Design of Pile Caps

10.1 Introduction
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. 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:

. To distribute a single load e!ually over the pile group and thus over a greater area of bearing potential, ". To laterally stabilise individual piles thus increasing overall stability of the group. And #. To provide the necessary combined resistance to stresses set up by the superstructure and$or ground movement.

Pile caps are thick slabs used to tie

a group of piles together to support and transmit column loads to the piles.

10.2 Pile Cap Arrangement

Spacing of the piles in the pile group

The following should be considered when determining the spacing of the piles% . &verall cost of the foundation ". 'ature of the ground

#. (. +. -. 0.

Pile behaviour in the group )esulting possible heave or compaction of ground causing damage to ad*acent structures ,ost of pile cap .i/e and effective length of ground beam Type and si/e of pile

Piles should be placed in a suitable arrangement so that the spacing between piles ranges from 1"2#3 D (pile diameter in case of isolated pile caps and 1"2-3 D in case of rafts supported on piles. The ,.G. of piles should be placed as far as possible in the ,.G. of loadstransmitted from the structure to the group of piles. 4n the case of presence of neighbors, piles should be away from the property line by a distance not less than D or as the pile installation method re!uires. The pro*ection of the pile cap should be 52 + cm.

Initial !a"out:
The simplest pile layout is one without batter piles. .uch a layout should be used if the magnitude of lateral forces is small. .ince all piles do not carry an e!ual portion of the load, axial pile capacity can be reduced to 05 percent of the computed value to provide a good starting point to determine an initial layout. 4n this case, the designer begins by dividing the largest vertical load on the structure by the reduced pile capacity to obtain the approximate number of pile. 4f there are large applied lateral forces, then batter piles are usually re!uired. Piles with flat batters ".+ 163 to 173, provide greater resistance to lateral loads and the less resistance to vertical loads. Piles with steep batters + 163 to 173 provide greater vertical resistance and less lateral resistance.

#inal !a"out:
After the preliminary layout was developed remaining load cases should be investigated and the layout revised to provide an efficient layout. The goal should be to produce a pile layout in which most piles are loaded as near to capacity as practical for the critical loading cases with tips located at the same elevation for the various pile groups within a given monolith. Ad*ustments to the initial layout by the addition deletion, or relocation of piles within the layout grid system may be re!uired. Generally, revisions to the pile batters will not be re!uired because they were optimi/ed during the initial pile layout. The designer is cautioned that the founding of piles at various elevations or in different strata may result in monolith instability and differential settlement.

T"pical Arrangement of Piles

 $e%uirements for Pile Caps

.ame as spread footings with the following additions% . 8esign must satisfy the punching shear in the vicinity of the individual piles or shafts ". The effective depth d must be at least #5 cm. This implies a minimum thickness T of (5 cm. #. The bearing force between the individual piles or shafts and the caps must not exceed the capacity of either element.

 Pile Cap $einforcement

The amount of pile cap reinforcement is governed by% . The loading on the pile cap, ". The spacing of the piles, and #. The depth of the pile cap.

10.& !oad Distri'ution

To a great extent the design and calculation 1load analysis3 of pile foundations is carried out using computer software. 9or some special cases, calculations can be carried out using the following methods 9or a simple understanding of the method, let us assume that the following conditions are satisfied% . The pile is rigid ". The pile is pinned at the top and at the bottom #. Each pile receives the load only vertically 1i.e. axially applied 3: (. The force P acting on the pile is proportional to the displacement ; due to compression.

x ,y @ABCDEFG HC> IJKLFG ?x , ?y <=> NRCESEFG TO UJVPW XY TFG x BCDEFGJ y BCDEFG @=M NOPQEFG x , y

% N=FPZFG NF[PLEFG TO PE\ NMCQD] NRCESE^F BC_`FG IJKR x" , y" 4x a 4o b A . c" nY fSo i NF[PLEFG @] 1 UJVPpFG qr`] N>PQ] 1A3 <=>3 A fDFG gh>J ijZE=k lm_F 4o HPEdeM % NF[PLEFG TO Ns=tEFG Td NE=`FG T^R N`trEFG IJKLFG @R NSuPsFG UJVPpFG NFCE>

(ccentricit" of load ( Single

(ccentricit" of load ( Dou'le

Graphical ?ethod

Installation error:
;ntil now we have been calculating theoretical force distribution on piles. 7owever during installation of piles slight changes in position do occur and piles may miss their designed locations. .o the designer must compare theoretical and the actual load distribution as a result of misalignment after pile installation.

De)iation of the piles ?ost piling specifications permit a deviation in pile position of not exceeding 0+ mm in any direction from the intended position. Additional deviations of %0+ from the vertical piles and %"+ from the designed rake for raking piles are also permitted. Thus, the pile cap should be large enough to accommodate those piles which have deviated from the intended position. The pile cap should extend for a distance of 55 to +5 mm outside the outer face of the piles in the group. !ocation and Alignment Tolerance: The pile head at cutoff elevation shall be within +5 mm of plan locations for bent caps supported by piles, and shall be within +5mm of plan locations for all piles capped below final grade. The as v driven centroid of load of any pile group at cutoff elevation shall be within +w of the plan location of the designed centroid of load. 'o pile shall be nearer than 55mm from any edge of the cap. Any increase in si/e of cap to meet this edge distance re!uirement shall be at the ,ontractorxs expense. Piles shall be installed so that the axial alignment of the top #m of the pile is within "w of the specified alignment. 9or piles that cannot be inspected internally after installation, an alignment check shall be made before installing the last .+m of pile, or after installation is completed provided the exposed portion of the pile is not less than .+m in length. The Engineer may re!uire that driving be stopped in order to check the pile alignment. Aligned section on a misaligned section shall not be permitted. 4f the location and$ or alignment tolerances specified in the preceding paragraphs are exceeded, the extent of overloading shall be evaluated by the Engineer. 4f in the *udgment of the Engineer, corrective measures are necessary, suitable measures shall be designed and constructed by the ,ontractor. The ,ontractor shall bear all costs, including delays, associated with the corrective action.

10.* Design of Pile Cap

4f the pile group is analy/ed with a flexible base, then the forces re!uired to design the base are obtained directly from the structure model. 4f the pile group is analy/ed with a rigid base, then a separate analysis is needed to determine the stresses in the pile cap. An appropriate finite element model 1frame, plate and plane stress or plane strain3 should be used and should include all external loads 1water, concrete, soil, etc. 3 and pile reactions.

There are many methods for designing pile caps from which we could mention the following% 2 ,irculage ?ethod "2 yeam ?ethod #2 9E? methods

10.*.1 Circulage +ethod

,irculage method can only be used when the column is loaded with an axial force and piles are arranged on the circumference of a circle. Piles are not allowed to carry hori/ontal forces in this case. As it is shown in the following figure, the force Tx for which the reinforcement is calculated is calculated using the shown force diagram.

9orce Transmission in ,irculage ?ethod

Strut,and,tie model The strut2and2tie model should be considered for the design of deep footings and pile caps or other situations in which the distance between the centres of applied load and the supporting reactions is less than about twice the member thickness.

Struts and ties in a pile cap The main reinforcement 1As3 can then be calculated from the following relation%

10.*.2 -eam +ethod

The yeam ?ethod is the most widely used method as it suitable for any type of loading and any shape of the pile cap.

Design Procedure:

A, $e%uired Data:

Pile 8ata%

2 Pile diameter and length, "2 Pile allowable bearing capacity

,olumn 8ata%

2 ,olumn load 1' b ? b 73, "2 ,olumn dimensions

-, Design Steps:

1, Determine re%uired num'er of piles: .otes: 4n case of 1'3 only multiply by . 4n case of 1?b'3 multiply by ." 'umber of piles used is rounded to the upper integer

2, Pile Cap Arrangement and Plane Dimension: Piles should be placed in a suitable arrangement so that the spacing between piles ranges from 1"2#3 D in case of isolated pile caps and 1"2 -3 Din case of rafts supported on piles, where D is the pile diameter. The ,.G. of piles should be placed as far as possible in the ,.G. of loads. 4n the case of presence of neighbors, piles should be away from the property line by a distance not less than D or as the pile installation method re!uires. The pro*ection of the pile cap should be about 52 + cm.

&, Pile Cap Preliminar" Depth: The depth of the pile cap could be preliminary estimated assuming an allowable punching stress of 5 kg$cm" on the column face.

*, Chec/ #orces in Piles:

0, Chec/ for punching shear:

1, Chec/ for shear:

2, Design for moment: The critical section for moment is taken at the column face.

3, Chec/ for -ond: The reinforcement used in resisting flexural moment should be checked for bond stress acting on it. .hear at the same section of the bending moment is calculated.