512 Chapter 11 11.7 Pile Foundations Unit point % yD bg > Figure 11.11 Nature of variation of unit point UD = 1,10 resistance in a homogeneous sand Meyerhof’s Method for Estimating Q, Sand ‘The point bearing capacity, q,. ofa pile in sand generally increases with the depth of embedment in the bearing stratum and reaches a maximum value at an embed- ment ratio of Ly/D = (Ly/D)q,. Note that in a homogeneous soil L is equal to the actual embedment length of the pile, L. (See Figure 11.10a.) However, where a pile has penetrated into a bearing stratum, L < L. (See Figure 11.66.) Beyond the critical embedment ratio, (L4/D)qq, the value of 9, remains constant (q, = q). ‘That is, as shown in Figure 11.11 for the case of a homogeneous soil, L = Ly, For piles in sand,’ = 0, and Eq. (11.13) simpifies to Qp = Andy = Aya’ NG (aL.1s) The variation of Nj with sol friction angle 4" is shown in Figure 11.12. However, Q, should not exceed the limiting value Ay; that i, AMINE = Aa, (11.16) ‘The limiting point resistance is 4 = 0.5 p,Nj tan! (11.17) where ny = atmospheric pressure (=100 N/m? or 2000 Ib/ft2) ' = effective soil friction angle of the bearing stratum11.7 Meyerhofs Method for Estimating Q, 513 Figure 11.12 Variation of the maim values of Mf with oi 1 45. friction angle ¢ (After Meyerhof, Soll feetion angle, 4'(dep) 1976) ed ne ‘On the basis of field observations, Meyerhof (1976) also suggested that the ul- timate point resistance q, in a homogeneous granular soil (L = Ly) may be ob- tained from standard penetration numbers as (1s) where ‘Ng = the average value of the standard penetration number near the pile point (about 10 above and 4D below the pile point) atmospheric pressure (~100 KN/? or 2000 lb/ft?) ‘A good example of the concept of the critical embedment ratio can be found from the field load tests on a pile in sand at the Ogeechee River site reported by Vesic (1970). The pile tested was a steel pile with a diameter of 457 mm (18 in.). Table 11.4 shows the ultimate resistance at various depths. Figure 11.13 shows the plot of g, with depth obtained from the field tests along with the range of standard penetration resistance at the site, From the figure, the following observations can be made. 1. There is a limiting value of gy, For the tests under consideration, it is about 12,000 KN/m. 2. The (L/D), value is about 16 to 18.514 Chapter 11 Pile Foundations Table 114 Ultimate Point Resistance, q,, of Test Pile atthe Ogeechee River Site as Reported by Vesic (1970) Pie Dent ot fiameter,D ——embedment, L ion tnt 40 tah 0457 “302 661 3.308 0.457 612 1339 9365 0.457 887 194 ar 0.457 120 2626 11587 0.457 15.00 3282 i971 Pie point sistance, g(kNie®) © 40008000 12,000 16,000 20,000 pa ite point 4 vance . ‘Range of . sree é Nowe ge z Figure 11.13 Vesic's pile test (1970) result—variation of g, and No with depth 3. The average Neo value is about 30 for L/D > (L/D)q. Using Eq, (11.18), the limiting point resistance is 4p, Nqg = (4)(100)(30) = 12,000. This value is genes- ally consistent with the field observation. Clay = 0) For piles in saturated clays under undrained conditions (= (11.19) where ¢, = undrained cohesion of the soil below the tip of the pile,