3B/2
Load Bearing Capacity and Deformation of Piled Foundations
Force portante et déform ations des fondations sur pieux
by V. G . B e r e z a n t z e v , Pro fesso r D r. techn., T he L eningrad In stitu te o f R ailw ay Engineers, M oskovsky pr. 9,
L eningrad, U .S.S.R .
V. S. K h r is t o f o r o v , D r. techn., T he L eningrad In stitu te o f C o n stru ctio n al Engineers, 2-nd K rasn o arm eisk ay a 4,
L eningrad, U .S.S.R .
and
V. N . G o l u b k o v , A s . p ro f., can d . techn., T he O dessa In stitu te o f C o n stru ctio n al Engineers, D id rik h so n str. 4, O dessa,
U .S.S.R .
Summary
The authors give the results of theoretical and experimental
investigations on the load bearing capacity of single piles in
dense sand, carried out by 'V . G. Berezantzev. The equilibrium
analysis of axial loading resulted in the development of a form ula
for the load bearing capacity of a pile footing.
Laboratory and field investigations were carried out by
V. N. G olubkov on settlem ent of piled foundations. The settlement
is proportional to the square root of the size of footing.
V. S. K hristoforov analysed the load bearing capacity and
deform ations of pile groups and pile trestles. The design of piled
foundations with free length of piles should be based on the
analysis o f deform ations of frames with rigidly anchored struts.
1. Bearing Capacity o f Piles in Dense Sands
M o d ern m ethods o f pile driv in g , m ore p articu larly those
w hich m ak e use o f v ib ra tio n , have b ro u g h t a b o u t a co n sid e r­
able d ev elo p m en t o f piled fo u n d atio n s. Investigations on
the lo ad bearing cap acity an d d efo rm atio n o f such structures
are thus o f great p ractical value.
T he possibility o f using long piles o f large cross-sectional
dim ensions perm its very heavy fo u n d atio n s to be cons­
tru cted , such as those for bridge piers, using o n ly a few
piles sunk to dense sand o r gravel. E x p erim en ts p ro v e th a t
the bearin g cap acity o f sands, u n d er th e ends o f such piles,
con sid erab ly exceeds the values given by w ell-know n m ethods
o f pile design. B etter results can be o b ta in ed by using the
follow ing new m e th o d based o n th e lim it e q u ilib riu m th e o ry
an d o n the ex p erim en tal investigations described [ 1 ], [2 ],
If a deep fo u n d atio n has a d ep th ratio g reater th a n 3 -f- 4
- r 4 ), sand failure m ay occur after co n sid erab le
co m p actio n , accom panied by the d isplacem ents o f a sm all
volum e o f soil. H ence, th e load bearing ca p acity in this
case is d eterm ined o n ly by fo u n d a tio n settlem ent.
T hese special features o f san d failure, how ever, are pecu­
liar to such fo u n d atio n s, w hen, d u rin g th e process o f c o n s­
tru ctio n , n o ad d itio n a l com p actio n o f sand takes p lace w ith­
in the lim its o f depth equal to o r m ore than the w idth of
fo u n d atio n (fo u n d atio n s in trenches, sinking w ells, cais­
sons, etc.).
S u b stan tially different co n d itio n s exist for the footing o f
a single pile sunk deeply by an o rd in a ry o r v ib ra to ry pile-
d river. D u rin g the sinking process, the pile displaces soil
Sommaire
La première partie de l'exposé rend com pte des recherches
effectuées par V. G. Bérésantcev, sur la force portante des pieux
isolés battus dans les sables compacts. La force portante de la
pointe se détermine en appliquant la théorie de l'équilibre limite
dans le cas d'une symétrie axiale.
Dans la deuxième partie sont exposés des résultats des expé­
riences de laboratoire et sur chantiers sur le tassement des
fondations sur pieux, effectuées par V. N. G oloubkov. Les
tassements sont proportionnels à la racine carrée de la surface
de transm ission de la pression.
D ans la troisième partie sont exposées des recherches expéri­
mentales sur le travail des groupes de pieux et des pieux à traction
utilisés dans les constructions, effectuées par V. S. K hristoforov.
Les calculs des fondations sur pieux avec hauteur libre sont
à baser sur l'analyse des déform ations des portiques à m ontants
encastrés rigidement.
an d form s a ro u n d itself a relativ ely large co m p acted zone
o f soil, w hich ch anges failure c o n d itio n s o f the soil. The
lim it eq uilib riu m u n d er the en d o f the pile co rresp o n d s to
the displacem en t o f co n sid erab ly developed sliding zones o f
com pacted san d . T hese zones reach th e h o riz o n tal plane
below th e fo o t o f the pile. T his p h en o m en o n is illu strated
in Fig. 1, show ing san d d efo rm atio n d u rin g m odel tests
(th e m odel was su n k to th e d ep th eq u al to ten tim es its
w idth). T he m odel tests w ere carried o u t a t the L eningrad
In stitu te o f R ailw ay E ngineers.
H ence, th e load bearin g cap acity u n d er th e en d o f such
single piles can be ap p ro x im ately determ in ed using the
schem e 2 ( a ) [1], g iven in Fig. 2. T h e su rch arg e o f sliding
zones on th e level o f th e pile en d is eq u al to the w eight o f
cylindrical v olum e “ bcda - b jC jd jai” decreased b y the value
o f in tern al frictio n T (Fig. 2) o n th e la teral su rface o f this
volum e. T his in tern al frictio n ap p e ars d u rin g th e disp lace­
m e n t o f the v olum e “ b cda - b ^ d ^ ” in th e process o f soi
co m p actio n u n d e r th e pile end.
T h e value o f in tern al frictio n o n the d ep th Z can be
a p p ro x im ately calcu lated as a p ro d u ct o f tan g cp/> (cpd -
angle o f in tern al frictio n ) a n d ez - th e la teral pressure on the
surface “ be, bjCj” w ith rad iu s /0 = / - 4-R.
By m eans o f th e an alysis o f la teral pressure o n the cy lin d ­
rical surfaces in th e ax ial sym m etrical p ro b lem o f lim it
equilibrium th e o ry [2 ], ez is fo u n d by the follow ing fo rm ula :
x-i
A« 2 }{
_____ r i
i - YdIo 0 )
x- I ï
l tan
11
cç>d and y n correspond to the soil o f overburden, These values are higher than those obtained by existing
methods.
X - 2 tan tan + — F o r example, for the pile B = 63 cm, driven to the fine
sand (9 = 34°, y = 1 t/1^ 3) a t 26 m (cp,o = 26°, y o = 1 t/m 3)
cp and y denote the same characteristics for the soil o f footing. formula (4) gives qf = 586 t/m 2, by the tests qf — 600 t/m 2,
by technical conditions qf = 340 t/m 2.
Form ula (4) m ay be used only for the com putation of
bearing capacity of soil under the end of the p ile ; the lateral
friction, if necessary, can be determined by conventional
methods.
The load bearing capacity of foundations with a large
num ber o f piles is determined by settlement. The results of
investigations on soil deformations and foundation settle­
ments are discussed below.

2. Settlem ent o f pile foundation and deform ations o f subsoil

Features typical for the development o f soil deformations
and settlements o f piled foundations were investigated in
field and model pile tests. The results show that the settle­
ment *V” o f piles and piled foundations is a com pound
function
w = f( P , D, -\/~A, E, Ha)

Fig. 1 Sand deformations after deep sinking of a pile model.

Déformation du sable pendant l’enfoncement du modèle
réduit du pieu en profondeur.

Corresponding to the form o f sliding surfaces [2] “ /0” is

calculated from expression :

L = R ( 2)

4 2
Using the expression (1), the following formula gives the
average value o f the surcharge :
q r = y-TlD D (3)
« „ D
Coefficient a r is a function o f r a tio — and of angle
B
90
(see t a b le 1).
T a b le 1
80

D \ V
26° 30° 34° 37° 40° 70
B
bO
5 0 -75 0 -7 7 0-81 083 0 -85
10 0 -62 0-67 0-73 076 0 -7 9 50
15 0 -5 5 0 61 0 -68 073 0 -77
20 0-49 0 -5 7 0 -65 0-71 0-75
25 0 -4 4 0-53 0 -63 070 0 -74

The axial symmetrical limit analysis [1] gave the formula

for average value o f ultimate bearing capacity :
<!/ = A t(B + B kq r
or, corresponding to the (3) :
qf = A ky B -I- Bkcr.pynD ----- (4)
where A k and B k depending upon 9 , are given by the curves 32 34 36 38 40
on Fig. 2.
The result o f bearing capacity calculations for dense Fig. 2 Sand failure and curves of coefficients in formula (4).
sands under the single piles, after (4), show that theoretical Schéma de l’état-limite du sol sous le pieu et graphique
data are in reasonable agreement with the experiments. donnant les coefficients dans la formule (4).
12
where P is ihe load on a pile, D the depth o f pile driving the lateral surface of the pile. Angle “ a ” changes from 0°
and A is the area transm itting the load from the piled founda­ to 7° depending on types and density of soil.
tion to the soil, E is the modulus o f deformation o f soil, The relationship between settlement, load transmitting
Ha is the depth o f the deform ation zone. area and num ber o f piles is shown by Figs. 3 and 4,
The depth o f the deform ation zone H a was determined
in field conditions for a particular case a t the footing o f a
group o f 16 piles, 5*6 m long, in fine silty sand. The soil
deformation was observed on nine marks, each m ark being
driven in a bore-hole to a predetermined depth. After the
marks had been driven into the soil, the borehole was filled
with sand and the casing pipe was withdrawn. The deforma­
tion of the marks was recorded by string deflection devices
to an accuracy o f 0 1 mm.
This test proved that the depth o f the deform ation zone
depends on the value o f the load ; when changing the load
on a pile from 14 tons to 22-5 tons or under a unit pressure
of 1-4 - 2-2 kg/cm 2 on the soil in the plane o f the pile ends,
the depth o f the deformation zone Ha changes from 0 -4 y "A
to 0-7-VA4T
Tests with model piles at the depth ratio o f 20 (without
a compaction zone around the piles) were carried out in
fine dense sands. Small-shot was used as a depth indicator
of deformation. Test results showed :
1 . The volume of the deformation zone depends on the
value of unit load which a pile and a group o f piles trans­
mit to the soil, and on the size o f the bulb o f pressure. Fig. 3 Results of field tests of piles and piled foundations with
2. With equal settlement, the value o f unit pressure on piles driven to a depth of 5-6 metres.
the soil is more for a single pile, but the depth o f soil defor­ Résultats des essais sur chantier des pieux et des fonda­
mation is greater for a group o f piles. tions sur pieux avec une profondeur d'enfoncement
Series o f field tests with piles driven to a depth o f de 5,6 m.
3-6 m 5-6 m and 7-5 m also confirmed that the load
transm itting area influenced the value o f general deformation.
The investigations o f single piles and piled foundations o
were carried out under the same soil condition, namely, in
a silty fine sand layer o f 10*7 m, depth. In table 2 are shown
data o f the mechanical properties o f the soil. 6

T a b le 2
A $
IS
I n d ic a to r s o f
m e c h a n ic a l p r o p e r tie s D im e n s io n V a lu e
.5
20
o f s o ils
H

W a te r c o n te n t p e r cent 2 3 -2 8 :s
B u lk d e n s it y t/m 3 202 ¿s
D e n s it y of s o il p a r­
t ic le s t/m 3 2 -65
P o r o s it y p e r cent fro m
45 to 34 Fig. 4 The relationship between loading and settlement of piles.
M o d u lu s o f d e fo rm a ­
Graphique du tassement d’une fondation sur pieux
t io n of s o il at th e
en fonction d'un nombre de pieux variable, mais
to p o f la y e r kg /cm 2 7 5 -1 0 0
avec une surface constante de transmission de la
M o d u lu s o f d e fo rm a ­
charge sur la fondation.
t io n o f s o il at th e
fo o t o f la y e r kg/cm 2 350
A n g le o f in te r n a l f r ic ­ Maximum resistance of piles is provided by the contact
t io n d e g re e s 31° of their bearing volumes. This is the limit position for joint
C o n t e n t o f s a n d g r a in s
déform ation o f soil and piles. The settlement of piled
w it h s iz e f r o m 0 -25
mm to 0 05 mm pe r cent 92
foundations is proportional to the square root of the load-
G r a in s le ss th a n
transm itting area. U nder conditions of equal loading, minimum
0 -0 0 5 mm p e r cent 4 settlements were observed with single piles and the maximum
settlements with piled foundations (Fig.3). Piled foundations
with an equal load transm itting area at the level of the pileends,
Friction in the soil along the sides o f the pile forms a but with a different num ber of piles have practically equal
compacted volume o f soil around the pile during its settle­ settlements under equal loads (Fig. 4).
ment [3], [4]. This volume, taking part o f the load, transmits The results of field tests of piled foundations with the
it to the soil in the plane o f the pile ends ; the rest o f the load maximum size o f load transmitting area 4-86 x 4-86 m show
is transmitted by the pile ends to the ground. The size o f the that the bearing capacity o f piled foundations depends
bearing volume o f soil is determined by the angle “ a ” bet­ mainly upon settlement. Conventional methods of settle­
ween the external faces o f the bearing volume o f soil and ment com putation may be used.
13
3. W o rk o f piles and pileworks
Experimental investigations with large models o f piles
were carried out in the Laboratory o f Soil Mechanics o f the
All-Union Research Institute named after Vedeneev. The
aim of these tests was to assemble the data relating to stresses
in piles when they are driven in groups, pile trestles and both
vertical and trestle piles in rigid pileworks.
General characteristics of the test structures are shown
in Fig. 5.

F ig . 5 A rra n g e m e n t o f te s t in s t a lla t io n :
I. s in g le p ile s ; I I. p ile g ro u p s : (a ) of n in e p ile s ,
(b ) o f fiv e p ile s ; III. p i l e t r e s t le s : ( a ) o f t h r e e p ile s ,
( b ) o f f o u r p ile s ; I V . p i l e a s s e m b ly ; 1. p ile s , 2. m e a s u r ­ F ig . 6 G e n e ra l sch em e of m e a s u r in g head :
in g heads, 3. h y d r a u lic c a p s u le s . (a) f r o n t , ( b ) v i e w 2 -2 , (c ) v i e w 1-1, ( d ) 3 -3 . 1. h o u s in g ,
S ch ém a des in s t a lla t io n s d 'e s s a i : 2 . b e a r in g p la t e w i t h c h e e k s , 3. c e n t r a l b o lt , 4 . w a s h e r s ,
I . p i e u x is o lé s ; 11. g r o u p e d e p i e u x : (a ) d e n e u f p i e u x ; 5. d ra fts , 6. c y lin d r ic a l h in g e s .
(b ) d e c in q p ie u x ; III. p ie u x à t r a c t io n : (a ) tr o is S c h é m a p r i n c i p a l d e la tê te m e s u r a t r ic e :
p ie u x ; (b ) q u a tre p ie u x ; IV . G r illa g e en p ie u x ; (a ) é lé v a tio n , ( b ) vue 2 -2 , ( c ) vue 1-1, ( d ) vue 3 -3 .
1. le s p i e u x ; 2. tê te s m e s u r a t r ic e s ; 3. c a p s u le s h y d r a u ­ 1. c o r p s , 2. d a l l e d ’a p p u i avec d e s j o u e s , 3. b o u lo n
liq u e s . c e n t r a l, 4. r o n d e l l e s , 5. t ir a n t s , 6. a r t i c u l a t i o n s c y l i n ­
d r iq u e s .

Steel tubes, 9 cm in diameter, furnished with caps and

sunk in soil to 1-2 m were used as model piles. The ultimate The character of work o f pile groups differs from that
load on the test pile reached from 1 to 1-5 tons. The maxi­ o f single piles. Under the initial loading, soil compaction
mum vertical component o f the load on the foundation occurs around the pile group. This compaction greatly
composed o f 13 piles (see Fig. 5, IV) reached 12-6 tons and influences the behaviour o f piles under repeated loading;
the horizontal com ponent was 3-8 tons. Each test structure settlements greatly decrease. While loads are kept within
was provided with special equipment for measuring the permissible limits, the relationship between settlement and
load is practically linear.
stresses in the heads o f the piles. The general arrangem ent
of a measuring head is shown in Fig. 6 . The measuring Piles in pile trestles are subjected both to axial forces as
head was designed so that any load exerted on a pile created well as bending stresses.
longitudinal forces in the pile head d ra fts which were The load bearing capacity of pile trestles increases with
m easured by means o f resistance strain gauges. the increase o f rigidity of pile connections and it is always
M easuring o f stresses in soil a t the bottom o f the tank greater than the design values allowing for a hinged system.
was made by means o f string and pick-up hydraulic capsules. With rigid pile connections the ultimate bearing capacity
The tests were carried out in sands. of a pile trestle m ay be twice as much as the design values.
The main results o f these investigations are as follows : The load bearing capacity of such piles proves to be con­
siderably higher than that which is determined by standard
The bearing capacity o f piles subjected only to axial force pile tests. It is generally observed in piles under tension.
is less than that o f piles subjected to the combined action
of axial force and bending. For instance, it was found that The angle of pile trestle inclination should not be limited
the resistance o f single piles to drawing could be increased to the value ta n a * = 3:1 in every case. With the decrease
more than 1’5 times, if the drawing force formed the angle of tangent of this angle up to the value of tan = 1-5:1
^ (tan ¡3 = 1:3) with the axis of the pile. the bearing capacity of the pile trestle due to horizontal
load more than doubles and the construction becomes less
U nder..the .initial loading, the settlement of a pile group liable to deformation.
proves to be greater than that o f single piles. However, the
ultimate load on a pile group under which its settlements The simplified com putation of a pile assembly with free
greatly increase is much greater than the sum o f the ultimate length o f piles according to the scheme of a frame with a
bearing capacities o f single piles o f which each pile group continuous collar, and elastically-yielding hinge supported
is composed. If reloaded, the relationship between settlement struts sometimes results in reducing the bearing capacity to
and load for the pile group does not differ appreciably from half its real value.
that of single piles. After reloading, the value o f the ultimate Experimental data show that satisfactory results can be
bearing capacity o f a pile group increases slightly. obtained with the help o f a scheme o f frame with rigidly
14
fastened stru ts. T h e forces so o b ta in ed w ere in reasonable References
agreem ent w ith ex p erim en ts if a co rrec t selection o f fasten-
nings fo r piles in soil is m ade. [1]
T he tests show ed th a t the design o f th e piling should be
[2]
carried o u t in ac co rd an ce w ith the second u ltim a te state
(calculation o f d efo rm atio n s) an d w ith the th ird u ltim ate [3]
state (fissure fo rm atio n ).
T he d istrib u tio n o f stresses betw een piles o b ta in ed by [4]
tests is in agreem ent w ith ca lcu la tio n s based on elasticity.
B e re z a n tz e vV. G ., J a r o s h e n k o , V. A. and others (1958).
The investigations of bearing capacity o f sands.
— (1952). Axial symmetrical problem
of the limit equilibrium theory of earthy medium.
G o l u b k o v , V. N. (1950). The Bearing Capacity o f Piled
Foundations.
H a n s e n , V. and K n e a s , F. N. (1942). Static Load Tests
for Bearing Piles. C iv il Eng., Vol. 12, No. 10.
15