20-04-2025

Analysis & Design of Geotechnical Systems

(Bearing Capacity of Pile Foundation)

Paramita Bhattacharya
Department of Civil Engineering
IIT Kharagpur

NEGATIVE SKIN FRICTION - 1

• Piles located in settling soil layers (e.g. soft clays, fills) are subjected to
negative skin friction called downdrag.
• The settlement of the soil layer causes the friction forces to act in the
same direction as the vertical loading on the pile.
• Rather than providing resistance, the negative friction imposes
additional loads on the pile.
• The net effect is that the pile load capacity is reduced and pile
settlement increases.

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NEGATIVE SKIN FRICTION - 2

• The allowable load capacity for negative skin friction
is given as

𝑄 𝑄
𝑄 𝑄
𝐹𝑆
For soft, normally consolidated soils, the
negative skin friction is usually calculated over
one-half its thickness. Negative skin friction
should be computed for long-term conditions,
i.e., you should use an ESA.

Figure 21
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EXAMPLE
• Determine the allowable load capacity of
the 0.45 m (1.5 ft) diameter pile shown in
the figure. The fill is recent and was
dumped at the site. To eliminate negative
skin friction, a steel shell is proposed around
the pile within the fill. The groundwater
level is at 1 m (3 ft) below the fill in the soft
clay but is expected to rise to the surface. A
factor of safety of 2 is required.

Figure 22

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LATERALLY LOADED PILES

 Structures founded on piles are often subjected to
• lateral loads and moments in addition to vertical loads.
 Lateral loads may come from
• Wind
• Traffic
• Seismic events
• Waves
• Earth pressures.
 Moments may come from the
• Eccentricity of the vertical force
• Fixity of the superstructure to the pile or piles
• Location of the lateral forces on the pile with reference to the ground surface.
Source: www.cpd.wsu.edu
Source: www.dot.state.fl.us

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EFFECTS OF LATERAL LOADS

 When a pile is subjected to lateral
forces and moments
• the pile tends to bend or deflect
• deflection of the pile causes strains in
the soil mass.

To satisfy equilibrium, the soil must provide reactions along Figure 23

the length of the pile to balance the applied loads and
moments. The soil reaction is not linearly related to the pile
deflection. 59

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REQUIRED DESIGN INFORMATION

 Pile deflection, particularly the pile head deflection, to satisfy
serviceability requirement
• The pile head deflection depends on soil type, pile installation, pile
flexibility (or pile stiffness), loading condition and on how the pile is
attached to the superstructure and pile cap.
 Bending moments for sizing the pile.

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PILE HEAD FIXITY

 A pile that is attached to the
pile cap such that rotation is
unrestricted is called a free-
head pile

 A pile that is attached to the

pile cap such that no rotation Figure 24
occurs is called a fixed head pile Long piles L/D > 10
(a) Fixed head (b) Free head

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Laterally Loaded Piles

• Using the theory of beams on an elastic foundation the following equation
can be written:
𝑑 𝑥
𝐸 𝐼 𝑝
𝑑𝑧
where, Ep is the modulus of elasticity of the pile material and Ip is the moment
of inertia of the pile section.
• In Winkler’s model: 𝑝 𝑘𝑥
• Hence, it can be written:
𝑑 𝑥
𝐸 𝐼 𝑘𝑥
𝑑𝑧
Or,
𝑑 𝑥
𝐸 𝐼 𝑘𝑥 0
𝑑𝑧
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Laterally Loaded Piles

Elastic solution by Matlock and Reese (1960):

 Pile Deflection at any depth [xz(z)]

𝑄 𝑇 𝑀 𝑇
𝑥 𝑧 𝐴 𝐵
𝐸 𝐼 𝐸 𝐼

 Slope of Pile 𝜃 𝑧 at any depth

𝑄 𝑇 𝑀 𝑇
𝜃 𝑧 𝐴 𝐵
𝐸 𝐼 𝐸 𝐼

 Moment 𝑀 𝑧 of Pile at any depth

𝑀 𝑧 𝐴 𝑄 𝑇 𝐵 𝑀

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Laterally Loaded Piles

Elastic solution [Matlock and Reese (1960)]
 Shear Force on Pile at any depth 𝑉 𝑧
𝑀
𝑉 𝑧 𝐴 𝑄 𝐵
𝑇
 Soil Reaction 𝑝 𝑧 at Any Depth
𝑄 𝑀
𝑝 𝑧 𝐴 𝐵
𝑇 𝑇
where Ax , Bx , A , B , Am , Bm , Av , Bv , Ap’ , Bp’ are the coefficients
T = characteristic length of soil-pile system
𝐸 𝐼
𝑇
𝜂
𝑘 η 𝑧 is the subgrade modulus at a depth z
Qg and Mg are applied lateral load and moment to the pile at the ground level

Laterally Loaded Piles

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Laterally Loaded Piles

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Table: Coefficients for Long Piles, kz = ηhz

Z Ax Aθ Am Av A'p Bx Bθ Bm Bv B'p
0.0 2.435 -1.623 0.000 1.000 0.000 1.623 -1.750 1.000 0.000 0.000
0.1 2.273 -1.618 0.100 0.989 -0.227 1.453 -1.650 1.000 -0.007 -0.145
0.2 2.112 -1.603 0.198 0.956 -0.422 1.293 -1.550 0.999 -0.028 -0.259
0.3 1.952 -1.578 0.291 0.906 -0.586 1.143 -1.450 0.994 -0.058 -0.343
0.4 1.796 -1.545 0.379 0.840 -0.718 1.003 -1.351 0.987 -0.095 -0.401
0.5 1.644 -1.503 0.459 0.764 -0.822 0.873 -1.253 0.976 -0.137 -0.436
0.6 1.496 -1.454 0.532 0.677 -0.897 0.752 -1.156 0.960 -0.181 -0.451
0.7 1.353 -1.397 0.595 0.585 -0.947 0.642 -1.061 0.939 -0.226 -0.449
0.8 1.216 1.335 0.649 0.489 -0.973 0.540 -0.968 0.914 -0.270 -0.432
0.9 1.086 -1.268 0.693 0.392 -0.977 0.448 -0.878 0.885 -0.312 -0.403
1.0 0.962 -1.197 0.727 0.295 -0.962 0.364 -0.792 0.852 -0.350 -0.364
1.2 0.738 -1.047 0.767 0.109 -0.885 0.223 -0.629 0.775 -0.414 -0.268
1.4 0.544 -0.893 0.772 -0.056 -0.761 0.112 -0.482 0.688 -0.456 -0.157
1.6 0.381 -0.741 0.746 -0.193 -0.609 0.029 -0.354 0.594 -0.477 -0.047
1.8 0.247 -0.596 0.696 -0.298 -0.445 -0.030 -0.245 0.498 -0.476 0.054
2.0 0.142 -0.464 0.628 -0.371 -0.283 -0.070 -0.155 0.404 -0.456 0.140
3.0 -0.075 -0.040 0.225 -0.349 0.226 -0.089 0.057 0.059 -0.213 0.268
4.0 -0.050 0.052 0.000 -0.106 0.201 -0.028 0.049 -0.042 0.017 0.112
5.0 -0.009 0.025 -0.033 0.015 0.046 0.000 -0.011 -0.026 0.029 -0.002

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Laterally Loaded Piles

Ultimate Load Analysis by Broms (1965)
Yield Moment for the Pile is
My = SFY
where S is the section modulus of the pile and FY is the yield stress of the pile material.

𝜂
pressure kN/m
𝐾
displacement m

𝐾𝐷
𝛽
4𝐸 𝐼

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Problem Statement
Consider a steel H-pile (HP 250 × 85) 25 m long, embedded fully in
granular soil. Assume that ηh = 12000 kN/m3. The allowable
displacement at the top of the pile is 8 mm. Determine the allowable
lateral load, Qg. Let Mg = 0. Use the elastic solution.
Assume: Ip = 123  10-6 m4 , Ep = 207  106 kN/m2 , FY = 248000 kN/m2.

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PULLOUT RESISTANCE OF PILES

• The ultimate resistance of piles subjected to
such forces did not receive much attention
among researchers until recently. The gross
ultimate resistance of a pile subjected to
uplifting force is:
𝑇 𝑇 𝑊
where,
Tug = gross uplift capacity
Tun = net uplift capacity
W = effective weight of the pile

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Piles in Clay
• The net ultimate uplift capacity of piles embedded in saturated clays
was studied by Das and Seeley (1982). According to that study,
𝑇 𝐿𝑝𝛼 𝑐

where,
L= length of the pile
p = perimeter of pile section
α = adhesion coefficient at soil-pile interface
cu = undrained cohesion of clay

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Piles in Clay
• For cast-in-situ concrete piles,
𝛼 0.9 0.00625𝑐 for 𝑐 80 kPa

𝛼 0.4 for 𝑐 80 kPa

• Similarly, for pipe piles,
𝛼 0.715 0.0191𝑐 for 𝑐 27 kPa

𝛼 0.2 for 𝑐 27 kPa

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Piles in Sand
• When piles are embedded in granular soil, the net ultimate uplift capacity is:
𝑇 𝑓 𝑝 𝑑𝑧
• The unit skin friction fu during uplift, increases linearly to a depth z = Lcr and
beyond that it remains constant.
• Also,
𝑓 𝐾 𝜎 tan 𝛿
where,
Ku = uplift coefficient,
𝜎 = effective vertical stress at a depth z,
 = soil-pile interface friction angle
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