LESSON 5

PILE CAP DESIGN

 Introduction
• Pile foundations are the part of a structure used to
carry and transfer the load of the structure to the
bearing ground located at some depth below ground
surface.
• The main components of the foundation are the pile
cap and the piles.
• Piles are long and slender members which transfer
the load to deeper soil or rock of high bearing
capacity.
• The main types of materials used for piles are wood,
steel and concrete.
 Introduction (cont.)

• Pile foundation is suitable under the following

situations :
– When the soil is very soft and solid bed is not
available at a reasonable
• depth to keep the bearing power within safe limits.
– When provision of pad and raft foundations
becomes very expensive.
– When the structure carries heavy concentrated
loads.
– When it is necessary to construct a building along
the sea-shore or river bed.
 Introduction (cont.)

• Piles are generally classified into two categories :

– According to function:
• e.g. bearing piles, friction piles, friction-
cum-bearing piles, batter piles, guide piles,
sheet piles, etc.

– According to composition or material of

construction:
• e.g. timber piles, concrete piles, sand piles,
steel piles, etc.
 Classifications of Piles
• Classifications of piles with respect to load
transmission and functional behaviours:

1. End Bearing Piles (point bearing piles)

2. Friction piles (cohésion piles )
3. Combination of friction and cohesion piles
 Classifications of Piles (cont.)

End Bearing pile

• End bearing pile is a type of

pile which terminate in hard,
relatively impenetrable
material such as rock or very
dense sand and gravel.
• The loads are transferred to a
firm stratum.
• The pile behaves and is
designed as an ordinary
column.
 Classifications of Piles (cont.)

Skin Friction pile

• Friction pile obtains a greater part

of their carrying capacity by skin
friction or adhesion.
• This tends to occur when pile
does not reach an impenetrable
stratum.
• This pile transmits most of its load
to the soil through skin friction.
 Classifications of Piles (cont.)

Combination of friction and end bearing

 Classifications of Piles (cont.)

Timber pile
• Are made of wood, should be free from
defects, decay, etc. and it should be
well seasoned.
• Can be circular or square in cross-
section.
• Top of these piles is provided with an
iron ring to prevent it from splitting
under blows of hammer.
• The bottom is fitted with an iron shoe
to facilitate sinking of piles.
• These piles are driven by blows of
hammer of a pile driving machine.
• Used for buildings, bridges and
cofferdams but is not recommended to
be used in sea water.
 Classifications of Piles (cont.)

Concrete pile

• Are made of cement

concrete, strong, durable and
can bear more load than
timber piles.
• They are free from defects
and cannot be attacked by
insect, white-ant, etc.
• The piles are fire-proof and
water-proof.
• Concrete piles are classified
into two types:
1. Pre-cast piles.
2. Cast-in-situ piles.
 Classifications of Piles (cont.)

Steel pile
• Useful where driving
conditions are difficult and
other types of piles are not
suitable.
• Usually used for building and
bridge foundations.
• The piles are in form of I, U,
H sections.
BASIC PRINCIPLES
• Structures place on top of
the piles.
• Piles + Pile Cap = Pile
foundation
• Function : Distributes load
to the individual piles.
• Pile Cap will connect the pile
together and distributes the
superstructure loads to the
layer beneath.
PILE CAP
 DESIGN
Pile
• Designed as a short column unless it is slender and
the surrounding soil is too weak to provide restraint.
• Precast piles must also be designed to resist bending
moments caused by lifting and stacking, and the
head of the pile must be reinforced to withstand the
impact of the driving hammer.
• Accurate distribution of load of a pile group is very
difficult if not impossible to determine.
PILED FOUNDATION
 DESIGN OF PILE CAP
1) Truss theory method
 DESIGN OF PILE CAP CONT.
2) Beam theory method
When (𝑎𝑣 / d) ratio is more than 2 as in shallow pile
cap or with the arrangement of 6 or more piles,
bending action is more predominant than truss
action.
Ref. Calculations Output
Data Given
A) Truss theory method

Axial load, N : = 3500 kN

= 2500 kN
Chac. Strength of concrete, = 35 N/mm²
Chac. Strength of steel, = 500 N/mm²
Cover, c = 40 mm
bar, 𝝓 = 25 mm
Column size = 400x400 mm
Pile: Prestressed Spun pile, 𝝓 = 500 mm
Service load
Pile Capacity = 2000 kN
Ref. Calculations Output

1. DETERMINATION SIZE OF PILE CAP

Service load = 3500+2500=6000kN
Additional W= 600kN
Guide for
Assume self weight of pile cap (10% of service load), W= 0.1 x 6000kN
BEC 411
Advanced No. of pile required,
Use =4 nos.
RC Design = 3.3 of piles
𝑎 𝑎

Refer Pile spacing

diagram
Pile spacing, =3 = 1500 mm = 1500mm
for 4 nos.
of piles Width (k + 1) x + 300 = 2300 mm

Length (k + 1) x + 300 = 2300 mm

Depth, h = 2 + 100 = 1100 mm B = 2.3m

H=2.3m
Try size: B x H x h = 2.3 x 2.3 x 1.1 m h=1.1m
Selfweight, = 204 kN
204 < 600
actual s/w assume
OK!
Ref. Calculations Output

1. DETERMINATION SIZE OF PILE CAP

(cont)
Ref. Calculations Output

2. MAIN REINFORCEMENT

Effective depth, = 1023 mm d = 1023mm

Ultimate load, N = 1.35Gk+1.5Qk = 8475 kN N = 8475kN

Additional From Truss Anology,

Guide for
BEC 411 Tension force, T= = 1554.1 kN
Advanced
RC Design
Area of reinforcement,
= = 3573 mm²

For the whole width of pile

= 7145 mm²
cap, 2 x 3573

EC2-Table B Provide 16H25 = 7856 mm² 16H25

Ref. Calculations Output

Refer
Section 9.2 Maximum and minimum reinforcement area
pp. 12 (EC2
Guide)

0.0017 bd = 3913 mm²

= = 101200 mm²
Ref. Calculations Output
3. DESIGN OF SHEAR
EC 2 pp. 39
(shear
enhancement

Critical section for shear crack

Perimeter for
punching shear
check (if
necessary)
Ref. Calculations Output

(i) Vertical shear - at section inside pile

Load per pile = 2119 kN

2 pile outside the critical section

Shear force, = 4238 kN

Additional Pile spacing <

Guide for RC
Design (Shear consider shear enhancement
Enhancement) 𝑎𝑣 = 400mm

= 4238 x ( ) = 829 kN
Ref. Calculations Output

Refer Sections Design shear resistance,

Not Requiring
Design Shear
Reinforcement
9.2 pp. 14
(EC2 Guide) where,
= 1.44 Use= 1.44
≤ 2.0

≤ 2.0 Use= 0.0033

= 0.0033

Hence,

= 923,647.76 N

= 843865.9942 N
bd

924 > 829

OK!
Ref. Calculations Output

(ii) Punching shear: Critical at perimeter 2.0d from column face

Pile spacing < 3 = No punching is necessary OK!

Ref. Calculations Output

(iii) Maximum Punching Shear: Critical at column perimeter

Additional
Guide for RC
Max. shear resistance,
Design = 9853536 N

9854 > 8475

OK!
Ref. Calculations Output

4. CRACKING

h = 1100 mm > 200mm

Steel stress under quasi permanent loading

Table 7.2N EC2

pp. 16

= 4250 kN

= 8475 kN

= 218 N/mm²

For design crack width = 0.3 mm

Max. allowable spacing = 223 mm

Max. bar spacing = 137 mm

137 > 223 OK!

Ref. Calculations Output

For binders,

Provide 3H12
Ref. Calculations Output

DETAILING

3H12 Binders

16H25 @ 130
16H25 @ 130
Ref. Calculations Output

THANK
YOU!