➢ Types of Pile Foundations Based on Construction Method:

Types Description Graphics

➢ Cast-in-situ piles are concrete pile. These piles are
constructed by drilling holes in the ground to the
Cast-in-situ required depth and then filling the hole with
Pile concrete.
Foundations ➢ Reinforcements are also used in the concrete as per
the requirements. These piles are of small diameter
compared to drilled piers.
➢ Cast-in-situ piles are straight bored piles or with one
or more bulbs at intervals are casted.
➢ The piles with one or more bulbs are called as under-
reamed piles.

➢ Driven and Cast-in-situ Piles -

o Driven and cast-in-situ piles have the advantages of
both driven and cast-in-situ piles.
o The procedure of installing a driven and cast-in-situ
pile is as follows:
o A steel shell of diameter of pile is driven into the
ground with the aid of a mandrel inserted into the
shell.
o After driving the shell, the mandrel is removed and
concrete is poured in the shell.
o The shell is made of corrugated and reinforced thin
sheet steel (monotube piles) or pipes (Armco welded
pipes or common seamless pipes). The piles of this
type are called a shell type piles.
o The shell-less type is formed by withdrawing the shell
while the concrete is being placed.
o In both the types of piles the bottom of the shell is
closed with a conical tip which can be separated from
the shell.
o By driving the concrete out of the shell an enlarged
bulb may be formed in both the types of piles.
o Franki piles are of this type. In some cases the shell
will be left in place and the tube is concreted.
o This type of pile is very much used in piling over
water.

➢ Bored cast in situ concrete pile

o Applications of bored cast in situ concrete pile

o bored cast in situ pile is a strong choice in the
following conditions:
o If noise prevention to the buildings located around
the construction is mandatory or undesired, then the
construction of bored cast in situ pile is the most
suitable option.
 o Bored cast in situ pile is ideal as end bearing pile,
exclusively when it need to be socketed into rock.
o When high capacity pile is required, then this type of
pile is an ideal choice. According to IS 2911 part 01-
Section 02- 2010, such type of pile preferred for
weights ranges from 150tonnes to 300tonnes.

➢ Advantages of Cast-in- situ Concrete Piles

o The shells are light weighted, so they are easy to
handle.
o Length of piles can be varied easily.
o The shells may be assembled at sight.
o No excess enforcement is required only to prevent
damage from handling.
o No possibility of breaking during installation.
o Additional piles can be provided easily if required.

➢ Disadvantages of Cast-in- situ Concrete Piles

o Installation requires careful supervision and quality
control.
o Needs sufficient place on site for storage of the
materials used for construction.
o It is difficult to construct cast in situ piles where the
underground water flow is heavy.
o Bottom of the pile may not be symmetrical.
o If the pile is un-reinforced and uncased, the pile can
fail in tension if there acts and uplifting force.

Pre – cast and ➢ Driven precast concrete piles are constructed by

Driven Pile hammering the piles into the soil to a depth greater
Foundations than 40m by an adjustable hydraulic or diesel
hammer.
➢ Driven precast concrete piles are widely used
because of their versatility and suitability for most
ground conditions. These piles can be used for the
foundation of all types of engineering structures
under nearly every soil condition.
➢ Driven pile foundations can be made from concrete,
steel or timber.
➢ Driven precast concrete piles are particularly suited
where the founding stratum is overlain by soft
deposits and aggressive or contaminated soils. Piles
are manufactured in factories under high-quality
control, and consist of segmental lengths of
reinforced concrete sections of lengths between 3m
and 15m with required or standard cross-section.
➢ These piles are prefabricated before placing at the
construction site.
➢ When driven piles are made of concrete, they are
precast. These piles are driven using a pile hammer.
 ➢ When these piles are driven into the granular soils,
they displace the equal volume of soil.
➢ This helps in compaction of soil around the sides of
piles and results in the densification of soil.
➢ The piles which compact the soil adjacent to it is also
called as compaction pile.
➢ This compaction of soil increases its bearing
capacity.
➢ Saturated silty soils and cohesive soils have poor
drainage capability. Thus these soils are not
compacted when driven piles are drilled through it.
➢ The water have to be drained for the soil to be
compacted. Thus stresses are developed adjacent to
the piles have to be borne by pore water only.
➢ This results in increase in pore water pressure and
decrease in bearing capacity of the soil
➢ Advantages of Pre-cast Piles -
o Provides high resistance to chemical and biological
cracks.
o They are usually of high strength.
o To facilitate driving, a pipe may be installed along the
center of the pile.
o If the piles are cast and ready to be driven before the
installation phase is due, it can increase the pace of
work.
o The confinement of the reinforcement can be
ensured.
o Quality of the pile can be controlled.
o F any fault is identified, it can be replaced before
driving.
o Pre-cast piles can be driven under the water.
o The piles can be loaded immediately after it is driven
up to the required length.
➢ Disadvantages of Pre-cast Piles -
o Once the length of the pile is decided, it is difficult to
increase or decrease the length of the pile afterward.
o They are difficult to mobilize.
o Needs heavy and expensive equipment to drive.
o As they are not available for readymade purchase, it
can cause a delay in the project.
o There is a possibility of breakage or damage during
handling and driving of piles.

➢ Classification of pile foundation w.r.t function or use -

Types Description Graphics
Sheet Piles
➢ This type of pile is mostly used to provide lateral
support.
➢ Usually, they resist lateral pressure from loose soil,
the flow of water, etc.
➢ They are usually used for cofferdams, trench
sheeting, shore protection, etc.
➢ They are not used for providing vertical support to
the structure.
➢ They are usually used to serve the following
purpose-
o Construction of retaining walls.
o Protection from river bank erosion.
o Retain the loose soil around foundation trenches.
o For isolation of foundation from adjacent soils.
o For confinement of soil and thus increase the
bearing capacity of the soil

Bearing Piles ➢ Load Bearing Piles

o This type of pile foundation is mainly used to
transfer the vertical loads from the structure to the
soil.
o These foundations transmit loads through the soil
with poor supporting property onto a layer which
is capable of bearing the load.
o Depending on the mechanism of load transfer
from pile to the soil, load-bearing piles can be
further classified as flowed.
➢ End Bearing Piles
o In this type of pile, the loads pass through the lower
tip of the pile.
o The bottom end of the pile rests on a strong layer
of soil or rock.
o Usually, the pile rests at a transition layer of a weak
and strong slayer.
o As a result, the pile acts as a column and safely
transfers the load to the strong layer.
o The total capacity of end bearing pile can be
calculated by multiplying the area of the tip of the
pile and the bearing capacity of at that particular
depth of soil at which the pile rests.
o Considering a reasonable factor of safety, the
diameter of the pile is calculated.
Friction ➢ Friction pile transfers the load from the structure
Pile to the soil by the frictional force between the
surface of the pile and the soil surrounding the pile
such as stiff clay, sandy soil, etc.
➢ Friction can be developed for the entire length of
the pile or a definite length of the pile, depending
on the strata of the soil.
➢ In friction pile, generally, the entire surface of the
pile works to transfer the loads from the structure
to the soil.
➢ The surface area of the pile multiplied by the safe
friction force developed per unit area determines
the capacity of the pile.
➢ While designing skin friction pile, the skin friction
to be developed at a pile surface should be
sincerely evaluated and a reasonable factor of
safety should be considered.
➢ Besides this one can increase the pile diameter,
depth, number of piles and make pile surface rough
to increase the capacity of friction pile.

Soil ➢ Sometimes piles are driven at placed closed

Compacto intervals to increase the bearing capacity of soil by
r Piles compacting.
 ➢ Classification of Piles Based on Materials -

• Primarily piles can be classified into two parts.

1. Displacement piles Non-displacement
2. Replacement piles.
• Piles which causes the soil to be displaced vertically and radially as they are driven to the ground is known as
Displacement piles.
• In case of Replacement piles, the ground is bored and the soil is removed and then the resulting hole is either
filled with concrete or a pre-cast concrete pile is inserted.
• On the basis of materials of pile construction and their installation process load-bearing piles can be classified as
follows:

Materials Description Graphics

Timber ➢ Timber piles are placed under the water level.
Piles ➢ They last for approximately about 30 years.
➢ They can be rectangular or circular in shape.
➢ Their diameter or size can vary from 12 to 16
inches.
➢ The length of the pile is usually 20 times of the
top width.
➢ They are usually designed for 15 to 20 tons.
Additional strength can be obtained by bolting
fish plates to the side of the pile
➢ Advantages of Timber Piles-
o Timber piles of regular size are available.
o Economical.
o Easy to install.
o Low possibility of damage.
o Timber piles can be cut off at any desired
length after they are installed.
o If necessary, timber piles can be easily pulled
out.
o Disadvantages of Timber Piles-
o Piles of longer lengths are not always available.
o It is difficult to obtain straight piles if the
length is short.
o It is difficult to drive the pile if the soil strata
are very hard.
o Spicing of timber pile is difficult.
o Timber or wooden piles are not suitable to be
used as end-bearing piles.
o For durability of timber piles, special measures
have to be taken. For example- wooden piles
are often treated with preservative.
Concrete ➢ Pre-cast Concrete Pile
Piles o The precast concrete pile is cast in pile bed in
the horizontal form if they are rectangular in
shape.
o Usually, circular piles are cast in vertical
forms.
o Precast piles are usually reinforced with steel
to prevent breakage during its mobilization
from casting bed to the location of the
foundation.
o After the piles are cast, curing has to be
performed as per specification.
o Generally curing period for pre-cast piles is 21
to 28 days.

➢ Cast-in-Palace Concrete Piles

o This type of pile is constructed by boring of soil
up to the desired depth and then, depositing
freshly mixed concrete in that place and letting
it cure there.
o This type of pile is constructed either by
driving a metallic shell to the ground and filling
it with concrete and leaves the shell with the
concrete or the shell is pulled out while
concrete is poured.

Steel Piles ➢ Steel piles may be of I-section or hollow pipe.

They are filled with concrete.
➢ The size may vary from 10 inches to 24 inches
in diameter and thickness is usually ¾ inches.
➢ Because of the small sectional area, the piles
are easy to drive.
➢ They are mostly used as end-bearing piles.
➢ Advantages of Steel Piles
o They are easy to install.
o They can reach a greater depth comparing to
any other type of pile.
o Can penetrate through the hard layer of soil
due to the less cross-sectional area.
o It is easy to splice steel piles
o Can carry heavy loads.
➢ Disadvantage of Steel Piles
o Prone to corrosion and expensive
o Has a possibility of deviating while driving.
Pile Accessories

Accessory Description Graphics

Pile cap
➢ A pile cap is defined as a concrete block cast
on the head of a group of piles, to transmit
the load from the structure to the group of
piles.
➢ To protect the top of pile from blow of
hammer on top, pile cap is provided.
➢ Generally, pile cap transfers the load form the
structures to a pile group, then the load
further transfers to firm soil.
➢ External pressures on a pile are likely to be
greatest near the ground surface. Ground
stability increases with depth and pressure.
➢ The top of the pile therefore, is more
vulnerable to movement and stress than the
base of the pile.
➢ Pile caps are thus incorporated in order to tie
the pile heads together so that individual pile
movement and settlement is greatly reduced.
➢ Thus stability of the pile group is greatly
increased

➢ The functions of a pile cap are:

o To distribute a single load equally over the
pile group and thus over a greater area of
bearing potential.
o To laterally stabilise individual piles thus
increasing overall stability of the group.
o To provide the necessary combined
resistance to stresses set up by the
superstructure and/or ground movement
 Pile shoe ➢ Pile shoe is fitted at bottom end of pile to
protect the pile and to facilitate easy pile
driving.
➢ Pile shoe is made of cast iron, steel or
wrought iron.
➢ Types of pile shoe:
o Square pile shoe
o Wedged shaped pile shoe
o Round pile shoe
o Steel trap pile shoe for timber pile
o Socket type pile shoe for timber pile
o closed end shoe for pipe piles

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