A CASE STUDY ON UNDERPINNING

OF PILE FOUNDATION

Er.A.KARTHIKEYAN,M.E,MIE.,MIGS
Chartered Engineer (India),
Professional Engineer (ECI),
Structural & Geo-Tech Consultant,
Arumbakkam, Chennai-106.
 INTRODUCTION
• A Ground + two storey
residential building
constructed at Pondicherry by
the year of 2012 with pile
foundation but without soil
test and structural design.
• When the neighbor
constructed Ground + three
storey residential building
abutting above building then
pressure over lapse and
vigorous cracks observed.
DISTRESS NOTICED
 BUILDING PLAN

GROUND FLOOR PLAN FIRST FLOOR PLAN SECOND FLOOR PLAN

SOIL TEST
 Foundation system provided
• We studied structural design supplied by the
contractor in this we found that they have
gone bored pile of diameter 300 mm rest at
6m @ N Value zero.
• All piles were connected by grade beam of size
9” X 1’3’ with reinforcement of bottom 2-10#
and top 2-10#. There was no pile cap. But they
inserted the column reinforcement inside the
grade beam.
 CRITICAL PROBLEM
• The contractor has not done any soil
investigation as well as proper design as per
appropriate code of practice insisted by
Bureau of Indian Standard/National Building
Code.
• The diameter of pile and pile depth are not
sufficient.
• They rest the pile at N value Zero. This was
highly vulnerable for settlement.
 REMEDY
• The sub soil is a clay soil which is venerable to
moisture so soil treatment is emphasized.
• The site condition does not permit for optimized
underpinning methods.
• However the curved staircase portion required
underpinning i.e new foundation of strengthen
the existing foundation.
• Lime and cement mixture with water in a ratio of
1:1 injected to a depth of 14m from floor level
with maximum pressure of 4kg/Sq.cm
REMEDY
 WHY GROUTING?
• Grouting is nothing but injection of chemicals
like cement, Lime, flyash, bitumen or other
chemicals with controlled pressure into the
soil mass which is weak like more porous or
soft to improve better shear strength
• Grouting occupies less space and less
excavation
COMPACTION GROUTING DETAILS
 ADVANTAGES OF LIME+CEMENT
GROUT TREATMENT
• Lime+ Cement grout treatment of clay soil can be summarized
as follows:
(1) The plasticity index can drops sharply by the factor of 3 or
more.
(2) Plastic limit generally increases and liquid limit decreases.
(3) The soil binder content decrease substantially
(4) The shrinkage and swell decreases.
(5) Lime and water accelerate disintegration of clay clots during
pulverization soil can become friable.
(6) Unconfined compressive strength increases considerably
(Ucs)
(7) Load bearing value increases substantially.
(8) Lime facilitates drying of the soil where there more moisture
content.
 LIMITATIONS
• This is not cost effective technique.
• If there is any void in the sub soil system which
requires more grout leads further more
uneconomical and this spoils interior of the
house.
• This treatment required skilled labor as well as
appropriate equipment.
• After lime + cement injection, the curing time
required for not less than 3 weeks then only
further construction activity to be carried out.
 CONCLUSION
• Soil test is as important as blood test for diagnosis.
• Meticulous soil test is required to adapt pile foundation.
• Pile foundation is not a fashion but it is purely Engineering.
• Contractor should not be chosen only based on L1 quotation.
• Taj Mahal may not be a monument if Shah Jahan got the
quotation and gone for the least one.
• Repair and Rehabilitation of foundation called underpinning is
not only costly process but also cumbersome.
• There was no test conducted after the rehabilitation to ensure
the performance but no call from client since 2015 so
assumed the operation was success.
 Thank you
• Civil Engineering is not an intellectual practice
even it has intellectual content but it is…….
Action oriented
-Prof. Ralph B.Peck