2014 Ekici Huvaj NUMGE2014-Delft

16/1/2018 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 1
Design of Pile Caps
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
10.1 Introduction
CHAPTER 4
A pile cap is defined as a concrete block cast on the head of a group of piles, to
CHAPTER 5
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
CHAPTER 6
transfers to firm soil.
CHAPTER 7 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,
CHAPTER 8
is more vulnerable to movement and stress than the base of the pile. Pile caps are
CHAPTER 9 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
CHAPTER 10 greatly increased.
The functions of a pile cap are:
1. To distribute a single load equally over the pile group and thus over a
greater area of bearing potential,
2. To laterally stabilise individual piles thus increasing overall stability of

the group. And
3. To provide the necessary combined resistance to stresses set up by the

superstructure and/or ground movement.
http://osp.mans.edu.eg/deepfoundation/ch10.htm 1/15
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:
1. Overall cost of the foundation
2. Nature of the ground
3. Pile behaviour in the group
4. Resulting possible heave or compaction of ground causing damage to

adjacent structures
5. Cost of pile cap
6. Size and effective length of ground beam
7. Type and size of pile
§ Piles should be placed in a suitable arrangement so that the spacing

between piles ranges from (2-3) D (pile diameter) in case of isolated pile
caps and (2-6) D in case of rafts supported on piles.
§ The C.G. of piles should be placed as far as possible in the C.G. of loads
transmitted from the structure to the group of piles.
§ In 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 requires.
§ The projection of the pile cap should be 10-15 cm.
Initial Layout:
The simplest pile layout is one without batter piles. Such a layout should be used
if the magnitude of lateral forces is small. Since all piles do not carry an equal
portion of the load, axial pile capacity can be reduced to 70 percent of the
computed value to provide a good starting point to determine an initial layout.
In 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.
If there are large applied lateral forces, then batter piles are usually required.
Piles with flat batters 2.5 (V) to 1 (H), provide greater resistance to lateral loads
and the less resistance to vertical loads. Piles with steep batters 5 (V) to 1 (H)
provide greater vertical resistance and less lateral resistance.
Final Layout:
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. Adjustments to the
initial layout by the addition deletion, or relocation of piles within the layout grid
system may be required. Generally, revisions to the pile batters will not be
required because they were optimized 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.
Typical Arrangement of Piles
• Requirements for Pile Caps

Same as spread footings with the following additions:
1. Design must satisfy the punching shear in the vicinity of the individual
piles or shafts
2. The effective depth d must be at least 30 cm. This implies a minimum

thickness T of 40 cm.
3. The bearing force between the individual piles or shafts and the caps must
not exceed the capacity of either element.
• Pile Cap Reinforcement

The amount of pile cap reinforcement is governed by:
1. The loading on the pile cap,
2. The spacing of the piles, and
3. The depth of the pile cap.
10.3 Load Distribution
To a great extent the design and calculation (load analysis) of pile foundations is
carried out using computer software. For some special cases, calculations can be
carried out using the following methods
For a simple understanding of the method, let us assume that the following
conditions are satisfied:
1. The pile is rigid
2. The pile is pinned at the top and at the bottom
3. Each pile receives the load only vertically (i.e. axially applied );
4. The force P acting on the pile is proportional to the displacement U due to

compression.
‫‪16/1/2018‬‬ ‫‪CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5‬‬
‫ﺣﯿﺚ ‪ Mx , My‬اﻟﻌﺰوم ﺣﻮل اﻟﻤﺤﻮرﯾﻦ ‪x ,y‬‬
‫‪ x , y‬اﻟﻤﺴﺎﻓﺔ ﺑﯿﻦ اﻟﻤﺤﻮر ‪ y‬واﻟﻤﺤﻮر ‪ x‬اﻟﻰ أى ﺧﺎزوق ﻓﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ‬
‫‪ y2åx2 , å‬ﻋﺰوم اﻟﻘﺼﻮر ﻟﻠﻤﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ ﻣﺤﺴﻮﺑﺔ ﻛﻤﺎ ﻓﻰ اﻟﻤﻌﺎدﻟﺔ اﻟﺘﺎﻟﯿﺔ ‪:‬‬
‫‪= Io + A . X2xI‬‬
‫ﺑﺈھﻤﺎل ‪ Io‬ﻟﺼﻐﺮ ﻗﯿﻤﺘﮫ‪ ،‬وﺣﺬف اﻟﺤﺪ ‪) A‬ﺣﯿﺚ )‪ (A‬ﻣﺴﺎﺣﺔ ﻣﻘﻄﻊ اﻟﺨﺎزوق ( ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻌﺎدﻟﺔ ‪ ،‬ﻧﺠﺪ أن ﺣﻤﻮﻟﺔ‬
‫اﻟﺨﺎزوق اﻟﻨﺎﺗﺠﺔ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻌﺰوم اﻟﻤﻄﺒﻘﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﯿﻤﺔ ھﻰ اﻟﻤﺒﯿﻨﺔ ﻓﻰ اﻟﻤﻌﺎدﻟﺔ ‪:‬‬
‫‪Eccentricity of load‬‬
‫) ‪( Single‬‬
‫‪Eccentricity of load‬‬
‫)‪( Double‬‬
‫‪Graphical Method‬‬
‫‪http://osp.mans.edu.eg/deepfoundation/ch10.htm‬‬ ‫‪6/15‬‬
Installation error:
Until now we have been calculating theoretical force distribution on piles.
However during installation of piles slight changes in position do occur and piles
may miss their designed locations.
So the designer must compare theoretical and the actual load distribution as a
result of misalignment after pile installation.
Deviation of the piles
Most piling specifications permit a deviation in pile position of not exceeding 75

mm in any direction from the intended position. Additional deviations of 1:75
from the vertical piles and 1:25 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 100 to 150 mm outside the outer face of the piles in the group.
Location and Alignment Tolerance:
The pile head at cutoff elevation shall be within 50 mm of plan locations for bent
caps supported by piles, and shall be within 150mm of plan locations for all piles
capped below final grade. The as – driven centroid of load of any pile group at
cutoff elevation shall be within 5% of the plan location of the designed centroid
of load.
No pile shall be nearer than 100mm from any edge of the cap. Any increase in
size of cap to meet this edge distance requirement shall be at the Contractor’s
expense.
Piles shall be installed so that the axial alignment of the top 3m of the pile is
within 2% of the specified alignment. For piles that cannot be inspected
internally after installation, an alignment check shall be made before installing
the last 1.5m of pile, or after installation is completed provided the exposed
portion of the pile is not less than 1.5m in length. The Engineer may require that
driving be stopped in order to check the pile alignment. Aligned section on a
misaligned section shall not be permitted.
If the location and/ or alignment tolerances specified in the preceding

paragraphs are exceeded, the extent of overloading shall be evaluated by the
Engineer. If in the judgment of the Engineer, corrective measures are necessary,
suitable measures shall be designed and constructed by the Contractor. The
Contractor shall bear all costs, including delays, associated with the corrective
action.
10.4 Design of Pile Cap
• If the pile group is analyzed with a flexible base, then the forces required to
design the base are obtained directly from the structure model.
• If the pile group is analyzed with a rigid base, then a separate analysis is
needed to determine the stresses in the pile cap.
• An appropriate finite element model (frame, plate and plane stress or plane
strain) should be used and should include all external loads (water, concrete,
soil, etc. ) and pile reactions.
• There are many methods for designing pile caps from which we could
mention the following:
1- Circulage Method
2- Beam Method
3- FEM methods
10.4.1 Circulage Method
• Circulage 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 horizontal forces in this case.
• As it is shown in the following figure, the force T’ for which the

reinforcement is calculated is calculated using the shown force diagram.
Force Transmission in Circulage Method
Strut-and-tie model
The strut-and-tie 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 (As) can then be calculated from the following relation:
10.4.2 Beam Method
• The Beam Method is the most widely used method as it suitable for any type
of loading and any shape of the pile cap.
Design Procedure:
A- Required Data:
Pile Data: 1- Pile diameter and length,

2- Pile allowable bearing capacity
Column Data: 1- Column load (N + M + H),
2- Column dimensions
B- Design Steps:
1- Determine required number of piles:

Notes:
§ In case of (N) only multiply by 1.1
§ In case of (M+N) multiply by 1.2
§ Number 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 (2-3) D in case of isolated pile caps and (2-6) D
in case of rafts supported on piles, where D is the pile diameter.
§ The C.G. of piles should be placed as far as possible in the C.G. of loads.
§ In 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 requires.
§ The projection of the pile cap should be about 10-15 cm.
3- Pile Cap Preliminary Depth:

The depth of the pile cap could be preliminary estimated assuming an allowable
punching stress of 10 kg/cm2 on the column face.
4- Check Forces in Piles:
5- Check for punching shear:
6- Check for shear:
7- Design for moment:

The critical section for moment is taken at the column face.
8- Check for Bond:

• The reinforcement used in resisting flexural moment should be checked for
bond stress acting on it.
• Shear at the same section of the bending moment is calculated.
9- Details of reinforcement:
Plane
10.4.3 FEM Method
Grid used for FLAC 3D analysis of pile groups (After Poulos, 2001)
10.5 Grade Beams
• Deep foundations are sometimes connected with grade beams.
• Grade beams are required for all deep foundations subject to seismic loads.
For seismic design, they must resist a horizontal load equal to 10% of the
column vertical load.
• Grade beams must be designed without the support of the underlying soil.
• In the British Standard Code of Practice BS 8004, a ground beam is defined as

a beam in a substructure transmitting load(s) to a pile, pad or other
foundation. The ground beam connects the two pile caps.
• Ground beams should not be confused with capping beams. Capping beams
perform the same function as pile caps. However, the function of a ground
beam is to connect adjacent pile caps to ensure stability of the foundation and
to ensure stability against lateral forces.
• Ground beams are designed to connect a group of pile caps in a continuous

manner.
• The top and bottom reinforcement of a ground beam are usually made equal to
overcome lateral forces or settlement of one pile cap relative to the adjacent
one.
• Ground beams may also require shear reinforcement in the form of binders.
• The depth of the ground beam is usually more than 1/15 of the span. The width
of the beam depends on design requirements.
Ground beams can also be designed to transmit loads from walls to pile caps.

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16/1/2018 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5

The functions of a pile cap are:

2. To laterally stabilise individual piles thus increasing overall stability of

3. To provide the necessary combined resistance to stresses set up by the

Pile caps are thick slabs used to tie

and transmit column loads to the piles.

10.2 Pile Cap Arrangement

§ Spacing of the piles in the pile group

1. Overall cost of the foundation

2. Nature of the ground

3. Pile behaviour in the group

4. Resulting possible heave or compaction of ground causing damage to

5. Cost of pile cap

6. Size and effective length of ground beam

7. Type and size of pile

§ Piles should be placed in a suitable arrangement so that the spacing

§ In the case of presence of neighbors, piles should be away from the

§ The projection of the pile cap should be 10-15 cm.

Typical Arrangement of Piles

• Requirements for Pile Caps

2. The effective depth d must be at least 30 cm. This implies a minimum

• Pile Cap Reinforcement

1. The loading on the pile cap,

2. The spacing of the piles, and

3. The depth of the pile cap.

10.3 Load Distribution

1. The pile is rigid

2. The pile is pinned at the top and at the bottom

4. The force P acting on the pile is proportional to the displacement U due to

‫ﺣﯿﺚ ‪ Mx , My‬اﻟﻌﺰوم ﺣﻮل اﻟﻤﺤﻮرﯾﻦ ‪x ,y‬‬

‫‪ x , y‬اﻟﻤﺴﺎﻓﺔ ﺑﯿﻦ اﻟﻤﺤﻮر ‪ y‬واﻟﻤﺤﻮر ‪ x‬اﻟﻰ أى ﺧﺎزوق ﻓﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ‬

‫‪ y2åx2 , å‬ﻋﺰوم اﻟﻘﺼﻮر ﻟﻠﻤﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ ﻣﺤﺴﻮﺑﺔ ﻛﻤﺎ ﻓﻰ اﻟﻤﻌﺎدﻟﺔ اﻟﺘﺎﻟﯿﺔ ‪:‬‬

Deviation of the piles

Most piling specifications permit a deviation in pile position of not exceeding 75

Location and Alignment Tolerance:

If the location and/ or alignment tolerances specified in the preceding

10.4 Design of Pile Cap

10.4.1 Circulage Method

• As it is shown in the following figure, the force T’ for which the

Force Transmission in Circulage Method

Struts and ties in a pile cap

10.4.2 Beam Method

Pile Data: 1- Pile diameter and length,

1- Determine required number of piles:

§ In case of (M+N) multiply by 1.2

§ Number of piles used is rounded to the upper integer

2- Pile Cap Arrangement and Plane Dimension:

§ In the case of presence of neighbors, piles should be away from the

§ The projection of the pile cap should be about 10-15 cm.

3- Pile Cap Preliminary Depth:

4- Check Forces in Piles:

5- Check for punching shear:

6- Check for shear:

7- Design for moment:

8- Check for Bond:

• Shear at the same section of the bending moment is calculated.

10.4.3 FEM Method

10.5 Grade Beams

• Deep foundations are sometimes connected with grade beams.

• In the British Standard Code of Practice BS 8004, a ground beam is defined as

• Ground beams are designed to connect a group of pile caps in a continuous

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