaction piles, the additional equipment required is drop weight for
driving core assemblies and pipe or solid core.
When employing the rotary excavation method, an enlarged base
(under-ream), also known as bell, can be created, which increases the
base bearing capacity of piles in competent soil strata.

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Construction Technology-IV
In its closed position, the underreamer fits inside the straight section of
a pile shaft, and can be expanded at the
base of the pile to produce the enlarged
base.
The under-ream can be of
different shapes. The most common is
the standard reamer, usually cut at 45
or 60 degree angle, with the maximum
diameter of the under-ream being not
more than three times the diameter of
the
shaft.
Another type is the bucket reamer,
which has a bell shape.
The belling tool has hinged arms, which can be pushed outward by a
downward force on the Kelly (drill rod). The
rotation of the tool in the borehole cuts
away the soil, which is carried to the
center. When an upward force is applied to
the Kelly, the cutter arms are retracted
and the under-reaming tool is lifted. The
spoil is then removed by unhinging the
bottom of the tool. Cutting of a bell can be
a time-consuming process, compared to
excavating a straight shaft, because only a
limited amount of soil can be removed at
one pass.
Belling buckets normally cut base
diameters of up to 3700 mm, although diameters of as much as 7300 mm
are possible with special equipment. It is usually not practical to form bells
Under-Reamed Pile
on piles having shafts of less than 760 mm diameter. Although the base of
a mechanically under-reamed pile can be cleaned by specially designed
mechanical tools, this is a somewhat tedious operation. It is also possible
to clean the base manually, but this excavation technique can be
hazardous and costly.
Under-reaming is primarily used in stiff cohesive soils. During the
construction process in unstable soils (loose and water-saturated), there is
a danger of collapse of the bell; the strength of the soil, the presence of
soil layers, and the possible inflow of groundwater in pervious strata are
important factors, which need to be considered.
Close attention should be given to the planning and execution of the
belling operation. Besides the danger of collapse of the excavation and
decompression of the soil adjacent to the bell, it is also possible that loose
soil is deposited beneath the under-reaming tool, causing the tool to "ride
up" and affecting the bearing capacity of the pile base.

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Construction Technology-IV
The cost advantages of under-reamed piles are due to the reduced
pile shaft diameter, resulting in less concrete needed to replace the
excavated material. However, in difficult soil conditions such as boulder
clays containing lenses of silt or sand, or in loose, non-cohesive soils, it is
practically impossible to form an under-reamed pile base.
The following operations are involved in construction of underreamed pile foundation:
a) Boreholes may be made with earth augers. In manual boring, an
auger boring guide is used to keep the bores vertical or at the
desired inclination and in position.
b) Drilling mud (bentonite) may be used for boring and underreaming at a site with high water table.
c) To avoid irregular shape and widening of bore hole in very loose
strata at top, a casing pipe of suitable length may be used.
d) The reinforcement cage should preferably be placed guiding it by
a chute or any other means.
e) In order to achieve proper under-reamed bulb, the depth of
borehole should be checked before starting under-reaming. It
should also be checked during under-reaming. Any extra soil at
the bottom of borehole should be removed by auger before reinserting the under-reaming tool.
f) Completion of the desired under-reamed bulb is ascertained by
vertical movement of the handle and when no further soil is cut.
g) In multi under-reamed piles, the boring is first completed to the
depth required for the first bulb (top). Only after completing
under-reaming bulb, the boring is extended further down to
Under-Reamed Pile
second bulb and so on.
h) The pile is to be installed as correctly as possible, both at the
correct location and truly vertical. Piles should not deviate by
more than 75 mm or one-quarter the stem diameter whichever is
less. For piles of diameter more than 600 mm, the deviation may
be 75 mm or 10% of the stem diameter.
Any deviation beyond permissible limits from the designed
location, alignment or load capacity shall be noted and adequate
measures taken well before the concreting of the pile cap and
plinth beams.
When defective piles are formed, they shall be removed or left
in place whichever is convenient without affecting the
performance of adjacent piles or the cap as whole.

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Construction Technology-IV
i) The top of the conc. Pile should be brought above the cut-off
level to permit removal of all laitance and weak concrete before
capping an to ensure good concrete at the cut-off level for proper
embedment into pile cap.
j) Where cut-off level is less than 1.5 m below working level,
concrete shall be cast to minimum of 300 mm above cut-off level.
For every excess of 0.3 m over 1.5 meter, additional 50 mm shall
be cast over and above 300 mm.
When tremie pipe is employed, it shall be cast to piling
platform level to permit overflow of concrete for visual inspection
or to a minimum of 1 m above the cut-off level.
When the cut-off level is below the ground water level, there is
a need to maintain a pressure on the unset concrete equal to or
greater then the water pressure and a length of extra concrete
above the cut-off level may be permitted to provide this.
k) The pile should be subjected 50 mm into the cap concrete.
11.

CONCRETING:
Concreting should be done as soon as possible after completion of
the borehole. The borehole full of drilling mud should be concreted
between 12 to 24 Hour depending on the stability of the hole. The method
of concreting should be such that the entire volume of pile bore is filled up
without formation of voids or mixing of soil and drilling mud in concrete.
For placing concrete in pile bore, funnel should be used.
In the empty boreholes for under-reamed piles a small quality of
concrete is poured to give about a 100 mm layer of concrete at the
bottom. Reinforcement is lowered next and positioned correctly. The
concrete is poured to fill the borehole. Care shall be taken to ensure that
soil is not scrapped from sides if rodding is done for compaction. Vibrators
shall not be used.
If the subsoil water level is confined to the bucket length portion at
the toe, the seepage is low and the water should be bailed out before
commencing concreting. In case the pile bore is stabilized with drilling
Under-Reamed
mud or by maintaining water head with in the borehole,
the bottomPile
of
borehole should be cleaned by flushing it with fresh drilling mud and the
pile bore be checked before concreting. Concreting shall be done by
tremie method.

12.

CONCRETING BY TREMIE PIPE:

Slump of concrete shall range between 150 mm to 200 mm. In case
of tremie concreting of piles of smaller diameter and depth up to 10 m,
the minimum cement content should be 350 kg/m 3 of concrete. For piles
of larger diameter and/or deeper piles, the minimum cement content
should be 400 kg/m3 of concrete.

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Construction Technology-IV
The tremie has a valve at the bottom. It is lowered with valve closed
at the start and filled up with concrete. The valve is then opened to permit
concrete to flow out, which causes upward displacement of drilling mud.
The pouring should be continuous and the tremie is gradually lifted up
such that the pipe opening remains always in concrete. In the final stage
the quantity should be sufficient so that on final withdrawal some concrete
spills on the ground.
The following precautions should be taken while concreting with a tremie
pipe:
a) Tremie should be always penetrate well into the concrete with an
adequate margin of safety against withdrawal of pipe. The tremie
method should not be changed for a given pile, to prevent the
laitance from being entrapped in the pile.
b) In the case of withdrawal of tremie pipe accidently or to remove a
choke, the tremie may be reintroduced in a manner to prevent
fragmentation of laitance or scrum lying on the top of the
concrete deposited already in the bore.
c) In the exceptional case of interruption of concreting which can be
resumed in one or two hours, the tremie should be taken out of
concrete. Instead, it should be raised and lowered slowly, from
time to time, to prevent concrete around tremie from setting.
Concreting should be resume by introducing a slightly of the
party set concrete. If concreting cannot be resumed before the
final set of concrete, the pile may be rejected or used with
modification. The whole of tremie tube should be cleaned before
and after use.
13.

BORED COMPACTION PILE:

In this pile compaction of the surrounding ground as well as fresh
concrete in the bore simultaneously accomplished. The pile is filled up
with concrete, without placing reinforcement. Immediately the core
assembly shall be driven and extra concrete shall be poured in
simultaneously to keep the level of concrete up to ground level. If a hollow
driving pump is used in core assembly, the pipe is withdrawn after filling it
with fresh concrete.
In this compaction piles it shall be ensured that concreting is done
uninterruptedly. Accidental withdrawal should be completely avoided.

14. GRADE BEAMS:

The grade beams supporting the walls shall be designed taking due
account of arching effect due to masonry above beam. The beam with
masonry due to composite action behaves as a deep beam.

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Construction Technology-IV
For the design of beams, a maximum bending moment of wl2/50,
where w is uniformly distributed load per metre run (worked out by
considering a maximum height of two storeys in structures with load
bearing walls and one storey in framed structures) and l is the effective
span in metres, will be taken if the beams are supported during
construction till the masonry above it gains strength. The value of bending
moment shall be increased to wl2/30 if the beams are not supported. For
considering composite action the minimum height of wall shall be 0.6
times the beam span. The brick strength should not be less than 30

kgf/cm2. For concentrated loads and other loads which come directly over
the beam, full bending moment should be considered.
2a. Beam in Expansive Soil

2b. Beam in Non-Expansive Soil

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Construction Technology-IV
All dimensions are in millimetres

FIG. 2 TYPICAL SECTIONS OF GRADE BEAMS

The minimum overall depth of grade beams shall be 150 mm. The
reinforcement at bottom should be kept continuous in all the beams and
an equal amount may be provided at top to a distance of quarter span
both ways from the pile centres.
The longitudinal reinforcement both at bottom and top should not be
less than three bars of 10 mm diameter mild steel (or equivalent
deformed steel).
Stirrups of 6-mm diameter bars should be at 300 mm spacing which
should be reduced to 100 mm at the door openings near the wall edge up
to a distance of three times the depth of beam. No shear connectors are
necessary in wall.
In expansive soil, the grade beams shall be kept a minimum of 80
mm clear off the ground. In other soils, the beams may rest on ground
over a levelling concrete course of about 80 mm (see Fig. 2). In this case,
part load may be considered to be borne by the ground and it may be
accounted for in the design of piles. However, the beams should be
designed as per SECOND PARAGRAPH OF 14. GRADE BEAM.
In case of exterior beams over piles in expansive soils, a ledge
projection of 75 mm thickness and extending 80 mm into ground (See Fig.
2) shall be provided on outer side of beam.

15. REINFORCEMENT OF PILE:

The provision of reinforcement will depend on nature and magnitude
of loads, nature of strata and method of installation. It should be adequate
for vertical load, lateral load and moments, acting individually or in
combination. It may be curtailed at appropriate depth subject to provision
given below first three paragraphs.
The minimum area of longitudinal reinforcement (any type or grade)
within the pile shaft shall be 0.4 percent of the sectional area calculated
on the basis of outside area of the shaft or casing if used.
Reinforcement is to be provided in the full length irrespective of any
other considerations and is further subject to the condition that a
minimum number of three 10-mm diameter mild steel or three 8-mm
diameter high strength steel bars shall be provided. The transverse
reinforcement as circular stirrups shall not be less than 6-mm diameter
mild steel bars at a spacing of not more than the stem diameter or 30 cm
whichever is less. In under-reamed compaction piles, a minimum number
of four, 12-mm diameter mild steel or four 10-mm diameter high strength
steel bars shall be provided. For piles of lengths exceeding 5 m and of

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Construction Technology-IV
37.5 cm diameter, a minimum number of six 12-mm diameter bars of mild
or high strength steel shall be provided. For piles exceeding 40 cm
diameter, a minimum number of six 12-mm diameter mild or high
strength steel bars shall be provided. The circular stirrups for piles of
lengths exceeding 5 m and diameter exceeding 37.5 cm shall be of 8 mm
diameter bars.
For piles subjected to uplift loads, adequate reinforcement shall be
provided to take full uplift which shall not be curtailed at any stage.
For piles up to 30 cm diameter, if concreting is done by tremie,
equivalent amount of steel placed centrally may be provided.
The minimum clear cover over the longitudinal reinforcement shall
be 40 mm. In aggressive environment of sulphates, etc, it may be
increased to 75 mm.

Ankit Patel (5108)